10 Things you can do on your Samsung Galaxy S8

1 – Use the AKG Earphones

Who’s ever used the earphones that come with a new phone? You usually just leave them in the box unless you lose the ones you’re currently using. This time it’s different!


The AKG earbuds that come with the S8 are worth 99$ separately and are really good for a free pair of earphones. Ditch whatever you’re using now and take advantage of the gift!

2 – Full-Screen Apps

App developers are working to adapt their software to 18:5:9 aspect ratios such as the one used by the S8. Until they’re done, you can still force your apps to work just by going to Settings > Display > Full-Screen Apps and flip the switch for all apps on your phone (all Samsung’s and most Google’s Apps obviously don’t need this as they’re already designed for the new ratio).

3 – Maximize your Screen Space

You’ve got a huge screen, it would be a shame not to make the most of it, right?
Go to Settings > Display > Screen Zoom and Font: slide the sliders to get the icon and text size the way you like them. Remember to hit Apply each time. You can also customize app’s icons layout on your home screen and in the app drawer.
It will give you a sense of space, making your contents look much larger than they already are.

4 – Switch Button Layout

If you have recently switched to Samsung from another Android device and don’t quite feel at home with the navigation buttons order, go to Settings > Display > Navigation Bar > Button Layout and choose Back – Home – Recents. You’re welcome.

5 – Ditch Bixby

I’m sorry, but Bixby is quite unhelpful. My advice to you is, until they improve it, ditch it all together and use Google Assistant instead. Just press on the home screen, swipe to the Bixby screen and flip the switch to hide it. Google Assistant won’t just be better, it will also follow you in case you end up changing your phone.

6 – Disable Animations

Disabling animations is a simple trick to make your phone a little faster. First, enable developer options by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information, where you’ll have to tap 'Build Number' seven times. When you go back to the main Settings menu, you’ll see Developer Options at the bottom.
Scroll down until you see Window Animation Scale and Transition Animation Scale. Turn them both off.
PS: If you want to play around with them a little before you do this, put them at 10x and navigate around for a bit.

7 - Blue Light Filter

Cutting blue lights after dark will help you sleep easier. You can choose whether you want it to kick in automatically between sunset and sunrise or turn it on manually. You can even customize the schedule so to keep the blue lights going after dark, but only until a certain time. Go to Settings > Display > Blue Light Filter.

8 – Enable Scanner Gestures

Some smartphones allow you to drag the notifications shade just by swiping down on the fingerprint scanner. Go to Settings > Advanced Features > Finger Sensor Gestures and switch it to on. Now you can drag down or pull up the notifications shade one-handed from your scanner.

9 – Delete Bloat

There are always some pre-installed apps on your phone that you will never use. For those you can’t uninstall, you can still disable them so that they don’t run in the background. Just open the app drawer and hold an app icon until you get a shortcut menu. One of the options will be Uninstall or Disable. There are some apps, which you will have no control on, so you will just have to live with them.

10 – Change Quick Settings Tile Size

This will let you put all the most important buttons in the Quick Settings panel in just one screen, without having to swipe to the second one.
Pull down the Quick Settings panel from the top of the screen and tap the overflow menu in the top right-hand corner. Tap Button Grid and choose the one you prefer to make toggles larger or smaller, so to fit more or less. You can choose 3x3, 4x3 or 5x3.


One last thing! If you want to get the best out of your display resolution – especially if you’re using a Gear VR – you can go to Settings > Display > Screen Resolution, and drag the slider to the far right. This will enable the full QHD+, but also consume more battery, so you should only use it when you really need to.

 

The best thing you can do for your Samsung Galaxy S8 is protect it! Check out our Samsung Galaxy S8 accessories here.