Taking screenshots may sound like a simple thing, but with different manufacturers that include multiple methods to take screenshots, and so many third-party screenshot apps that bring additional functionality, it can be a bit confusing to find the best way to take screenshots. Take screenshots on your Android smartphone. So, if you’re wondering how to take a screenshot on Android, here are all the ways you can try.
How to Take a Screenshot on Android
While different smartphone manufacturers include their own shortcuts for taking screenshots, there is a universal shortcut to take screenshot that works on any Android device in the market. So, if you don’t want to learn different methods, here’s how to take a screenshot on Android:
1. How to Take a Screenshot on Android Using Physical Buttons
- Open the screen or app you want to capture and set everything as you want it to appear in the screenshot.
- While your shot is in place, press and hold both the power button and the volume down key for a second (see image below).
- Release the buttons when you see a visual confirmation that the screenshot has been taken.
2. How to Take a Screenshot on Android with Google Assistant
If your power button or volume down button is broken or you don’t want to use both hands to take screenshots, you can even use Google Assistant to take screenshots with just your voice. Here’s how.
- Simply launch the assistant by saying “Hey Google” or “Ok Google”.
- Say “Take a screenshot”. You can also directly say “Ok Google, take a screenshot” to launch the assistant directly and take a screenshot.
When you issue the command, Google Assistant will automatically take a screenshot for you. Google Assistant is smart enough to take a screenshot of the screen you’re on before invoking the Assistant; this is something Siri can’t do on Android.
How to Take Screenshots on OnePlus Devices
Now that we have seen a universal method to take screenshots on Android devices, we will take a look at the different methods that Android OEMs offer us to make Android screenshots easier. We’ll start with OnePlus and then move on to other popular OEMs, including Samsung and LG.
As for OnePlus devices, the universal screenshot method of holding the power button and volume down button works flawlessly. Again, OnePlus offers us an even easier method to capture screenshot with the ability to use gestures.. This feature allows us to quickly take a screenshot with one hand without having to press any button. If you have a OnePlus device, this is how you set it up:
- Open the Settings app on your device and then go to Gestures.
2. Here, turn the switch next to “.Three finger screenshot.”
That’s it, your screenshot shortcut is saved. Now, When you want to take a screenshot, all you have to do is swipe up or down with three fingers. and it will automatically capture the screenshot.
How to Take Screenshots on Samsung Phones
It’s no secret that Samsung packs a plethora of features on its devices. If you are using a Samsung smartphone, you will not only be able to take regular screenshots but also scrolling screenshots, which is great for sharing information that cannot fit on a single page. We will learn both methods here:
1. How to Take Screenshots on Samsung Smartphones
While screenshots on Samsung smartphones work the same way, the company provides an additional method to take screenshots. Just like Google Assistant, Samsung’s own voice assistant, Bixby, can take screenshots for you. To take a screenshot using Bixby, press and hold the Bixby button to start the assistant and then use the command, “Take a screenshot”. Bixby will capture the screenshot for you when you issue the command.
2. How to Take a Scrolling Screenshot
Samsung is one of the few OEMs that natively supports scrolling screenshots. What’s even better is that the company has made capturing scrolling screenshots pretty easy, and you can do it this way:
- Firstly, take a normal screenshot by pressing and holding the power button and volume down button.
- On, screenshot display Tap the “Scroll capture” button which is marked in the picture below. You will see that the phone automatically scrolls the page, takes a screenshot and stitches it together.
Note that one tap will scroll down the page once, so you will have to tap the page multiple times if you want to take longer screenshots.
3. How to Take a Screenshot Using S Pen
Samsung’s Note Series is famous for its S-Pen, which allows users to perform many tasks that they cannot do with their fingers. one of those things the ability to capture screenshots of a portion of the screen, not the entire screen. Great for quick capture and sharing of screenshots. If you have a Galaxy Note 9, Note 8 or any previous Note device, this is how to take a screenshot using the S-Pen.
- Remove the S-Pen from the phone and then tap the S-Pen Menu button. Now, Tap on “Smart Selection”.
2. Now select the tool from left to right depending on whether you want a rectangle, freeform or oval screenshot. Let’s choose the “Lasso” tool just for fun.
3. Now all you have to do is Draw around the area you want to capture and it will automatically capture the screenshot. for you. Once you are satisfied with your selection, tap the “Save” button to save it to your device.
How to Take Screenshots on LG Phones?
Besides using the universal power button and volume down key combination to take screenshots, LG devices come with a pretty cool tool that lets you take both regular and scrolling screenshots and annotate them before saving them to your phone. This tool is called “Capture+” and it works like this:
- Firstly, pull down the notifications shade and then tap on “Capture +” tool. Press the checkmark here if you want to save the normal screenshot.
2. Capture+ opens the screenshot directly inside an annotation tool. So, if you want, You can annotate the screenshot as many times as you want and then hit the checkmark to save it..
3. If you want take a scrolling screenshot, hit the “Extended” button at the bottom left. The phone automatically scrolls down and continues to capture the screenshot until you tap to stop it or when there is nothing left to scroll down.
As you can see, Capture+ is a pretty powerful tool when it comes to screenshots. Actually LG is my favorite phone when it comes to screenshots and if you have one, learning the Capture+ tool will really help you get the most out of it.
Best Third-Party Screenshot Apps to Take Scrolling Screenshots and Annotations
While both Samsung and LG include a native method for capturing scrolling screenshots, the same cannot be said for stock Android smartphones and some other OEMs. Therefore, we will use third-party apps to take scrolling screenshots on these devices. The app I recommend is called Screen Master (Free) and you can use it like this:
- First download and install the Screen Master app (Free). Now start the app, grant the necessary permissions and Tap the “Open Screenshot” button.
2. Now, tap the screen capture button, it will take a screenshot of your current page. Here, you will see that there are a series of buttons at the bottom. The Crop, Share, and Save buttons are pretty much self-explanatory, so we won’t go into them.
3. The Edit button is used for comments. Hit the edit button and you will find various photo editing and annotation tools. as shown in the picture below.
4. The “Stitch” button is used to take scrolling screenshots. Tap on it and then scroll down to capture the next screenshot. When you scroll down, press the plus (+) button to take additional screenshots. Repeat the process until you’ve completed your screenshot and tap the checkmark button when you’re done.
As you can see, Screen Master is a very capable screenshot tool. However, it is not the only tool. If you are not satisfied with Screen Master, LongShot for Android (Free), ScrollCapture (Free), screenshot touch (Free) and more.
SEE ALSO: How to Take a Screenshot on iPhone
How to Take a Screenshot on Android Like a Pro
That concludes our article on how to take screenshots on Android devices, including scrolling screenshots, annotated screenshots, and more. We’ve also mentioned third-party tools you can use to take screenshots on Android phones, which should come in handy if the built-in methods don’t work for you. If you know of other third-party screenshot apps that you think should be mentioned in this article, or if you still can’t take screenshots on your Android phone, let us know in the comments.
