One of the biggest rumors surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition (or Z Fold Slim) is that it won’t have S Pen support. Allegedly due to Samsung removing the digitizer layer from the display to shave some extra thickness off the phone. But it sounds like this may not be the case after all.
Ice Universe, a notable leaker of Samsung information, has refuted this information over on X with a simple declaration that the “Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition still supports S Pen”. They don’t go into any detail about the rumor, or how the S Pen will work with the Z Fold SE — just that it will.
Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition still supports S PenAugust 30, 2024
So what does this mean? Well it could be that the rumors Samsung would remove the digitizer were untrue. Which happens sometimes, and would be a perfect example of why we shouldn’t put too much faith in pre-launch rumors — there’s always a chance they’re completely wrong.
However Ross Young, display analyst and CEO of DSCC, chimed in on X with the belief that Samsung was still removing the digitizer to save on costs and thickness. As Young points out, this means Samsung would have to find a different way for the S Pen to work on the Z Fold SE’s internal display.
As to how Samsung might be planning on offering S Pen support without the digitizer, your guess is as good as ours. We’re not display engineers, and that’s the kind of problem left to people with knowledge and experience that supersedes our own.
That said, no matter how Samsung adds S Pen support to the Galaxy Z Fold SE, it can only be a good thing. After all, this foldable was originally slated to be a premium product, and dropping features that are otherwise available on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 feels like the exact opposite of that.
Still, if Samsung can produce a foldable with S Pen support that doesn’t need a digitizer layer then it may prove useful for future foldables. Assuming, of course, that the loss of the digitizer doesn’t come with any major loss of functionality. Though we won’t find out for sure until Samsung actually announces the phone, and lets us stop focusing so hard on rumors.
The latest rumors claim that the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition could arrive sometime in September, though October has also been rumored. Sadly it may be difficult to buy one, because the rumors also claim that this foldable will only be available in limited quantities and select regions like China and South Korea.
