When earlier reports emerged that the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 will include stylus functionality with the S-Pen, everyone expected it to become a productivity powerhouse. However, it seems like we will have to wait a little longer for that to become a reality.
South Korean tech site Thelec claims that Samsung’s next flagship foldable will not have a durable enough display to endure the use of a hard-tipped stylus, and thus, the Galaxy Fold 2 will not include nor support the S-Pen.
This doesn’t come as a surprise as the original Fold was marred with display durability issues and would get punctured easily. Things got a little better by moving to ultra-thin glass (UTG) on the Z Flip, but with a thickness of just 0.03mm, it still wasn’t enough. Considering that the Fold 2 is likely to opt for the same UTG implementation, Samsung seems to be playing safe this time.
For context, displays on devices such as the Note 10 have a thickness of over 0.4mm, which is 10x thicker. Further, it is also protected by Gorilla Glass’s popular scratch resistance, making it strong enough for a concentrated input device. In fact, for next year’s foldables, Samsung has already partnered with Corning to develop a new kind of flexible glass which will be flexible yet a lot more durable than the current UTG offerings. It remains to be seen when we get to see the fruits of this partnership.
As for the Galaxy Fold 2, it will be the new flagship in Samsung’s portfolio, and is likely to be more advanced than any other foldable in the market. Expected changes include bigger displays on the inside as well as outside, with the folding screen moving to a welcome 120Hz refresh rate. Along with structural improvements, ingress protection might also make an appearance. Internals will be upgraded to 2020 standards too.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 will go official in August at the first-ever online Unpacked event. The stage will be shared by the Note 20, Z Flip 5G, Tab S7 series and probably, even a pair of TWS earbuds with noise cancellation. Current rumours point to August 5, but there’s no official confirmation yet.
