What you need to know
- Samsung quietly abandoned stylus support for both the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra, just like the Z Fold 7.
- The missing S Pen leaves a productivity gap, removing a tool that made handwritten notes, document annotation, and sketching easy on the Fold's large inner display.
- Marketing the Fold 8 Ultra as the ultimate productivity machine while removing the very hardware tool that made previous generations so effective sends mixed signals to users.
Samsung just launched its Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, but one longtime Fold feature is absent. Samsung has quietly ditched S Pen support from the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra after years of marketing the Fold as a productivity-first device, with no mention of stylus support anywhere in its official announcement, spec sheets, or otherwise.
That’s significant because Samsung is also doubling down on AI-powered productivity. The new Fold line-up is all about multitasking with Galaxy AI, Gemini Intelligence, split-screen workflows, and larger displays leading the way.
Additionally, the Fold 8 Ultra is billed as the company’s ultimate productivity machine, combining an 8-inch display with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 200MP main camera. The standard Fold 8 has a lighter 201g design, a 4,800mAh battery, and dual 50MP cameras but retains the same flagship chipset.
What’s missing is any mention of the S Pen that used to help separate Samsung’s book-style foldables from the competition. In previous iterations of the Fold (except the Z Fold 7), the stylus was a peripheral, giving users a way to handwrite notes, annotate documents, and scribble on the large inner display.
The timing makes the decision that much more surprising. The new Fold lineup is designed to help users do more with AI and features like Gemini Notebook, drag-and-drop multitasking, and app automation across more than 40 apps and services supported. Those upgrades double down on the Fold’s productivity focus, but they also make the lack of pen input feel like an even bigger compromise.
Android Central's Take
Samsung seems to be giving off mixed signals here. You can’t market the Fold 8 as the ultimate productivity phone and then quietly take away one of the tools that actually made it feel productive. Sure, AI can summarize meetings and organize notes, but it can’t replace the precision of putting pen to paper. But if Samsung wants Fold users to embrace an AI-first future, it also has to remember that sometimes the smartest feature isn’t AI at all — it’s letting people write things down.
