Mobile Phones > Samsung 32 32 people found this article helpful The 10 Best S Pen Apps For Galaxy Phones Get the most out of your Samsung stylus By Molly McLaughlin Molly McLaughlin Twitter Senior Editor & Content Strategist Molly K. McLaughlin has been a technology editor and writer for over a dozen years. She runs product reviews for Lifewire, overseeing the process from hands-on testing to publishing. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 31, 2023 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Samsung Samsung Quick Tips The S Pen, bundled with some Samsung Galaxy smartphones, is a handy writing, sketching, and drawing tool for anyone tired of typing and tapping. Here's a round-up of the best productivity and entertainment apps to help you get the most out of your S pen. 01 of 10 Best App for Keeping Tabs on Your S Pen: S Pen Keeper What We Like A convenient way to keep track of the S Pen Doesn't drain battery life Configurable motion detector with three sensitivity levels What We Don't Like May not work on devices with custom ROM Won't work if you limit background processes It's easy to forget to dock an S Pen in a smartphone or tablet when it's not in use. And it's easy to lose track of it when it's not attached to a device. If you walk away from your stylus while the device screen is locked, the S Pen Keeper app alerts you with a pop-up notification. Change the ringtone, set the alert to vibrate, and—for $0.99—see when you last ejected the S Pen. Don't limit background activity for this app (available on Android 8.0 Oreo and later), or it won't work. Download S Pen Keeper 02 of 10 Best Keyboard App for S Pen: Gboard - the Google Keyboard What We Like Accurate handwriting recognition, no matter how messy Hundreds of languages supported What We Don't Like Can't switch languages on the fly. No palm rejection makes tablet writing difficult. Google's Gboard keyboard can transform scribbles into text in over 900 languages using its Handwriting mode, and it works with any Android app that allows typing. You can test the functionality in the app, but as it's a keyboard option, you'll get a better idea of what it can do when texting, emailing, taking notes, posting to social media, or using it in another app. Download Gboard - the Google Keyboard 03 of 10 Best Note-taking App for S Pen: Samsung Notes What We Like A repository for all notes, in any form Imports files from the S Note app Syncs notes with Samsung Cloud What We Don't Like No home screen shortcuts Incorrect passwords temporarily deny access to secured notes Lacks features available in past versions Samsung Notes replaces the S Note app that came with older devices. Both have note-taking capabilities and allow a mix of texting and handwriting, but Notes has a modern look and feel. It also offers some distinct functionalities. Add images from the gallery app or the camera, as well as attach voice recordings. Download Samsung Notes 04 of 10 Best Sketching App: Sketchbook What We Like Pen, painting, and texture options Draw from a blank canvas or a photo The full-featured version is free What We Don't Like A bit of a learning curve Doesn't have all the features from the desktop version Prone to crashes The Autodesk Sketchbook app is a free drawing tool with an extensive library of pens, paintbrushes, and effects. It has a professional feel to it. It also exports work in various formats such as JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and PSD. Layered PSDs are fully preserved, including layer names, groups, and blending modes. Download Sketchbook 05 of 10 Best Coloring Book App: Colorfy What We Like Library of drawings and filters Works offline Easy controls New images and pictures every week What We Don't Like Most features require an upgrade to premium The subscription is a bit pricey No metallic colors Colorfy is a fun-to-use coloring book app for adults with all sorts of drawings to make your own, including flowers, animals, symbols, famous paintings, and more. The free version includes one coloring option: a paint bucket that fills in the lines with one tap. It also includes a selection of filters. To access a pen, crayon, or oil paint brush, upgrade to the premium version, which also offers additional color palettes, drawings, and gradients. Colorfy Plus costs $7.99 for a month or $39.99 for one year. A free seven-day trial is also available. Download Colorfy 06 of 10 Best Premium Note App for S Pen: Squid What We Like Easy to use, includes a quick tutorial Buy premium features a la carte Pressure-sensitive handwriting What We Don't Like Notes don't sync across devices No page markers No palm rejection The Squid note-taking and markup app offers an array of features—some free, some paid—including file import (paid) and export (free); a variety of text, drawing, and highlighting tools (paid); and the ability to screencast presentations (free). You can get all the premium features for $1 per month or $10 per year. The premium subscription also includes backup to Dropbox or Box, a collection of backgrounds, graphs and diagrams, and PDF import. The free version includes one pen style, but you can adjust the pressure and choose from built-in color options, or customize your own using an RGB color mixer. Download Squid 07 of 10 Best App For Drawing and Markup: Inkredible What We Like Easy navigation Share notes with compatible apps Minimalist interface What We Don't Like The free version has one pen option It doesn't have a tagging feature Palm rejection issues Like Sketchbook, Inkredible provides a canvas to draw on, but you can also import and markup PDF files. It has two modes: finger mode and stylus mode. In stylus mode, you can rest your palm on the screen while writing, while finger mode allows you to pinch and zoom. Inkredible also has a quick delete feature, which crosses out text, like on pen and paper. The app supports automatic backup and restore on Google Drive. You can also share files through text, social media, email, and compatible apps, such as VSCO. In-app purchases include a calligraphy pen, wet brush, and ballpoint pen, as well as an array of paper backgrounds. The $6.99 pro version has no ads or in-app purchases. Download Inkredible 08 of 10 Best Multi-Platform Note-taking App for S Pen: OneNote Microsoft What We Like Convenient home screen widget Excellent search function Scan documents into the app What We Don't Like It can be confusing to navigate Must have a Microsoft account The mobile app lacks features found in the desktop app Microsoft OneNote is a full-featured app that stores typed and handwritten notes, drawings, web clippings, images, and audio recordings in one place. You can share notes with others for collaboration, and all files are searchable in case you lose track of something. The app also has a home screen widget, so you can capture your thoughts when inspiration strikes without launching it. Download OneNote 09 of 10 Best Free App For Signing Documents: Adobe Fill and Sign What We Like Takes the tedium out of filling out paperwork No Adobe account required App stores files after sending them What We Don't Like Can't rotate pages Lacks the signature capture feature from the iOS version Signing documents on the go is easier than ever with e-signature software and apps. Adobe Fill and Sign is free, and it completes forms with text, adds fields, and signs and dates them. Save your signature and initials to your account using an S Pen or your finger. You can also save your name, address, and other contact information often provided when filling out paperwork. Finally, you can take a photo of a paper form and fill it out in the app. Download Adobe Fill and Sign 10 of 10 Best S Pen Game: Scribble Racer What We Like Fun and simple game Lovely, hand-drawn tracks Worldwide online leaderboard What We Don't Like Some tracks cost money Intrusive ads A little too basic A stylus is a great writing implement, but it's also a decent game controller. Scribble Racer is an endless scrolling game optimized for S Pen devices. It lets players trace their stylus or finger along a path and see how long they can last without getting off track (literally). Earn coins and gems by collecting fruit along the way. The hand-drawn track scrolls faster as you make progress, and obstacles like balloons and trees block your path. Scribble Racer is free-to-play. There's also a sequel. Download Scribble Racer Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! 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