Samsung Files Patent Describing New Ways to Mount Its S Pen to a Foldable Device: Report

Turns out there’s several ways Samsung can go about doing this.

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 3 November 2023 13:31 IST

Samsung Files Patent Describing New Ways to Mount Its S Pen to a Foldable Device: Report

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is priced at Rs. 1,54,999 in India

Highlights

The patent reveals many foldable designs some of which appear familiar
It also shows more than one S Pen design
Some S Pen designs even have three buttons on them

With Huawei's foldable devices getting slimmer and setting new standards with every launch, Samsung sure seems to be feeling the pinch after taking it easy and going with iterative design updates for the past few years. And it did make plenty of sense since Samsung still is the dominant player in the foldables space. But the landscape for foldable smartphones, especially the ones with the horizontal layouts is changing, with the launch of the Google Pixel Fold and the OnePlus Open this year. OnePlus has even launched its latest foldable in India, a market that was until now dominated by Samsung when it came to foldables. New players entering the foldables space sure seems to have Samsung on its toes with a publication recently claiming that Samsung is “reverse engineering” the Huawei Mate X5 in order to figure out ways to make the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold slimmer. While we would all love to see a slimmer Galaxy Z Fold model next year, Samsung's new patent also sheds light on the company's efforts to integrate its S Pen stylus into its foldable.

The patent was first pointed out by Studimo in collaboration with David Kowalski and it reveals some interesting design philosophies that Samsung is working on to integrate its unique S Pen stylus into its foldables lineup. The patent in detail describes how Samsung aims to keep its foldable as slim as possible while integrating its S Pen, a task which isn't easy given how thick the current S Pen is. Earlier this year, Samsung even announced a new case for its Galaxy Z Fold 5, that had a slimmer S Pen mounted into it making it a lot slimmer than last year's case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

One layout shows a stylus attached to one side of the foldable (as a part of its frame) while another shows it mounted to the back of the device, which would be similar to Samsung's Galaxy Tab series and Microsoft's Surface Duo devices. There are also details revealing changes to the S Pen's design itself, with some designs showing more than one button and some having even three buttons along the stylus' side.

Previous reports have hinted at the need for a slimmer S Pen design, which would make it a lot easier to integrate, via a silo in the foldable's body itself. This would be similar to the S Pen's current implementation in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the same report also states that previous efforts to do so have failed as the device ended up becoming quite thick. Indeed, the newly explored side-mounted layout seems to be a better choice, and also allows for slimmer foldable designs.

The rumour mill has so far had very conflicting information about Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6. With some reports indicating a new screen layout with a different aspect ratio, while others hint at a familiar design but with an integrated S Pen as seen in some leaked images of prototype versions of the Galaxy Z Fold. There's also information about more affordable Galaxy Z FE lineup which is rumoured to launch alongside the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold series lineup, which should compete with the new generation of affordable foldables like the Tecno Phantom V Fold, Tecno Phantom V Flip (Review), and the Motorola Razr 40.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of 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 5

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good build quality, IPX8 rated
Well-optimised software
Very good system and gaming performance
All-day battery life
Reliable cameras

Bad
Expensive
Still feels bulky

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review

Display (Primary) 7.60-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

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 13

Resolution 2176x1812 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

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 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Design, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 S Pen, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Display, S Pen

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