Samsung Galaxy Note 20 might come with a useful feature for keeping your phone clean
Use the S Pen instead
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Because 2020 is the year of Covid-19, many people might be conscious of all the germs and bacteria which can stay on a smartphone, so it’s inevitable that companies would start offering users ways to operate their phone without much hand contact, and that might be the case for theSamsung Galaxy Note 20.
This comes from YouTuberJimmy Is Promo, who tweeted an image of what’s apparently the Galaxy Note 20. It’s displaying a menu describing an ‘S Pen pointer’ feature, which would be new if it’s real.
It’s worth pointing out that Jimmy Is Promo isn’t a leaker with a track record, and the supposed Galaxy Note 20 is covered in tape, so it could be a different phone. It’s also not clear if this is a Note 20 feature, or just something that’s coming to existing Note phones in an update soon.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 S Pen feature
S Pen can now act as a Pointer. Select your color and select icons on the screen, navigate around. Also can highlight an area. #Note20 #GalaxyNote20Ultra ps.. Subscribe to my channel for more pic.twitter.com/ZNaxR4lEpoJuly 8, 2020
It seems this feature for theSamsungGalaxy Note 20 would let you control the phone just using your S Pen without touching it on the screen - instead, by using the button on the stylus and holding it above the screen, you can fully navigate the phone.
The S Pen already shows a little highlight (like a pointer) on the screen for previous Galaxy Note models, so this new feature just feels like a small extension of that. This small extension may mean big things for some users though.
Using this S Pen feature you can presumably open apps, flick through menus, type messages, and even play basic games all without touching the screen. It’s not clear what kind of range it would have though, and that would affect how useful the feature is.
Given that germs can easily be transferred through your hand to your phone, and last there for a while, this feature will be really useful for people who are worried about hygiene.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is set to be unveiled properly on August 5, with a release date presumably in the weeks following. Stay tuned to TechRadar as the launch date nears, as we’ll share everything we find out about the phone.
Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.
Samsung reveals its next-gen Bixby AI – a Galaxy brain to rival ChatGPT and Gemini
Galaxy tri-fold rumors are hotting up, so here are 3 things we want to see
Owl Labs Meeting Owl 4+ review
