Some people feel empty without a pen or pencil. Samsung's latest Note 20 is for them. It's expensive (the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is $1,300), but once you understand the complex built-in features Samsung supports, you can do more useful things with the S Pen stylus. Here are 8 cool features to get you started right away with Samsung's new S Pen.


air action

Air Action, one of the flagship features of the Samsung S Pen, is back with more features on the Note 20. You can use the S Pen button to launch the camera (long press) and take a picture (short press). In addition, more supported apps such as Samsung AR Doodle, Samsung Gallery, Snapchat, and Spotify have been added. Gestures are different for each app, so go to Settings > Useful Features > S Pen > Air Actions.

The S Pen can also control media playing in the background. Press the button and draw a line up in the air to increase the volume, and draw down to decrease the volume. The right one is skip song, the left one is go back.
   

Unlock with S Pen

One of the most common things everyone encounters is that their phone locks and the screen turns off while reading something. On the Note 20, you can turn the screen back on using the button on the S Pen. You can unlock your phone by enabling this feature in Settings > Useful Features > S Pen. The phone will remain unlocked until you disconnect or reinsert the S Pen.
 

air command

I understand Samsung's efforts to make Air Command more useful, but some people are annoyed by the full-screen UI that pops up every time the S Pen is pulled out. If you don't want the default behavior of opening a fullscreen UI, you can change it. Go to Settings > Useful Features > S Pen.

The Air Command settings are almost at the bottom. Changing the on-disconnect action to 'do nothing' prevents unwanted interference with air commands. Instead, you can launch it by clicking the S Pen button whenever you want. In this menu on the Note 20, you can also change apps and shortcuts for Air Command. There are also custom tools like Zoom and Live Messages, but users can add their own app shortcuts.
   

Anywhere Action

Samsung has expanded the accelerometer function of the S Pen to increase the number of mobile phone functions that can be controlled by hand gestures. Anywhere Action is a gesture that can be used for any action at any time. But it takes a little practice to get used to it.

Anywhere action settings are located under Settings > Useful Features > S Pen > Air Actions. Basically, it is an action to draw an arrow while holding down the S Pen button. Swipe up and down for smart selection, up and down to go to home, and so on. You have to remember the actions according to the gestures well.
 

Add audio to notes

The Note 20 doesn't have a separate voice recording app, but the feature is built into the Samsung Note. With this feature, you can add audio to notes you take with the S Pen. There is no need to set it up, just take notes and click the 'Add' button to add a voice recording. When you play back your recording, the corresponding handwriting is highlighted while the audio plays. This will help you remember exactly what you heard while taking notes later.
   

line up notes

One of the best things about the S Pen is that you can simply take notes without opening the software keyboard. Also, when using the Samsung Note app, you don't have to worry about where and how to use it. You can just write and organize your notes later. To align columns of handwritten text, click the Align Lines button with an arrow above three lines of text in the lower toolbar.
 

screen off notes

The new Samsung Notes app lets you take notes without having to open the app. You can take notes with the S Pen using the screen memo function that is turned off in the locked state. Note that the note function available in this state is limited, but the note is displayed on a dark background color, so you can tell that it is a note using the off screen function. You can also edit the app settings so that screen off notes are displayed just like 'normal' notes.
 

Sync notes

What if you write so hard with the S Pen, but your phone is lost or damaged? Just in case, the Notes app has a live sync feature that keeps all your notes safe in the cloud. This feature usually works automatically, but for one thing, you need to log in with your Samsung account in the Note settings. All you have to do is access your notes on your tablet or PC in addition to your phone. You can also link Microsoft OneDrive and Samsung Cloud Storage in Settings > Accounts & Backup > Samsung Cloud.