The Samsung Galaxy Fold is arguably one of the most innovative phones in the past decade. It was the first publicly available mass-market foldable phone and was easily my favorite phone. In my review of the phone, I called it the future of smartphones. This future is fantastic and foldable, but this foldable future is still a while away from matching our current reality of glass slab smartphones. There’s plenty more that foldable can do to make them better smartphones for the mass-market, and one such feature would be the S Pen. The S Pen would be the perfect addition to this small tablet form factor, but unfortunately, the tech isn’t there yet despite previous rumors pointing towards its inclusion. According to a new report, there are some technical limitations that prevent Samsung from adding the S Pen to the Galaxy Fold 2.
A new report from The Elec out of South Korea, there will not be an S Pen on the Galaxy Fold 2. Since the last Galaxy Fold, there have long been rumors about the Galaxy Fold 2 picking up the S Pen. As much as it seemed like a bad idea because of the plastic screen, consumers wanted to see a convergence of the Note series and Fold series. Unfortunately, this year is not the year it happens. As Mr. Ross Young of DSCC hinted, Samsung had to make the decision between Ultra Thin Glass and no S Pen or a thicker plastic display with an S Pen. If this new report is right, Samsung has opted for the Ultra Thin Glass option.
Which would you prefer on the Galaxy Fold 2, ultra thin glass (UTG) with no S-Pen or plastic cover film with an S-Pen?
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) June 3, 2020
Another reason Samsung might have decided to skip the S Pen on the Galaxy Fold 2 is because of the hinge. According to a few internal sources, the hinge on the phone would have caused the digitizer layer for the S Pen on the display to die over time, creating a massive dead zone across the middle of the display. This, of course, would not be a product Samsung would want to release. There were also issues with the S Pen tip leaving dents on the plastic cover, and worse, the S Pen could have pierced the display when used with extreme force on the display panel.
While the S Pen on the Galaxy Fold 2 might have been the device of the future we are all hoping for, it’s good to see Samsung taking the time to perfect the technology instead of rushing it and having another breaking Galaxy Fold issue. The Galaxy Fold 2 is likely going to launch at the August 5th virtual Unpacked with an official release in early September. I know I’m very excited to see all that this device has to offer!
The post The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 reportedly won’t have an S Pen because of technical limitations appeared first on xda-developers.
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