Galaxy Tab S4 firmware reveals new features of S Pen for Note 9

An employee of XDA Developers has looked at the firmware of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and has been able to make out which new functions the S Pen has. The pen for the Note 9 will be equipped with bluetooth for the first time this year.

Since the Galaxy Tab S4 is the first Samsung device with Android 8.1 and the Note 9 will run the same software, Max Weinbach of XDA Developers was able to investigate leaked firmware of the tablet for references to the S Pen.

Weinbach looked to the AirCommand app for this, where he found a number of images about and references to the S Pen. He was able to conclude from this that there will actually be a battery in the pen, although it was not clear how big it would be.

It also became clear that it will be possible to manipulate the music player with the pen, use it as a wireless shutter for the camera and that it can play a role in unlocking the phone. Weinbach also talks about other functions that can be assigned to the button on the pen per app.

Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 9 on August 9 during the Unpacked event. Some specifications of the device have already been leaked, such as the size of 161.9×76.3×8.8mm, the 6.3″ OLED screen with 2960×1440 pixel resolution, the Snapdragon 845-soc and the 4000mAh battery.