Hey. I pre-ordered the new Z Fold 7 before realizing that it does not support the s-pen anymore. I contemplated canceling the pre-order but popped by a Samsung Experience Store and saw the dang thing in person and now I'm torn. I use my s-pen often (like now typing this). So I'm wondering if folks have suggestions for s-pen alternatives or basically passive/capacitive styluses that could work well?
And please I am only looking for suggestions and help. I get that some folks don't care about the s-pen and yes, I'm aware I don't need to upgrade. Thanks.
YOU never did. Most of the others here DID, and so while your workarounds work for you, they are workarounds that do not come anywhere near to what the S-Pen does.
That is why I am calling out your post, it buries the other S-Pen features that people are going to be expecting to find with other stylus, which they will not.
Not a specific answer, but I have a few pens that have a rubber stylus end (kind of looks like an eraser). I took one with me to check out the fold 7 in store & it worked on the internal & external screens. If that's helpful at all. I'm planning to order a few options with high ratings on Amazon to see what works best.
I definitely understand what you're dealing with. I have been on the fence trying to decide whether to get it or not. I've even had people online telling me how I use the S Pen and that I shouldn't care this much which I found incredibly odd. Ultimately I've decided not to "upgrade". Instead I'm going to get a new ZFold6 instead. It has almost everything I wanted outside of a bigger outer screen. I'd rather deal with that than give up S Pen functionality. I'm not crazy about the whole thinness obsession either. If I wanted that I'd buy one of those Chinese phones. I'd rather have something that has a little heft to it so it feels solid and not like it's fragile. Folds already kinda feel like that without being so thin. Good thing they make so many varieties so we can all use something we like.
I just got notice that my pre-order shipped. I'm tracking it so that I can make sure to reject the shipment. I'm not just frustrated anymore with the phone. That and the lack of s-pen support, but even more so disappointed with the terrible customer service I've received when trying to troubleshoot and look for alternatives with Samsung. As someone who owns multiple devices, it feels very Apple-like. The difference is, I stay with Apple because of my children and their devices, I don't have to do that with Samsung. I'm gonna keep my ZFold6, but this may likely be my last Samsung device.
Samsung really sealed my decision when they added an additional $200 discount to the device a few days after the pre-order period started and then refused to adjust the orders of customers that had already ordered it. Many were told that they needed to take delivery of their orders and then send them back before they could reorder with the additional discount. The problem then of course is the other preorder deals would be expired. I definitely agree with the way you feel regarding the company. I have purchased Samsung devices for my entire family for years but I believe that has come to an end. I have never really looked at Pixel or Apple but I am looking forward to the Pixel event in August for the first time.
UPS just left WITH the ZFold7. I rejected the order and instead just ordered a new case for my ZFold6. It will again probably be my last Samsung purchase, sadly. And also contacted my credit card and sent them proof of rejecting the shipment in case Samsung tries to give me an additional issues. Good luck to those who are choosing not to upgrade and those who do.
Yeah it's unfortunate that they've removed this. It totally killed any desire I would've had to buy the 7.
Honestly, the S Pen and Dex are about the only thing keeping me tied to Samsung.
I had issues with getting my Fold 3 screen protector serviced promptly (because of lack of infrastructure locally to fix it). I was even ready to go the the NYC store if I could have. Then the Fold 4 I had suddenly had its screen go black when it unfolded after about a year of use... I look online and see a bunch of people with similar issues, I call in and am told "we haven't heard anything about that issue." So the Fold 6 may just turn into my last purchase if there's no S Pen.
I'm already looking into the idea of running Linux directly on a device -which would remove my need for Dex... but the S Pen would still be the only thing tying me to the Samsung hardware.
Really the best thing you probably could have done is posted about this so they know people still care about the S Pen. Maybe we're in the minority of users... and, if so, then I guess we have to deal with whatever they do... but I can confidently say that I'll be strongly considering other brands if there's no S Pen, even if Samsung releases a tri-fold.
The YouTube Tech Guy did a video about a pen he really liked that works with many features. It's no replacement for everything the S pen offered, but I tried it and it is precise, and works for many tasks.
