Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Enable and Use Smart Pause in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Smart pause is claimed as one of advanced features when it comes for the first time in Android Jelly Bean. In Android 4.4 Kitkat, this feature is remain available. If you have not known about it yet, enabling this feature will allow your phone utilizes the front camera to detect your face and will automatically pause the video playback once your face is facing away from the screen.


How to enable or disable smart pause?
Generally, there are two methods that you can use to turn on or off this feature, through the quick settings panel or the settings menu.

Method #1: From the quick settings panel

1. Swipe down the top of the screen with two fingers to open up the quick settings panel.
2. Depending on your current settings, tap the Smart pause button to enable or disable smart pause. The button turns green when the smart pause feature is activated.

Method #2: From the Settings menu

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap My device tab.
3. Scroll down to find Smart screen, and then tap it.
4. Depending on your current settings, tap Smart pause to enable or disable this option. When the checkbox next to this option is ticked means the smart pause feature is activated.

How to use the smart pause feature?
Theoretically, once you activate the smart pause feature, the video you're currently viewing will be paused when you're facing away from the screen and will be resumed when you're looking back at the screen. There are some conditions that should be fulfilled to make this feature works. You have to be in a well lit condition (not too dark or bright) and the screen isn't in the direct light as well as the front camera is not being used by other apps. FYI, from what I have tried, I only managed to use this feature in the morning or afternoon in outdoor when the sunlight was not being shined brightly, or in indoor but I had to stand up near the window or the door. If you want to try this feature, kindly do as follows:

1. Open Video player app.
2. Tap the required video to open it. (don't view the video in pop up play because the smart pause feature won't work!).
3. Hold the phone as steady as possible and upright, and then move your head in any direction to pause the video and then look back to the screen to resume the video.

Please note that this feature only works if you're using the stock video player app and it won't work while the multi window feature is being activated in your phone. I myself seldom use this feature because I prefer to save my battery life by pausing the video manually than waste it for being used by the device to detect my face all the time while I'm viewing a video just to pause/resume the video. Even so, this feature is great but it'd better if the ability to detect the face is improved so that this feature can be used with ease in any conditions.