To achieve such insane slimness, you have to re-engineer: Samsung on why Galaxy Z Fold 7 does not support S-pen

India Today

10-07-2025

If you thought Samsung just woke up and decided, let's slim things down for their next Fold and Flip, well, you can't be more mistaken. Things take time, good things sometimes even longer - even for someone we think could do astonishing things and keep doing it, again and again like clockwork. It is okay to imagine and hope, but reality is much more complex than that. Or at least that is the impression I came back with after watching Samsung unfold the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, in what could only be described as a concerted effort to win back customer trust and take back the foldable phone crown.advertisementThe thing about foldables is, either there's too much happening in one geographic - i.e., China - with very few managing to escape those boundaries and be available to one and all, or no action happening at all in the rest of the world. Then there is Samsung: the OG foldable phone maker. The problem is, for the longest period, it seemed that it wilfully chose to keep iterating, which may be true, but it also gave the impression that big innovation had ceased. The Fold 6 was mostly the same as the Fold 5, which itself felt like a souped-up Fold 4. The Fold 7 and the Flip 7 launching alongside not only break that impression but prove conclusively what makes Samsung, well, Samsung. It is the relentless pursuit of the next big thing.The Galaxy Z Fold 7, unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked in Brooklyn, New York, marks a "new era of the Galaxy Z series" by blending past learnings with future-ready technology, including advanced AI. However, the most striking aspect is its unprecedented thinness and lightness, which is a direct response to consumer feedback, according to Akshay Gupta, Director, MX Business, Samsung India.
'Hardware has reached a point where consumers probably aren't looking for innovation beyond something like, say, a 200-megapixel camera," Gupta told India Today Tech on the sidelines of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 event. "So, then the question is, what needs to be changed?"Making the Fold "Ultra" thinGupta revealed that getting to the Z Fold 7's astonishingly slim profile wasn't merely about tweaking existing components but a complete re-engineering process. 'This year, with the launch of the Galaxy S25 Edge, there is a design philosophy change [at Samsung]. We are re-engineering existing technology to make it compact and put it inside slim form factor devices."He elaborated on the intricate challenges involved: "On paper, it will look very easy. We already have the 200-megapixel camera in the S25 Ultra, we could put it inside the Fold as well, right? But to put it inside a phone that is 4.2mm thin means we can't use the same lens. It is the same lens, but it is not because you must slim down the entire structure—the whole circuitry needs to be redesigned."advertisementThis meticulous re-engineering extends beyond the camera module to every internal element. "It is not only for the camera, but also for how the PCB is there, how the battery and display are put in the system. When you have to achieve such an insane amount of slimness, then you have to re-engineer. Without that, it won't happen."Gupta acknowledged that competitors have also pursued slim designs, but often with trade-offs. "When you say, competition has been doing it, there are tradeoffs that have been made by everyone. They might not have ray tracing or a vapour chamber cooling. There are many tradeoffs."That is not to say the Fold 7 is 100 percent free of tradeoffs. Perhaps the most significant change is the removal of the S-pen support."Fold 7 does not support S-pen because it needs a digitiser below the screen," Gupta stated."When you have to slim down, this is a tradeoff. We had to remove the digitiser from the Fold 7, in order to achieve this slimness."advertisementHe recognised this as a "negative tradeoff" but expressed confidence in the overall package. "We are very, very confident in terms of what the overall package is. See, at the end of the day, consumers would want everything in the device. Our endeavour is to try and give everything, but you cannot give everything in every device."The driving force behind this radical design overhaul was clear consumer feedback. "When we asked our customers, they said they can't compromise on flagship bar-type any more. The biggest barrier everyone said is portability. If I have to go into foldables, I need a phone which is compact and slim. That was coming out as the number one thing, and that is why this design change has happened."The results of Samsung's re-engineering are impressive. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a remarkable 24 grams lighter than its predecessor, the Fold 6, weighing in at just 215 grams—even lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra (218 grams). Its folded thickness is a mere 8.9mm (3.2mm thinner than the Fold 6), and when unfolded, it measures only 4.2mm (about 1.4mm thinner than the Fold 6).advertisementThese tighter dimensions are the result of a combination of new materials and internal restructuring. The device features Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the cover, an "Armor Flexhinge" that closes thinner, and an "advanced armor" aluminum frame. The main display is also thinner and lighter.While the S-pen may be absent, the Fold 7 offers larger screens (8-inch main, 6.5-inch cover), an upgraded 200-megapixel main camera, and the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. Pricing for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at Rs 1,74,999 for the 12/256GB model, with the 12/512GB version at Rs 1,86,999, and the top-end 16/1TB model at Rs 2,10,999.- Ends