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S Pen Air Command is a waste and Pencil Pro is based

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Samsung’s S Pen has been unchallenged for many years. It used to be the go-to solution for tablet users who wanted the option to handwrite or draw on their large digital screens. But in 2024, Samsung is not alone, and the S Pen has some real competition. Not so much in the smartphone sector, where the Galaxy Ultra lineup remains the best choice for stylus fans, but certainly so in the tablet space.

Apple unveiled its first Pro-grade Pencil accessory for iPads earlier this week, and even though it hurts to say this as a Samsung fan, the Pencil Pro does many things better than the S Pen ever could.

The S Pen is getting challenged and even surpassed, and that’s a hard pill to swallow given the S Pen’s longevity and legacy. But there’s no way around it. The Pencil Pro is an impressive piece of technology, and now, the S Pen has to catch up in many areas.

No, Apple didn’t steal Air Command from Samsung

First things first, let’s dispel this misconception that Apple stole Air Command. One of the popular narratives you may have seen on X (formerly Twitter) over the past few days is that Apple lifted Samsung’s Air Command feature for its own Pencil. But that’s a misguided notion based on nothing but a visual similarity.

Let’s do a recap of the S Pen’s Air Command feature. What is it? In short, the Air Command menu functions much like the Edge app panel. It’s a pop-up window that can be summoned with the S Pen button or by tapping an on-screen S Pen bubble.

Galaxy device users can add shortcuts for S Pen-compatible apps to the Air Command menu, but the Air Command menu itself is not dynamic. It doesn’t change based on which drawing or note-taking app you’re using at a given time. Its sole function is to offer shortcuts to apps, and no matter which app you might be using, the Air Command menu always looks the same when summoned.

In that sense, you can think of it as an apps drawer for S Pen apps. Is it redundant? Not necessarily. But it certainly feels like a wasted opportunity in light of what the new Pencil Pro can do.

So, back to the original question. Did the Pencil Pro steal the Air Command menu? Far from it. In fact, as far as we can tell, Apple doesn’t offer anything like Air Command for the Pencil Pro. Instead, Apple allows app developers to create their own pop-up menus with varying functions.

The confusion seemingly stems from the fact that Apple used a generic example in its presentation — an example that bears a visual similarity with Samsung’s old semi-circular Air Command menu design. However, functionality-wise, these two menus are vastly different and even look different in practice.

Unlike the S Pen, the Pencil Pro doesn’t have a physical button but a pressure-sensitive Squeeze function. When iPad users squeeze the Pencil Pro while using a drawing app, a contextual menu appears, containing whatever shortcuts and features the app’s developer decided to include. This menu can take a variety of forms — it’s not bound to the generic semi-circle design Apple used in its promotional shots.

Some iPad OS apps will offer shortcuts to paint brushes. Others will offer shortcuts to manipulate the canvas in different ways, such as flipping it or rotating it. The seemingly generic example Apple used in its promotional slides (left image below) has a mild visual resemblance to the old Air Command menu, but real iPad OS apps, such as Procreate (right image), use completely different layouts and functions.

Regardless of how you feel about this, the truth of the matter is that the S Pen button and the arguably overrated Air Command menu are not nearly as versatile as Apple’s Squeeze feature and contextual menus. They don’t fulfill the same purpose, and similarities are only skin-deep.

And although Android app developers could, in theory, assign richer functions to the S Pen button, unrelated to the Air Command menu, that rarely happens. App developers simply don’t support the S Pen as much as we would have liked.

Apple’s accessory offers (better) location tracking

Aside from the aforementioned Squeeze function, which should feel more ergonomic than the inconveniently placed S Pen button, the Pencil Pro offers many other features that the S Pen either lacks altogether or doesn’t capitalize on as much as it could.

One such feature is Find My. iPad users will be able to locate their misplaced Pencil Pros with high precision using Apple’s Find My service.

Samsung’s S Pen doesn’t have this. The S Pen Pro offered compatibility with SmartThings Find, but the S Pen Pro is no longer on sale, and the standard S Pen is missing out on Find. The best the S Pen can offer is a proximity alert.

Tilt and rotate functions that are actually usable, plus haptic

The Pencil Pro also offers a tilt function that is extensively supported by app developers. In theory, at least, Samsung’s S Pen supports tilt, but it’s known to be unreliable, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find apps that actually take full advantage of it. The S Pen Creator Edition, sold separately, touts “Enhanced Tilt” capabilities, but this is a passive stylus and lacks Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, things aren’t getting any better for the beloved S Pen. Apple went even more extra, and the Pencil Pro incorporates a gyroscope that powers a Barrel Roll feature.

Barrel Roll allows Pencil Pro users to rotate brushes with extremely high precision. Once again, the S Pen does, in theory, support this type of gesture, but in practice, it is rarely used by apps, likely due to a lack of precise accuracy or potential issues concerning poor support.

Last but not least, the Pencil Pro now has a haptic feedback motor, which can vibrate gently to help users align cropped objects and more. Samsung’s S Pen doesn’t have anything like this, and Apple is clearly thinking ahead.

Samsung can learn a lot from this

It hurts to say this, but he Apple Pencil Pro seems to give the S Pen a run for its money. I can’t deny I feel a bit of envy, not only because the Pencil Pro is better supported by app developers but also due to the fact that it offers better hardware and smarter capabilities.

Story continues after the video…

One thing Samsung offers that Apple doesn’t is fantastic stylus support for phones. The Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 enable a different kind of S Pen experience focused more on note-taking and hand-writing. It is more limiting due to the smaller screens, but at least Samsung doesn’t have any competition in this particular niche.

As for the stylus experience on tablets, Samsung is losing the game to Apple. The company will hopefully accept the challenge and improve the S Pen for future Galaxy Tab S models. Otherwise, it will be left behind by its rival.

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MultiON web based personal AI assistant and Rabbit R1 alternative

MultiON personal AI assistant

anyone looking for a little assistance when carrying out mundane online tasks might be interested in a new web-based personal AI assistant called MultiON. Imagine a world where your online tasks are handled with the click of a button, where booking a ride, filling out forms, or navigating complex websites is done for you by an intelligent assistant. This is the reality that MultiON, a sophisticated AI agent, has started offering to enhance your web experience. This free tool is designed to streamline your digital interactions, making your online activities more efficient and less time-consuming.

MultiON browse API

MultiON stands out from other web automation tools by being a personal AI assistant that integrates directly with your Chrome browser. Once installed, it allows you to command it to perform a variety of tasks with ease and accuracy. Whether you need to retrieve data or fill out online forms, MultiON is equipped to handle these tasks with a level of precision that surpasses other tools like Rabbit R1 apparently. It offers a unique and interactive approach to managing your web activities.

The control MultiON provides over your browser is unparalleled. You can issue commands, and the AI agent will execute them with precision. The technology that powers MultiON is designed to understand and follow your instructions, providing a seamless and efficient browsing experience. This level of control is what sets MultiON apart, making it a valuable asset for anyone looking to optimize their time online.

Web based AI assistant

MultiOn is an AI agent that helps you with your daily tasks. The MultiOn Chrome extension re-imagines how you interact with the internet. its developers recommend using MultiOn for doing a task similar to how you will do it and describing the task or steps in natural language. They have found clear and descriptive commands to work the best. MultiOn can be prompted to follow specific behavior or rules similar to ChatGPT, and we recommend playing with prompting to find the best flow for you. Here are a few examples of how you can use the new web-based AI assistant

  • Make a 100-word Tweet on Twitter on “Excited to be using MULTION: Your AI Web Co-Pilot!”
  • Order the book How Google Works from Amazon (for the demo version, its developers have disabled press the place order button on Amazon).
  • Send a message on LinkedIn to my colleague and say hello
  • Order a burger from the Melt in Palo Alto using Doordash
  • Check FB for friends’ birthdays and send a happy Bday message
  • How is the weather today in San Francisco?
  • Book a calendar meeting for 2-3 pm tomorrow and invite everyone from…

If you’d like to learn more about the interesting developments that MultiON  offers check out the overview video below kindly created by WorldofAI.

Here are some other articles you may find of interest on the subject of personal AI assistants :

Personal AI assistant

The Browse API allows you to perform a single browsing session with the MultiOn Web Agent. A session in this context refers to a stateful instance of interaction with our Agent for a specific user query or workflow.

  • Session Lifecycle: A session begins when you initiate it with an input URL and an instruction prompt and ends when the Agent has completed the task with the required Actions. Each session is isolated, ensuring that data and interactions are not shared across sessions.
  • Use Cases: Sessions are ideal for handling individual queries, like fetching weather updates or executing a specific task.
  • Security: Sessions maintain high levels of security, as each session is authenticated and isolated, protecting the integrity of your data and interactions.

web-based AI assistant

Security and privacy are at the forefront of MultiON’s design. The tool ensures that your data and interactions are kept private through session isolation. This means that your activities in one session are not shared with any other, providing a layer of security that is crucial in today’s digital landscape.

The true strength of MultiON lies in its advanced API integration. By leveraging powerful APIs such as OpenAI Assistant API, Langchain, and Llama index, MultiON can manage even the most complex web tasks with ease. This sophisticated integration is what enables MultiON to offer a refined and powerful automation experience that can adapt to your specific needs.

To support its users, the MultiON team offers a wealth of resources, including extensive documentation and instructional videos. These materials are designed to help users of all levels to fully utilize the capabilities of their personal AI agent for web automation. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, these resources are there to guide you through the process and ensure you get the most out of MultiON.

MultiON is not just a tool; it’s a gateway to a more intelligent and automated online world. As a free Chrome extension, it provides exceptional browser control, prioritizes your privacy with session isolation, and is equipped with a suite of features to cater to your web automation needs. Learn more about how to use  the innovative web browsing AI assistant in more detail over on the official help site.

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