Every Galaxy S20 sold in the US — even the S20+ and S20 Ultra — simply can't be rooted. With the bootloader permanently locked, you miss out on the world of rooting and the customization it opens up, but modifications are still possible. Thanks to some Samsung-developed apps ...more
With every new Galaxy flagship release comes the age-old dilemma: do I choose great hardware or great software? For years, Samsung has given users the best components available on any smartphone. The problem is the software is an acquired taste. But there is something you can ...more
Android 9.0 Pie has finally arrived for Galaxy devices like the Note 9, S9, and S8, in the form of One UI. Of course, we've had a good idea as to what Samsung had up its sleeve for some time, thanks in large part to beta versions of the firmware that leaked out well before its ...more
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge came to market in 2016, they were universally praised as being the pinnacle of Android smartphone design, even topping Consumer Reports' smartphone ratings. Why? Well, for once, we finally had a smartphone, or in this case, a pair of sma ...more
The Galaxy Note 10+ is the pinnacle of Android hardware. You won't find many phones with a better combination of specs and design. But you may not love the software. Even with One UI on board, some users still want a more "stock" feel. Thanks to apps from third-party develope ...more
While the Galaxy S10 is a beautiful phone, its software isn't for everyone. One UI makes huge strides toward undoing the mess known as TouchWiz, but for purists, it's still not quite on par with stock Android. Fortunately, the beauty of Android is you can change this with a fe ...more
Taking one-handed pictures with your phone can quickly devolve into a juggling act. You have to secure the phone in landscape mode (if you're doing it right), tap to focus, and then somehow hit the shutter button without shaking the device too much. Fortunately, Samsung has a ...more
The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have terrific cameras that are packed with awesome features. But if you've grown tired of taking and viewing photos on only a part of your screen, Samsung has built in settings to let you take full advantage of their flagships' Infinity Display. For opti ...more
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ might not have made it into the hands of the public yet, but we sure have come across a lot of the stock apps from Samsung's latest flagship phones. First, there was the new launcher, then Hello Bixby, and now, the extremely elusive Record Screen feature ...more
It looks as though Samsung will continue to tone down the look of TouchWiz, according to a leaked look at the newest "Grace" user interface for the upcoming Galaxy Note 7. HDblog, who acquired the leaked UI, shows off the beta version of the new skin in their video below. Don ...more
For some strange reason, not all variants of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have a menu option for changing the backlight timeout for their capacitive keys. According to user reports, only the AT&T variant of these phones has such an option. But thanks to an app from devel ...more
There's a 2800mAh battery powering the Samsung Galaxy S5, but even it's no match for the constant day-to-day torture you put it through. Taking photos, watching videos, and playing games can make your fully charged S5 powerless in no time. While there are some features built- ...more
AMOLED display panels like the one found in most Samsung Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S6 models, are known for their deep blacks and vivid colors. The downside here is that the colors tend to be over-saturated and not very realistic. Samsung countered this issue by of ...more
You don't have to see every app installed on your phone if you don't want to. Samsung One UI makes it easy to hide apps from your Samsung Galaxy's home screen, app tray, and search tool, whether you want to declutter, simplify things, or keep other people from seeing some of t ...more
All the Android fans out there undoubtedly remember the squeeze gestures introduced with the HTC U11. Google continued the trend by bringing the gestures to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Thanks to a brand new app, you can now enable similar squeeze actions on your Galaxy S9 or S ...more
Our smartphones are full of personally-identifiable information. So much of what we do with these devices is tracked and recorded to make our experience more streamlined and personalized. For many users, that's a fair trade — but for privacy-minded folks, it's a raw deal. And ...more
I've been using the Galaxy Note 10+ as my daily driver for a while now. I love it, but as with any phone, it loses its pizzazz after a while. But since it's an Android phone, there's always a way to add fresh features and functionality to the UI. The five customization ideas ...more
Fortnite's long awaited arrival on Android has ramped up excitement among gamers who are installing the beta version in astounding numbers. With so many midrange and budget devices running Android, however, it's important to stay on top of your device's performance to ensure s ...more
It was only a matter of time before the apps from the new Samsung Galaxy S5 leaked for everyone to download and install, and today we've got one that takes advantage of the IR blaster on your Galaxy Note 3. Of course, I'm talking about the updated WatchON app, Samsung's built ...more
You can't beat Samsung's hardware, but their software still isn't for everyone. That's the thing, though — software can be replaced. So if you're more a fan of Google's vision for Android, but you can't get enough of Samsung's beautiful screens and build quality, you're just 1 ...more
We've had a lot of fun digging into the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8. Thus far, we compiled a full list of the biggest changes and ran down some of our favorites. One of the most user-facing components on a smartphone is the camera. Samsung made sure to add some nice tweaks t ...more
While the audio experience is solid on Galaxy phones, it isn't the absolute best out of the box. That's because Samsung has partnered with Dolby Laboratories to provide its industry-leading sound technology known as Dolby Atmos, but it's turned off by default. Once enabled, yo ...more
Thanks to Samsung's One UI, we can now experience firsthand what Android 9.0 Pie has to offer flagship Galaxy devices like the Note 9, S9, and S8. Perhaps one of the best features is something we've all been clamoring for: a system-wide dark theme that gives numerous apps and ...more
Samsung's Galaxy S9 has the best smartphone display among any in its class, beating out the likes of the Google Pixel 2 XL and iPhone X. However, Samsung doesn't unlock the true power of its screen out of the box. To do that, you'll need to rummage through a few settings on yo ...more
The Galaxy S20's Wireless PowerShare is a must-use feature. With even the base model packing a 4,000 mAh battery, you have more than enough juice for all your Qi-enabled devices. The default settings make it so that in certain situations, you may have to choose between your ph ...more
Pressing the side key on your Galaxy S20 wakes or locks the device, while pressing and holding the button activates Bixby. So "side key" is an apt name — it's not really a power button anymore. That begs the question, how exactly do you restart this thing? Well, here's what h ...more
Before all the fancy night mode settings in phone cameras, we used the LED flash to take low-light photos. While it's not used for pictures as much anymore, the LED on the back of your Galaxy is still pretty handy as a flashlight. But did you know there's an easy way to adjust ...more
Developers options is one of the first things tinkerers unlock on a new phone. However, even the less tech-savvy users will find some benefits to revealing this hidden menu, as it enables features such as GPS spoofing and faster animations. By default, this menu is hidden awa ...more
You don't need to have a fully modded and rooted Galaxy S9 to appreciate what developer options brings to the table. Besides the obvious USB debugging, which lets you use ADB, this hidden menu lets you tweak your phone's animations or change its DPI to better suit your needs — ...more
Samsung's Galaxy S9 was recently announced with features like AR Emoji and Dual Aperture, but great functionality lives underneath them — such as the ability to have your home screen auto-rotate to landscape mode. It's a nice feature, but with a little work, you can already do ...more
We just keep discovering hidden features and settings scattered throughout the Galaxy S8's system like little digital Easter eggs that were largely left unadvertised. One such setting is an option that lets you change the placement of your S8's display brightness slider. Thou ...more
Like Russian Matryoshka dolls, the features on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ often have hidden components within them that add to their functionality. The phone's flashlight is a great example of this since there's a hidden shortcut within the "Flashlight" Quick Settings tile that let ...more
Samsung's Galaxy S7 is an incredible piece of technology, but the Skype app that's preinstalled on some models may have some nasty issues, such as video and audio that freezes. Luckily, the fix for these problems is a simple one, although somewhat buried in the phone's Setting ...more
Having your phone ring loudly in a quiet environment could be potentially embarrassing for you, but also quite annoying for everyone else that didn't forget to put their smartphone on silent. Whether it's in class, at work during a meeting, at the library, or a movie screening ...more
Even if you're new to Android phones, chances are you've heard of the power of Android's customization, and that applies to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series as well. Your brand new Galaxy Note 20 or Note 20 Ultra's operating system is capable of modification beyond what's ava ...more
With all of the new features and third-party apps out there making Android better and faster every day, it's quite frustrating to me that keyboard advancements remain relatively static. As someone who sends text message every day on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, I get overwhelmin ...more
One little known feature on Android devices is TalkBack, which provides you with spoken feedback and vibrations in order to help you navigate your device. Obviously, if you're not blind or visually impaired, this isn't a feature you're likely to use. Nonetheless, curiosity ge ...more
If you scan the notification panel on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone daily, all those red circles with numbers that litter the apps on your home screen and app drawer can feel like persistent nagging and unnecessary clutter rather than friendly reminders to check your app aler ...more
Samsung has finally rolled out the Android Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+. If you're just now getting the update, you'll be happy to know that your Galaxy just got upgraded with plenty of cool new features. Like previous updates, Samsung has improved upon its software b ...more
The software released in the 2015 iterations of the Samsung Galaxy line of devices—the S6, S6 Active, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, and Note 5—have some pretty neat camera features that give these devices arguably the best smartphone camera on the market today. Out of the box, Samsung's ...more
Many apps claim to record phone calls on Android, but very few actually deliver. There's just too many different devices floating around out there for one app to be able to support them all — or so it would seem. The development team at Boldbeast Software may have finally sol ...more
So you're thinking about downloading the Galaxy S8 Oreo beta, but you're not sure if it's stable enough to use. It is a beta, of course, so you might want to wait for others to give it a try. Over the past ten days I've used the Galaxy S8+ running Android Oreo as my daily driv ...more
After exiting the mobile market, Microsoft has redirected its efforts to better integrating their services with Android. Thanks to a partnership with Samsung, that Windows integration is even better if you have a Galaxy phone. Select Samsung devices can now be mirrored onto a ...more
Smartphone displays are getting bigger every year, and Samsung devices are at the forefront of that trend. But, from a software standpoint, the icons, buttons, and other on-screen elements seem to stay at the same scale. So while phones are getting bigger, their interfaces are ...more
Samsung has multiple built-in font styles to choose from in TouchWiz, but they're limited to just four types. While there are many font installers available on Google Play, they usually cost money and only replace some of the text on the device, not all of it, creating an inco ...more
Sorry Samsung. I know you really wanted Bixby to be the next Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa — but it just isn't. Burying the option to disable the app won't change that. Sure, Bixby has some redeeming qualities, but there are many of us who don't want it shoved down our thro ...more
One of the best features on the Galaxy S9 is the ability to quickly apply new themes from the Samsung theme store. A number of the available themes are available at no cost. If you pick the right dark theme, you might even be able to save some battery life over the course of y ...more
The Note 7 debacle taught Samsung an important lesson on cramming oversized batteries into their handsets, and they've applied it diligently to their Galaxy S8 and S8+. You might even say the company has gone a little too far in trying to achieve a balance between battery size ...more
Like its predecessor—and probably every device in the future—the Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with a fingerprint scanner that allows for a more secure lock screen, web sign-ins, and account verification. But unlike its brethren, the sensor on the S6 has been vastly improved. No lon ...more
The Moto X introduced tons of cool features that have slowly been ported over to other phones, like Peek notifications and always listening "OK, Google" detection. Another such feature allows you to twist your wrist to bring up the camera app from any screen—even with the disp ...more
While Siri came up on the scene with hardly any competition back in 2011, Google Now has not only caught up to Apple's intelligent personal assistant, but also excelled in certain areas—with its ability to quickly answer questions, give recommendation, and even deliver informa ...more
Russians are well known for their knack at documenting exciting and horribly beautiful events on the go, from insane car accidents to attempted insurance fraud and even a superbolide meteor streaking across the sky. Videos like these aren't limited to just Russia—dashcams are ...more
While there's still no set date, Jelly Bean 4.3 is rumored to be released on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and other TouchWiz devices within the next couple of weeks (or months), presumably sometime after the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event. One of the improvements that Android 4.3 b ...more
With its awesomely enormous size, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can at times be difficult to navigate when you only have one hand free—especially if you have really small hands. To make the Note 2 (and other large Android devices) easier to navigate, Paranoid Android (and later C ...more
Is your smartphone eavesdropping on you? It's a question that will never go away because it's easy to envision hackers or malicious apps taking over your device to spy on conversations, snap photos, or even record video. But fewer people will be asking it, thanks to Android 12 ...more
Smartwatches are great for notifications. No need to dig your phone out of your pocket or purse when someone texts you — just glance at your wrist! It's great for driving, walking, and any other activities where you need to stay connected to your surroundings. Except it can st ...more
As Samsung's very own take on Android 9.0 Pie, the newly-dubbed One UI (formerly Samsung Experience, and TouchWiz before that) comes with a slew of new features and redesigned elements for the Galaxy's interface. Many of the changes, like the redesigned native app icons, are r ...more
For the majority of phones, Android's volume rocker is wrong. A large vocal part of the Android community wishes the volume buttons' default control was the media volume, not the ringer. Although the Galaxy Note 9 is in the "wrong" camp, Samsung has included multiple ways to c ...more
For some, the Galaxy Note 9's volume rocker doesn't have enough steps between silent and max volume. We all have different preferences for volume, and a higher number of steps would equal to more precise volume control. Good thing we can at least adjust this for the media volu ...more
Samsung has made curved displays a signature element of their flagship phones, but the Edge Screen, as it's called, has proven to be a magnet for accidental touches. Fortunately, Samsung has developed a little known app to help prevent this problem. The app — aptly named Edge ...more