"Japan Wacom Provides Electronic Pen Technology for Samsung 'Galaxy Z Fold4'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Japanese electronics company Wacom has provided electronic pen (S Pen) technology for Samsung Electronics' recently released smartphone Galaxy Z Fold4, pioneering the foldable phone electronic pen market, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 6th.

Nihon Keizai reported that Samsung Electronics incorporated Wacom technology into the electronic pen for the Galaxy Z Fold4, which has started sales in some countries. The technology Wacom provided to Samsung Electronics is the electromagnetic resonance (EMR) method, which uses magnetic fields to transmit electronic pen coordinate information to the device. This marks the second consecutive year that Wacom's technology has been adopted for Samsung Electronics' flagship model electronic pens.

According to the report, Samsung Electronics and Wacom jointly developed electronic pen specifications specialized for foldable phones. Generally, to apply EMR technology to smartphones, a sheet that generates a magnetic field is embedded behind the display. However, foldable phones face the challenge that this sheet bends every time the screen is folded, making pen input functionality difficult to implement.

Considering this issue, Wacom and Samsung implemented a function that allows input by eliminating the sheet only in the folding area and instead utilizing surrounding magnetic field responses and algorithms. Currently, Samsung Electronics is the only company to which Wacom provides electronic pen technology for smartphones. Nihon Keizai stated, "It appears there is significant potential for other smartphone manufacturers to adopt Wacom's foldable phone electronic pen technology and know-how."

Meanwhile, according to Hong Kong market research firm Counterpoint, global foldable phone shipments this year are expected to reach 16 million units, a 73% increase compared to last year. Next year, the market is anticipated to grow to 26 million units. As of the first half of this year, Samsung Electronics secured a 62% market share in the foldable phone market, significantly ahead of Chinese companies Huawei and Oppo.