Menu
- Getting the Most Out of the S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
- What You Need Before You Start
- Mastering Air Command
- Screen Off Memo: The Quickest Way to Take Notes
- Air Actions: The S Pen as a Remote
- Screen Write and Smart Select
- Translate with a Hover
- Samsung Notes: The Hidden Powerhouse
- Customizing the S Pen Button
- Pinning the S Pen to the Lock Screen
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Getting the Most Out of the S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
The S Pen has long been the defining feature of Samsung’s Ultra lineup, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra continues that tradition. While many users treat it as a simple stylus for jotting notes, the S Pen is a deeply integrated input device that can control your phone, streamline your workflow, and unlock tools that are invisible until you know where to look. Here are the most useful tips and hidden features to help you get more from the S Pen.
What You Need Before You Start
Before exploring these tips, make sure your S Pen is recognized by your device. The S Pen sits in a slot at the bottom left of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. When you remove it, the phone should display the Air Command menu automatically. If it does not, go to Settings > Advanced Features > S Pen and confirm that Air Command is enabled and that the S Pen is connected. If you do not see these options, the S Pen may not be inserted fully, or the Bluetooth connection may need a moment to initialize.
The S Pen does not require charging to write, draw, or navigate menus. However, features like Air Actions (remote camera shutter, media controls) rely on the built-in battery inside the S Pen, which charges automatically whenever the pen is docked in the phone.
Mastering Air Command
The Air Command menu is your central hub for all S Pen features. By default, hovering the pen over the screen and pressing the side button once opens this radial menu. You can customize what appears here by tapping the gear icon or the three-dot menu at the bottom of the Air Command panel.
If you find that you rarely use some shortcuts, remove them for a cleaner layout. You can also reorder the icons by long-pressing and dragging them. Adding the “Screen Write” shortcut here is a good idea, as it lets you capture the current screen and immediately annotate it with a single tap.
Screen Off Memo: The Quickest Way to Take Notes
One of the most underrated S Pen features is Screen Off Memo. When your phone is locked and the screen is off, simply remove the S Pen and start writing immediately. The phone recognizes the pen removal and opens a blank note-taking screen without waking the full interface.
Your writing is saved automatically. When you unlock the phone later, you will receive a notification that you have a new memo. You can pin these memos to the Always On Display so that a grocery list or an important reminder stays visible even when the phone is idle.
To enable or disable this feature, go to Settings > Advanced Features > S Pen > Screen Off Memo. You can also decide whether the memo should be saved to Samsung Notes or to the app that was most recently used for writing.
Air Actions: The S Pen as a Remote
The S Pen supports Air Actions, which are gesture-based commands performed by holding the pen’s side button and moving the pen in the air. This is most useful when you want to control the camera without touching the screen.
Open the camera app, press and hold the S Pen button, and then move the pen up or down to switch between front and rear cameras. Move it left or right to zoom. Tap the button once to take a photo. You can also use the same gestures to control media playback, such as playing or pausing a video and adjusting volume.
These gestures are customizable, but the defaults are useful enough that most users benefit from simply knowing they exist. To review or change them, open Settings > Advanced Features > S Pen > Air Actions. You will see a visual guide showing which gestures are assigned to which functions.
Screen Write and Smart Select
Screen Write captures the current screen and opens it in an annotation editor. This is ideal for explaining an error message to technical support, circling an address from a map, or highlighting a sentence from an article before sending it to someone.
Smart Select works differently. Instead of capturing the full screen, you can draw a rectangular or irregular shape around a specific area. The selected region can then be copied, pinned to the screen, or extracted as an image. You can even extract text from the selection, which is one of the most powerful hidden features on the S Pen.
To use Smart Select, open Air Command, choose Smart Select, then draw around the content you want. Once selected, a toolbar appears with options to copy, share, extract text, or pin the selection. Pinning is particularly useful when you are comparing prices, following along a recipe, or working through a form that requires repeated reference to one piece of information.
Translate with a Hover
The S Pen includes a translation feature that works directly on the screen. Open Air Command and select “Translate.” A small window appears at the top of the display. When you hover the pen over text, it displays a translation in the chosen target language.
You can change the source and target languages by tapping the language labels in the translation window. This works across most on-screen text, including web pages, messages, and PDF files. It will not translate images or handwritten notes. For handwriting, you must first convert the handwriting to text, which you can do inside Samsung Notes.
Samsung Notes: The Hidden Powerhouse
Samsung Notes is the natural home for everything you write. It supports handwriting, text input, drawing, and audio recording simultaneously. The audio recording feature is especially useful in meetings or lectures. When you record audio while taking notes, the app syncs your handwriting to the specific moment in the recording where that note was written. Tapping any handwritten line jumps the audio playback to that exact point.
Another hidden feature in Samsung Notes is the ability to convert handwriting to text. This is useful if you want to copy a handwritten note into an email or a document. In any note, tap the text-selection icon, then select the handwriting area you want to convert. The converted text can be copied or shared.
You can also search for handwritten content. If you have a large library of handwritten notes, open the search bar in Samsung Notes and type a word. The app will scan both typed and handwritten content and return matching notes. This only works if the handwriting is relatively legible, but it is surprisingly reliable.
Customizing the S Pen Button
The S Pen’s side button is not limited to a single function. You can customize what happens when the pen is clicked once, twice, or when the button is held down. Under Settings > Advanced Features > S Pen, look for the shortcuts section or the Air Command settings. You can assign actions like opening the camera, starting a note, or launching a specific app.
The double-click action is often overlooked. Some users prefer to set double-click to open the camera so that they do not need to press the button and move the pen in a gesture. This can feel more reliable in a hurry.
Pinning the S Pen to the Lock Screen
If you prefer quick access to the S Pen features when the screen is locked, you can enable the “Show Air Command on unlock” option or pin the S Pen icon to the lock screen. This places a small floating icon on the lock screen that opens the Air Command menu when tapped. This is useful if you use Screen Off Memo frequently but sometimes want access to Smart Select or Screen Write without unlocking the phone first.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
One mistake users make is losing the S Pen and not realizing that the phone can help locate it. In Settings > Advanced Features > S Pen, you will find options related to the pen’s connection. If the S Pen is disconnected and you cannot find it, the phone may provide a general direction or last known location. This feature depends on the Bluetooth connection and may not work if the pen is completely out of range or if the battery has drained.
Another common issue is the tip wearing down over time. The S Pen tip is replaceable. The replacement tips are usually included in a small black case that ships with the phone. If you notice that handwriting becomes less accurate or the pen scratches or drags too much on the screen, replace the tip. This takes a few seconds and restores the original feel.
If the S Pen fails to reconnect after being removed, place it back into the slot and wait a few seconds. The pen charges and reconnects automatically. If Air Actions stop working, check that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone and that the S Pen is charged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the S Pen to take a screenshot without opening Air Command?
Yes. While using the phone, you can write on the screen directly if the “Write on the screen” option is enabled in the S Pen settings. However, the most reliable way is to remove the S Pen and tap Screen Write from Air Command. There is no default gesture that captures a screenshot instantly without opening a menu first.
Does the S Pen work on the Galaxy S26 Ultra when the screen is wet?
No. The S Pen is designed to work on a dry surface. Water droplets on the screen can confuse the digitizer and produce erratic lines or unrecognized input. Dry the screen before writing.
Why is my handwriting not converting to text correctly?
Handwriting conversion works best when the text is written horizontally and is not mixed with drawings or large sketches. Try increasing the zoom level in Samsung Notes and writing evenly. You can also adjust the pen thickness and color, but these do not affect recognition accuracy.
Can I use the S Pen on other Samsung devices?
The S Pen that ships with the Galaxy S26 Ultra is specifically tuned for that device’s digitizer. It will not work on phones that lack an integrated Wacom digitizer. You cannot use it on a standard Galaxy S model or on devices that do not support S Pen input.
Conclusion
The S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is far more than a simple stylus. Between Air Actions, Smart Select, translation, and the deep integration with Samsung Notes, it offers tools that can genuinely change how you interact with your phone. The hidden features — like synced audio recording, handwriting search, and lock-screen memos — are where the real value lies. Take a few minutes to customize the Air Command menu and check the S Pen settings. The features are already there, and most of them require nothing more than a single tap to activate.
