The new features of the Galaxy S21 will make you want to get one as soon as possible

Samsung Galaxy S21 the range is impressive. From 5G support to a new, better-performing camera configuration, there’s a lot to be excited about. Damn it, S21 Ultra even borrowed one of the features of the brand Notes: S-Pen stylus holder. That’s right, you can now use a stylus to write or draw on one of the Samsung S series phones.

All three phones are running Android 11 with the proprietary Samsung One UI 3.1 skin. That means you get the best Android you can offer right now (until Android 12 comes out), but you also have access to improvements and changes that Samsung has made to the operating system. For example, the S21 has two different types of floating notifications, and now you can add effects to your video calls.

Below I will show you some of the best features I have discovered so far on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

How to stop S21

If you long press the power button while waiting to turn off the phone, you will have a surprise. A Bixby surprise, to be exact. That’s right, holding down the power button will launch Bixby, instead of giving you the option to turn off your phone. But don’t worry, you have a few different options to start the S21 or restart it:

• Swipe down from the top of the screen to view the quick settings panel, then press the power button in the upper right corner.

• Press and hold the side button and the volume down button at the same time until the power menu appears.

• Change the side button to function as the power button by accessing settings > Advanced features > Side key and select Stop menu. From now on, pressing and holding the power button will bring up the power menu.

S-Pen support on S21 Ultra

This is not a hidden feature, as long as it is not so obvious unless you have been explicitly told about it. You see, the S21 Ultra is missing anywhere to store the S Pen, just like the Note series. So, if you bought the phone because you wanted the best Samsung has to offer, you wouldn’t know anything better.

The S21 Ultra will work with any S-Pen stylus in the Galaxy Note series or the Galaxy Tab S series. Or you can opt for the S21 Ultra case which includes an S Pen.

If you have an S Pen, all you have to do to start using it with Ultra is touch its tip on the screen and it should work. If you place the pen just above the surface of the screen, you will see a small icon on the display that shows that it recognizes the pen. Once you tap it on the screen, the Air Command icon will appear, allowing you to take quick notes, screenshots and so on.

Take better screenshots

Each Galaxy S21 has Samsung’s somewhat hidden Edge panels, which hide shortcuts to apps, features and information. You may have noticed a slightly transparent line on the right side of the S21 screen. From here access the hidden panels. Outside the box, one of the screenshots is disabled.

It is easily one of the most useful panels because it gives you more options to do more than just capture your screen. The panel is actually called Smart Select and gives you the tools to capture only a portion of the screen using the rectangle or oval, to record an animated image (or GIF), or to capture a screenshot, perhaps with a phone number or an address on your screen

To turn on the Smart Capture panel, go to settings > Display > Edge panels > panels and touch the circle above Smart selection. First, just open the Edge panel and swipe between the panels you’ve added until you find smart selection, then select the tool you want to use to take a screenshot.

Add effects to your video calls

Have you ever seen anyone use those fancy backgrounds on Zoom? Those who pretend to be somewhere else? Well, you can do that on the Galaxy S21 in your video calls. To select your effect, go to settings > Advanced features > Video call effects. Turn it on, then select whether you want your background to be blurry, a color, or a certain image in your photos.

Enable floating notifications for easy access to alerts

Android 11 has launched the new Google Bubbles notification feature, which looks and works just like Facebook’s Messenger Chatheads feature. That is, instead of having to swipe down the notifications panel to see alerts, a floating circle gives you quick access to your conversations at any time. Bubbles does the same thing, but for more applications, such as Google Messages.

Bubbles joins Samsung’s version of the same feature, called Smart pop-up view. But before you can use one of them, you’ll need to activate it.

Go to settings > Notifications > Advanced settings > Floating notifications. Choose the option you want to use, both with a quick on-screen animation to show how it works. Experiment with both Bubbles and the Smart pop-up feature to see which one you prefer, even if it’s none of them.

Screen lock widgets

The Samsung Always On Display feature has long been my favorite. It’s easy to quickly view information or control audio playback, but with the Galaxy S21 you can do even more with it. If I go to settings > Lock screen > Widgets you can activate each widget you want to use with Display on Always On Display. Then, whenever the phone is locked and AOD is active, double-tap the clock to view all widgets.

Look for anything on the phone

Having trouble finding an application, contact, or file? Swipe down from the top of the screen to review the shortcut panel with shortcuts, then swipe again to view the full shortcut panel. Touch the search icon at the top of the screen and enter the query.

If you are still on the fence about S21, don’t forget to read our review. S21 Ultra has some fantastic camera tricks – here’s how to use them. If you are curious about the future of Android and what features it will bring, Android 12 is currently in beta and we have a summary of our preferred features so far. When the phone starts to feel a little slow, give it an adjustment.