TL;DR
- Samsung’s been rumored to be moving to a new technology for S Pen stylus input, starting with the Fold 7.
- While it earlier sounded like we might get a stylus with a built-in battery, the latest rumor suggests that won’t happen.
- The Fold 7 could even be compatible with old S Pens, but experiencing different input latency.
What the heck is Samsung up to with the technology powering its S Pen stylus? A while back, we heard rumors that the Galaxy phone manufacturer was considering a new tracking system for the S Pen in its upcoming Z Fold 7. That’s been fresh on our minds this week, following a report claiming that this same tech could pop up again with the Galaxy S26 Ultra (check out our video coverage above, starting at the 30-second mark). And just when it felt like we were maybe starting to see what Samsung could be up to with this new S Pen approach, a new rumor has us back to scratching our heads.
Let’s back up for a quick refresher: Samsung’s approach to stylus tracking with the S Pen has historically involved the use of a digitizer panel embedded in the phone’s screen that tracks a lightweight, unpowered stylus. And while this has the advantage of giving us a stylus that’s small enough to store within the phone itself (most of the time, anyway), the presence of that digitizer also contributes to overall phone thickness.
For the Fold 7, we first heard that the phone might flip the script on that solution, removing the digitizer to slim the phone down and instead putting more electronics in the stylus itself. While that sounded like it meant a thicker S Pen, with the Fold 7 we weren’t worried about carrying it internally in the first place.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
Earlier this week, leaker PandaFlash raised the idea that the S26 could similarly adopt this new tracking system for its S Pen, and by abandoning its digitizer panel, Samsung might finally be able to give us a phone with the built-in magnets for Qi2 wireless charging without requiring an extra case. But at the time it sounded like this would mean a larger pen, and also giving up the internal storage slot.
Today we’re back in Fold 7 territory, and PandaFlash is back on X, talking about S Pen support. But the new details they offer now leave us with more questions than answers.
For one, while we were earlier talking about the possibility of Samsung moving to a battery-powered stylus using a tracking system like Apply employs for its Pencil, we’re now told Samsung’s solution is “totally different” and will continue to not require a battery in the stylus.
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According to the leaker, the Fold 7 will support the Fold 6’s S Pen, although you could expect to notice some degree of difference when it comes to input latency. That’s a very, very interesting detail, and puts us back to guessing as to the actual tracking tech Samsung could be working with here.
This also throws our expectations for the S26 Ultra for a loop, and if the S Pen really isn’t getting any bigger, is there a possibility we could get a phone with both a stylus slot and Qi2 magnetic support? Honestly, at this point we’re beginning to question just how reliable this leaker’s sources may be (especially having taken a quick look back on past leak performance), but the good news is that we should start getting some actual answers very soon, with the Fold 7 set to debut at Unpacked on July 9.
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