Samsung’s new S Pen plan trumps Apple Pencil for thinner foldables

Samsung seems to be exploring a new S Pen recognition solution to make thinner foldables. Samsung Display and HiDeep are collaborating to develop a technology to recognize a stylus without a digitizer or battery.

Notably, Samsung’s Galaxy S series Ultra models, foldable phones in the Z Fold series, and flagship Galaxy Tab series tablets come equipped with a digitizer to support the S Pen stylus, which does not require a battery.

Thinner Samsung foldables with S Pen incoming?

The companies aim to finish the development as soon as possible to commence mass production in H2 2025. Korea’s TheElec reports that HiDeep doesn’t consider Samsung as its initial consumer due to the slow pace of innovative adoption.

Industry insiders speculate that HiDeep will aim for an initial supply to Chinese smartphone vendors. This is because Chinese firms are more aggressive in adopting new technologies as compared to Samsung or Apple.

For Samsung Display, applying HiDeep’s technology first to Chinese products would provide a production experience before targeting Samsung Mobile or Apple. Hence, chances are fewer that the next Z Fold would get this new solution.

Last year, HiDeep was selected as the lead research institution for Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy’s project “Development of a System on Chip (SoC) for Mobile Devices with No Battery, No Sensor, No Protocol Stylus and Touch Integration.”

In the quarterly report in November, HiDeep stated, “The management expects to secure a mass-production model by 2024, followed by the launch of mobile devices by global clients equipped with our stylus technology in 2025, leading to mass-production revenue.”

Apple Pencil

Apple Pencil solution features a battery and doesn’t rely on a digitizer. The stylus techs currently used by various companies are not compatible outside the ecosystem. HiDeep aims to support compatibility across models from different vendors.

Samsung removed digitizer film from the Galaxy Z Fold SE’s inner display. It helped the company to reduce the phone’s thickness. However, it removed the stylus input recognition support given lack of digitizer film surrounding the OLED.