The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is off to a great start, but naturally, Samsung’s already considering its options for its 2026 model — and not every fan’s going to love what they’re hearing.

To build on the new, slimmer design featured on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung is planning to utilize either titanium or carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for the backplate, as reported by The Elec. Both materials are no stranger to the Fold series — Samsung used CFRP to reinforce its foldable chassis from the Galaxy Z Fold 3 up through the Fold 6, while this year’s Fold 7 made the swap to titanium. Prior to the Z Fold 3, Samsung relied on stainless steel (or SUS, a specific stainless steel grade), which was initially dropped from the lineup in 2021 due to its interference with digitizers designed for the company’s S Pen.

Of course, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 doesn’t support the S Pen at all, thanks to its lack of digitizer. But while the decision to potentially swap back to CFRP for the Fold 8 makes it sound like there’s room for the return of stylus support — something we know the company is considering for future models — unfortunately, the two decisions remain unrelated at this time.

The Elec‘s report suggest Samsung is considering swapping back to CFRP because it’s easier for the company to get its hands on those materials. While titanium worked well for the Fold 7, China’s role in manufacturing it means the ongoing trade dispute between it and the US — which has, in a large part, revolved around earth minerals — could impact supplies come next summer. Titanium might’ve helped Samsung achieve the slimmer profile it was hoping for on this year’s foldable, but it sounds like a similar feat could be achieved with CFRP without the digitizer in play.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

For those S Pen fans hoping the stylus comes back into play for foldables, you’ll need to keep hoping for some kind of technological breakthrough. Today’s news confirms Samsung was able to shave off 0.6mm just by removing the digitizer from each side of the foldable display, and when you’re racing against the likes of Honor and Oppo, every fraction of a millimeter counts.

While The Elec suggests there are other routes for the S Pen’s grand return — including swapping to an Apple Pencil-like AES digitizer or utilizing a version of its stylus that doesn’t require a digitizer — really, its revival depends on slimmer digitizers and, unsurprisingly, fan demand. And considering the Fold 7 appears to be a sales success so far, stylus supporters might want to speak up just a little bit louder.

It’s your last chance to save on Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 pre-orders at Samsung. In addition to saving up to $1,000 in trade-in value, you can score a storage upgrade for free on both devices, and $50 in additional credit for using 9to5Google‘s links.

These offers end on July 24th, so don’t wait. Samsung’s new foldables, alongside the budget-ish Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, and the Galaxy Watch 8 and 8 Classic, start shipping on July 25th.