Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 Will Not Have an S Pen Slot, but May Continue to Offer Support: Report

Samsung is reportedly working on an alternative.

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 23 February 2023 13:46 IST

Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 Will Not Have an S Pen Slot, but May Continue to Offer Support: Report

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4, just like the previous model, still supports its S Pen stylus

Highlights

Samsung reportedly pushed for an S Pen slot in the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold
The idea was said to have been eventually withdrawn
A new S Pen design reportedly in the works, but it's far from complete

Samsung's S Pen was a staple of the Galaxy Note lineup, which seems to be no more, after the company decided on integrating its S Pen with its top-end Galaxy S Ultra model. The first device to do so was last year's Galaxy S22 Ultra, which came with its own S-Pen slot that holds the S Pen securely inside the device when it's not in use. While there have been rumours and reports about Samsung integrating its S Pen stylus into its Galaxy Z Fold model, there's now a new report which appears to put an end to those claims, stating that Samsung tried to integrate the stylus into the upcoming Galaxy Fold 5, but had to cancel the idea due to space and design restrictions.

A previous report around November last year, claimed that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 will come with an S Pen slot. Now a new report by ETNews (in Korean) states that Samsung tried, but had to drop the idea after running into problems with securing enough internal space for the stylus.

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The report claims that Samsung Electronics internally pushed for proper S Pen integration as it was requested by many. It also made better sense to have an integrated S Pen as users could simply pull it out and draw on the larger tablet-like display. While Samsung reportedly managed to successfully integrate the S Pen in the foldable, it ended up making the device very thick when folded, which conflicted with the base idea that a foldable needs to get thinner (or more pocketable) when folded.

Samsung also reportedly tried to make a thinner S Pen, but it ended up reducing the writing feel as it's not comfortable to hold a stylus that's too thin. The cost of integrating a traditional S Pen into the Fold was also quite high.

The company is currently trying to improve the writing feel while making the S Pen thinner, but will only release it when Samsung believes it is as effective as the regular stylus, the report states. Adding to Samsung's problems is the new hinge design, which the company is expected to debut with the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5. An unnamed official told ETNews that the new structure for the foldable's hinge has changed, which makes it very difficult to mount the S Pen. On a side note, Samsung could also go with the Microsoft Surface Duo 2's design which lets the flatter Surface Slim Pen 2 magnetically snap on the device.

Is 2023 the year when you should finally buy a foldable phone? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good build quality, IPX8 rated
Software optimised for multitasking
Very good system and gaming performance
All-day battery life
Improved main, telephoto cameras

Bad
Still a bit bulky when folded
Expensive

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review

Display (Primary) 7.60-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

Front Camera 10-megapixel + 4-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

Battery Capacity 4400mAh

OS Android 12L

Resolution 2176x1812 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Samsung, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung S Pen, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Specifications

Sheldon Pinto

Email Sheldon Pinto

Sheldon Pinto is based in Mumbai, and has several years of experience in reviewing smartphones and gadgets. As a Senior Reviewer at Gadgets 360, you will always find him deeply immersed in his reviews, switching from one phone to another. When the battery dies out, Sheldon is always browsing the web for a good sci-fi movie or reading up on cars and bikes. He also loves creating lists of interesting places to eat and travel. Sheldon is available on Twitter at @shellshocd, and you can mail him at ...More