At the bottom of this post, a two-minute video explains it in an easy-to-follow way, with illustrations and side-by-side comparisons. Watch the video ▶
There is no Galaxy Fold8 Wide S Pen support. Neither can the Fold8 Ultra. The S Pen worked up to the Fold6. Why did it leave, and when will it come back?
The reason is thickness. An S Pen needs a digitizer layer under the display, which handles pressure sensitivity and palm rejection. Samsung removed that layer to reduce thickness. In Samsung’s current lineup, the only device with a built-in S Pen is the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The layer was first removed on the previous Fold7. Samsung explained that it dropped the digitizer to bring the folded thickness down to 8.9mm, and used the space for thicker ultra-thin glass to improve durability.
Would it return on the Fold8? There were rumors. Before the announcement, reports said the Ultra would get thicker to fit a digitizer. That was not the case. The extra thickness came from the battery, and Galaxy Fold8 Wide S Pen support is absent, as it is on the Ultra.
What about the Fold9, expected in 2027? A Samsung mobile executive told the tech site Tom’s Guide that Samsung is looking into technology that fits a digitizer and an S Pen into a thinner body, and that it will watch how customers respond to the missing S Pen.
That is not a promise or a schedule, but Samsung does not seem to have given up on the S Pen. There were also reports that Samsung is developing a new type of pen that works without a digitizer, together with a Korean supplier.
Personally, I am used to the S Pen, and that is the biggest reason I have not switched to a foldable phone. For more on the Galaxy Fold8 Wide, watch the full videos.
Galaxy Fold8 Wide S Pen Key numbers
- S Pen: not supported on the Fold8 Wide or the Ultra
- Folded thickness: Fold8 Wide 9.7mm / Ultra 8.9mm (no digitizer layer in either)
- Built-in S Pen: only the Galaxy S26 Ultra in Samsung’s current lineup
💡 FAQ
Q1. Can you use the S Pen with the Fold8 Ultra?
No. Neither the Fold8 Wide nor the Ultra supports the S Pen.
Q2. Why was the S Pen dropped?
Thickness is the reason. Using an S Pen requires a digitizer layer beneath the display to handle pressure sensitivity and palm rejection, and Samsung removed that layer to cut thickness.
Q3. Which Samsung device has a built-in S Pen now?
The only device in Samsung’s current lineup with a built-in S Pen is the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Watch next
- 📝 Full specs and details 👉 Galaxy Fold8 Wide Specs In Depth, 4 Differences from the Ultra
- Full video (13 min) 👉 Galaxy Fold8 Wide vs Fold8 Ultra: Full Comparison – Camera, Price, Colors and S Pen
