The big jewel in the crown of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is its S Pen. This is the one feature that sets the smartphone apart from all the others available on the market. So, it makes sense that you would want to muster the S Pen on the Galaxy Note 7. You may brush it off as a gimmick at first, but believe me, once you start using it there is no going back. I’ve spent around two years of my life playing with Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones and I have to tell you, the S-Pen is a remarkable tool if used right. Samsung has really upped their game when it comes to the S Pen this time around. The pen is now more useful than ever and brings in a lot of unique features to the already extended trick bag. The design has been tweaked, the usability has been tweaked, and almost every aspect has been polished in this iteration of the Note smartphone. Samsung has introduced some great new features on Galaxy Note 7 but the S Pen is one of the greatest. So let’s dive in the nitty-gritty of how you can master the S Pen on Galaxy Note 7.
Know the Hardware
The first step in mastering something is to know it inside out. Samsung has made some significant improvements to their S Pen this time around and most of them are hardware-based. This section will address some of the biggest changes Samsung has brought to their stylus.
Waterproof
The whole smartphone is IP 68 certified waterproof and dust resistant. So it makes sense to make the S Pen waterproof as well. Unlike the smartphone, the S Pen can stay underwater for a very long time. You don’t even have to worry about using the phone underwater with the S Pen. The slot is also waterproof and won’t damage the phone at all.
More Pressure Sensitive
The S Pen found on the Galaxy Note 7 is twice as sensitive as the one on Galaxy Note 5. Coming with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity the S Pen is remarkable both for writing as well as drawing on your smartphone.
The Redesign
Remember when you inserted the S pen the wrong way into the Note 5? Yeah, you may not have done it but a lot of other people did exactly that. Thankfully, Samsung has rectified their mistake and redesign the S Pen is that it cannot be inserted the wrong way.
The Tip
I’ve used the S Pen on Galaxy Note 5 and its tip is not suitable for adding details to drawings. Because of its fat nature, the lines come out a bit thicker than they are intended. For the Note 7, Samsung has made sure that the tip is thinner than ever before and gives you a tighter control over the S Pen.
Learn the Tricks
There are quite a few software features introduced in the Galaxy Note 7 that are centered on the S Pen. Most of them can be easily accessed with air command menu that pops up whenever you take your phone out. Let’s start discussing each of those features so that you have a clear idea how to use them.
Translate
One of the most useful features of the new S Pen is the translate feature. It basically allows you to translate text on the go. For example, you are browsing a new Anime website and the text is in Japanese. You can take out the S Pen and hover it over the text, the rest will be taken care of by Google Translate itself. You will see a small pop-up with the translation and can even hear the pronunciation right away. I have to say, Samsung has beaten the best translation apps for Android here.
Glance
Glance is another great feature exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. It is basically a multitasking tool that allows you to glance at open apps without the need of switching to them completely. And it may seem like an odd feature but in practical usage, it is quite great. All you need to do is simply open an app, tap on the air command and select glance. The phone will make a small square that will stay on any of the corners of the screen until you hover over it. You can easily move the app’s square around and use another app as well. This is a great feature that can be used when you are trying to copy something from one app to another or simply taking a glance at an open map.
Magnify
If there is something that is hard to read on the quad HD screen of the smartphone, you can easily use the magnify feature. It does exactly what it sounds like, it magnifies a select area of the screen to a user customizable level. Select the magnify option from the air command menu and hover over the area you intend to magnify. While the levels of magnification are adjustable, the box itself is not, this is the only bad thing that should be addressed by Samsung.
Create Notes
It may seem like Samsung has removed their beloved Action Memo but you don’t need to worry about anything. they’ve included another option called Create Note. This feature basically allows you to take Notes and they will be arranged in the Samsung Notes app. This is actually great to help keep things organized because this one app will hold all your writings, drawings and Notes at one place.
Screen Write
This is an old feature making a comeback on the new smartphone. Screen Write basically allows you to write on any screenshots you take with ease. For example, if you wanted to find out your house on a screenshot of a map, you can easily do that with this feature.
Smart Select
Smart Select may seem like a simple screenshot cropping tool but it is so much more than that. Sure you can use a select area of your device and drive a screenshot of it with this tool but that’s not where it’s true strengths are. Select Smart Select, click on the animation option, align the window to whatever you want to capture and press record. You’ll make a 15 second GIF without doing anything extra. You can easily make animated images out of your own videos as well. Just get the frame right and press the record button, the rest is up to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to do.
Other Tricks
There are some other great tricks you can use to truly master the S Pen. Here are a few of them:
Erase Mistakes
Imagine you are doodling on the dedicated app and you make a mistake. You can either select the eraser from the toolbox or you can use a neat little trick Samsung put in. Simply press and hold the S pen button and it will magically become an eraser. Rub the S pen over the mistake while still holding the button on it and you’ll raise it quickly.
Off-Screen Notes
What’s the point of carrying a Note-branded smartphone when you cannot take Notes anytime you want right? This is exactly what Samsung thought and brought back the much beloved off-screen Note feature. When you phone is logged simply take out the S Pen and start writing on it. While it may seem like the smartphone is not turned on, it is actually tracking your every touch on the screen. It’s just like writing with chalk on a blackboard. After you are done writing simply put the S Pen back in and the Note will be saved automatically. This is a great feature if you’re in a hurry and need to jot down something.
Conclusion
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is having problems with its battery there are still a lot of great features packed into this smartphone. After the recall, I’m pretty sure that the smartphone will rightfully take its place on the Android throne. We’ve also selected some great S Pen apps for Note phones, if you want more out of your Note smartphone, check these out as well. If you have any more questions about the smartphone or want to share some S Pen tricks with us, give us a note in the comments below. Feature Image Credits
