Fold 7 - No S-Pen Support - A Different View?

[Piper123]

This morning I found an interesting read from Mihai Matei - Senior Editor for SAM Mobile

Note: this is a copy & paste from the Sam Mobile website and should be taken as a journalist's view.

No S Pen may have made the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a better phone

Although S Pen fans may dislike this aspect, axing the S Pen from the Galaxy Z Fold 7 may have helped Samsung create a superior Galaxy Z Fold experience overall.

S Pen fans may find this difficult, but the truth of the matter is that Samsung could never fully integrate the S Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold series.

No Galaxy Z Fold had a built-in S Pen holster or benefitted from compatibility with standard S Pens. Fold users had to buy the special Fold-friendly S Pen separately, and the optional S Pen cases added bulk to an already bulky foldable phone. For these reasons, most Fold users never even bothered buying the optional S Pen accessory.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that no S Pen worked with the cover display. Needless to say, the Z Fold S Pen experience was never straightforward or even user-friendly. After years of trying to make things work, Samsung had to make a decision and push the Z Fold on a new path.

Last year, the company tested the waters with the Fold SE, which also lacked S Pen support, and the market reception may have been positive enough to convince Samsung that it was the right time to shelve the idea of an S Pen Z Fold. With the global launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung has fully embraced the lack of S Pen support for the series.

You could always argue that the tech giant should have tried harder to integrate the S Pen with the Fold lineup, but at the end of the day, it's been years since the first Fold with S Pen compatibility went on sale, and very little to no progress has been made in this area since.

On the bright side, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is larger, thinner, lighter, and stronger than any models that came before. It boasts a new Armor FlexHinge design that protects the integrity of the display, and the foldable Ultra-Thin Glass is 50% thicker, resulting in a less visible crease and higher durability.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 might not be the foldable phone S Pen fans hoped for, but it does sound like a vastly superior Fold for everybody else. Time will tell if Samsung's decision will pay off.

[smiley]

Mmmm. Unfortunately I am one of those disappointed souls.

I was all in on the idea of buying the fold 7... have saved enough over the past few months to buy one without any financial issues...

But like many others all over the forums I am disappointed.

This doesnt mean I wont buy one mind you. I am attending the hands on event at kings Cross store next week... so that will be part of my decision... yay or nay.

I just think as a business tool and a full replacement for my other phone (s25u), that the 8 inch screen does scream out for note taking during meetings... using drawing apps like penup... and to truly use some of the AI functions that are being pushed and marketed.

I mean rhe AI tool for note assist is going to be pretty useless on a fold with no pen... and sometimes for photo edits and video collaborating for media sharing, the fine nib of a pen is an ommission that is quite essential. It is less easy to draw around a subject in a photo to delete with a 'fat finger' than a pen nib.

I won't add any more context or reasons... my few points are quite valid above. But there are multiple other arguments to the usefulness of the pen in the fold series.

Anyhow... it is a done decision and obviously I am a samsung 'fan boy' 😂. We choose either to embrace a decision... or to avoid.

My s25u is a great phone... so I dont feel 'hard done by'. But my wallet was open to the sale... and just perhaps might close again 😂

In fact I wont rule out buying a good second hand fold 6 from the many sellers that will appear in re-sale soon enough. I do love the folding concept. Just a bit disappointed right now 😬

Smiley

[Chappell101]

Ditto it was a bit of a creative blow I felt to the high productivity device.

I'd rather see someone's drawing than an AI promt image. Both are fun no question but precise editing of your own photos or drawing is more rewarding and relaxing to me.

I still like Samsung's OneUI aims I just hope they keep productive one handed use and creativity in mind. Not all of us just relax consuming content we like to make it too.

[Piper123]

I looked at the Fold 7 but have decided not to proceed.

Looks great......

No S-Pen

Buds 3Pro offer only lasted 48 hours

Cannot get a contract with a network whilst using EPP scheme (really don't know why).

Have S25 Ultra so doing alright 🙏

[Chappell101]

I think it's right for the majority of consuption based users, It looks great.

However it's made the Ultra line the only practical choice left for photography fans as they have high resolution sensors (zoom needs to return to the 10x hayday though) and if you enjoy being creative/productive it's a small Wacom still.

People upset about the loss of the Spen I believe you can use an external Wacom tablet with Dex for example but this isn't as practical as the prior portability was.

[Artindoril]

The problem for me isn't the complete loss of the spen as we know it, it's the lack of official alternative.

If we had an official battery powered option that had to be purchased separately, that would have been good enough. Anything that provided a stylus that worked & didn't invalidate the warranty would have been good enough.

Holding out to see of an option returns with the fold 8.

[Artindoril]

I feel pretty similar.

The only thing I would add to that is that Ive had an s series in the past when I was trying to save money over sticking with a note and something about the Jan release cycle meant it wasnt as polished a device. I quickly switched to HTC one.

This might be enough to push me to another brand if it stays, just depends if I can a device from another manufacturer that ticks the right boxes.

[joelbeni]

I am also one of those disappointed soul.

Low people using Bluetooth S pen functionnalities is one thing, but removing completly the S pen is another... Hosnestly I don't use bluetooth functionnalities on my S23 Ultra and was Waiting for the fold 7 to upgrade my phone. Those pen are so precise and usefull. Having a Fold 7 without pen is like a waste... taking note, multitasking while taking note, drawing and much more.

I think they should have made 2 versions of this phone. Something like Fold 7 SE. Compromising on the thickness for user who want the s pen.. like S25 ultra with no bluetooth. Same phone, but physicaly there is one bigger then the other.

man.... just do a bigger fold 6 with everything the fold 7 has.

[xaint]

Who writes this nonsense?
A built-in Wacom digitizer is worth making the phone even 5 cm thick if needed. The top revenue base for Galaxy doesn’t come from casual, one-time buyers — it comes from S-Pen users. Why? Because we’re the ones who depend on the S-Pen and have invested heavily in expensive productivity apps like Adobe Photoshop, Infinite Design, Painter, and more.

Removing native S-Pen support from the Fold 7 is a boardroom-level mistake. Whoever approved this should be fired immediately.

We’re migrating an entire team, and this is the first time I’ve ever returned a Fold on day one. I didn’t even know it shipped without S-Pen support — and without it, there’s simply no point. Others offer more screen real estate for the same money, so in this case I’ll gladly take the Huawei Mate X3 over the Fold 7.

Yes, the cameras are improved — but they’re still behind the non-foldable Galaxy siblings.

Here’s the reality:
Statistically, S-Pen users may be a smaller user base, but we are rock-solid loyal with near-zero fluctuation. We’ve been the foundation of the Galaxy line since the Note series launched. Personally, I’ve spent around $25,000 on Galaxy devices over the years, owning every Note model since day one — and so has our entire team.

To suggest the Fold 7 is somehow a better phone without built-in S-Pen support could only come from an Apple iPhone user — the same crowd whose MacBooks still lack a touchscreen, unless you count their little “Touch Bar” gimmick.

[TheSociety]

Yh why no S pen for the Fold7? Really Really Sad.