This Galaxy Note 10 S Pen guide explains everything you need to know about the new S Pen: the layout and new features of the S Pen, how to use S Pen features including Air actions, remote control, Air command, Air View, screen off memo, and how to customize the S Pen settings on Galaxy Note 10.
The S Pen (and S Pen features) is identical on Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, although the two phones are quite different as explained in this post. So, this guide applies to both Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. In this post, Galaxy Note 10 refers to both devices.
As shown below, the layout of the new S Pen includes:
Both the S Pen and Galaxy Note 10 are water-resistant and dust-resistant.
Although the layout of the S Pen is almost identical to that of the Galaxy Note 9 S Pen, there are some new features of this new S Pen.
Since Galaxy Note 9, S Pen has been Bluetooth LE -enabled. The new S Pen on Galaxy Note 10 added:
Due to the 6-axis sensor, the S Pen now can be used for Air actions (read on).
It takes about 10 mins to fully charge the S Pen.
Air actions, introduced in Galaxy Note 10, allows you to use gestures to control some functions of supported apps.
To use Air actions, you need to hover the S Pen over the screen, press the S Pen button, then swipe up/down/right-left, or rotate to access and control the features of the supported apps.
For example, as shown in the tablet below, you use the gestures to control the camera app, media app, or Gallery app.
up/down | left/right | rotate | |
Camera app | switch camera | next/previous camera mode | zoom in/out |
Media app | volume up/down | play previous/left | |
Gallery app | view details | next/previous item |
You can also use Air actions with some other apps.
You can also customize the air actions in Settings —Advanced features —S Pen—Air actions.
You can use the S Pen remote functions to control some apps remotely through a Bluetooth connection. This feature was introduced in Galaxy Note 9.
The app actions corresponding to the single press (press the S Pen button once) and double press (press the S Pen button twice) can also be customized in Settings —Advanced features — S Pen — S Pen remote.
For example, the table below illustrates the default S Pen remote functions in Samsung Notes app, media app (e.g., Samsung music), and Internet app (Samsung browser).
Single press (S Pen button) | Double press | |
Samsung Notes app | switch pen | eraser mode |
Media app | play/pause | play next |
Internet app | back | forward |
Again, you can use S Pen remote in some other supported apps as well.
Please refer to this guide on the details on how to use S Pen remote functions.
Air command lets you quickly access some S Pen related features and apps by pulling out the S Pen.
Air command was introduced in Galaxy Note 3. More features were added in Galaxy Note 4
, and Galaxy Note 5.On Galaxy Note 10, by default, the following commands are includes:
When the Galaxy Note 10 screen is off, you can pull out of the S Pen and write a memo on the screen without waking up the screen.
The memo will be saved in Samsung Notes, not under S Note app anymore.
The screen-off memo was first introduced in Galaxy Note 5. You may check this guide on how to use the screen off memo on Galaxy Note 10.
Air view lets you interact with Galaxy Note 10 without having to touch the display. You can simply hover your finger or the S Pen over the specific area of content you are interested in.
This feature was first introduced in Galaxy Note II. But it is no longer unique to Galaxy Note devices. Since the Galaxy S4, most Galaxy devices also have this air view feature.
On Galaxy Note 10, by default, the following Air view features are available:
Please note, the preview function is only available when the S Pen’s on-screen pointer is a solid color.
You can customize the S Pen settings in Settings –Advanced features –S Pen.
The following S Pen features can be customized:
As mentioned earlier, the S Pen tip (nib) is replaceable. You may replace it by yourself if you feel:
In the Galaxy Note 10 box, you can find the tweezers and spare nibs.
Please refer to this guide to replace the S Pen tip for Galaxy Note 10.
You can charge the S Pen by placing it in the S Pen slot.
The charging time for the S Pen is about 10 mins. It can last about 10 hours.
You cannot use a wireless charging pad to charge the S Pen.
Yes, and no.
Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ do allow you to use spare S Pens. In other words, you can pair two S Pens with one phone.
But you cannot use both simultaneously. You can use one at any time.
Please note, the dimensions of the Pen for Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ are identical. But they are different from the S Pen on Galaxy Note 9 or other older Note devices.
You can pair the S Pen with Galaxy Note 10 by inserting it into the S Pen slot. It may take up to one minute to pair.
When S Pen is working properly or is inserted into the S Pen slot properly, there should be no S Pen related icons.
If you pull out of the S Pen or S Pen is not detected, you will see some S Pen icons in the status bar (or notification panel).
As shown below, the meaning of the S Pen icons:
If the battery runs out, you can still use the S Pen on Galaxy Note 10.
But you cannot use any Bluetooth related features like S Pen remote and Air actions.
Yes, but there are some limitations.
S Pen on Galaxy Note devices prior to Galaxy Note 9 does not have Bluetooth capabilities. So, you cannot use S Pen remote and Air actions features on Galaxy Note 10 with these S Pens.
The S Pen on Galaxy Note 9 does have Bluetooth capability. But it does not have the 6-axial sensors. So, you cannot use Air actions with such an S Pen.
Please note, you should never insert S Pens for other devices into the S Pen slot on Galaxy Note 10. It will damage the slot. The dimensions of the S Pens (and the S Pen slot) for different devices are different.
S Pen mainly works on Galaxy Note devices and some Galaxy Tab S and Tab A devices. It will not work on normal smartphones. For example, you cannot use S Pen on Galaxy S10.
You can use the new S Pen on older Galaxy Note devices. But as mentioned, you will not get Air action features on all of these devices. On Galaxy Note 8 and older devices, S Pen remote features are not available.
Again, you should never put the new S Pen into the S Pen slot on other devices.
If you have any questions on the new S Pen or encounter any problems when using the S Pen on Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+, please let us know in the comment box below.
The community will help you get the solution.
You can find other Galaxy Note 10 guides here. For the official Galaxy Note 10 user manuals, you can find them on this page.
This post was last modified on September 28, 2019 2:09 pm
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