(Image credit: Future)

Last week saw the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. That device is a pretty big deal as the slimmest foldable phone in the brand's catalogue.

Still, no war is won without loss, and in the fight to shave off the millimetres, we lost the internal S-Pen functionality which previous generations had enjoyed. It was the latest chapter in a long-running saga regarding the stylus, which has had a question mark over its long-term future.

With the decision made to remove it from this device, many had feared the worst – that the beginning of the end of the S-Pen was here. Fortunately, it doesn't look like that is the case.

That's according to a report from the Korean outlet, ETnews, which suggests that the S-Pen could be subjected to the same thinning and lightening treatment that the phone was given this time out. That would be necessary if the stylus was to once more fit within the frame, as it had on previous models like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)

The report quotes a Samsung executive, who says, "We are also researching and developing thinner and innovative technologies for the S Pen, so we will reconsider it when the level of perfection increases and there is consumer demand.”

That's an exciting development. It's no secret that the S-Pen has a cult following – we saw that when its future was in question around the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra earlier this year – and as such, any questions over its future are met with swathes of eager eyes.

This report seems like the most concrete suggestion yet that the favoured stylus has a long-term future, which is certain to appease those with a soft spot for it. Quite what it will look like to fit into such a svelte chassis is unclear, but the promise of something even smaller suggests it could undergo a seismic change.