Samsung Galaxy

Tips
Tricks Hacks Apps
Customisation
The apps and expertise you need to reinvent a device
Just because the user interface (UI) of
your Samsung device looks and works a
certain way the first time you pull it out of
the box, that doesn’t mean it has to stay
like that for the rest of its life. There are lots
of simple and effective ways to change the
look and feel of your Samsung experience,
and we’re going to look at a few of them in
detail now.
There’s no rooting necessary here – all
you’ll have to do is download a few apps and
set up a few preferences and you’ll be taking
control of your UI in no time.
In fact, there are plenty of ways you
can customise your UI without having to
download anything. Dive into the Settings
menu of your phone or tablet and you’ll find
a wealth of things you can tweak and play
around with.
If you want to change the font size of
your interface head into the Accessibility
menu. Here you can also turn on TalkBack,
change the sound balance and modify a
number of different settings that affect the
way the phone works across a range of
situations or environments.
Things as simple as altering the lock
screen settings can change the way you use
your device. You can add shortcuts to your
lock screen to open up apps straight out of
your pocket.
Some smartphones have motion control,
reacting to being picked up and put down
or flipped over in different ways. You can
control this in the Motion section of the
settings. You can also change what certain
swipes and gestures do here.
The Display menu offers even more
customisation options. Here you can adjust
what your notifications bar does, plus
play around with various settings like the
wallpaper, LED indicator and colour of the
screen, to name just a few.
In these tutorials we’re going to look
at how you can get the most out of your
notifications bar, an easy way to customise
the LED light on your device, a clever
launcher app that lets you use your phone
one-handed, a new and incredibly useful
download manager and a clever little beta
app that means you can silence your phone
in advance. We’ll even throw in a couple of
extra tips and hints to get you on your way.
By the end of this masterclass, you may never
look at your Samsung Galaxy device in the
same way again.
Customise your UI Three ways to change how you interact with your Samsung
Download a launcher
Downloading a different launcher
app will change your home screens.
Some will just add a few aesthetic
tweaks, but others completely
overhaul the way you activate apps or
access your contacts.
Pick some widgets
Adding widgets to your home screen
lets you customise its look and gives
you quick access to apps and useful
info. There are loads on the Google
Play Store, and a lot of devices come
with certain widgets pre-installed.
Find what works
Almost every aspect of your Android
experience can be modified. If you
don’t like the apps you’ve currently
got, then go and find new ones.
Without a doubt, experimenting is the
best way to get the UI you want.
Will
rooting
give me
more
options
Absolutely.
Installing a
custom version
of the Android
OS gives you
more freedom.
But it’s not a
necessity; there
are plenty
of apps and
widgets that
can change the
look and feel of
your device.
20 Samsung Galaxy Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks