Galaxy Tab S9: Seven Tips and Tricks You Need to Know

Today is all about my personal top tips and tricks for the Galaxy Tab S9 series. They make using the tablet easier or just cooler, and they work on all models: Tab S9, S9 Plus, S9 FE and S9 Ultra.

The seven tips

1. Make the tablet faster. In Settings, go to “About tablet”, “Software information”, “Build number” and tap it seven times. After the PIN prompt, “Developer options” appears at the very bottom of Settings. There you set “Window animation scale” and “Transition animation scale” from 1x to 0.5x. That doubles the animation speed when you open apps, and the tablet feels much faster. This is especially interesting for the Tab S9 FE with its 90 Hz display.

2. S Pen to text. The S Pen always comes with the Galaxy Tab S models, which I think is great. I mostly use it for taking notes. With “S Pen to text”, your handwriting is converted to text, for example in a search field or in online forms. You just write in the text field with the pen, and it’s converted to typed text. The text recognition works really well. That way you don’t have to put the pen down for the keyboard.

3. Customize the lock screen. As on a smartphone, the lock screen offers lots of customization options. If you tap the clock, you see widgets that you can change and rearrange. Under “Lock screen” you adjust the clock style, font and color and choose which widgets are shown. By default, the camera is set as the shortcut. If you don’t use it on the tablet, you can set a different app there. You can also add contact information so an honest finder can reach you. I haven’t entered my contact details there myself.

4. Motions and gestures. Under “Advanced features” there’s the “Motions and gestures” item:

   • Double tap turns the screen on or off. I find that much more practical than reaching for the power button.
   • “Mute with gestures”: during a call or a calendar notification, you put your hand on the screen to silence the notification.
   • Swiping the edge of your hand across the screen triggers a screenshot. That’s more comfortable than pressing the power and volume buttons at the same time, because that takes both hands.

5. Improve the audio quality. Under “Sound”, go to “Sound quality and effects” and turn on Dolby Atmos and Dolby Atmos for gaming. Both are off by default, which I don’t understand, because the audio quality improves immensely.

6. Security. The Galaxy Tab S9 devices have enhanced protection against viruses and spyware, which is turned off by default. Please go to Settings, “Security and privacy”, “Device protection” and turn it on. Samsung should rethink its out-of-the-box policy.

7. Tidy up the Quick Panel. This is my absolute favorite setting. I use it on all my tablets and Galaxy smartphones. Tap the three dots at the top right, then “Quick panel layout”. Under brightness control, turn on “Always show”, so the brightness slider is visible from the first swipe down. For the Device control and Media output buttons, choose “Don’t show”. That makes the Quick Panel look tidy.

Verdict

Those were my top tips for the Galaxy Tab S9, S9 FE, S9 Plus and S9 Ultra. I use the animation setting, the gestures and the tidy Quick Panel myself in particular.