So, if you want to get the most out of your new phone, here are some incredible tips and tricks to help you customize it as per your preference. As it’s going to be a long one, let’s get started, shall we? Buy
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
Check out the Galaxy Note 20 if you haven’t bought it already.
1. Unlock with S Pen
Did you know that you can unlock your phone with the S Pen? Yep, you read that right! If you are working with the S Pen and the phone locks, you can unlock it by merely pressing the Pen button. Cool, right? To enable it, head over to the Settings > Advanced Features> S Pen and toggle the switch for S Pen unlock. Next time, your phone locks by itself, just press the button and the phone will be unlocked in seconds. Note: This feature doesn’t work if you lock the phone manually, or if the S Pen is inside the phone.
2. Activate Adaptive Display
The Galaxy Note 20 has the Adaptive Display feature, thanks to the VRR OLED display. Using it, you can opt for a variable refresh rate on your phone. When enabled, your phone’s display can go as low as 10Hz when you are not scrolling on the screen and while reading a long-form post such as our detailed explainers. And when you switch on a game, the refresh rate will shoot back up again. To enable Adaptive Display, head over to Settings > Display > Motion smoothness, and select the option for Adaptive. This feature is battery friendly as well. Samsung claims it saves battery by 22%. However, there’s a slight catch. It’s not available on the higher WQHD+ resolution. To change the resolution back to FHD+, go to Display > Screen Resolution.
3. Enable Video Enhancer
The display of the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is one of the best among the current crop of smartphones. It’s crisp and vibrant. And well, it’s a charm to watch videos and movies on it. But what if I tell you, you can enhance it even further? Say hello to the Video Enhancer. As suggestive of its name, this nifty feature makes videos more vivid. And the best part is that once enabled, it works on all types of videos, be it an offline video app or streaming platforms like Netflix. Cool, right? This feature is available under Advanced Features. All you need to do is toggle the switch.
4. Customize the Side Key Function
Do you want the good old Power Key back? By default, when you long-press on the Side Key on your Note 20 device, Bixby comes to life. At times, it can be a tad annoying. While you can always switch off the phone via the Power button on the Quick Settings menu, it’s not feasible. Call it muscle memory, but my thumb automatically goes to the power key whenever I want to restart my phone or switch it off. Thankfully, there’s a way to bring the power menu back. To do so, navigate to Advanced Features > Side key, and select Power off menu under the ‘Press and hold’ list, and that’s about it. The Power off menu will be back into action. Worry not, Bixby is not going anywhere. If you have to wake up Bixby, you can opt for the second option under the Double press option. Or, you can simply long-press on the home button to bring up the voice assistant. Make sure to have chosen your voice assistant from the Device Assistance menu.
5. Always on Display
The Always On Display (AOD) feature has been one of the signature features of all Samsung phones with AMOLED displays. This nifty feature lets you check time, notification, and battery percentage without waking your phone. The good news is that now you can also display the information on the currently playing song. And it doesn’t end there. You can also play/pause the song or skip to the next song—all without waking up your phone. Cool, right? To enable it, head over to Lock Screen settings > Always on Display, and toggle the switch for Show music information. Next time when you listen to your favorite song, the song information will show up on the AOD. To change songs or play/pause, gently double tap on the song information, and it will display the music widget.
6. Customize the S Pen Gestures
This time, the S Pen comes with even more features and options. While previously, this little magic wand would let you click pictures on the flick of a button or scroll through long pages, now it’s armed with nifty little gestures. For example, if you want to scribble a note quickly, all you need to do is make a scribble gesture (encircled below) after pressing the Pen button. The S Pen supports five gestures in total, and you will find using them more frequently than anticipated. To check out the option, navigate to Advanced features under Settings and select S Pen > Air Actions and check under the ‘Anywhere’ card. The best part is that the actions are not hardcoded, and you can reassign the actions. So if you want to assign the Shake action to open Instagram, click on the action and pick the app from the list. To test, head over to the home screen and press down on the button and make the gesture and Voila! Pro Tip: You can also define actions for Pen’s button for the Samsung apps.
7. Convert Your Handwriting to Text
Speaking of the S Pen and its features, did you know that you can convert your handwriting into text? Over time, the handwriting recognition of Samsung phones has improved a lot. Now, your handwriting doesn’t have to perfect to be correctly recognized. Once you write a note using the S Pen, long tap on the text part, and you will see the Convert to text option. Tap on it, and the converted text will be displayed right away. If it’s correct, hit the Convert button. Simple, see. And that’s not the end of the story. You can even save these notes as PDF files or MS Word files. To do so, hit the three-button menu, select Save as File, and pick the appropriate option.
8. Explore Nearby Share
The Galaxy Note 20 is one of the first phones to come with Android’s Nearby Share. Like Apple’s AirDrop, this feature is a unified platform for Android users to share files with their contacts. It uses Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, peer-to-peer WiFi, or Location to find and establish the connection, and the transfer takes place once the other person has accepted the transfer. To share a file or an image, tap on the Share icon, and you will see the Nearby Sharing option. After giving necessary permissions, you will see ‘Looking for nearby devices’ prompt. If Nearby Sharing has been enabled on the receiver’s phone, their Google ID will be displayed. The transfer will initiate as soon as you tap on the ID, and the other person has accepted the request. The process is fast and quick. We shared a 127MB 8K video from the Galaxy Note 20 to the Galaxy S10 Lite, and the transfer was wrapped up within seconds. The same was the case with around 32 image files. The only catch is that the other phone needs to stay unlocked and within the vicinity of your phone. Pro Tip: There are some privacy options too. If you don’t want your device to be visible to everyone in your vicinity, go to the Nearby Share settings (long tap on the Nearby Settings icon on the Quick Settings menu) and select Device visibility. At the same time, you can also change the name of the device.
9. Magnify Details with the S Pen
Another S Pen quirk is that it lets you magnify and zoom into objects on the screen. Suppose you want to check the intricate details on a new piece of earrings or a bike, you need to point the pen on the screen for it to be magnified. However, the Magnify app is not on the Air Actions menu by default. To add it, open the Air Actions > Shortcuts, and click on the Edit button at the lower-left corner. Tap on the Magnify app to add it to the list. When you are scrolling through an interesting article on a new gadget, pick the Magnify app and scroll over the picture. Yes, you can thank me later. Pro Tip: You can also drag the apps to change the positions of the apps.
Take Notes on the Note
These were some of the changes that you make on your Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to make the most out of it. These are not the only options on the phone. If you are a Windows user, you can enable the Link to Windows feature to get access to pictures and messages stored on your phone on your Windows 10 machine. And if you are an audiophile, do not forget to tweak the Dolby Atmos settings. Next up: Should you still buy the Galaxy Buds Plus? Check out the comparison between the Galaxy Buds Plus and the Jabra Elite 75t. Buy
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
Check out the Galaxy Note 20 if you haven’t bought it already. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
