Controlling Your Galaxy Tab 3 with the S Voice App
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Samsung pre-installed its S Voice app on the Galaxy Tab 3 so you can accomplish tasks on your Tab 3 just by using your voice. However, the S Voice app isn’t activated on your Tab 3 by default. You have to launch the app from the Apps screen and then set up the app so you can learn how the app works and ensure that the app can interpret your voice commands correctly.
Begin the setup process by tapping the Apps icon on the Home screen, and then swipe to the second page within the Apps screen. Open the S Voice app by tapping the S Voice icon shown in Figure 1.
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Figure 1 The S Voice icon appears on the second page of the Apps screen
When you start the S Voice app for the first time, you see the Samsung Disclaimer window shown in Figure 2. Note that after you set up the app, you won’t see this window or any other setup screens when you run the app in the future.
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Figure 2 The Samsung Disclaimer window appears when you launch the app for the first time
Close the window by tapping the Confirm button. Now you see the Terms of Service window as shown in Figure 3. Agree to the terms and continue to set up the app by tapping the Agree button.
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Figure 3 If you tap the Decline button in the Terms of Service window, you won’t be able to use the app
The S Voice app setup wizard screen appears as shown in Figure 4 and takes you step by step through how the app works and how to set up the app to work for you. The first step summarizes what the app does. When you finish reading this screen, you can go to the next step by tapping the Next button or the Skip button.
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Figure 4 The About S Voice step briefly summarizes what the app does
The next step in the wizard shows you how you can say what you want directly to the Tab 3 as shown in Figure 5. When you finish viewing this step, tap the Next button or the Skip button. If you want to go back to the previous step in the wizard, tap the Previous button.
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Figure 5 The Say What You Want screen summarizes how the app works
Now that you know what the app does, the Wake Up S Voice step in the wizard shown in Figure 6 tells you how to activate the S Voice app. If you don’t want to use the default “Hi Galaxy” command, you can change the spoken command by tapping the Change Now button and then saying the new command on the screen.
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Figure 6 The Wake Up S Voice screen tells you how to activate the S Voice app
If you don’t want to wake up S Voice using your voice, you can either tap the microphone button on the screen or press the Home button twice.
The next step in the wizard shows you how you can edit your spoken instructions using the keyboard as shown in Figure 7. The S Voice app isn’t perfect and may not understand your spoken command, so the app smartly allows you to use the keyboard to change the app’s translation into what you precisely want to say.
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Figure 7 The Edit What You Said screen explains how to edit spoken instructions that the S Voice app misunderstood
The last screen in the wizard shows you a list of sample commands shown in Figure 8. For example, you can search for bonobo apes in Google by saying, “Search bonobo apes.” After you say that command, the Google search screen appears and shows you the first page of results for bonobo apes.
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Figure 8 View all the sample commands by swiping up and down in the list
When you finish reviewing sample voice commands, tap the Finish button. Now it’s time for you to try out the app for yourself by either tapping the microphone button or by saying “Hi Galaxy” as shown in Figure 9.
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Figure 9 If you don’t want to say “Hi Galaxy” then tap on the microphone button
After you say “Hi Galaxy” or tap on the microphone button, say your command. After a few seconds you’ll hear a chime and then a translation of your spoken text in a white text bubble (something like what you see in newspaper comic strips) shown in Figure 10. The app feedback appears in a blue bubble directly underneath the white text bubble and you will also hear a voice reading the text in that blue bubble aloud.
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Figure 10 Your spoken text appears as a white bubble and the app feedback appears in a blue bubble
If you want to edit your command, tap the text within the white bubble that contains your command. The bubble turns gray with a blue border and the keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen as shown in Figure 11. The cursor appears at the end of the text so you can delete the text and then type a new command. When you’re finished typing, press the Done button in the keyboard.
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Figure 11 Tap your text in a white bubble to edit the command using the keyboard
When the S Voice app understands your voice command correctly, you’ll see the command in the blue bubble match the text command in the white bubble that appears directly above the blue bubble. After a few seconds, the Tab 3 executes your command. For example, if you run the Calculator app as shown in Figure 12, you’ll see the Calculator app on the screen so you can use it. When you’re finished, switch back to the S Voice app to speak more commands by pressing the Back button.
Some of your spoken commands will appear within the S Voice app screen itself. For example, when you say the command, “Read the news,” you’ll see a blue bubble and a voice that tells you, “Here is the news provided by Flipboard.” Then you see the top news story from within the Flipboard news feed box directly underneath the blue bubble.
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Figure 12 The latest news from Flipboard appears within a box on the screen
The app starts reading the text of the news story. If you want to view the entire story, tap the news feed box to open the Flipboard app and read the entire story on the screen. You can return to the main Flipboard screen by tapping the left arrow icon in the upper left corner of the screen (just below the Status Bar) or you can return to the S Voice app by pressing the Back button.
That ends our quick tour of the S Voice app, so enjoy experimenting with the app to control your Tab 3 without using your fingers.