The ‘emoji’ originated in 1997 as a simple pictogram used to express emotion. But after years of evolution, the technology has progressed to the point that the Galaxy S10 AR (augmented reality) Emoji can transform your face into an animated version of itself before your eyes. Once you have your avatar, your AR Emoji can mirror a wide range of emotions and body movements with advanced facial and body tracking. You can even impose your AR Emoji on top of a photo of yourself and watch it move just like you!

Samsung Newsroom met with the developers of the Galaxy S10 AR Emoji, Yong-Il Kim, HanJun Ryu, MinKyung Lee, Jinho Lim, and MinSheok Choi, to discuss how they are leading the future of AR Emoji, and what’s next for the technology.

Q. What is the current trajectory of AR Emoji development?

The AR Emoji feature is a way to express and represent yourself. As we switched over from the Galaxy S9 to the Galaxy S10, we changed our focus from the representative ‘Avatar’ to the ‘Stylized Avatar’, which portrays users’ individual traits so attractively that they can’t help but show it off! To achieve this, we have created avatars that users feel affectionate toward because they represent their individual traits, but which also maintain a universal aesthetic appeal.

People use AR Emoji to reproduce themselves in the online sphere. Therefore, the feature must be able to portray not only their physical appearance, but also their online personality. We are continually coming up with ways for users to more freely and uniquely personalize their AR Emojis.

Q. What makes AR Emoji special?

The AR Emoji feature’s biggest differentiator is that it starts off by making a complete, detailed figure that best reflects the user’s actual traits. AR Emoji has avatar shapes to suit everyone and features a huge number of ways for users to represent their unique characteristics.

The features available in AR Emoji on the Galaxy S10 line include ‘Mask’ mode, ‘Mini motion’ and ‘Live figure’, all of which can be used in a range of situations. Because the AR Emoji feature is a specialized camera function, it can be used within the default camera app. It has proven to be a popular feature among users.

With ‘Mini motion’, body movements are captured so that the AR Emoji moves just like the user.

Q. What was your process for developing AR Emoji?

During planning it is important to identify the users’ needs. To figure out what these were, we monitored our acquaintances, families and a range of online communities to make sure that we made an AR Emoji that everyone would be satisfied with.

In the design stage, we considered how we could best express users’ emotions through facial expressions and stickers. The most common human emotions were categorized, then we had to establish the various degrees of each emotion. For example, there are many different kinds of sadness. Some make you want to scream, some make you want burst into tears, and some only cause a downturn of the mouth. When we struggled to find specific references for certain emotions, our team stepped in as actors to record their emotions. During this process, having emotive team members was a big help! Our recording sessions were always full of laughter.

Also, as an AR Emoji is a full body avatar, we needed to include a wide range of fashionable clothing items, shoes and accessories to make sure users had enough options to choose from. Research was very important at this stage, and some of our team members scoured shopping malls to ensure that we chose the right clothing options.

The version of AR Emoji that’s available on the Galaxy S10 line has updated editing tools. In developing these, we had to make internal decisions about how we were going to structuralize and define every component of the 3D data. For instance, we had to make decisions like ‘let’s divide the bone structure of the arm into five parts, and cover two of them with the sleeve while the rest are just bare arm.’ This was a useful process though, because as we were defining the details, a number of other potential features occurred to us. For example, we added the shadows on the avatar’s backs during this stage.

For more customization and creativity, users can utilize their own AR Emoji to create stickers.

Q. Do you have any tips for how best to use the AR Emoji feature?

You can use your avatar to make stickers that can be sent via messenger. This feature allows you to send customized emoji stickers with any expression you like. You can also create memes or stickers that include text to give the image more context.

A mask mode that applies your avatar’s face over your own is another useful function. When you need to take a photo but you haven’t had time to get yourself camera-ready, you can cover your face with an emoji. AR Emojis can also be very helpful for the many online creators who like to dress up or disguise themselves while recording their videos.

‘Mini motion’ is a function that both adults and children can enjoy. If you enjoy dancing, it can be fun to have a virtual figure to dance along with, instead of dancing alone.

Users can have more fun with the ‘Mask mode’, which adds the AR Emoji’s face onto users’ faces.

Q. Can you tell us what’s currently being worked on with regards to AR Emoji?

We are thinking about how AR Emojis can be used in new ways, such as users being able to play as their avatars in games. We are also working on incorporating popular characters into AR Emoji, as well as allowing users to custom-add things like make-up and tattoos so they can better express themselves with their emojis.

The global trends are centered around incorporating more and more decorative tools. However, we have also tried to be focus on being inclusive, with features like artificial hands currently available, and artificial legs to become available soon. By continuing to add more customization tools to AR Emoji, we hope to help people better express themselves. But we also want to see AR Emojis become a place where users’ imaginations can be brought to life.

We’re looking for ways to allow users to represent not just their faces, but their bodies too. Another area of focus is finding a way to utilize AR Emojis on other Samsung apps. Users can currently set their phones to display contacts’ emojis when they call, but we are exploring other uses that include a mask mode for video calls too.

As developers, our priority is to improve usability. Currently, in ‘Live figure’ mode, users can tap the figure on the screen to trigger a range of gestures and dances. We want to make these motions more fluid, while also expanding the feature by incorporating further actions and promoting deeper interaction between users and their emojis.

Q. What does the future hold for AR Emoji?

I hope AR Emoji will offer users a chance to familiarize themselves with AR technology and become more comfortable using it. As virtual reality-based services are commercialized and become more common, we expect AR emojis to be the best method for people to represent themselves in the virtual sphere.

Ultimately, our goal is to make AR Emoji a personified visual assistant in the coming age of AI (Artificial Intelligence). For example, currently Bixby can give us updates on the weather, but I believe that information could be delivered more effectively by an AR Emoji holding an umbrella.

(Clockwise from the top left) Samsung developers Yong-Il Kim and HanJun Ryu from Unique Sales Point Strategy Group, MinKyung Lee from Media UX Group, Jinho Lim from Graphic R&D Group and Minsheok Choi from Visual S/W R&D Group

1. Jump to Your Favorite Apps Securely with Lock Screen ‘App Shortcuts’

Security meets convenience in the Galaxy S10 line’s lock screen app shortcuts. With this enhanced feature you can secure the apps pinned to your lock screen with a handy ‘finger scan and swipe’ motion. Simply scan your fingerprint as usual, then swipe up from the fingerprint sensor to an app icon to open it. In situations where you need to access your most-used apps quickly, snap straight to them from the lock screen without compromising on security.

The Galaxy S10’s in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner offers vault-like security with its FIDO Alliance-certified anti-spoofing technology. Now, your fingerprint scanner is not only a top-notch security measure, but a platform to launch your favorite apps quickly and securely.

2. Streamline Your Life with ‘Bixby Routines’

Imagine; as soon as you get into your car in the morning, music fills the space and Bixby turns on voice controls, all without you having to touch a thing. Then, as you arrive at work, vibration mode is activated and Wi-Fi disconnects. As your day goes on, your smart assistant moves seamlessly through various other pre-arranged routines, ensuring that your device is always the perfect complement to where you are and what you’re doing. What’s more, once you’ve set a few routines manually, Bixby learns from your habits and suggests new routines that it thinks will suit you. There’s no need to be constantly taking your phone out to fiddle with settings when you’ve got ‘Bixby Routines’ to take care of the little things.

Setting up manual routines is easy too. If you’re taking a walk, set a routine so that music plays as soon as you connect your headphones, then have your phone activate Wi-Fi and open YouTube as you arrive back home. Playing a game? Set a routine so that you enter ‘Do not disturb’ mode upon opening the game, and notifications don’t distract you.

The list of conditions that can be programmed to trigger settings adjustments and new actions is endless. And with ‘Bixby Routines’, the more routines you set, the easier life becomes.

3. Keep a Hand Free with ‘One-handed Mode’

Have you ever been holding something important in one hand, and trying to use your phone with the other? How many of us have been in the middle of cooking, and when we go to check the recipe on our phones only one of our hands is clean? With the Galaxy S10 line’s edge-to-edge screen, reaching up to pull down the notifications bar or interact with other features near the top of the screen can require regripping the phone or using your other hand. But no more, with the Galaxy S10’s optimized ‘One-handed mode’.

This feature is easily activated with either a quick swipe up from the corner of the screen (with ‘Gesture Controls’ enabled), or a triple-tap of the home key. Once turned on, the feature brings up a miniature version of your screen that puts even the features right at the top of the display well within reach. After using one-handed mode to navigate to the feature you want to use, simply tap the black area next to the downsized screen to snap your display up to full size again.

4. Stretch Your Screen with ‘Gesture Controls’

Want to get the most out of your edge-to-edge AMOLED display? On the Galaxy S10 line, enabling ‘Full-screen gestures’ will remove the navigation bar at the bottom of your screen, and allow you to perform the same actions with simple swipes up from the left, right and center spots at the bottom of your screen. Prefer a different orientation for the swipe spots? Customize the layout and swap the positions for the ‘back’ and ‘recent apps’ swipe positions. The central swipe spot remains the ‘home’ option.

Smooth and intuitive, the Galaxy S10 line’s complete gesture control system allows for the removal of navigation buttons that take up your screen space. Three minimal grey lines are visible at the very bottom of the screen to avoid any confusion over swipe positions. Enabling gesture controls lets you take full advantage of your screen real estate and provides a glimpse into a truly button-less future.

5. Take a Smart Break with ‘Temporary Mute’

In a world where ‘digital detoxes’ are becoming commonplace, more and more users are making use of their devices’ ‘Do not disturb’ function. This feature mutes all calls, alerts and media (unless select exemptions are put into place) until the user chooses to turn it back off again.

But sometimes, users who have entered ‘Do not disturb’ mode when heading into a meeting or going to sleep risk missing important alerts if they forget to turn alerts back on. Enter, Samsung’s new ‘Temporary mute’ feature, which allows users to choose, down to the minute, how long their phone will remain on mute for. After they get out of their meetings or wake up in the morning, users’ devices automatically switch back to previous sound modes so that they don’t miss any important alerts.

6. Make Your Power Use ‘Smart’ with ‘Adaptive Power Saving’

With the Galaxy S10 line’s ‘Adaptive power saving’ mode, your phone will adjust battery settings throughout the day and maximize your battery life without you having to lift a finger. Based on Samsung’s AI technology, ‘Adaptive power saving’ studies your usage patterns and keeps frequently used apps running while preventing unused ones from consuming battery life in the background.

In high-usage periods where users are watching a lot of videos, playing games, or taking sudden trips that require them to use their phones a lot, the device will automatically enter power saving mode to extend power-on time. Users don’t always have time to monitor battery life and change their settings accordingly, but with ‘Adaptive power saving’ your phone has it covered!

7. Let ‘Shot Suggestion’ Guide You to Stunning Pictures

Utilizing machine learning gleaned from the analysis of more than 100 million photos, the Galaxy S10 line’s ‘Shot suggestion’ feature helps you take pictures like a pro. Once you turn the feature on, just follow the visual prompts on the screen and watch your ‘best shot’ fall effortlessly into place.

‘Shot suggestion’ is ideal for when you want to show a single person or place in a lot of different lights, as the AI suggests a varied range of compositional styles. Especially helpful for nature and landscape shots, ‘Shot suggestion’ ensures the horizon is level, while helping you improve your proportions and positioning. With the AI assistant, finding the perfect composition for your photos is a snap!

8. Compose Visual Media like a Pro with ‘Grid Lines’

The key when composing a shot from a ‘bird’s eye’ angle – for instance when taking photos of food –is to ensure the camera is held completely level.

The ‘Grid lines’ feature on the Galaxy S10 line helps you produce well-balanced bird’s eye shots. After the feature is turned on in settings, a levelling guide will appear in the middle of the screen to make sure you’re holding the phone perfectly flat. Simply align the circle in the center of the screen with the guide, and voila! Even a beginner can take well-composed bird’s eye shots every time.

The Galaxy S10 line’s grid mode is a lifesaver for vloggers too, as it helps ensure that videos taken on a selfie stick, or similar peripheral, are steady, with the subject well-centered. Pair the Galaxy S10’s ‘3X3 Grid’ view with the camera’s other smart optimization features and capture media that will make people say ‘wow’!

9. Let AI Touch Up Your Pictures with the Photo Editor’s ‘Style’ Features

Did you know you can now let AI edit your photos for you? First applied on the Galaxy S10 line, the ‘Style’ feature uses GAN deep learning to intelligently analyze your photo and ensure that the subject is distinguished from the background, while employing various effects including ‘Color Pencil’, ‘Comic’, ‘Watercolor’ and ‘Pastel’. These vivid effects are utilized in different ways for every individual picture, and really make the image look as though it was originally created in whichever medium you select.

All of these features are included in the Galaxy S10’s default ‘Gallery’ app, allowing users to easily add effects to their photos and removing the need to install separate apps. Simply select a photo in your gallery, click on the pencil icon at the bottom of the screen and select ‘Style’ from the ‘more options’ menu in the top right of the screen. Distinct from preset filters, now AI deep learning can uniquely apply its effects to best match your picture.

10. Animate Yourself with ‘Mini Motion AR Emoji’

The Galaxy S10 line offers an enhanced ‘AR Emoji’ experience with its new ‘Mini Motion’ feature. The upgraded capability employs advanced motion tracking technology to allow users to capture full-body movements and see them replicated by their avatar in real-time. With enhanced character design and naturalized movements and expressions, now your avatar can do whatever you can!

With streamlined avatar content creation, the Galaxy S10 line’s ‘Mini Motion’ feature makes life easier for content creators, and can even provide a dance partner for the kids to boogie along with. With constantly evolving motion tracking technology and the ability to detect even the smallest facial changes, ‘Mini Motion’ offers an exciting glimpse into a whole new world of personalized motion tracking.

So, if it’s your first foray into vlogging, the Samsung Newsroom has put together five tips to get started with just your Galaxy S10+.

Even Out Shaky Footage with Super Steady Mode

When starting anything new, you may want to minimize equipment cost and outlay before you’re fully committed to the project or hobby. Vloggers, however, often discover that one piece of equipment is crucial to create smooth videos: a stabilizing gimbal. When you hold a camera in your hands, the slightest shake can be reflected in the footage, resulting in lots of time-consuming cuts and edits before your video is ready to be published.

Super Steady mode on the Galaxy S10+ camera is able to eliminate the effect of shaky hands by calibrating the video, predicting your movements and calculating the range with the smartphone’s Ultra Wide lens. To switch on Super Steady when shooting a video, just tap the icon in the center at the top of the screen.

Create Movie-like Moments with Super Slow-mo

Vloggers are constantly mixing up their content and format to attract new audiences and excite existing fans. Often the difference is in the details, transforming the vlog from digital content into artform.

To ensure that you don’t miss any of the action, capture the moment on your Galaxy S10+ in Super Slow-mo. Taking 960 frames per second, Super Slow-mo plays back 0.4 seconds of footage over 14 seconds, creating breathtaking videos that invite viewers to examine every detail, from a droplet of water falling on a petal, to a critical play in a sports game.

Condense Time with Hyperlapse

Whether it’s slowing down or speeding up, a change of pace can add a fresh perspective on an everyday scene.

Hyperlapse provides the perfect segue from one moment of action to another, allowing you to condense the flow of time and fast-forward between scenes without a dramatic cut. What’s more, because the effect can also be added after capturing the original video footage, creators don’t need to be conscious of the camera or alter their actions while they are filming.

Get Personal with the UHD Front Camera

While there are many different styles of vlog covering countless different topics, they all offer a personal point of view. When a vlogger talks directly to the camera, they want to ensure that they have the best picture quality possible to capture their moods and reactions.

The Galaxy S10+ is optimized for this first-person perspective, equipped with two front cameras, including a 10MP Selfie Camera. This powerful camera can achieve UHD resolution, picking out the contours and fine details of the face to express every nuance of emotion. When they come to edit their film, cuts between footage captured with the front and rear cameras appear fluid, uninterrupted by differences in quality.

Bring Your Own Mini-me to Life with AR Emoji

Creating animated videos once required specialist know-how and a lot of time, limiting the kind of content that vloggers could produce.

Now, with AR Emoji on the Galaxy S10+, you can create your very own avatar and capture its movements on-camera, crafting an instant digital mini-me for the screen. Upgraded for the S10 line, the new AR Emoji accurately follows the movements of your eyes and your body when filming. If you prefer to stay anonymous, you can also replace your head with your AR Emoji’s cartoon-like face by selecting the “Mask” function.

The Galaxy S10 line builds on Samsung’s camera leadership – which includes the company’s game-changing Super Speed Dual Pixel and Dual Aperture technologies – by introducing a slew of exciting enhancements and even more advanced intelligence. Together, these innovations offer users all the tools they need to take truly epic shots and videos.

See More, Snap More

Each Samsung Galaxy S10 is like a professional-grade camera that fits in your pocket. The devices’ easy-to-use cameras were designed to allow you to capture any shot and angle. So no matter what you’re shooting, you’ll always have the right lens for the job.

At 123-degrees, the rear camera’s new 16MP Ultra Wide lens features a field of view that’s similar to the human eye. It covers approximately 4.3 times more area¹ than a 77-degree Wide-angle lens, and allows you to capture the world as you see it. Perfect for taking epic landscape shots, big panoramas (both horizontally and vertically), or simply fitting the entire family into a photo, the Ultra Wide lens ensures that you’re always able to capture the full scene.

Pictures taken with Galaxy S10’s Wide-angle (left) and Ultra Wide lens

 

Each Galaxy S10’s rear camera setup also includes a 12MP Wide-angle, Dual Aperture, Super Speed Dual Pixel lens. It combines an f/1.5-aperture lens with an f/2.4, and automatically adjusts to light just like our eyes to help users snap professional-looking photos, day or night. The Galaxy S10 and S10+’s triple rear camera setup also includes a 12MP Telephoto (zoom) lens. For those times when you need to get a little closer to your subject, the Telephoto lens provides two times optical zoom and ten times digital zoom.

Each Galaxy S10 comes equipped with a 10MP UHD Dual Pixel front-facing camera that’s perfect for taking high-quality selfies. The Galaxy S10+’s dual front camera setup offers improved megapixels and super-fast autofocus,²and includes an RGB depth lens for enhanced quality of bokeh effects.

A Smarter Way to Shoot

The Galaxy S10’s hardware is complemented by a next-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU) – a layer of intelligence for all your photos – that streamlines image processing and makes already smart features better.

The addition of the advanced NPU makes the camera’s Scene Optimizer function that much more powerful. Now, Scene Optimizer is capable of analyzing even more complex scenes, and can simultaneously process more image recognition data than before. The camera recognizes up to 30 different types of scenes in all (up from 20 with the Galaxy Note9), including “Face,” “Baby,” “Dog,” “Vehicles,” and more. The function will also automatically optimize the color, saturation, white balance and contrast in order to ensure that the image you see on your screen appears as true to life as possible.

When the camera recognizes specific scenes, it will also suggest other ways to potentially improve your photo. For example, if you’re taking a picture of a sunrise, the camera will automatically ask you if you’d like to switch to the Ultra Wide lens to ensure that you capture the scene in all its glory. If you’re taking a picture in extreme low-light conditions, it will propose that you take a Bright Night Shot for a professional-quality picture.

The camera also offers users instant, automatic recommendations on how to best frame their photo through its Shot Suggestion feature. Utilizing a database of over 100 million pictures, Shot Suggestion’s composition guide offers helpful tips to help you improve your photo’s proportions, positioning and overall composition.

The camera’s upgraded Live Focus mode allows you to customize your photos with artistic effects. The Galaxy S10+ utilizes its dual front cameras to support the feature, which includes options to add new spin bokeh, zoom bokeh, and color point effects, while the Galaxy S10 and S10e’s front-facing camera utilizes the NPU’s intelligence.

Silky Smooth Videos

Recorded videos are so much smoother with the Galaxy S10, thanks to groundbreaking innovations that ensure that users’ footage looks fantastic.

The camera’s Super Steady video-recording feature is the first of its kind on a smartphone, and offers users up to three times better video stabilization than conventional technologies. Powered by anti-shake stabilization technology (VDIS), Super Steady evens out shaky footage, allowing you to record fluid video during even your most active moments. So whether you’re dancing at a concert or recording a bumpy bike ride, with the Galaxy S10, the content you capture will be nice and steady.

Both the front and rear cameras are capable of recording pro-grade UHD footage, which allows users to step up their social game with true-to-life video quality. And in another smartphone first, the rear camera offers users the ability to take their recordings to the next level by capturing them in stunning HDR10+.

Utilizing dynamic tone mapping technology that provides 2.1 times broader color range than SDR, the Galaxy S10 allows you to take videos that are brighter and more dynamic than those taken with other smartphone cameras. That’s because the camera uses tone mapping techniques to go frame-by-frame and optimize the color for every scene.

A New AR Emoji Experience

Samsung’s latest flagships offer users a brand new AR Emoji experience, highlighted by a revamped design, greater customization options, and the ability to track not just your face but also your eyes, tongue and body movements, including your arms and legs.

AR Emoji’s new Mask Mode offers a fun way to touch up a less-than-stellar photo. Not satisfied with the expression you made in your last shot? Simply choose an AR Emoji that nails the emotion you want to express, and place its face over yours.

Users can also customize their AR Emojis like never before. In addition to choosing from the dozens of expressive stickers that are created for each AR Emoji, you can create your very own stickers, featuring unique backgrounds, expressions and other personal touches. Users who download AR World from the Galaxy Store app will also be able to access tons of new hairstyles, outfits and accessories that’ll make their AR Emoji even more unique.

Samsung’s Most Epic Cameras Yet

In addition to placing more fun and convenient features at users’ fingertips, the Galaxy S10 line’s powerful cameras allow you to capture moments in more detail – and with more lenses – than ever before.

The Galaxy S10 5G truly packs the power of a professional-grade camera into your phone by offering a total of six lenses – two on the front and four on the back. In addition to featuring all of the lenses included in the Galaxy S10+ camera, the 5G model introduces Samsung’s next-generation 3D Depth Camera.

This innovative camera allows the device to accurately capture depth by measuring the length of time it takes for an infrared light signal to bounce off the photograph’s subject. The camera uses the resulting depth information to improve the quality of portrait-style images, and to power exciting new features like Video Live focus and Quick Measure. The former allows you to apply cinema-quality bokeh effects to recorded videos, while the latter enables you to use your phone to instantly measure distance, area or volume.

¹ At a distance of approximately one meter.

² Super-fast autofocus is included in the front cameras of the Galaxy S10e, S10, S10+ and S10 5G, as well as in the rear cameras of the Galaxy S10, S10+ and S10 5G.

Since the feature’s introduction with the Galaxy S9, Samsung Electronics and Disney have teamed up to bring a number of Disney characters to life as downloadable AR Emojis. Now, the addition of three beloved characters from Disney’s hit movie Zootopia has made messaging on Galaxy devices even more magical.

Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and Flash join the ever-growing roster of animated Disney characters that are currently available for users to download, including Mickey Mouse and friends as well as characters from The Incredibles and Frozen.

To download the new characters, simply access the camera’s AR Emoji mode, tap the plus icon on the right-hand side, and select the Zootopia AR Emoji pack from the Galaxy Apps store.

Once downloaded, you’ll be able to easily create and share the animated emojis as images, videos or gifs in your favorite messaging app^*. And if you simply can’t get enough of their cuteness, you can also apply an AR Emoji of Judy, Nick, Flash, or any of the other characters listed above as a GIF and pin it on your device’s Always On Display, or apply it as a video on your lock screen’s wallpaper^**.

Head over to the Galaxy Apps store to download Samsung and Disney’s latest AR Emoji characters.

^*Apps that do not support animated GIFs may still send AR Emoji stickers as a still image.

^**Function supports videos up to 15 seconds in length.

Over the years, Samsung has enhanced the smartphones’ trademark tool with innovations that have transformed the way users manage their mobile lives. Here, we’ll show you how to utilize the S Pen’s new Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) connectivity and other convenient enhancements to enjoy a more fun (and efficient) mobile experience.

Tip #1: Customize Clicks for the S Pen’s Remote Control Function

New BLE technology transforms the S Pen into a handy remote control that allows Galaxy Note9 users to manage a wide variety of functions and apps from within 10 meters of their device.

Users can customize clicks of the S Pen’s button to perform specific actions within specific apps. Single clicks and double clicks can designate different actions, while holding down the pen button can be assigned to opening other apps and the S Pen features. This means that you can open the camera by holding down the S Pen’s button, click once to take a picture and twice to switch cameras, without the need to touch the smartphone’s screen at all.

The S Pen’s single and double press functions are compatible with more than 10 apps and is expected to expand to further apps thanks to the S Pen’s open SDK. You can pick and choose which remote control functions you’d like to enable by accessing the S Pen’s settings.

Tip #2: Flex Your Creative Muscles with Photo Drawing and Live Drawing

Good news for those of us who’d like to fine-tune our artistic skills: the Galaxy Note9’s new Photo Drawing and Live Drawing features offer simple tools to add an effortless creative flourish to your images.

Both feature integration with PENUP—a social network for creative types to share S Pen-created artwork. Photo Drawing allows you to use the S Pen to draw over images as you would with a sheet of tracing paper. Once you’re finished, you can delete the original photo or drawing and save your new creation as a separate image.

Live Drawing, meanwhile, allows you to see for yourself how seasoned S Pen artists create impressive works of art. The feature’s wide selection of step-by-step tutorials offer simple instructions for drawing everything from everyday objects to cute characters and scenic landscapes. The videos make it easy to see exactly which colors and brushes the artists used, and you can also trace over the featured objects, scenes and characters to practice drawing them.

Tip #3: Make Your Emojis More Meaningful

Introduced in the Galaxy Note8, Live message allows users to easily send handwritten notes, make animated GIFs, and create the perfect emoticon to capture the emotion they wish to express. The feature was recently enriched for the Galaxy Note9, with three new pen effects bringing the total number to six effects, and various pen colors to choose from. Live message can also be added to users’ AR Emoji Stickers, bringing an even more personal touch to their messages.

Introduced with the Galaxy S9, Samsung’s augmented reality-based emoji feature utilizes machine learning and facial recognition technology to create a 3D model that matches your appearance and facial expressions. From a simple selfie, the function automatically generates a total of 36 sharable stickers that feature your unique AR Emoji expressing a wide range of emotions.

The combination of AR Emojis and Live message creates a unique way to make your messages more personal, and makes messaging friends and family that much more fun.

Tip #4: Take Advantage of User-favorite S Pen Functions

In addition to introducing an array of brand-new functions and innovations, the Galaxy Note9’s S Pen includes the great collection of fan-favorite features that have enabled Galaxy Note users around the world to experience new levels of convenience in their daily lives.

Screen off memo has been a user-favorite feature ever since it was first introduced with the Galaxy Note5. The function gives you the freedom to jot down notes or ideas whenever you need by writing directly on your device’s off screen. The memo can be pinned to AOD (Always On Display) and automatically saved in Samsung Notes.

The Galaxy Note9 has made Screen off memos more dynamic by adding color to the mix. Now, when users compose a note, the S Pen’s markings match the color of the S Pen itself—either yellow, light gray, lavender purple or metallic copper. Users who prefer Screen off memo’s classic gray pen can easily select this option in the function’s settings.

The S Pen’s Air command menu offers users instant access to some of its most convenient functions. The menu can be customized with up to ten of your most frequently used functions with S Pen and shortcuts. Such S Pen functions include Smart select, which allows users to select, clip and collect content in one quick move with the S Pen in a desired shape, and the Translate function which lets users highlight and translate text on the screen, without the need to navigate away to another app. The Air command menu can be accessed simple by taking out the S Pen or by hovering S Pen over the screen then clicking the S Pen’s button.

Air view is another convenient function that offers instant insight into your phone’s content, simply by hovering the S Pen over the device. With Air view, you can see a short preview of your schedule in the Calendar app, text of webpages, and enlarged thumbnails of your pictures saved in the Gallery.

With innovative features designed to enhance your work and play, the S Pen for the Galaxy Note9 has redefined the mobile lifestyle, as the connected stylus brings even greater convenience and fun to both work and play.

The Galaxy Note9 builds on Samsung Electronics’ legacy of innovative camera technologies with an intelligent camera that takes the work out of capturing the perfect photo.

Brand new functions including Scene Optimizer and Flaw Detection utilize artificial intelligence to help users get the most out of the device’s advanced camera. Together, this powerful combination of smarts and specs makes it easier than ever to snap stunning shots.

Optimal Color Every Time

Picture this: When catching a sunset during your vacation, you snap a pic with your phone only to find that the image on the screen hasn’t quite captured the majesty of the moment. The Galaxy Note9’s new Scene Optimizer function makes it easy to photograph breathtaking moments just like this by automatically optimizing camera settings to capture the full beauty of the scene.

Scene Optimizer utilizes deep-learning technology to analyze objects, scenery and time elements in the camera’s frame in order to identify exactly which type of scene you’re about to photograph. The function is currently capable of recognizing 20 types of scenes—including ‘Food’, ‘Flowers’, ‘Indoor scenes’ and ‘Landscapes’— and automatically adjusts the color tone based on how the scene is classified¹.

The function corrects the saturation, white balance, brightness and contrast in order to provide the best possible image. And because it does not require a network connection, it’s always available to help make your photos look great.

Snap Flawless Photos

Even the best photos can be spoiled by a simple blink, a blur, a smudge on the lens, or by harsh, overpowering light behind the picture’s subject. That’s where the Galaxy Note9’s Flaw Detection function comes in. Once a photo has been snapped, the feature automatically scans it for flaws and notifies you if any are found².

The function helps users capture and save more memorable moments by ensuring that the picture they take is the best possible shot. Say you’re enjoying a special evening with friends and decide to immortalize it with a fun photo. Rather than realizing later that your eyes were closed, with Flaw Detection you’ll be immediately informed of any flaws in your photo so you can capture the memory with an additional shot.

Crisp Images In Any Lighting

Whether we’re at a restaurant, a concert, or simply enjoying a balmy evening under the summer sky, we’re constantly snapping photos in low-light environments. That’s why Samsung outfitted the Galaxy Note9’s camera with an array of innovative technologies that allow it to produce stunning shots day or night.

Combining an F2.4 aperture lens with an F1.5, the brightest currently available on a smartphone, the Dual Aperture lens automatically adjusts to light just like the human eye, letting in more light when it’s dark and less when it’s bright to produce images that are crisp and clear.

The Galaxy Note9’s multi-frame processing technology adds further clarity to photos taken under less-than-ideal lighting conditions. This technology, which combines several photos into one to create an optimal image, allows the camera to provide better HDR at night, and enriches the Live Focus feature with improved brightness and noise when taking pictures in low-light environments.

Capture More Moments In Epic Detail

The Galaxy Note9’s camera also includes support for Samsung’s recently introduced Super Slow-mo function, which ramps the camera’s shutter speed up to 960 frames per second to allow users to record spectacular slow-mo videos.

Four times slower than traditional slow-motion video, Super Slow-mo is powered by the camera’s Super Speed Dual Pixel image sensor, which supports much faster image processing thanks in part to its integrated DRAM memory chip. The feature also includes an automatic Motion Detection function that instantly starts recording as soon as it detects movement.

The Galaxy Note9 allows users to transform 0.4 seconds of footage into approximately 12 seconds of Super Slow-mo video when taken in single shot mode³. Once a video is recorded, the feature automatically adds appropriate background music that makes the recorded moment even more epic.

More Customizable AR Emoji

The Galaxy Note9 is absolutely packed with innovations that empower users’ creativity and self-expression, and the camera’s refined AR Emoji feature is one of the most dynamic examples of this.

Capable of mimicking users’ movements in addition to supporting dozens of pre-set expressions, AR Emoji stickers offer a fun way to express yourself and inject personality into messages. The Galaxy Note9 analyzes your distinct facial features to generate a 3D avatar that matches your appearance.

The feature, whose face-tracking function was recently enriched with more landmark detector points, has been enhanced for the Galaxy Note9 with an array of customization options that make it eSet featured imageasier for AR Emojis to copy your distinct style. With loads of new outfits and accessories to choose from, as well as the ability to fine-tune details like your hair style, skin tone and facial features, the opportunities for expression are endless.

Galaxy Note9 users will also be able to customize the backgrounds of their stickers with an array of new options, and enjoy access to Samsung and partners like Disney’s ever-growing roster of AR Emojis based on iconic cartoon characters—a roster that’s set to become even more fun and diverse with the feature’s open SDK (software development kit).

¹Accuracy may differ by settings and surrounding conditions.

²Accuracy of Flaw Detection function may differ depending on surrounding conditions or subject. Blink detection works within 1.5 meters and a maximum of 3 people are detectable at the same time. Blur detection feature senses when the camera shakes, and recognizes face blur in the photo.

³Video is initially recorded at 480fps and digitally converted into 960fps footage.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ users can create AR (augmented reality) avatars of Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff. To start animating messages as one of your favorite Disney Frozen characters, just open the Galaxy S9/S9+’s AR Emoji mode, tap the plus icon on the right-hand side to access the Galaxy Apps Store and download the Disney Frozen pack.

AR Emojis are a fun and versatile way to personalize communications with friends, harnessing expressions through facial recognition technology, and are shareable across all platforms. The Disney Frozen AR Emoji pack is now available for download on the Galaxy Apps Store. Be sure to stay tuned for more AR Emoji releases from the collaboration coming soon.

With the update, after users snap a selfie to generate their AR Emoji, they’ll be able to easily make detailed adjustments to their AR Emoji’s hair, ears and facial features. This means that, for instance, when a child creates an AR Emoji, they’ll be able to adjust the shape of their face so that it more closely mirrors their own. And if you feel like your AR Emoji’s eyes, nose, lips, cheeks or other facial features are in need of a touch-up, the new My Emoji Editor function offers simple tools to fine-tune these distinguishing characteristics.

The update also enhances AR Emoji’s face-tracking function with a 65-percent increase in ‘landmark detector’ points. This will ensure that features such as your eyes and mouth are tracked more precisely. And thanks to the update’s frame rate boost, your AR Emoji will be able to mimic your movements in a manner that’s smoother and more natural.

^*Availability may vary depending on market.

Let’s unite and sing together to show our love to the country! Now, you can express it easily by submitting your unique AR Emoji video with the Galaxy S9 | S9+!

From now till 10 August 2018, Samsung invites all Malaysians to record and upload an AR Emoji video of themselves singing the childhood classic “Rasa Sayang”. For every uploaded video, Samsung will contribute RM3 to Tabung Harapan Malaysia, towards a better nation for a greater Malaysia.

For Malaysians who don’t have a Galaxy S9 or S9+, visit any Samsung Experience Store and you will be assisted by product expert. The first 200 successful entries daily will be awarded with a movie e-ticket.

Let’s express your Raya Sayang for the country by submitting your unique AR Emoji with these four simple steps:

Step 1: Create your AR Emoji

Step 2: Choose your preferred “Rasa Sayang” lyrics and record yourself singing in AR Emoji

Step 3: Upload your video at www.samsung.com/my/singtogethar/

Step 4: Fill in your details and click submit. Participant will receive an acknowledgement e-cert upon successful submission.