So, you’ve bought yourself a new Samsung smartphone. You’ve taken it out of the box, peeled off the film, and inspected it from all sides. But what next? Now it’s time to customize the system to your liking. The best place to start is to restore your favorite apps. If you chose to back up your data from your previous phone during the setup process, all the apps will be downloaded automatically. If you didn’t, it’s time to visit the Play Store and download them manually.
After that, you can proceed to system settings. It is quite tempting to turn on a brand new phone and immediately start testing the rear camera or watching videos on YouTube, skipping the setup process. But it is better to do this right away with the help of our tips, so as not to run around the menu later in search of the right item. This process does not require any big explanations, but we have a few tips that may be useful to you.
Update your wallpaper
This is the easiest step to update the look of your phone. To change the wallpaper, go to "Settings → Wallpapers and Themes» (or go to the pre-installed Galaxy Themes app) and find an image you like. Some wallpapers are free, while others require payment.
Click on the image you want to download to set it on your desktop and lock screen. You can add video wallpaper.
If you don't find a suitable option, then download a third-party wallpaper app from Google Play Store. A huge selection of high-quality wallpapers and ringtones are available in the app. Zedge.
Change the subject
Some themes only change the lock screen and wallpaper, while others also change the icons. To do this, simply go to "Settings → Wallpapers and Themes" or just use the Galaxy Themes app. Select "Themes" from the bottom menu bar and browse through dozens of free themes.
Change icons
Samsung lets you change the look of icons. If you don't like the default look of icons or the icons that come with your theme, go to the Galaxy Themes app and select "Icons" from the bottom menu bar.
There are many interesting icons here - some of them are funny, others make the phone look modern and elegant. Installing one of the icon themes will not change all the icons on the phone. It only affects the default apps.
Install another keyboard
One of the reasons for changing the keyboard may be the transition from iPhone to Samsung. After all, the user gets used to a certain location and functionality of the buttons. To change the standard keyboard, you can download several keyboards from the Google Play store. Among all the variety, we can recommend the application SwiftKey.
For SwiftKey, all you need to do after installing it is select Enable SwiftKey and then click Select SwiftKey.
If you don't like the SwiftKey app, try it other free keyboards for android.
Set up notifications
By default, notifications appear inside a solid white "bubble," covering your wallpaper. If you want to get rid of that annoying "bubble" once and for all, go to "Settings → Lock screen → Notifications" and drag the Transparency bar to the High position.
In the View Style section, you can change the number of notifications displayed. There are 3 options to choose from: detailed information, a shortened version, or just an app icon.
Sometimes the notification text color is too dark or too light. Therefore, we recommend that you enable the auto-adjust text color feature, which will change the text color depending on the wallpaper color.
Always on display mode
The AOD (Always On Display) mode shows the time and date on a black background when the smartphone is not in use. Those who find this screen boring can switch toSettings → Lock screen → Clock style» and change these parameters. In the settings, change the style and color of the AOD and clock display.
Elements in the status bar
The status bar is located at the top of the screen and displays all the important functions of the phone. Here you can find out the time, battery level, see the level of mobile communication.
When you receive a lot of notifications, the status bar can quickly become overloaded. To limit the number of notifications that appear, go toSettings → Notifications → Status bar". Enable "Latest 3 notifications" to show only three icons at a time. Disable "Show notification icons" to completely remove notification icons. You can also add battery percentage to the status bar by enabling "Show battery percentage".
To disguise the cutout as a camera, go to "Display → Fullscreen apps" and turn on the switch "Hide Front Camera".
Adjust the edges
Samsung phones come with a lot of interesting features, one of them is edge lighting. It appears when the phone is closed and not in use.
When you receive a call or message, the edges of your phone light up. To change the appearance of the light, selectDisplay → Borders → Lighting → Style" Here you can choose different effects, colors, transparency, width and duration.
When you swipe from the right edge of the screen, your favorite apps and contacts appear. Not only can you change the contents of the panel, but you can also add or remove entire panels. To do this, go to "Display → Borders → Lighting → Screen Edge Panels" — various panel options will be displayed. You can add weather, financial news and much more. By clicking on the three small dots in the corner and selecting "Edge Panel Control", you can adjust its transparency and size.
Increase your screen resolution
If you have a powerful phone like the Samsung Galaxy S10, you can choose any resolution. Select "Settings → Display → Screen Resolution» and choose one of three options: HD+, FHD+ or WQHD+. Note that WQHD+ drains the battery the most, but the high image quality is worth it.
Customize the navigation bar
Most Android smartphones have the back button on the left side of the navigation bar, but Samsung places the back button on the right by default. To fix this, go toSettings → Display → Navigation bar" and customize it to your liking. Here you can change the order of the buttons and even use gestures for navigation.