Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 S Pen tested: What we like, what we don't

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a lot of things going for it. The design of the new foldable phone is more durable than ever before, both displays characteristic fast 120Hz refresh rates, and Samsung'south worked with app makers and so that more software takes reward of the expanding, folding display. And all the same, the feature that seems to exist exciting many would-be Galaxy Z Fold 3 owners is the add-on of Southward Pen back up.

It certainly makes sense. Galaxy Note owners can tell you all about the productivity-boosting powers of Samsung'due south stylus. And Samsung clearly recognizes that this is one of the Note's best features, as it'southward worked to aggrandize South Pen compatibility to other phones — first to the Galaxy S21 Ultra earlier this twelvemonth and now to the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Pick your pen: Due south Pen Pro or Due south Pen Fold Edition?
Best foldable phones: The Galaxy Z Fold iii is No. i

I've had a chance to spend some time using both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the optional Southward Pen Edition Samsung built specifically for use with its new foldable. The verdict? The Due south Pen does indeed aggrandize the Z Fold three's capabilities when it comes to aid getting things done on the go. If y'all're drawn to Samsung'south foldable because y'all want a tablet-sized workspace with smartphone portability, the S Pen is a must-take. Withal, there are parts of the Southward Pen implementation that Samsung didn't get quite correct.

Hither'south a closer await at the things that work just right with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the South Pen, and the areas where Samsung needs to exercise some fine tuning.

Galaxy Z Fold 3 and S Pen: What we similar

The S Pen works like y'all expect

If yous've used an S Pen with a Galaxy Note, you pretty much know what to expect with the stylus and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 — and that's a skillful thing. All the functions associated with the S Pen — the ability to jot down a note or turn handwriting into text or even create an AR sketch that remains stock-still in place through the phone'due south viewfinder — are on hand here.

Galaxy Z Fold 3 and S Pen — (Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

Even if this is your first time working with an South Pen, it's a pretty intuitive experience. (And the Settings app contains a few instructions on how to access the S Pen's nigh of import features.) Hover the Due south Pen over the Milky way Z Fold iii's interior display, and a pen icon appears along the side of the screen; tap it to get the total menu of S Pen features. You're also able to kickoff an off-screen memo — basically a note you jot down without first waking or unlocking the Z Fold — by property downward the S Pen'south button and tapping the display.

Everything works like it'southward supposed to, and it doesn't take long for novices to get upward to speed. That'south the hallmark of a well-implemented feature.

In that location's ample screen space for drawing and note-taking

While this is probably self-axiomatic, y'all don't realize how handy a 7.6-inch screen is for drawing until information technology's unfolded in forepart of you and you've got an S Pen in hand. But the extra screen space afforded by the Z Fold 3'south design really helps you get more out of the S Pen than you ever could even on one of the best big phones.

My handwriting — best described as "straight out of a moody loner's manifesto" — tends to exist big and expansive. The few times I've tried writing on a conventional smartphone screen, I've felt cramped and constrained. The hassle of having to shrink my notation-taking to fit on a more narrow smartphone screen negates whatever advantage such a feature has to offer.

That's not the example with the S Pen and the Galaxy Z Fold three, which gives a tablet-sized canvas where I can write as big and wide every bit I please. If e'er a telephone was made for an input device similar the Southward Pen, it's a phone with an expandable display, and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 really drives this point domicile.

Off-screen memos is a terrific time-saver

I'm not telling Galaxy Note owners anything they don't already know, only that off-screen notes feature supported by the Due south Pen is a really great productivity booster. Beingness able to jot something down whenever the mood strikes, without having to launch a annotation-taking app — or even turn the phone on — is extremely helpful, especially if y'all're the kind of person who can lose their railroad train of thought in an instan... where was I going with this?

I kid, I kid.

I call back off-screen memo is easily my favorite S Pen feature. Could it exist improved? Absolutely, merely we'll talk over that a piffling flake later.

The S Pen Pro adds even more functionality

We're going to have to take Samsung's discussion on this, equally we used the South Pen Fold Edition to test out the Galaxy Z Fold 3's stylus support. Just the more expensive Due south Pen Pro — it costs $99 to the S Pen Fold Edition's $49 — includes Bluetooth connectivity. This enables the Air Deportment functionality that Milky way Notation users have come up to expect, including the ability to employ your Due south Pen as a remote control.

Milky way Z Fold 3 and S Pen: What we don't like

The Due south Pen needs to be included with the Galaxy Z Fold iii

I know I've been banging this particular pulsate even earlier the Milky way Z Fold 3 became official, simply the S Pen needs to be included as office and parcel of the Galaxy Z Fold three. Even if the phone's folding design doesn't permit for a built-in slot like the Galaxy Note models offered, Samsung should at to the lowest degree include the S Pen and a compatible example with a holster as part of the price of the phone.

There'south a reason for this beyond the gall of having people pay $1,799 for the Milky way Z Fold 3 and then asking them to pay even more than to savor the total functionality of S Pen compatibility. It makes the stylus feel like an afterthought, something tacked on to the Z Fold three, every bit opposed to a disquisitional part of the feel.

In that location'due south also a practical reason to make certain the S Pen comes attached to the Galaxy Z Fold three in i fashion or another — it'south not very convenient to have to tote around both a phone and a stylus. Samsung makes a instance, the Flip Cover with S Pen, that features a built-in holster. But I've been testing the phone-stylus philharmonic with a Silicone Embrace that has no way of attaching the S Pen to the phone. And let me tell you, it's a pain to keep track of both the device and its primary accessory.

More than: Best Samsung Milky way Z Fold 3 cases

The S Pen doesn't work with the Milky way Z Fold iii's cover display

It's not terribly well publicized, just the Due south Pen is merely compatible with one of the Galaxy Z Fold 3's dual screens — the 7.6-inch interior display. The half-dozen.2-inch cover display y'all use when the Galaxy Z Fold three is airtight close remains a no-go zone for the S Pen.

In theory, this shouldn't be a problem. The interior brandish is where y'all're going to do most of your sketching, note-taking and mark-upward, and, every bit noted above, it's well-suited for that task. And notwithstanding, when it comes to quickly jotting down notes, I'm not sure I want to spend time opening up the Z Fold, hunting downwards the Due south Pen and but then existence able to write downwardly what's on my mind.

The off-screen memo feature enabled by the Southward Pen feels similar a lost opportunity, in particular. Ideally, I'd be able to scribble those down on the encompass brandish whenever inspiration struck. Instead, I've got to open up the Galaxy Z Fold 3 before I can get to note-taking. On the surface, that doesn't seem like a large inconvenience, but it does interrupt workflow. And that'southward something Samsung should exist trying to avoid.

The Southward Pen blueprint could use some tweaks

I like the size and feel of the South Pen Fold Edition. Information technology'south substantial enough to feel like a real writing tool — that's adept, since it is! — simply non so heavy and awkward that it becomes uncomfortable to hold after all-encompassing note-taking. And I've got slightly arthritic hands that can commencement to throb when I'k using pen and paper, so I appreciate much of the Southward Pen's design.

Galaxy S Pen — (Prototype credit: Samsung)

What I think needs some fine-tuning, though, is the S Pen's push button, the i you printing to activate many of its features. Samsung has made certain that button blends seamlessly into the all-blackness stylus — so much so that I oftentimes have a hard time finding it without engaging in a lengthy staredown with the South Pen to effigy out where the button really is.

This may be a singular request, but I wish that Samsung would follow the atomic number 82 of Google and how it handles the ability button on its Pixel phones. Ofttimes, that button'due south a completely different color from the balance of the phone, making it stand out. If Samsung were to exercise that with the button on its Southward Pen, I experience like the stylus would be a lot easier to operate.

The Due south Pen actually doesn't take advantage of the Z Fold iii's design

Samsung has fabricated a lot of effort towards adding features that make the nigh of the Galaxy Z Fold'due south unique form factor. That includes multitasking — the phone can run upward to iii apps at the aforementioned fourth dimension — and adding a Flex manner that splits an app into viewing areas and a control panel. Even better, it's working with third-party developers so that more apps are optimized for these features, and y'all're seeing some of the fruits of those labors with the Milky way Z Fold iii.

There's not been a similar effort with the S Pen — its functionality is largely the same here equally information technology is on a more than conventional Samsung phone.

For now, that'south probably enough. Merely having a note-taking feature that benefits from a bigger screen is plenty to make the S Pen experience like a worthwhile addition to the Galaxy Z Fold iii. Just unless there's some attempt to innovate Fold features that specifically have reward of both the expanded brandish and the pen, the S Pen is always going to feel like a tacked-on adequacy that could just as well be included with any Samsung flagship.