Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: New Apple Pencil style pen could make upcoming flagship thinner

Samsung could be about to switch up the pen input technology for its foldable phones in a bid to make them thinner. Since the Galaxy Z Fold3, the folding flagship models have had an integrated S-Pen, which uses electromagnetic resonance (EMR) technology. Here, a digitizer sits behind the display, detecting the pressure and the angle of the pen.

A recent report from Korean media outlet ETNews indicates that Samsung is considering moving to Wacom’s Active Electrostatic (AES) technology for its 2025 foldable phone, expected to be the Galaxy Z Fold7. This would make the Samsung pen closer to the Apple Pencil (2nd Gen, currently $79.99 at Amazon). The benefit of AES is the removal of the digitizer, which makes the foldable thinner. For example, the new Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition (SE), released in October, does not feature a digitizer and is 1.5mm (~0.06 inches) thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold6.

However, an AES pen would be a larger accessory, not integrated with the phone, and users would need to recharge its battery. It has been suggested that Samsung will make this decision regarding pen input technology early in 2025. ETNews cites “industry sources” without providing further details as to how it obtained this information.