Why the most exciting Galaxy Z Fold 3 feature is S Pen support
A leaker earlier this week spoiled everything that Samsung has planned for the upcoming summer Unpacked press conference. We saw official-looking renders of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Flip 3, S21 FE, Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch Active 4, and the new Galaxy Buds — well, again. All these devices leaked in great detail before, so Samsung fans should not be surprised. We already know almost everything there is to know about these gadgets, especially the flagship foldable phones. A brand new finding further cements the idea that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will come with S Pen stylus support. This time we’re looking at a new FCC listing, which is the best confirmation we could expect at this time.
As someone interested in the concept of foldable phones, I’ve followed the Fold series closely. The first model hardly impressed, with its poor design choices that lead to potentially fatal display accidents. Samsung had to delay the phone’s launch for nearly half a year in 2019 to fix the design. The Fold 2 brought further design refinements meant to improve the phone’s durability. We got a hinge that could stop debris from getting into the handset and an Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) panel covering the OLED screen.
With the Fold 3, Samsung will “fix” two things about foldable phones that could drive up adoption significantly. That’s durability and affordability. The FCC’s confirmation that S Pen support is coming to the Fold 3 has to do with the former.
Why the Fold 3 S Pen support is the phone’s most exciting feature
Even if you don’t plan to use a stylus with the Fold 3, S Pen support is amazing news for the foldable. We saw the feature leaked for well over a year now. Fold 2 should have supported stylus input, but the first-gen UTG panel was too brittle.
That layer of glass that improved the durability of the Fold 2 was much better than the plastic panel of the original Fold. But the UTG panel was too thin for its own good. Accidents were still possible. So using a stylus on such a display isn’t a good idea.
