- Samsung’s been rumored to be moving to a new technology for S Pen stylus input, starting with the Fold 7.
- While it earlier sounded like we might get a stylus with a built-in battery, the latest rumor suggests that won’t happen.
- The Fold 7 could even be compatible with old S Pens, but experiencing different input latency.
What the heck is Samsung up to with the technology powering its S Pen stylus? A while back, we heard rumors that the Galaxy phone manufacturer was considering a new tracking system for the S Pen in its upcoming Z Fold 7. That’s been fresh on our minds this week, following a report claiming that this same tech could pop up again with the Galaxy S26 Ultra (check out our video coverage above, starting at the 30-second mark). And just when it felt like we were maybe starting to see what Samsung could be up to with this new S Pen approach, a new rumor has us back to scratching our heads.
Let’s back up for a quick refresher: Samsung’s approach to stylus tracking with the S Pen has historically involved the use of a digitizer panel embedded in the phone’s screen that tracks a lightweight, unpowered stylus. And while this has the advantage of giving us a stylus that’s small enough to store within the phone itself (most of the time, anyway), the presence of that digitizer also contributes to overall phone thickness.
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