Samsung’s S Pen Stylus Is Most at Home With a Foldable Phone

Samsung’s S Pen is a digital stylus packing Wacom technology that first appeared on the original Galaxy Note in 2011. You can now find one tucked away inside every Galaxy S Ultra—but I feel its natural home is on a line of phones that doesn’t actually come with an S Pen: the Galaxy Z Fold series.

I’ve been carrying around a Z Fold, first the 5 and now the 6, for over a year now. The S Pen is a big part of why I fell in love with these devices, and it has more to do with the size of the phone than the stylus itself.

The Galaxy Z Fold Is Shaped Like a Notebook

The Galaxy Z Fold is a foldable phone that’s shaped like a regular phone when closed but opens up, like a book, to reveal a larger screen on the inside. This type of phone is explicitly referred to as a book-style foldable phone.

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The Galaxy Z Fold was the first phone of this kind to hit the market, and it’s now on its sixth generation. Each version has been compatible with an S Pen, though none came bundled with one, nor have any worked with the S Pen that comes with a Galaxy S Ultra or a Galaxy Tab. You need to buy a separate Fold Edition S Pen that functions largely the same way, minus the Bluetooth bits. Though now that Samsung has removed Bluetooth from the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen, there isn’t much difference for the moment.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

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$300

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a foldable smartphone that combines the functionality of a tablet with the convenience of a phone. It features a large, flexible internal screen that automatically picks up where you left off on the cover display.

I previously owned one stylus-equipped phone, an older model of the Moto G Stylus 5G. I liked the idea of the stylus, but I didn’t use it much. It wasn’t until I purchased a Galaxy Z Fold 5 that I feel in love with using a stylus with my phone. The feature makes such natural sense with this form-factor that I feel Samsung should have transferred the Note branding over to the Z Fold series, calling these the new Galaxy Note or even the Galaxy Notebook (the Galaxy Book, another good option, is already in use for Samsung’s line of Windows-powered laptops).

The Fold Provides a Larger Page to Write On

Compared to the Galaxy S Ultra or my previous Moto G Stylus 5G, the Galaxy Z Fold offers a substantially larger surface to write on. This is a big part of the reason I felt compelled to use a stylus, since it means I have enough space to work with. It’s like someone has handed me a journal after I was previously limited to writing exclusively on sticky notes and tiny notepads.

I now write pages at a time on my Galaxy Z Fold 6. I find the experience even more comfortable than picking up my black Moleskine. The page is around the same size, but since my phone is the width of one page, the weight distribution makes it easier to hold in one hand while I write with the other. I can write this way for long stretches of time, and I do. I’ve started to journal daily and have made time for creative writing again.

I should point out that the S Pen doesn’t work with the outer screen, known as the cover display, on any version of the Galaxy Z Fold. With such a large inner screen, I have no desire to write on the outer one—especially since the cover display is even more narrow than my previous phone. Still, this is a complaint that I’ve seen come up often.

I Find the Larger S Pen More Comfortable

The S Pen that came with the Galaxy Note, and now the Galaxy S Ultra, has to be slim enough to fit inside the phone. Having a stylus that slots inside the phone turns out to be both a blessing and a curse. It’s convenient, for sure, but the end result is a pen that’s less comfortable for extensive use. It’s a pen I’d jot things down with, but it’s not one I’d pull out for the first draft of a manuscript.

The Fold Edition S Pen comes in quite a few sizes. I tried out the slim version of the S Pen, and I wasn’t a fan. I prefer the larger version released prior to the Galaxy Z Fold 5. It’s the size of a regular pen, and it’s still compatible with my Galaxy Z Fold 6.

I keep mine on me at all times, even though it doesn’t fit inside the phone. Instead, I have a phone sleeve from Etsy with an extra pouch I slide the stylus into. You can see it here, underneath my previous Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Digital Notetaking Has Won Me Over

I’m gradually become a big fan of taking notes digitally. Unlike pen and paper, I can erase mistakes as often as I like, a luxury that even a pencil can’t quite deliver as well. I can easily move text around. Sometimes I move entire paragraphs down the page when I realize I have something more to say.

Samsung Notes is arguably Samsung’s best application (and I say this as someone who likes most of Samsung’s Android apps). It’s such a feature-rich program that seamlessly works well for both handwritten and typed notes. I like having the option to highlight my writing and quickly transcribe it into text. It’s surprisingly accurate, at least when I write in print. If I take the time to write in cursive neatly, it does a decent job with that as well.

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The biggest perk, though, is that my notebook and pen are always on me. I’ve made several attempts over the course of my life to be someone who carries a notebook and pen around everywhere. It’s only with the Galaxy Z Fold that I’ve actually stuck with it.

The S Pen, along with the many ways to use Samsung DeX, is why I chose the Z Fold over other foldables. Over the course of just one year, this has become one of the primary ways I use my phone.

It’s easy for those of us who geek out over apps and software to forget the impact physical size and feel can have on our digital experience. I’ve found it makes all the difference. The Galaxy S25 Ultra may cost less than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and come with better specs, but if you want to write on your phone, I strongly encourage you to consider the latter.