Samsung is set to implement significant changes to the stylus input for its upcoming foldable device, moving towards a sleeker phone design. According to a report by ET News, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will adopt a stylus format akin to the Apple Pencil.
Industry insiders indicate that Samsung plans to eliminate the digitizer component from the display assembly of this new device. The digitizer is a pressure-sensitive layer responsible for capturing the physical strokes of a stylus and translating them into digital signals.
This change allows Samsung to reduce the phone’s thickness by 0.6 millimeters, resulting in a design that measures under 10 millimeters in thickness. This slimmer profile is inspired by the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition and surpasses the current Galaxy Z Fold 6 in terms of compactness and internal display size.
For the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung is aiming for a slightly larger 8-inch internal display while omitting the digitizer layer to maintain a slim profile.
The challenge lies in how to incorporate stylus functionality without the digitizer. Samsung appears to be overhauling the entire stylus system and plans to adopt an active electrostatic (AES) technology.
Unlike traditional digitizers, AES technology requires specialized sensors embedded in the display to create an electrostatic grid. This grid interacts with a stylus fitted with its own transmission unit, among other components.
Wacom explains the interaction in an AES stylus setup: “One sensor grid, along with the pen, acts as the transmitting unit that generates an electrical field; other grids serve as receiving units. The pen’s position is determined by the differences in the charge detected across the sensor grids.”
This method minimizes input lag to mere milliseconds while maintaining high accuracy and features like pressure sensitivity. However, the stylus’s weight may increase as a result.
This added weight isn’t necessarily a drawback, as thicker styluses like the Apple Pencil are popular for both basic note-taking and intricate sketching, finding a strong following among creatives who regularly use iPads.
The main concern is that the stylus will need regular charging for its internal battery, and how Samsung will approach this aspect remains unclear. Apple’s styluses either recharge wirelessly via magnets or use a wired USB-C connection to charge their batteries.
Currently, Samsung offers a custom stylus called the “Fold Edition” designed specifically for the Galaxy Z Fold series, which differs from the slimmer options provided with the Galaxy S series and the older Galaxy Note series.
It will be fascinating to see the design direction and pricing strategy Samsung chooses for its new foldable-friendly stylus. A price increase seems likely, given the added features and technology involved.
