Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition leaks and rumors are now in full swing. The latest report emerged a few hours ago, and excitingly enough, it relates to the upcoming foldable device and S Pen support.
Previously, you may have heard that the Special Edition foldable phone will skip the S Pen to save production costs. However, new bits of information shared by display expert @DSCCRoss on X say otherwise, and S Pen fans will love it.
According to Mr. Ross Young, Samsung will indeed want to save costs but won't cut S Pen support from the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. Interestingly, the source says the Galaxy Z Fold SE will support the S Pen but replace the traditional digitizer with something else.
Samsung to come up with a different S Pen method
Devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 offer S Pen support through an active stylus method and a digitizer embedded in the screen. In layman's terms, this means the S Pen has its own power source, and there's a more complex connection happening between the tip of the stylus and the screen. This combination enables more advanced features.
Other, cheaper Galaxy tablets with S Pen support — like the Fan Edition slates — use a passive stylus, which isn't powered. It imitates touches from your fingertips, doesn't require a digitizer embedded in the screen, and works with almost any touchscreen. However, it offers a more basic featureless experience than the active type.
Now, Samsung's upcoming foldable marvel will support the S Pen but may take a different route than before. According to @DSCCRoss, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition won't have a digitizer, as Samsung intends to reduce the phone's thickness and cost.
However, it doesn't sound like the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will take the passive stylus route. The source states that “They [Samsung] have to come up with another way to make the S Pen work” to reduce both thickness and cost.
So, the Special Edition foldable device will end up with S Pen capabilities after all. But in light of this new information, it will be very interesting to see what solution Samsung may have found to ditch the digitizer, avoid the passive stylus path, and reduce cost, all the while making the phone thinner.
Reports say that the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will enter production in September. Sadly, the SE foldable is said to be bound to a limited release and won't go on sale in Western markets.
