The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 probably won't have an S Pen slot

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

(Image credit: Future)

A feature of the

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

which we're pretty sure at this point is support for Samsung's S Pen, previously offered by the Galaxy Note line and the

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

This support has been widely rumoured, but it's unclear whether or not there will 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.

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The

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

is also on the way

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review

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In any case, if Agarwal is correct, there won't be a slot for the S Pen in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 itself, because if there was, you wouldn't need this case.

It should be noted that this claim is slightly at odds with at least one leak, which suggested that Samsung had slightly reduced the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Fold 3

to make room for a stylus slot

So we'd take it with a pinch of salt, but no leaked image 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 stylus slot takes up a lot of space

(Image credit: Future)

Analysis: no stylus slot, that's a good thing

While some (notably those who want the S Pen stylus) will likely be disappointed by the lack of a dedicated slot for it, the move makes sense.

There will probably be a lot of people who don't care about the stylus, and for them a slot would be wasted space in what will already be a big phone. Make the phone even bigger for that slot, or shrink the secondary screen as a leak suggests, would likely be undesirable.

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 free.

That would almost certainly increase the price of what is sure to be an expensive device so giving people the choice of whether or not they have a stylus and a case with a slot for it or not means they can design a model collapsible which is suitable for many more people.

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James Rogerson

James is a freelance writer and sub-editor for phones, tablets, and wearables at TechRadar. He loves all things “smart,” from watches to lights, and can often argue with AI assistants or drown in latest apps.

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