Galaxy Z Fold 3 S Pen will have an important consequence
One of the concepts associated with a phone that can unfold like a notebook is the ability to use it almost like a notebook, including the ability to write on it with a stylus. Due to the limitations of early flexible screens, that wasn't exactly possible or even advisable. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is rumored to be the first of its kind to be strong enough to use a stylus on. Everything, however, has a price and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be paying for it more than just literally.
Flexible screens are flexible partly because they use a different material from the rigid glass we find on conventional smartphones. That flexibility, however, also makes it more prone to scratches even from fingernails, as the first batch of Galaxy Fold phones proved. Even the improved Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 would not have been enough to withstand the pressure of a stylus nib but the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is rumored to finally fix that.
It still remains to be seen but Samsung has reportedly used a thicker layer of UTG on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to achieve this feat. It may have also switched to a different stylus technology to make the screen thinner to compensate. The already expensive foldable phone will be even more expensive because of this new feature but that isn't the only cost it will entail.
According to Ross Young of DisplaySearch, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will have slightly smaller screens, 7.55 inches for the large main one and 6.21 inches for the external cover display. This is all to accommodate the S Pen, which will apparently be stored inside the phone's body. It was also impossible to make the device thinner for the same reason.
My Xmas leaks – Galaxy Fold 3 – main display shrinks from 7.59" to 7.55". Cover display goes from 6.23" to 6.21". Need more space for S Pen.
Galaxy Z Flip 3/Flip Lite – grows slightly from 6.67" to 6.70". 120Hz and LTPO on the Z Flip 3.— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) December 24, 2020
Some might find it to be a small compromise to get such a feature, though it's too early to determine if it will be successful at all. More than the reduction in screen size, it will be the flexible screen's durability that will be the deciding factor if the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be a repeat of Samsung's very first foldable phone.