Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 Still Doesn’t Have S Pen Storage: Here’s Why

Samsung’s 2023 S Pen is slimmer than its predecessor, but the signature stylus still cannot be docked directly on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (yet). Here’s a look at how Samsung’s thinking about how to solve it.

Samsung’s latest book-style foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, has made headlines for its thinner design, which includes a hinge that lets the phone fold completely flat. But its key accessory, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 S Pen Fold Edition, has shed some weight, too.

During a press roundtable I attended in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung said that the stylus’ radius dropped from 7.4mm to 4.35mm, which is nearly the same size as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s S Pen. That’s 41% thinner than last year’s S Pen Fold Edition. Samsung said it achieved this by way of an internal push to determine “whether or when” it could embed its S Pen into a Galaxy Fold phone.

Still, Samsung said it’s exploring whether it can create an even skinnier stylus than the new S Pen Fold Edition for a number of reasons, most notably to find a way to fit the accessory in a slot within the foldable itself.

“We’ll also look into it, but not just from a technology perspective, but from a user experience perspective,” Won-Joon Choi, head of Samsung R&D Office Mobile Experience Business said Thursday at the press roundtable. “Because when you’re writing, you need to feel as if you’re writing with a pen. If it [the S Pen] gets too thin, that feeling may not be desirable.”

Although Samsung’s support for the S Pen dates back to 2011 with the original Galaxy Note, Choi said, designing a stylus for a foldable phone poses a different set of challenges including scouring for new tip materials that don’t damage the foldable’s flexible display as well as avoiding magnet interference from the phone.

Choi also highlighted how creating the S Pen presents unique considerations compared with designing a foldable phone. For a foldable phone to take off into the mainstream, Samsung believes portability is one of three prerequisites it must meet. But with the S Pen, portability could come at the cost of usability, since Samsung’s stylus was designed to provide the experience of writing with a real pen.

S Pen doesn’t have a home (yet)

When the Galaxy Z Fold 3 debuted with stylus support in 2021, it elevated the perception of the Fold lineup from being an experimental concept to a phone aimed at productivity. However, it still drew pushback because the Z Fold 3 requires an S Pen to take full advantage of the $1800 phone. But it wasn’t included in the box. You had to buy it separately. Another drawback was that the Z Fold 3 had no way to store the S Pen: You had to buy a special case from Samsung to house it.

Fast forward to 2023, and the S Pen still doesn’t have a home. While the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 is thinner than previous Fold models, there’s still no built-in way to store the S Pen like the Galaxy S23 Ultra has. Samsung’s current solution is the $100 Galaxy Z Fold 5 Slim S Pen Case, which allows you to latch the stylus on the back half.

One of the obstacles Choi highlighted in the roundtable was the need to appease people’s conflicting desires about the future of the Z Fold design. One camp wants an even thinner book-style foldable phone, he said, but such a design would require Samsung to create an even leaner S Pen to embed. Then there are people who want the next Z Fold to be thicker, which will allow it to integrate the S Pen. A thicker foldable would make the phone less portable, however, which is one of Samsung’s core design philosophies for the category. There’s also a group of people that want a thinner phone as well as the option to embed the S Pen into the device.

“What form factor and experiences are we going to deliver to our customers to meet various needs? What is the right balance? Those are the areas we need to decide carefully which way to go.” Choi said.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”