First 10 things to do on the Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+

OK so I did an unboxing video of the new Samsung flagship, the Galaxy S8+ and I gave my initial impression. Today, I want to walk you through the first 10 things to do on the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

1. Delete bloatware

Samsung has come a long way with the amount of bloatware it puts on its devices but, we still have some random application that we can either remove or disabled.

To remove those applications, go into Settings > Apps. Then select the application that you would like to remove and click on either Disable or uninstall.

2. Switch buttons layout

With the new Galaxy S8, Samsung finally removed the hardware keys with on-screen buttons. A good thing about this change is that you can now modify the layout of the buttons from Recent – Home – Back to Back – Home – Recent. To make this changes, go into Settings > Display > Navigation bar > Buttons layout.

3. Change screen resolution

The highest resolution for the Galaxy S8 and the S8+ is Quad HD+ (2960×1440) but, by default, the resolution is set up to full HD+ (2220 x 1080). You can change the resolution to Quad HD+ or even lower it to HD+ (1480×720) by going to Settings > Display > Screen Resolution.

4. Full-screen apps

The new and gorgeous infinity display comes with 18.5:9 aspect ratio compared to its predecessor that came at 16:9 aspect ratio. Most applications are able to adjust to fill the screen but, some others are hardcoded to 16:9. Samsung made it possible to force those applications to work in full-screen mode. To enable this go into Settings > Display > Full-Screen Apps. In here, search and select the application that you want to force to work in full-screen mode and turn the switch on.

5. Change home screen grid

To be able to change the number of apps on the Home screen and the Apps screen, you can adjust the grid by pressing and holding the Home screen, then go to Home screen settings. You can change the Home screen to 4×5, 4×6 or 5×5 and the Apps screen to 4×6 or 5×6.

6. Download and change the Samsung keyboard

The Samsung keyboard is not a bad keyboard but, personally, I don’t like it. There are a few keyboards that are good but, one of them is best in my opinion and is the Google keyboard. Two of my favorite features is the integrated GIFs and the integrated Google search. If you haven’t downloaded and use this keyboard, I would recommend that you check it out.

7. Download Backdrops

We want to keep the screen beautiful with a nice looking background and to do that we want to use the application called Backdrops which comes with a ton of high-resolution backgrounds that can be downloaded and use as a wallpaper. If you haven’t downloaded and use this application, I strongly suggest that you give it a try.

8. Enable the Always On Display

The Always On Display is one of my favorite features. It allows checking the time, battery percentage and notifications without having to turn on the screen. One of the places that I like using it is when I’m at work and have the phone on top of my desk. I can always quickly look at the phone and check if I have any notifications without having to turn on the screen or even touching the phone. To customize the Always On Display, go into Settings > Lock Screen And Security > Always On Display. There are six different styles that you can choose. You can also set it up to be always on or on a schedule. You can also easily enable it or disable it manually via the notification panel.

9. Blue light filter

Another useful feature that I like using on all my devices at night is the Blue light filter. All screens give a blue light which disrupts sleeping patterns. The Blue light filter changes the tint to a warmer color to help you fall asleep faster at night. To set it up go into Settings > Display > Blue Light Filter. You can adjust the opacity of the filter and also set it up to activate automatically from sunset to sunrise or at a particular schedule.

10. Setup the Lock screen

Last but not least we want to set up the lock screen. Now that Samsung decided to put the fingerprint sensor in an awkward position right next to the camera, it makes it difficult to use this security method but, the good thing is that you can setup multiple unlock options. You can set up the Fingerprint scanner, the Iris scanner and also a pattern. To set it up go into Settings > Lock Screen and Security > Screen Lock Type.