When trying to decide between the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 series, there are many differences to consider. The Note 20 Ultra has a snapper Snapdragon 865 Plus chip, a more dynamic 120Hz display and a dedicated autofocus sensor for the camera – but the S Pen remains the biggest reason to buy the Note.
With the Note 20 Ultra, Samsung has included a wide range of upgrades for the S Pen, some of which found useful and others gimmicky. The most notable change is a faster response time of 9ms, but there are many other new features worth a look. After spending a week with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, here are my impressions of all the S Pen enhancements.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen: Smoother performance
The Galaxy Note 20’s 120Hz screen refresh rate combines with a faster response speed of 9ms on the S Pen itself to deliver one of the best writing experiences I have on a mobile device.
Whether I was taking notes or trying to draw, the overall feeling was completely smooth, to the point that I forgot to write on a screen. My only complaint is that some of the buttons at the bottom of the screen in the Samsung Notes app are a bit too small, especially when we’re working on an expandable 6.9-inch display
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen: actions everywhere
I first mocked when I saw the new Gesture options for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Actions everywhere mentioned, you can perform advanced gestures to build on top of previous options like long press the S Pen button to open the camera app.
With the new S Pen gestures, you can draw the sky to activate various keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can draw a right arrow to go back as a right arrow to open recent apps and a little rainbow to go home. My favorite gesture is Screen Writing, which allows you to capture a screenshot and start annotating it.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen: Audio Bookmarks
If you like the idea of taking notes in meetings or in classes with the S Pen, the new audio bookmark feature will come in handy. You can start a voice recording while taking notes by tapping the paper clip icon, and when you return, your words will light up as the words are spoken. Or you can click on a particular word to see what was said at a given moment to check your notes.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen: PC-like folders and cloud synchronization
Samsung makes it easier to store your notes and find them later, no matter what device you are on. There’s a new PC-like folder structure for organizing your notes. Just tap on the menu (three vertical lines) button and then tap Edit to select a folder. Once you have the Samsung Notes app, you can easily access all your notes from other devices, including tablets and PCs.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen: Auto focus and other upgrades
If you are writing a little crooked, there is a new Auto Straighten button in the Samsung Notes app that will recognize the direction and pattern of lines of your handwriting and try to straighten it. You select the section you want to target. The feature works, though I did not notice any dramatic improvement.
Other S Pen upgrades include the ability to import PDFs for annotation and, new template options and export PowerPoint.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen bottom line
Even if you do not use the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s S Pen Pen all the time, you will appreciate all the upgrades that Samsung has included for this flagship. I found myself using the gestures more than I thought I would, and I especially like the audio sync feature, which reminds me of Livescribe pens. And with a 6.9-inch display, the Note 20 Ultra gives you a larger canvas than ever before.
