Update: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 could get a big camera upgrade.
Samsung’s S Pen and Galaxy Z Fold range feels like a match made in heaven. With a large, tablet-like display to doodle on, it’s the ideal canvas for sketching big ideas, or annotating chunky documents.
Samsung clearly agrees, having introduced S-Pen support for last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3. But there are two big catches: it’s an optional accessory and, unlike with the Galaxy Note line, there is nowhere to actually dock the S-Pen when not in use. You have to either risk losing it by carrying it around loose, or buy a bulky and unattractive case to tuck it in.
Adding a S-Pen slot to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 feels like it should be top priority, and has been high up on many peoples’ wish lists. But it sounds like those wishes will go unfulfilled, if the reliable leaker Ice Universe is correct.
“Galaxy Z Fold4 will not have built-in S Pen,” the tipster tweeted. “Fold4 will be a little smaller and thinner. This is correct. No one likes a brick.”
Galaxy Z Fold4 will not have built-in S Pen. Fold4 will be a little smaller and thinner. This is correct. No one likes a brick.April 19, 2022
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Samsung has decided that the cost of including an S Pen dock — making a chunky device even more chunky — was not worth paying, and the company has instead opted to try and make the foldable thinner.
This is one of the biggest complaints people have about the Galaxy Z Fold 3. As cool as this foldable is, most people we hand it to say it's too thick and heavy to use as their everyday phone.
Samsung's calculation may well be correct from a commercial perspective. Perhaps Samsung’s research shows that portability is a higher priority to its potential buyers than S Pen support. If most users don’t care either way about the S Pen, then adding extra bulk to a device to appease a minority would indeed be a poor choice.
On top of that, making the S Pen an optional extra has its benefits as well. If you include one in every box, regardless of whether it’s wanted, then the price per unit increases, and it’s pretty clear that Samsung wants to reduce the price in order to drive foldable adoption.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also tipped to include better cameras this time around that are on a par with the Galaxy S22 series. But for now it looks like the Galaxy S22 Ultra could be the only phone in Samsung's lineup with a built-in S Pen holster. Be sure to keep our Galaxy Z Fold 4 page bookmarked for all the latest rumors and leaks.
