Will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 support the S Pen?

What we know about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 display

Samsung foldables were quite thick up until very recently. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 measured 12.1mm thick when closed, and, coincidentally, it was the last Galaxy foldable to support the S Pen. The most recent Galaxy Z Fold 7 removed S Pen support and managed to hit a striking 8.99mm thickness when folded. Although Samsung's foldable S Pen was never stored internally, removing support from the Galaxy Z Fold 7 allowed it to shrink the display assembly.

Specifically, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 lacks a display component called a digitizer. This is an extra screen layer that adds support for palm rejection, pressure sensitivity, and stylus input. However, as an extra layer, the digitizer added thickness to the overall display assembly. As part of a quest to make the Galaxy Z Fold line slimmer overall, Samsung had to ditch the digitizer — and S Pen support with it.

The first Galaxy Z Fold model to forgo a screen digitizer and S Pen was the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, a custom Galaxy Z Fold 6 variant sold exclusively in South Korea (with a rebranded version in China). It was the precursor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which expectedly left S Pen support behind as well. In other words, Samsung has been building toward thinner foldables without S Pen support for years. As a result, it is unlikely to reverse course anytime soon.

That means the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely launch without S Pen support. While the screen will support the average third-party passive stylus, it won't have the digitizer required for the proprietary S Pen. The only way for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to regain S Pen support would be to add a digitizer layer, and by extension, add thickness. Current rumors suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 8's thickness is heading in the opposite direction.

The S Pen was always tricky for foldables. Due to the aforementioned space constraints, the S Pen couldn't be housed internally, like it is on the Galaxy S series. Instead, you had to buy a dedicated S Pen Pro or S Pen Fold Edition to use it — and find a place to store it. That usually meant throwing a bulky case on an already-thick smartphone. Plus, the fragile inner screen meant pressing too hard could permanently damage the foldable display.

For all these reasons, you won't see the Galaxy Z Fold 8 debut with S Pen support. If you need the S Pen, you'll have to look to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 or the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Just want a foldable with stylus support? You might wanna look at the new Motorola Razr Fold.