A future Galaxy Z Fold may finally go a step further than the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and offer an integrated stylus, a newly found Samsung patent (via xleaks7 and Studimo) showing two different ideas for adding an S Pen slot to a foldable phone.
As the patent, titled "Electronic device using electronic pen and method thereof," details, a device would be able to work with a stylus, and be able to store it on its body. The slot could sit on the back or on its side, the illustration shows.
Offering on-board S Pen storage would bring the Galaxy Z Fold family in line with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which has a stylus silo running along its right side. However, Samsung needs to be careful about the size of the Z Fold, especially when it's folded shut, which is likely why we've only seen the S Pen offered as an additional accessory for Z Folds since compatibility was introduced.
On top of being apparently bundled in with a foldable phone, Samsung may also be giving the stylus extra buttons. There's already one button on the S Pen for accessing favorited tools, or interacting with the phone when hovering the stylus above the display. Adding extras could make swapping between virtual pens, colors and more much easier to do without needing to open up the on-screen tool selection.
A feature Samsung should focus on
Stylus support is an important part of the Galaxy Z Fold's appeal, especially now that devices like the OnePlus Open and Google Pixel Fold have arrived to challenge it in other areas like photo quality and multitasking.
Including a fully integrated stylus on a future Z Fold, instead of having to buy a separate case that contains an S Pen, would help make more of a case to potential buyers why a Samsung foldable offers a more complete package than its rivals.
Patents are only a claim on an idea, and don't guarantee that a company's actually going to use it, let alone on the very next phone in a given series. But there's definitely demand for slicker S Pen storage on the Galaxy Z Fold, and with the competition for best foldable phone heating up, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 would definitely benefit from implementing this, if not a future generation of Samsung foldable.
More specific to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, we've heard that next year's big Samsung foldable could feature a dust-resistant body and a larger and wider cover display, but the same cameras as the Galaxy Z Fold 5. We expect a summer release for the Z Fold 6, likely around July or August, the months previous Z Folds and Z Flips have launched in a given year.
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