After many teases, it seems as if a Samsung foldable is finally going to get support for an S Pen stylus. FCC filings for the S Pen Pro, a bigger version of the S Pen with Bluetooth connectivity that Samsung announced in January, have been made public, and one document (PDF) reveals that the upcoming stylus will work with the unannounced Galaxy Z Fold 3 (which is presumably the next device in the Z Fold lineup).
And it’s not just the Z Fold 3 — the stylus, which doesn’t have a release date but is set to hit this year, will apparently support the S21 Ultra, the Note 20 lineup, and more. You can see the full list of devices that the S Pen Pro will support in this image from the filing:
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The S Pen Pro’s support for the Z Fold 3 isn’t a major surprise — the company has been hinting toward some sort of S Pen support for the foldable for some time. During last year’s Unpacked event, Samsung’s president of mobile TM Roh said in a Q&A that the company has been “happy to hear” that people want the S Pen to work with the Fold. In a December blog, he said that the company was looking to bring some of the Galaxy Note’s “most well-loved features” to other devices — which seems likely to be a wink toward stylus support, one of the hallmarks of the Note line. And in January, Roh was even more explicit, saying that the company plans to “expand the S Pen experience across additional device categories in the future.”
A detailed leak has already shown the unannounced phone with a stylus: a render shared by noted leaker Evan Blass depicts what appears to be the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with a new “Fold Edition” S Pen propped up next to it. Perhaps the Z Fold 3 will come with the Fold Edition stylus in the box while the S Pen Pro will be sold separately.
FCC documents becoming public can indicate that a product may be announced soon after they are published. In this case, an official announcement for the S Pen sometime soon would make sense, as Samsung has held summer Unpacked events in early August for the past few years. Blass has also already stated that this year’s event is scheduled for August 11th, alongside revealing a bunch of other devices that are expected to be revealed at the show, including the Z Fold 3, the Z Flip 3, two new Galaxy Watches, and new Galaxy Buds.
Thanks for the tip, Venkatesh!
