Like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S Pen support for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3 appears to be optional. More interestingly, the S Pen in question appears to be a specific version of the foldable version.

This is according to a tweet from reputable leaker Ishan Agarwal: "Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 will have an "S Pen Fold Edition," with a "Note Pack" case to store the S Pen with the phone."

This matches the rendering published by Evan Blass last month. As can be seen in the photo below, the S Pen has the words "Fold Edition" near the top.

But how will the S Pen Fold Edition differ from previous Samsung styluses? One persistent rumor is that because foldable screens are thinner and more fragile than standard non-foldable panels, Samsung will use the EMR (Electro-Magentic Resonance) digitizer found on the Galaxy Note series in the Galaxy Z Fold 3 Instead, it is switching to AES (Active Electrostatic) technology. [The main difference between the two is that the EMR uses a digitizer built into the display, meaning that the current S Pen does not require its own power supply for basic drawing functions (although it does for additional Bluetooth features). [In the Galaxy Note series, charging the S Pen is simple, simply docking it to the phone when not in use; the Galaxy Z Fold 3 reportedly does not have this luxury, requiring the optional additional features to be charged in a different way. example of the Galaxy S21 Ultra cannot be seen here, because the device's S Pen did not have Bluetooth and therefore did not have a battery for charging.

There are several possible options. One is the example Apple showed with the first generation of the Apple Pencil, which, when the cap is removed, reveals a Lightning connector that can be plugged into an iPad for charging. Another possibility is that the notepack case that Agarwal mentions is not an option, but that the S Pen itself is charged in some way.

Further complicating matters, the story and renderings point to an "S Pen Fold Edition," but thanks to the FCC listing's direct reference to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, we know that this device will also support the S Pen Pro. S Pen Pro details are still a bit scarce, but we do know that it will have Bluetooth functionality and will also require charging.

How the S Pen Pro will differ from the S Pen Fold Edition is not yet known. But we will get a better idea when Samsung takes the stage at the Galaxy Unpacked event on August 11.