Samsung’s latest foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, marks a milestone in hardware engineering, touted as the thinnest foldable the company has ever produced. But to achieve that slim form factor, Samsung made a deliberate sacrifice: it removed S Pen support, a feature that had once helped distinguish the Fold series from standard smartphones. For stylus fans, the absence was noticeable—and for now, it’s likely to remain that way.
According to Kang Min-seok, Executive Director of Samsung’s MX business division, the company isn’t abandoning the idea entirely. Speaking with ET News, Kang confirmed that Samsung continues to research and develop thinner technologies that could eventually enable S Pen functionality in future foldables. But his comments also suggest that a return of stylus support won’t happen until both the technology matures and consumer demand justifies the inclusion.
This echoes what Peter Park, Senior Product Manager at Samsung Electronics America, told PCMag during a briefing for the Fold 7: relatively few users were actively using the S Pen with the Fold, and that played a significant role in its removal.
That underscores the balancing act Samsung faces with its foldables. On one hand, there’s a desire to deliver sleeker, lighter, and more durable devices—qualities highly valued by users navigating the trade-offs of foldable phone design. On the other, the S Pen remains a hallmark feature in Samsung’s ecosystem, particularly on devices like the Galaxy S Ultra series, where productivity-focused tools are more expected and better integrated.
Samsung’s official position suggests that stylus integration in foldables could still return—eventually. But it would likely require a technical breakthrough in display layering and housing design to include stylus hardware without adding bulk or compromising structural integrity. And with the current trend focused on making foldables thinner and stronger, stylus support appears to be a lower priority unless demand shifts significantly.
Cost is another factor. Integrating S Pen support into future foldables could drive up the price of already expensive devices. For now, Samsung seems content keeping the stylus experience confined to its flagship slab-style phones, like the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra, rumored to launch in January 2026.
In the meantime, those committed to stylus use will need to look beyond Samsung’s foldables. While the company hasn’t closed the door completely, fans of the S Pen should temper expectations—at least until foldable hardware can evolve far enough to support it without compromise.
