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Samsung unleashes the beast
Now, the stylus becomes a gadget in its own right. Thanks to a tiny battery, which recharges quickly when the pen is sheathed in the phone, it functions as a Bluetooth device, using Low Energy (LE) Bluetooth to trigger the camera, control the music player, and launch various apps. One or two clicks on the button at the top of the stylus activates further functions, depending on the app. Samsung has announced it will deliver an SDK (software developer kit) later this year for third party developers to build their own functions and apps for the S-Pen.
The significance of the S-Pen can hardly be overstated. Not only does it bring added functionality to various apps, it also extends the phone’s own uses. For example, to shoot an underwater video – yes, it is IP68 rated, for waterproof usage to a depth of 1.5 metres for half an hour – one previously had to tap the record button before taking the device underwater. Now, it can be triggered from a short distance by the S-Pen once the handset is suitably positioned below the surface.
While the cameras themselves are unchanged from the S9, the software behind them has had a serious upgrade, building on the semblance of artificial intelligence it had already introduced a year ago, and similar to that in the Huawei P20 Pro and LG G7 ThinkQ.
Its automatic scene optimizer identifies up to 20 different scenes, and optimises the camera settings for best effect. Flaw detection looks for blurs, blinks and bugs in one’s own photographic abilities to signal that a photo should be retaken.
(Click here or below to read more about the features offered by the S9) Samsung Galaxy S9 Features)
