Samsung Galaxy S8 User Guide: Tips, Tricks and How-Tos
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the most powerful phones Samsung has ever made. Want to get the most out of your new phone? We've put together this guide of tips about the features available in the Galaxy S8 and how to use them. Check back frequently, as we'll frequently update this guide with more tips and tricks.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Features to Enable and Disable
So you've just cracked open your new Galaxy S8. Before you start installing all your favorite apps or run outside to snap some photos, you should take a few minutes to properly set up your brand-new phone. After all, while Samsung has put a lot of thought into how people use its devices, not every useful feature is enabled out of the box.
From getting the sharpest possible resolution and setting up biometric security to enabling quicker access to the camera, here’s how to get the most out of Samsung’s flagship. To find all of these options, just go to the bottom of each section and type the italicized words into the search window of the S8's Settings menu.—Sam Rutherford
Set the screen to its full resolution
This one is a biggie and kind of a head-scratcher as to why it’s not turned on to begin with. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ boast beautiful high-res 2960 x 1440 displays, but they aren't set to use every pixel to their fullest by default. So if you want to truly take advantage of the best smartphone display on the market, go into your display options and increase the resolution from 2220 x 1080 to 2960 x 1440.
Search in Settings for screen resolution and drag the slider to the right toward the side labeled WQHD+ 2960 x 1440.
Enable fingerprint, face and iris recognition
Now that you've got a new phone, you're going to want to make sure you're the only one who can access it. On the Galaxy S8, not only can you register your fingerprint using the sensor on the back, you can also register your face and iris for three different biometric security options. Note that you can’t use facial recognition and iris scanning at the same time, but you can use one of those options, plus fingerprint.
Search in Settings for lock screen and security, then tap the option that says "Fingerprint scanner." Next, touch the finger you want to use to the sensor on the back of the phone multiple times, using various positions until you reach 100 percent. ( If you have not enabled a secure screen-lock method such as a PIN code, password or swipe pattern, you will need to do so first.)
To enable face recognition, select Face Recognition and register your face by using the front camera to position your face inside the highlighted area. (If you have not enabled a secure screen-lock method such as a PIN code, password or swipe pattern, you will need to do so first.)
To enable iris security, select the option that says "iris scanner," hold the device 10 to 14 inches away from your eyes and use the front-facing camera to position your eyes in the highlighted section of the screen. This process is best when you do it in a well-lit area without wearing glasses. (If you have not enabled a secure screen-lock method such as a PIN code, password or swipe pattern, you will need to do so first.)
Enable Find My Mobile
Losing a phone is a big fear for many. But if you turn on Find My Mobile, you give yourself another chance to recover your handset in the event you forget it in a taxi, drop it at a bar or just lose it between the cushions of your couch.
Search in Settings for Find My Mobile and then log in with your Samsung account, and enable remote controls and Google location service for more accurate GPS information.Enable Quick Launch Camera
Now that the S8 has a virtual home button, you can't double tap it to launch the camera. However, if you enable the Quick Launch feature, you can press the power button twice in succession to do the same thing.
Search in Settings for Quick Launch Camera and tap the slider to toggle the feature on.Set up always-on display
Samsung's always-on display first appeared on the Galaxy S7, but the Galaxy S8 ushers in a few small improvements. Now you can control your music or check for any messages you've missed at a glance without ever unlocking your phone. And since the S8 has a very energy-efficient AMOLED screen, the always-on display isn't going to crush your battery life, either.
Search in Settings for always-on display, tap the toggle to enable the always-on display (if it isn't on already), and then scroll down and make sure the option that says Show Always is enabled as well. From here you can select the style of the S8's always-on display, too.Add device maintenance to Edge Apps
The S8 is one of the fastest phones available right now, but with a couple swipes and taps, it can actually get even faster. On the S8, Samsung has included a handy device-management function so you can keep tabs on how much memory you are currently using, the phone's battery status and the amount of available storage. Better yet, there's an option to clean out any unnecessary background apps, while another button lets you choose from different power modes (optimized, game, performance, entertainment) to best suit what you're doing.
Search in Settings for Edge Screen, enable the toggle for Edge Panels, then tap the setting to see a listing of available panels. On the next screen, make sure the toggle is set to On before scrolling to the right and tapping on the circle above the one that says Device Maintenance to add it to your list of Edge apps.
To access the Device Management Edge app, swipe in from the small tab on the right or left side of the screen to open the Edge apps menu, then swipe through the various apps until you get to the one that says Device Management.
Pick your screen mode
No two people see color exactly the same, so it’s good to know that aside from the default adaptive color mode, the S8 also comes with AMOLED Cinema, AMOLED Photo and Basic screen modes. Both AMOLED modes feature a warmer color tone than the bluish adaptive color mode and offer better color accuracy, too.
If you don't like any of the default options, you can also change the color balance from here.
Search in Settings for screen mode and select one of the four color modes: Adaptive Display, AMOLED Cinema, AMOLED Photo or Basic. Adaptive Display has a cooler, bluish tint and a wider color gamut than AMOLED Cinema or Photo, while the latter two feature a more neutral color balance and much better color accuracy. Basic mode is a mode for sRGB compliance.Enable the blue light filter
Almost everyone could use a little more sleep, but the blue light emanating from the screens of the many devices we own could be affecting that. Thankfully, the S8 comes with a blue light filter that cuts down on that harsh light, so you'll have an easier time falling asleep at night. You can even set it so that your phone's color tone will gradually shift toward warmer tones as it gets closer to bedtime.
Search in Settings for blue light filter and tap the toggle to enable the feature. If you tap on the "blue light filter" option itself, you can adjust the opacity of the filter and create a schedule for when the phone should enable the filter.
Consider customizing your theme
The S8's new Samsung Experiences sports a cleaner, more restrained take on Android 7.0 than previous Galaxy phones, but it still may not be for everyone. Thankfully, by using the S8's built-in theme support, you can customize your phone's interface to look like almost anything you want.
Search in Settings for Wallpapers and Themes. The first time you do this, you will be prompted to download Samsung's Wallpapers and Themes app. Once you do, you can navigate between featured, top-rated and new sections to find new wallpapers, themes, icons and always-on display layouts. (While most options are free, there are also a number of options that need to be purchased.)Enable Game Launcher
The last thing you want to see when you're about to land a critical hit is a pop-up saying your mom is calling. By enabling the S8's Game Launcher, your phone will organize all your games into a single place, while also providing a handy place to disable alerts while you're playing, mute game sound or set the phone to high-performance mode for even better graphics.
Search in Settings for Game Launcher and hit the toggle to turn the feature on. This will create a new folder somewhere on your home screen containing all your games. When you open the folder, you can then select to disable alerts while playing games, mute game sound or switch performance modes by tapping the icons at the bottom of the screen.
MORE: Top Rated Android Games
Set up Secure folder
Everybody has some kind of information they don't want anyone else seeing. It could be tax documents, a picture of your driver's license or just some precious family photos. So instead of keeping that stuff in the same place you store everything else, put those important files behind an extra layer of protection by using Samsung's Secure folder. To access these documents, you will need to clear another level of security (password, fingerprint or iris).
Search in Settings for Secure folder, sign in to your Samsung account (if you haven't already) and select which type of authentication you want to use. When the process is complete, the phone will install a new folder somewhere on your home screen that can be used to store sensitive information.Customize the home screen
Before you fill your phone full of apps, you should take a second to pick the kind of home-screen layout you want. You can choose the size of the apps grid on your home screen, whether you want an app drawer or not, how you want to access the app drawer and even which apps to hide.
Search in Settings for home screen and select whether you want an app drawer or not by tapping the setting that says Home Screen Layout. Then tap the Home Screen Grid option to select whether you want a 4 x 5, 4 x 6 or 5 x 5 grid for apps on the home screen. Next, tap the Apps Screen Grid to select a 4 x 6 or 5 x 6 grid for the app drawer, if you have decided to use one. Finally, tap the option that says, Apps Button if you want to use the default hidden layout for the app drawer, or turn on a dedicated icon for opening the apps drawer.Enable one-handed mode
Despite Samsung's claims that the S8's 18.5:9 display is more single-hand friendly, reaching every point on the screen can still be a challenge, especially for owners of the larger 6.2-inch S8+. Thankfully, Samsung includes an easy-to-use, one-handed mode that can be configured for both left- and right-handed users.
Search in Settings for one-handed mode and tap the toggle to turn the feature on. Below, you can select from one of two methods of activating one-handed mode: swiping up diagonally from either bottom corner or tapping the virtual home button three times.Disable Emergency Alerts
Emergency alerts are important, but the ear-splitting alarm that never seems to end can be annoying. So you may want to adjust the settings for emergency alerts before you forget. You'll thank yourself when you’re not jolted awake by a blaring alarm.
The setting for emergency alerts isn't actually in the standard settings menu, you can't search for it. Instead, you need to open up the Samsung Messages app, hit the three-dot menu icon in the top right, tap the Settings option and then select the option for Emergency Alert Settings. From there, you can select which types of emergency alerts you want to receive (presidential alert, imminent extreme alert, imminent severe alert, Amber alerts), and what kinds of sound and vibration will go off then when they appear.
Top 25 iPhone X Tips and Tricks
If you’ve just bought an iPhone X, you might be wondering what all you can do with this brand new, trendsetting iPhone? A lot. And we’re not talking about the new gestures and Face ID. There are a lot more interesting things about this new iPhone that you might not have discovered. Like Animoji, 4K video recording, super slow-mo, dark mode and more.
1. Tap to Wake
Next time you want to wake up your iPhone when it’s lying flat on the table, just tap on the screen once. The Lock screen will show up.
2. Fastest Way To Unlock Using Face ID
Face ID works reliably once you’ve started the swipe to home gesture. The fastest way to unlock your phone using Face ID is to first tap on the screen (in the bottom area) to wake the screen up and then quickly swiping up. By the time the animation for Home screen is done, your phone will be unlocked.
3. Dealing with Face ID Issues
If Face ID isn’t working well for you, try the following things.
- Hold the phone between 10-20 inches from your face (25-50 centimeters).
- Don’t wait for the padlock to animate. Just swipe up to unlock the phone. Face ID will catch up.
- If you’re not able to use it in awkward positions, turn off Require Attention feature from Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Face ID & Identification.
Read more: Top 10 Face ID Tips and Tricks for iPhone X
4. Faster App Switcher Access
If you find the process of waiting for the App Switcher too tedious, try swiping up at a 45-degree angle (to the right). Once you are used to this gesture, the app switcher will come up a bit faster (or at least, the right swipe fools your mind in thinking that you’re not just sitting there waiting).
5. Taking App Switcher Out of the Equation
I’m not a fan of the new App Switcher so I rarely use that now. Instead, I’m loving the quick horizontal swipe for directly jumping between the most recent apps. It’s so fluid and fast. Yes, the whole feature is a bit weird in that it only remembers the sequence of recent apps for a while. But for quickly switching between the 2-3 apps you frequently use, this is way faster than anything else.
6. Force Quitting Apps
There’s a new tedious process for force quitting apps. After getting to the App Switcher, you need to tap and hold on an app to enter force quitting mode (you’ll see a red minus icon in the top-left corner). Then swipe up on the app you want to quit. Tap on the empty part in the bottom to go back home.
Read more: How to Kill or Force Quit Apps on iPhone X
7. Taking a Screenshot
Press the Volume Up and Side button at once to take a screenshot.
8. Shutting It Down
Tap and hold the Side button and either one of the Volume buttons to access the Slide to power off menu.
9. Doing a Hard Reset
To do a hard reset, click the Volume Up button, then Volume Down and then press and hold the Side button.
Read more: How to Hard Reset iPhone X in 3 Easy Steps
10. Accessing Control Center
To access the Control Center, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (next to the notch). Doing this with one had is not really possible. So use your other hand for this gesture. Or slide your entire phone down using the palm of your hands and then stretch your thumb to the right corner.
11. Enable Reachability
You’ll need to enable Reachability feature from Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Reachability. Then flick down in the Home indicator area. As there’s not much space there, you’ll need to change your grip a bit to get it just right.
After Reachability is activated, swipe down from the blank part at the top to bring down notifications. If you swipe from the far right edge, you’ll bring down Control Center.
12. Use AssistiveTouch
There are some gestures in iPhone X which are just really difficult to get right – App Switcher, Control Center, Screenshot, Reachability.
Use the AssistiveTouch to get a virtual home button and to do all this stuff using the floating AssistiveTouch button. Go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> AssistiveTouch and define shortcuts for single tap, double tap, long press and 3D Touch for the AssistiveTouch button.
13. Get a Wireless Charging Pad
iPhone X supports wireless charging and you should but a wireless charger to put on your nightstand. Because Apple supports the Qi wireless charging standard, you can find reliable wireless charging pads for as little as $20. We would recommend you buy one from a reputable brand like Mophie, Belikin of Samsung. Right now, wireless charging only happens at a 5W rate. Which is enough for overnight charging. But in the next software update, Apple should enable 7.5W charging.
14. Or A Fast Charging Setup
If you want to charge your iPhone really quickly. Like when you’re getting ready in the morning, you’ll need to invest in Apple’s $49 29W USB‑C Power Adapter and $25 on Apple’s USB-C to Lightning Cable. You’ll get 50% charge in 30 minutes. And this setup will charge your iPhone X way faster than the 5W adapter that comes in the box. But if you already have a 10W iPad adaptor, there’s not much gain over just using that.
15. Record and Export Animoji Videos
Animojis are just outright fun. You can send 110-second clips to your friends and family who are on iMessage. But what if you want to save an Animoji clip and share it on another messaging app or a social network?
To do that, use iOS 11’s new Screen Recording feature (learn how to set it up here).
Go to an iMessage conversation, tap on the App Store icon, select the Animoji icon and swipe up to go full screen. Then open Control Center and activate Screen Recording. Then just do your thing. Screen Recording will capture both the Animoji animations on the screen and your voice. Once the screen recording is done, go to Photos app and edit the video. Crop so that only the Animoji video is visible in the video.
16. Take Portrait Mode Selfies
Open the Camera app, switch to the front facing camera and tap on Portrait. Now follow the instructions on the screen to frame your face just right. Hit the shutter button and you have a depth effect selfie.
17. Add Portrait Lighting Effects to your Photos
Portrait Lighting is a new feature independent of the Portrait mode. Using this, you can add professional-level lighting effects to your portraits. After you enter Portrait mode, you’ll see a carousel. Swipe between the available effects. You can change or disable an effect later from the Photos app.
18. Shoot in 4k 60 FPS
The setting for this hidden in Settings -> Camera -> Record Video but you can, in fact, shoot at 4K 60 fps on the iPhone X. This makes the iPhone one of the few consumer electronics in the world with the capacity.
19. Shoot in 240 FPS Super Slow-Mo
You can also shoot super slow motion, at 240 fps at 1080p. And of course, you can end the clip later to move around the slow motion parts. Go to settings -> Camera ->Record Slo-mo to switch to 240 fps slo-mo.
20. Use the New Slow-Sync Flash
The new Quad Slow Sync Flash on the iPhone X is amazing. As a rule of thumb, you should try to avoid taking pictures with the flash turned on. But if you need to, don’t think twice before enabling flash on the iPhone X. This new slow sync flash is usually found on pro camera gear.
21. Hide The Notch on Lock screen and Home screen
If you don’t like the notch on the Lock screen or the Home screen, you can use a wallpaper that hides the notch part. You can find multiple wallpapers like this. Or you can use an app like Notch Remover to make your own.
22. Take Stabilized 2X Zoom Photos
One of the things I enjoy the most on iPhone X are the 2x zoom photos where the iPhone switches to the telephoto lens. In iPhone X, even the telephoto lens is stabilized. What this means is that you get amazing 2x photos with the same level of detail and quality (and no blur), without even having to move closer to the subject.
23. Record Videos in HEVC
If you’ve upgraded to High Sierra, iPhone will automatically change the format in which you record photos and videos. After iOS 11, you can now shoot photos in HIEF and record videos in HEVC. Both formats cut down the space required by 50% while maintaining the same level of quality.
Especially when it comes to videos, you should switch to recording them in HEVC. If you do so in 4K, you’ll see a bit improvement in the file size.
To change the settings, go to Settings -> Camera -> Formats and switch to High Efficiency.
24. Use Dark Wallpapers
iPhone X has an OLED display. So according to me, the best wallpaper for the Home screen is a pitch black one (you should go crazy with the wallpaper on the Lock screen). Thankfully, Apple has included a black wallpaper with the iPhone X this time. Go to Settings -> Wallpaper -> Choose Wallpaper -> Stills and then tap on the last black wallpaper.
Read more: The Best Wallpapers for Your iPhone X
25. Use Dark Mode
I’m still surprised that iPhone X didn’t ship with a real dark mode. I hope that comes with iOS 12. But till then we can use the Smart Invert accessibility setting to kind of get a similar mode. Smart Invert feature inverts the colors for text and UI elements. So black text on white background becomes white text on black background. And on OLED screen, this looks really cool. But the feature doesn’t touch media like images or other visual assets (the apps need to have support for Smart Invert feature).
You can turn this feature on from: Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations -> Invert Colors -> Smart Invert.
BONUS
Quickly Open The Last Used App From Home Screen
This happens a lot – you end up on the Home screen (intentionally or unintentionally) and you need to go back to the most recent app you were using. You can either tap on it from the Home screen to invoke the App Switcher.
But there’s a new, totally hidden gesture in iPhone X that will get you there in under one second.
When you’re on the Home screen, just swipe left on the bottom part of the screen. In the general area where the Home bar would be when you’re in an app (right below the app icons in the dock).
This will instantly take you to the app you were using before you ended up on the Home screen.
When you’re on the Home screen, just swipe left on the bottom part of the screen. In the general area where the Home bar would be when you’re in an app (right below the app icons in the dock).
This will instantly take you to the app you were using before you ended up on the Home screen.
Your Favorite iPhone X Tips and Tricks
What’s your favorite thing about the iPhone X? Share with us in the comments below.
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