The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 works with Samsung’s S Pen stylus, but there’s no integrated slot to keep it in the phone like on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Now there are indications that this may change on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
As noted by Studimo (through Android Central), a Samsung patent has surfaced, showing some possible locations where an S Pen could be placed on a foldable phone – perhaps the foldable phone Samsung will launch next year.
There are a few ideas here: the first is to have the S Pen slot built into the back of the phone, underneath the rear camera. The other is to extend the edge of the phone to the side and let the S Pen stay there when not in use.
The usual caveats about patents apply here: these patents do not guarantee that products or ideas will actually appear in the real world, but they do provide an interesting insight into what companies are thinking about and researching during the design phase.
Stylus innovation
Considering that Samsung hasn’t yet introduced a built-in S Pen slot on its foldable phones, we can only assume there are technical reasons not to do so: perhaps it makes the handset too thick or too heavy, and the tradeoffs are : It is not considered worth it.
As noted in our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review, you can buy cases that have room to store the S Pen, but it’s not exactly an ideal solution. It is definitely preferable to have a suitable slot for the stylus when not in use.
The patent also includes a possible innovation for the S Pen: physical buttons on the side. It’s likely that these are customizable and can be used to initiate specific actions on the Galaxy phone the stylus is being used with.
We haven’t heard many rumors or leaks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 so far, but if Samsung sticks to its usual schedule, we should see it around August next year, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.