How to make use of Smart Select with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4's S Pen

One of the brand-new features Samsung outfitted its super-phablet, the Galaxy Note 4, is called Smart Select. Available exclusively through the Note 4's S Pen, the name of the extra can be a bit ambiguous at first. After using it for a while, however, it becomes clear what Samsung wanted to achieve with it, and we'd like to highlight a few use case scenarios.

With Smart Select you can freely select any area of the screen (just like you would with your computer's mouse), regardless of the type of content you're looking at. Whether you simply want to crop images without having to go through the hassle of taking a screenshot and then editing the resulting image further, or you'd like to make your life easier, Smart Select has you covered. One way it achieves the latter is through Samsung's image recognition engine, which does a fairly decent job of deciphering information from any crop and then making sense of it. For example, if you've selected an address, Smart Select will allow you to quickly jump into Google Maps and navigate to that location. You can also share the coordinates with friends, as you can share/action things like phone numbers, websites, and more.

Check out the below slideshow for a quick demo and let us know if you've thought up other nifty implementations.

How to make use of Smart Select with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4's S Pen

1. Step #1

First things first. Pull out the Note 4's S Pen out of its slot, and the semi-circle Air Command suite of options will automatically pop up. If you already have your S Pen out, just click on the button on the stylus to call it up. The second option from left to right is now Smart Select (this isn't the case with older Note devices).

2. Step #2

Keep an eye out for content that you suspect can be turned actionable with Smart Select and free-select it like shown. Obviously, this is just an example and there are more use case scenarios where Smart Select may come in handy.

3. Step #3

Once you've selected an area, Smart Select will provide you with a crop and dim the background. Up on the top right will appear a small "T" icon. Just click it and the Note 4 will try its best to make sense of the information available.

4. Step #4

Here's an example of the kind of results you can expect. As you can see, the Note 4 intelligently analyzed the image and recognized that there's a phone number and an address available. Both of these are instantly actionable, so you can place a call or share the number in other apps, or even go right into Google Maps and navigate to the physical location of one of Papa John's NYC's locations.

 

5. Step #5

Here's another example of Smart Select in action: cropping images and sharing them quickly and hassle-free. Just make sure to click the download button on the bottom right to save them. A floating window with your saved crops will appear on the screen. Move it around if it's blocking your view.

6. Step #6

You can then, for example, text somebody with the two crops attached by dragging them to the input field like shown.

7.

Smart Select will recognize text from the image, but won't always paragraph it very well, so you'll probably want to delete it and leave the photos only.

And that's about it. Make sure to share other clever ways you can use Smart Select in the comments!