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 the Samsung Galaxy Note 20.
This comes from YouTuber Jimmy 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.
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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 the Samsung Galaxy 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.
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.
