We’re nearing the end of the year, which means news is light and rumors are heavier than a fresh blanket of snow. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has just entered the holiday shopping era after its debut five months ago, but we’re already discussing what’s coming next year. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has some more work to do if it is to impress next year’s foldable devices and even Apple fans. Samsung is betting on a larger S Pen to get the job done.
A report by Korean outlet ET News claims that Samsung plans to remove the digitizer from its upcoming folding stylus in exchange for a thinner body that can handle the larger S Pen. The stylus will rely on active electrostatics (AES) technology for connectivity, rather than the electromagnetic resonance frequency (EMR) technology currently used in the Z Fold. It will also rely less on the display to facilitate digitization.
Samsung continues to compete for the title of the thinnest foldable smartphone as competition in the market has intensified. Google, OnePlus, and foreign brands are becoming increasingly attractive. Switching to AES technology would also put Samsung’s foldable smartphone on par with the iPad and Apple Pencil. This can only indicate that Samsung is ready to position its foldable smartphone as a mobile art easel, not just a handy folding digital notebook.
I’ve always found the Z Fold’s S Pen stylus to be too small to do much more than point and tap on the screen. The smaller stylus also makes it easier to lose. I was constantly looking for this little pen all over the house because of the problems with the Z Fold 5 S Pen case. A larger S Pen would have fit better in the pencil case in my bag. It would also make working on a project on the Fold display much more convenient.
Samsung has released a special version of the Z Fold overseas with a 6.5-inch display on the cover and an 8-inch screen inside. It doesn’t use a digitizer, so this rumor is quite likely, although the Z Fold SE doesn’t accept a pen. Samsung likely won’t decide whether to switch to stylus input for the Z Fold 7 until early next year.
