Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: Should you get S Pen Fold Edition or S Pen Pro?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: Should you get S Pen Fold Edition or Due south Pen Pro?

(Paradigm credit: Tom'southward Guide)

If you lot're looking to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, yous're likely going to want to get an S Pen to make the nearly of that huge flexible brandish. Nevertheless, unlike previous Samsung products which offer a single stylus, either included with the device or every bit an optional actress, this time y'all've got two to cull between.

The S Pen Fold Edition and the S Pen Pro are the 2 styluses in question — and aside from the price difference, there's also a notable gap in their feature sets, cheers to the Bluetooth capabilities of the S Pen Pro.

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Below, we've broken downwardly the things you can exercise with both Southward Pens, and then yous can figure out which i works best for your needs.

S Pen Fold Edition vs South Pen Pro: specs

	S Pen Fold Edition	S Pen Pro
Bluetooth	No	Yes
Features	Retractible tip, Air command	Retractible tip, Air control, Air actions, multi-device pairing and switching
Compatability	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3	All S Pen-enabled Samsung devices
Charging	N/A	USB-C
Size	5.2 x 0.3 ten 0.3 inches (132.one x 7.7 ten 7.seven mm)	vi.8 x 0.3 x 0.3 inches (173.6 10 9.5 x nine.5mm)
Weight	0.2 ounces (6.7 grams)	0.4 ounces (13.8 grams)
Price	$40/£44	$90/£99

Due south Pen Fold Edition vs S Pen Pro: what's the same?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 hands-on review — The S Pen Fold Edition (top) and S Pen Pro (bottom) (Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Unlike the S Pens found on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Tab S7, the Fold Edition and Pro models on offer here both feature retractable tips. This is important, since information technology helps avoid extra pressure being placed on the inner screen, which is much softer than a normal smartphone brandish and could be easily damaged. Don't utilize any other styluses y'all might own on a Z Fold 3, unless you want to exist hastily sending the device dorsum for repair.

Whichever ane you pick, Samsung promises a depression-latency experience when writing or drawing, and the ability to apply display gestures and air command shortcuts to command the telephone and quickly open apps. Nosotros've not had much hands-on fourth dimension with the Z Fold 3's South Pen capabilities nonetheless, then we'll allow y'all know if that claim's genuine in our full review.

Southward Pen Fold Edition vs S Pen Pro: what'south different?

First off, the two styluses have quite dissimilar price points. You tin can buy the Southward Pen Fold Edition for $forty/£44, while the S Pen Pro costs more double that, at $90/£99. Information technology'south easy to notice the size difference, also: the S Pen Pro is much thicker and a few grams heavier than the Southward Pen Fold Edition.

The S Pen Fold Edition does a fine job of being your digital pen or pencil, merely the Due south Pen Pro can do a lot more than. That's thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity enabling "air actions" which permit y'all apply it as a remote control for taking photos, playing/pausing videos or for select functions in other apps.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 with S Pen — (Image credit: Samsung)

That Bluetooth connectedness can also be paired with multiple devices at in one case, and hands swapped between them. What's more than, the Due south Pen Pro also contains on-board memory which volition allow y'all copy/paste data between the ii paired devices.

Y'all'll observe information technology harder to lose the S Pen Pro compared to the S Pen Fold Edition. The Pro is compatible with the Samsung SmartThings network, meaning you can open an app and track down the stylus if you've misplaced it.

Plus, the S Pen Pro has besides been confirmed equally compatible with multiple Samsung devices, including past and future ones. It could brand it the ideal one-stop purchase if you lot're deeply embedded in the Samsung ecosystem. The S Pen Fold Edition simply works with the Z Fold 3, for the time being.

Yous need to go along the Due south Pen Pro charged, however. It's easily done past plugging a USB-C cable into the port nether the cap, but it means you could exist defenseless with a dumb stylus if y'all're not careful.

Don't retrieve there's no benefits in going for the cheaper South Pen Fold Edition, however. For i, you can buy the Fold Edition on its ain, or with a Flip Comprehend case that protects the front end and back of the Z Fold three while also providing a holster for the stylus. The S Pen Pro comes with its own holster, but it tin can't be attached to the phone, even when using the Flip Cover case. It will, still, magnetically attach to some other devices, which the Southward Pen Fold Edition tin can't practice.

Furthermore, yous might exist able to get the Due south Pen Fold Edition for free, since Samsung is offering it as part of a promotional gift with Z Fold 3 pre-orders. This "Note Pack" comes with the S Pen Fold Edition, the Flip Case and a 25W fast charger, which adds a lot of key functionality to the Z Fold 3 non already included in the box.

Should yous go S Pen Fold Edition or S Pen Pro?

The answer to the above question pivots on whether you want a stylus just for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or for multiple Samsung devices. If it's the onetime, then choice the more conveniently sized and storable (and potentially free) Southward Pen Fold Edition. If it'southward the latter, then yous should get for the S Pen Pro.

The only thing that might alter that is if yous're a Galaxy Z Fold three buyer who wants the extra Bluetooth-enabled features that the South Pen Pro offers. Given the toll departure between the ii styluses, you lot'd need to get a lot of use out of the remote control, air gestures or SmartThings tracking to justify the cost. But equally, if you're already spending $1,800 on a phone, what's another $90?

More than: Samsung Milky way Z Flip three: Why you should buy it (and why you can skip information technology)

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.1000., The Register and Artistic Bloq. When not at piece of work, he'south probable thinking near how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.