PSA: You Can Use Your Power Button For Voice Typing On Galaxy Phones

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Voice typing has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Google Pixel phones and recent Samsung phones even offer offline voice typing for maximum convenience. But did you know that Samsung devices have a convenient way to activate this feature?

I recently found a few strings in the Samsung Keyboard app that suggested the ability to activate voice dictation via the power button. It turns out this feature and the strings aren’t actually new, though. I checked my Galaxy S23 Ultra, running One UI 6.1 and an older version of Samsung Keyboard, and it’s available here. In fact, I also spotted a Reddit thread about this feature from a year ago.

This isn’t a new feature then, but it’s still a very handy way to activate voice typing. You simply press and hold the power button when the Samsung Keyboard is open to seamlessly activate voice typing. You’ll know it’s working when the voice typing icon at the bottom of the screen lights up.

One downside to this feature is that you’ll need to change the power button behavior to get it working. You specifically need to visit settings > Advanced features > Side button > Press and hold, and then tap the Wake Bixby option as seen below. So you can’t have your power button behaving like a power button if you want this voice typing shortcut.

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

This is still a great addition, though. It’s particularly useful if you feel the voice typing icon in Samsung Keyboard is in a hard-to-reach place. In fact, we have seen some users complain that the icon is in a very low position compared to Gboard, which offers a voice typing icon above the actual keyboard.

The good news is that the power button still works when you switch from Samsung voice input to Google Voice Typing within Samsung Keyboard. Furthermore, both voice typing options work offline after you download the relevant language packs. The one downside to Google Voice Typing is that, unlike Samsung voice input, letting go of the power button doesn’t stop dictation. So you’ll need to tap the screen to stop voice input.

A quick check on my Pixel 7 Pro reveals that you can’t enable voice input with the power button in Gboard. So I’d definitely like to see Gboard and Pixels gain this option too, as much as I don’t like manufacturers messing with the power button.

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