Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 rumor could be bad news for the S Pen

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold iii rumor could exist bad news for the S Pen

(Prototype credit: Evan Blass)

Like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, it seems that Due south Pen back up for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be an optional extra. More intriguingly, information technology seems that the Due south Pen in question will be a specific version of the foldable.

This comes from the established leaker Ishan Agarwal who tweeted the following: "Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 volition take an 'S Pen Fold Edition' for it. Along with a 'Note Pack' case for storing it with the telephone."

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 will take an "S Pen Fold Editon" for it.Along with a "Annotation Pack" instance for storing information technology with the phone. There will of course exist usual Silicon, Leather & Aramid Back cases.Galaxy Z Flip 3 will take Silicon/Transparent cases with Rings & Straps as options.July 24, 2021

This matches upwards with a render published last month by Evan Blass. Equally you can meet in the picture below, the Southward Pen has the words "Fold Edition" virtually the peak.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 — (Image credit: Evan Blass)

But how would a S Pen Fold Edition exist unlike from previous Samsung stylii? One persistent rumor is that due to the thinness and fragility of foldable screens compared to standard non-folding panels, Samsung will exist switching to Active Electrostatic (AES) applied science for the Milky way Z Fold iii, rather than the Electro-Magentic Resonance (EMR) digitizer plant on the Galaxy Notation serial.

The main difference between the two is that EMR uses a digitizer congenital into the display, meaning the electric current S Pen doesn't require its own power source for basic drawing functionality (though information technology'due south however required for additional Bluetooth features).

With the Galaxy Note family, charging the S Pen is easy: you lot only dock it in the telephone when non in utilize. The Galaxy Z Fold iii reportedly won't have this luxury, and then it's going to need to charge the optional extra differently — and we can't await to the Galaxy S21 Ultra'south case here, because the S Pen for that handset didn't feature Bluetooth and thus didn't have a battery to charge.

There are a few potential options. I is the example fix by Apple with the first generation of Apple Pencil, where the cap could be removed to reveal a lightning connector that could exist plugged into the iPad to charge. Some other possibility is that the Note Pack example Agarwal mentions isn't optional, and somehow charges upwardly the S Pen itself.

To complicate matters further, although the talk and renders point to the 'S Pen Fold Edition,' nosotros know that the device will likewise support the S Pen Pro cheers to an FCC listing directly mentioning the Galaxy Z Fold three. While details of the S Pen Pro are still a picayune scarce, we know that it will characteristic Bluetooth functionality, so will as well require charging.

How the S Pen Pro differs from the South Pen Fold Edition, then, remains to be seen. But we imagine we'll have a meliorate idea when Samsung takes to the stage at its Galaxy Unpacked upshot on August 11.

More than: How to reserve your Samsung Milky way Z Fold 3 early

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in betwixt. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are institute all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When non weighing upwardly the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably notice him tackling his ever-growing games excess. Or, more than likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.