How to take screenshots on Samsung Galaxy devices

Andy Walker / Android Authority

Knowing how to capture screenshots on your phone is arguably as important as understanding how to text or place a call. It’s essential for quickly and easily recording details or information displayed on your device. For Samsung users, there are several ways to take screenshots.

Also read: How to take screenshots on Android

Whether you own the flagship Galaxy S21, foldable Galaxy Z Fold 3, or a more affordable Samsung phone, there are at least five ways to take screenshots on Samsung Galaxy devices. In this explainer, we’ll detail all of them.

QUICK ANSWER: The simplest way to take a screenshot on Galaxy phones is to hold the power and volume buttons down at the same time. Read more below for details.

1: Use your phone’s buttons

Like other Android devices, you can use the buttons on your Samsung Galaxy phone to quickly capture a screenshot. This is the most immediate and well-known way to take a screenshot of the content displayed on your screen. To do this:

Briefly hold down the power and volume down keys simultaneously.
Once the screen flashes, let go of both buttons.

It’s worth noting that this is the universal way to take screenshots across Android devices.

2: Use smart capture

Want to capture an entire web page or a message thread? Samsung Galaxy devices also can capture longer, full-page screenshots with the Smart Capture feature. To do this:

Firstly, check if Smart Capture is enabled on your phone. Head to Settings > Advanced features > Screenshots and screen recorder, and ensure this switched is toggled on.
Find the content you wish to capture.
Briefly hold down the power and volume down keys simultaneously.
Once the screen flashes, let go of both buttons.
After this, a toolbar will appear at the foot of the display. Tap the Scroll capture button (it’s a broken box with two arrows pointing downwards). You can now capture full-page screenshots.

3: Use your palm

Samsung Galaxy devices also pack a smart gesture feature to capture a screenshot if you can’t quite reach the buttons. This method’s especially handy if your phone is resting on a flat surface. Notably, you’ll first need to ensure the gesture is enabled. To do this:

Head to Settings > Advanced features > Motions and gestures > toggle on Palm swipe to capture.
Once this feature is enabled, find the content you wish to capture.
Swipe the edge of your palm across the screen to capture a screenshot.

4: Use a voice assistant

Finally, if you haven’t disabled it, Samsung’s voice assistant Bixby can also capture screenshots if all the above methods are unavailable. Although Bixby is becoming less integral on newer Samsung phones, this will still be useful for those running older devices. This solution is also handy if you’re unable to handle your device for some reason. To do this:

Ensure that Bixby’s voice command feature is activated. Head to Bixby Home > Settings > Voice wake-up.
- If Bixby Home is disabled, enable it by touching and holding a blank area of your home screen, swiping right to access the Bixby Home page. Finally, toggle on the Bixby Home switch.
- Note: On newer Samsung devices that no longer have a dedicated Bixby button, you might want to enable the side key (power button) to activate Bixby, too.
- Head to Settings > Advanced features > Side key. You can now choose to double press or hold the side key to activate Bixby.
Once Bixby is functional, find the content you wish to capture.
To wake the assistant, say, Hi Bixby. You can also activate Bixby using its dedicated button or the side key method of your choice.
Finally, say Take a screenshot.

If you don’t use Bixby or own a newer Samsung phone running newer software, Google Assistant can also snap screenshots for you.

Find the content you wish to capture.
Instead of saying Hi Bixby, say Hey Google.
Finally, say Take a screenshot.
You can also type in the command if you wish, but arguably this is less efficient than the other methods we’ve listed.

Go even deeper

Each phone is slightly different. We have tutorials on how to take screenshots in multiple ways for the Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S8, and the Galaxy Note 20.

That’s it. You now know how to take screenshots on a Samsung Galaxy device. If you have any questions or have an additional method, be sure to drop a comment below.

Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/screenshot-samsung-galaxy-3023396/