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Samsung reveals why the Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn't have an S Pen slot
- A Samsung executive has revealed why the Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn’t have an S Pen slot.
- The executive told Android Authority that the omission was due to battery-related reasons.
- Samsung is offering a slim S Pen case to users, instead.
Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 at its Unpacked event today, and those who expected an S Pen slot will be disappointed. This launch comes months after conflicting reports that Samsung could bring an S Pen slot to the foldable.
Now, a Samsung executive has confirmed to Android Authority that they indeed thought about bringing the stylus slot to the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
“So we did have a look at that, and we did think about it,” Justin Hume, vice president of mobile at Samsung South Africa, noted to us in an interview. “The key reason right now (is) about battery optimization (sic) which is why we left it out.”
An alternative solution for an S Pen slot
“So it really was a question of prioritization as to what needs to be in the device versus whether to bring in the S Pen (slot).”
We’re not surprised by the decision to skip the S Pen slot in the Galaxy Z Fold 5. There isn’t much space to work with inside foldable phones compared to conventional candy bar phones. So adding an S Pen slot to a foldable could have greater ramifications for battery capacity and other components. Samsung would also potentially need to deal with a thicker design if it didn’t want to compromise on these components.
Still, it makes sense to use an S Pen on a Fold-style device owing to the larger screen area to work with. So we’re curious to see whether Samsung can indeed pull off a Fold device with an S Pen slot in the future.
