1. Open Air Command Menu in Multiple Ways
When you remove your S Pen from the phone, the menu that pops up is called the “Air command” menu. Here you will find shortcuts for various S Pen tools like Screen Write, Smart Select, Glance, etc. The menu will be automatically minimized when you tap somewhere else on the screen, but its floating icon will stay on the screen until S Pen is detached from the phone.
2. Scroll Using S Pen
The S Pen acts as a mouse and lets you scroll without touching the screen using the “Air view” feature. Just hover the S Pen towards the bottom end of the app to scroll down or the top end to scroll up. You will see the down and up arrows respectively. When you want to stop scrolling, move the S Pen away. Note: This feature might not work in all apps.
3. Preview Image or Videos
In the Samsung Gallery app, hover the S Pen over any picture or video thumbnail to preview it without opening it. Make sure “Air view” is turned on before attempting this.
4. Read Notifications and Messages
S Pen lets you read messages, e-mails, and notifications in a pop-up window without opening them. Hover S Pen over the item such as a message in the messaging app or an e-mail in the Gmail app to preview it. This tip lets you read notifications from the notification pane without opening them. Pro Tip: Hover the S Pen over icons to see what they mean.
5. Select and Copy Text
S Pen lets you copy text quickly. You can use it to select text from sites or apps that don’t allow it otherwise. Note: You can use this method to extract text from images as well.
6. Select Multiple Items Using S Pen
Similarly, you can use S Pen to select multiple items in Samsung apps like Gallery, Messages, Files, etc.
7. Take Notes on Lock Screen
One of the best features of the S Pen is that it lets you take notes without unlocking your phone. This is possible with the “Screen-off memo” feature.
8. Pin Notes to Always-on Display
When you create a note from the lock screen, you can pin it to the “Always-on Display”. This comes quite handy if you want to set a quick reminder for something.
9. Create a Note When You Remove S Pen
On your device, you can also create notes quickly from any screen when your phone is unlocked
10. Take Notes on Any Screen
If you don’t want to disable the “Air command” menu from showing up when you remove the S Pen, you can hold the S Pen button and tap twice on the screen using S Pen to create new notes quickly. But first you’ll need to enable this option.
11. Write on Screenshot
Suppose you want to note down something on a webpage, image, or something similar. Generally, you would write down your thoughts in the Notes app. An alternative is to take a screenshot and write on the screenshot itself.
12. Annotate a PDF
The Samsung Notes app lets you import PDF files and write on them. Even though this works on all Samsung Galaxy phones and it’s not an S Pen exclusive feature, the S Pen offers accuracy while writing. The S Pen also lets you sign PDF documents easily.
13. Write Using S Pen in Any App
If you enjoy writing with a pen instead of typing, you can do that using S Pen on any app. The handwritten text will be automatically converted into typed text. Tip: Know how to change the color of Samsung Keyboard.
14. Take Advantage of Smart Select
“Smart select” combines the powers of screenshot capturing and editing apps all in one. It lets you smartly clip on-screen content such as a portion of the screen in rectangle, oval, or freeform style. You can then draw on the captured screen or pin it to the screen for easier viewing while using other apps.
15. Extract Text
You can extract text from the clipped content when you use any tool from the “Smart select” feature.
16. Create GIFs Using S Pen
The “Smart Select” tool lets you record a video playing on your phone and convert it into a GIF.
17. Use S Pen to Translate Text
The Translate tool in the S Pen’s “Air command” menu lets you translate specific words or paragraphs present in a photo, document, or website.
18. Listen to Text
You can have S Pen read the text or pronounce a word on the screen using the Translation tool.
19. Use the Glance Tool
No one can beat Samsung Galaxy phones when it comes to multitasking. S Pen further enhances these capabilities using the Glance tool. When activated, it minimizes or shrinks the active app to a tiny box on the bottom-right corner. Hovering over the mini window using S Pen expands it into a full-screen view. And when you move the S Pen away, the window is minimized again until you remove it. This tool is beneficial when you want to keep an eye on an app while using another app in full screen. For instance, you can use it to watch for an incoming OTP/message or keep track of live updates for an ongoing match. Similarly, it can be useful while taking notes from a document or image.
20. Magnify Text Using S Pen
The S Pen can be used as a magnifying glass, allowing you to magnify anything on your screen, such as images, text, etc.
21. Search for Similar Images
Using “Bixby Vision” in the “Air command” menu, you can search for similar images from any webpage or gallery images.
22. Launch Camera Quickly
S Pen allows you to launch the Camera app quickly from any screen by simply holding its button. If you use some other app frequently, you can assign that to the S Pen button instead.
23. Use S Pen as a Remote
You can use the pen to control your phone as a remote control. You can take pictures, play or pause music, view presentations, scroll in web pages, or navigate your phone using S Pen gestures.
24. Customize S Pen
You can customize the S Pen pointer style, “Air command” menu style, and S Pen sound using the Pentastic module of “Good Lock”. All screenshots by Mehvish Mushtaq.
