A few weeks ago, Samsung introduced its slimmest foldable smartphone yet, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. To achieve its sleek design, the company implemented several structural and material innovations. Now, it appears Samsung is exploring ways to make future foldables even thinner, potentially using new types of glass backplates and reimagining the S Pen to function without a digitizer.
Samsung looks at the future foldables with glass backplates and digitizer-free S Pen
At just 10.6mm when folded at 5.9mm when unfolded, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is incredibly slim, but still not as much as some Chinese rivals. Moreover, Samsung had to remove S Pen support to achieve this. It ideally wants to make foldables slimmer and lighter while still offering S Pen, a key feature that sets its products apart from the competition.
To that end, it is reportedly considering switching to glass backplates, a support structure between the folding screen and the hinge. Currently, Samsung uses a stainless steel backplate in Flip models and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic backplate in Fold models. This is because a metallic backplate can interfere with the S Pen signals — Flip foldables do not support the stylus.
Since the Special Edition model also lacks S Pen support, Samsung switched to a titanium backplate to reduce its weight and thickness. However, titanium has potential supply constraints, the company aims to eventually switch to glass backplates. Glass is lighter, cheaper, and has a stable global supply chain.
Samsung is still in the early stages of this project, The Elec reports. It is currently evaluating the feasibility of using glass backplates in Galaxy foldables. The firm will thoroughly check the reliability of this solution before starting production. “It is difficult to apply mass production next year right now, and we can expect it only in 2026 at the earliest,” an industry insider said.
Meanwhile, Samsung is also exploring more ways to make foldables thinner. It aims to make the S Pen work without a digitizer, a flexible circuit board that reads its movement. The digitizer is allegedly 0.3mm thick, so removing it cuts 0.6mm from a foldable’s folded thickness. It’s unclear if Samsung will be able to achieve this in time for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 next year.
