The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 may not have an S Pen slot

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• The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 may not have an S Pen slot

One feature of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 that we're pretty sure about at this point is support for Samsung's S Pen stylus, previously offered by the Galaxy Note line and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. This support has been the subject of many rumors, but it's unclear whether or not there would be a slot for the S Pen, and now it seems unlikely. According to Ishan Agarwal (a leaker with a decent track record), there will be an "S Pen Fold Edition" of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, and there will be a "Note Pack" case to store the stylus with the phone. Presumably this S Pen Fold edition comes with the stylus and case, but that's not entirely clear from the wording of the tweet.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 will have an "S Pen Fold Editon" for it. With a "Note Pack" case to store it with the phone. Of course, there will be the usual silicone, leather and aramid cases. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 will have silicone/clear cases with optional rings and straps. Jul 24, 2021 See More Either way, if Agarwal is right, there won't be an S Pen slot on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, because if there was, he wouldn't need this case. It should be noted that this claim slightly contradicts at least one leak, suggesting that Samsung had shrunk the screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3's cover slightly to make room for a pen slot. So we'd take this with a pinch of salt, but no leaked images of the Z Fold 3 showed a stylus slot. Agarwal also claims that in addition to the Note Pack case, there will be silicone, leather and aramid cases for the foldable.

A pen slot takes up a lot of space (Image credit: Future)

Review: no pen slot, that's good

While some (especially those who want the S Pen stylus) will likely be disappointed by the lack of a dedicated slot, the move makes sense. There are probably plenty of people out there who don't care for the stylus, and for them a slot would be wasted space on what will already be a great phone. Making the phone even bigger for that location, or shrinking the secondary display as a leak suggests, would probably not be desirable. If Samsung built the slot, it would probably be more motivated to include the S Pen with the phone as standard, but it wouldn't be for free. This would almost certainly increase the price of what is sure to be an expensive device. So giving people the choice of a stylus or not, and a case with a slot for it or not, means you can design a foldable model that's suitable for a lot more people.