The Samsung Galaxy S8 – along with the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus – is arguably probably the most eagerly awaited Android mobilephone of the year, so when your pre-order ultimately hits the doorstep you’re going to need to get to grips with it correct away.
We’re now not just speaking about its headline points akin to its expansive, 5.Eight-inch near edge-to-part display or remarkable 12MP digital camera either. The S8 holds a treasure trove of impressive aspects, some which were shouted about a little less than others.
Yes, the phone’s octa-core chipset offers a lot of grunt and it’s filled with new and revolutionary biometric safety features, however scratch underneath the skin, and there’s a wealth of additional Samsung Galaxy S8 facets just waiting to be explored.
These are the elements with a purpose to make you believe like a tech wizard, the ones with a view to develop into you from smartphone person to handset grasp. These are the 22 Galaxy S8 pointers and tips you ought to be aware of.
Learn our in-depth stories Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
1. Entry the Notifications tab utilising your fingerprint scanner
Its total footprint might not be massive, however the Samsung Galaxy S8 presents a entire lot of monitor. A lot that you simply would wrestle to easily reach the highest of the show whilst holding the phone in a single hand. That doesn’t imply the pull-down Notifications tab must be out of attain, nonetheless.
Rather, you could enable gesture controls on the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. This may permit you to pull down the Notifications window simply through swiping down on the biometric sensor, and without having to contort your hand to the some distance reaches of the display.
To spark off, you’ll must go Settings > evolved points > Finger sensor gestures, and toggle that change to the on function.
2. Customise your area panel
these curved edges on the Samsung Galaxy S8’s stunning tremendous AMOLED show are more than just pure eye sweet. They keep secret entry to a raft of hidden features and functions, as good as shortcuts to your entire favorite apps and appreciated contacts.
To access, pull in from the tab on the screen’s correct-hand side. Doing so will convey up shortcuts to your most-used apps. Swipe in again and you’ll see your favourite contacts, while swiping once more brings up smart prefer facets that help you capture a variety of screenshot choices.
On any of these home windows, hitting the settings cog at the bottom of the reveal allows you to tweak and customise the form and wide variety of content material you’re presented with.
There are more than a dozen pre-hooked up area Panels to decide upon from, ranging from climate and reside physical games scores panels to those that present instantaneous calendar exams and even entry to the mobilephone’s compass and torch. For those after something extra, further panels will also be downloaded.
3. Experience split screen multitasking
due to that Infinity display, you’ve acquired quite a lot of on-reveal real estate to play with on the Samsung Galaxy S8, so you might as well take advantage of it, correct? A technique to try this is with split monitor multitasking, letting you run two apps aspect with the aid of aspect.
Some apps received’t work entirely in break up screen mode – your video games can have appeared higher – however if you wish to experience a facebook-founded browse whilst retaining an eye on your emails, or examine a recipe at the same time watching online for components, that you may, and with minimal fuss.
To open apps in break up display view, you’ll first must hit the ‘Recents’ button on the delicate keys on the backside of the reveal. Now tapping the multitasking tab to your already open apps (it’s the one that looks like two rectangles atop every different) will open them in a compressed half of monitor view. Once open, which you could drag to resize or return to a full screen view.
4. Make monitor unlocks enjoyable
If having your cell learn your irises to be able to authenticate your use and automatically free up didn’t make you feel adequate like Iron Man, this enjoyable S8 characteristic obviously will. Which you can add a variety of iris scanner previews to your reveal and change those dull eye aligning circles with photographs that are somewhat extra interesting.
To access, you’ll need to go Settings > Lock screen and safety > Iris Scanner > Preview display mask. Right here you’ll be capable to prefer whether you wish to have to embellish your eyes with a cute bunny face or a driver’s helmet, an owl’s head or some Iron Man-inspired sci-fi HUD glasses.
We all know which we’d prefer, and it’s no longer a lovable woodland creature.
5. Make use of the Google Assistant
simply due to the fact that Samsung’s Bixby AI continues to be MIA doesn’t imply you ought to do with out Siri-rivaling voice manipulate potential. Thanks to its Android Nougat innards, the Samsung Galaxy S8 runs the Google Assistant direct from the box.
Letting you participate in duties, entry certain features, and make online searches, all with nothing more than the vigor of your voice, Google Assistant is accessed via lengthy pressing the phone’s tender key home button.
You’ll need to installed the Assistant before first use, attuning it to your voice, however as soon as that’s out of the way you’ll be ready to drop all of the “adequate, Google” prefixed questions and instructions you could want.
6. Use wise Lock for easier access
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Fingerprint scanner, iris scanner, facial cognizance expertise. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is filled with biometric safety measures. There’s additionally the option of the average PIN, sample or password unencumber ways too. What if the mobilephone was once clever adequate to unlock automatically when it detected it was once safe to do so although?
That’s where the S8’s shrewd Lock characteristic comes in, letting you set the telephone to routinely liberate when in unique instances comparable to at house, or whilst for your physique.
To set off, you’ll have to go Settings > Lock reveal and protection > intelligent Lock. Here you’ll be competent to select the criteria for the telephone to unencumber itself, similar to when in close proximity to your Samsung apparatus S3 smartwatch or for your automobile.
7. Get to grips with the digicam’s pro features
The Samsung Galaxy S8’s 12MP rear-set up digicam is exceptional. Its f/1.7 extensive aperture, segment detection autofocus and optical image stabilization-better sensor are all perfectly attuned to seize wonderful pictures when on auto shooting mode.
The digicam’s capabilities run deeper, nevertheless, and let you tweak and attune all of the settings to your man or woman shooting wants in professional mode.
Inside the digital camera app, swiping in from the left-hand side of the reveal brings up a quantity of capturing choices, together with Panorama, slow motion and Hyperlapse modes. Clicking the ‘professional’ alternative, however, will provide you with whole manipulate over the telephone’s built in snapper.
Right here you’re in a position to tweak the whole thing from the digicam’s ISO rating and shutter speed to focal factor and white stability. That you could also attune the digicam’s publicity levels to the targeted shot, guaranteeing you get balanced, impactful photographs no matter the conditions.
8. Make the screen single hand pleasant
All that display house is best from a visible perspective. It can get moderately unwieldy and difficult to manage with a single hand, nevertheless. Fortunately, Samsung has suggestion this via and bestowed the Galaxy S8 with some stable one-passed mode features.
Letting you make the on-monitor content material more compact, users can set off the one-exceeded mode by using either swiping diagonally up from both of the cellphone’s scale down corners, or tapping the home button thrice in speedy succession.
For either of those options to work, nevertheless, you’ll first must set off the characteristic. You can do that with the aid of tapping Settings > developed features > One-exceeded mode.
9. Turn your cellphone right into a existence-saver
The Samsung Galaxy S8 isn’t only a handset all your mates will covet as quickly as you pull it from your pocket, it’s additionally a device that could come to be saving your life. For this to be the case, however, you’ll must allow the SOS Messages function.
To show this on, you’ll need to go Settings > developed features > send SOS messages, and flick that toggle swap over to the on position.
If you’ve established your emergency contact, triple pressing the cellphone’s power button at any time will routinely send a message to your SOS contact, alerting them to an incident and requesting aid.
That you may enhance the message past a typical alert and a area hyperlink too. That you can also choose to connect portraits automatically captured with the aid of each the mobile’s entrance and rear cameras, or a 5-second audio recording.
10. Rearrange your tender keys
Android’s soft key controls are a very subjective thing. Some love them, others hate them, and even as many will argue that the again key must be on the left of the three-key setup, others will argue that its authentic house is on the right of things. Well, fortunately, with the Galaxy S8 that you could make your own choices.
Anything setup you opt for, be it ‘Recents – house – back’ or ‘again – house – Recents’, which you could customize the phone’s design to your wants, simply head to Settings > show > Navigation bar > Button design, and make your decision.
As well as tweaking the design, here which you can additionally customize the sensitivity of your cell’s controls and even assign your smooth keys a brand new history colour for a more standout, utterly customized look. Anybody for red keys?
11. Use the Bixby AI assistant
Bixby -the artificially wise assistant on this cellphone – is extra than simply another voice-managed bot butler.It responds to contact, text and voice – basically making it the mind of your cell that helps you utilize its services better.
Need to in finding an item you’ve visible in an snapshot? Faucet and spotlight it and then get Bixby to seek for it on the internet.
Have to mounted a assembly? Simply inform Bixby with the aid of conserving the hardware button on the left-hand aspect of the phone and it’ll line everything up on your calendar capable.
It’ll even provide you with a warning centered on region, reminding you to water the crops while you get home, for example, or warn you when a critical save is regional.
12. Use Samsung well being to get you to a healthcare professional
Samsung wellness would look like a easy app that helps you reveal your wellbeing, tracking your steps in a day and even lets you maintain track of all those calories you’ve shovelled into your face. But – for these in the U.S. – it’ll help you find medical support as good.
O.K., this gained’t spirit you away if you fall down or whatever. It received’t even name an ambulance on your puny fleshy human kind.
What it could possibly do is remind you that you have to get to the physician earlier than things get that unhealthy. The us market can take competencies of this most comprehensively with deep WedMD and Amwell integration.
That means finding pharmacies, scheduling a health care professional talk over with online or reserving an appointment in real existence.
13. Flip off pesky notifications in apps
Notifications getting on your nerves however nonetheless need to have the app run as natural? With the Galaxy S8 you can turn off notifications on an app-via-app basis.
This applies now not handiest to stopping notifications but also to muting them. So if you want a break from that WhatsApp workforce, with out opening the app, or simply want fb to stop hounding you for an hour, they are able to be silenced effortlessly.
When you head into Settings you’re competent to make the adjustments by means of tapping Notifications, the place you will find the offending app and take the proper measures (you can additionally reap the same factor by means of lengthy-pressing the notification itself).
It is a high-quality core floor between going mad and deleting the app absolutely. Who is aware of, you can also in finding the silence refreshing alternatively than horrifying – a high-quality solution to give up the social media addiction without going bloodless turkey then.
14. Flip your S8 right into a desktop with DeX
There’s a whole heap of vigor within the Samsung Galaxy S8, the phone now more powerful than many desktops from just a few years back.
To that end, Samsung has created DeX, a small %-like object that turns your cell into a computer-like expertise with a simple click.
Dex is a dock that features USB ports for keyboards, mice and flash drives. It also, of path, outputs to a display (which is rather imperative for the widescreen, desktop expertise).
That implies you should utilize your cellphone like a full-on computer. The OS itself is just like Chrome OS with apps in resizable windows, and that you could kind like to your computer, reproduction and paste, right click and extra for easy navigation and controls.
Microsoft and Samsung apps are optimised for DeX which means you don’t relatively have to compromise when working proper there to your mobile alternatively than your computer. It’s not low-cost although, as you’ll have to pay $one hundred fifty (£one hundred, AU$190) on your DeX.
15. Get more out of perpetually-On show
You’ve in most cases already been having fun with that always-On show to get a look at the time with out touching any buttons. But that you could get plenty extra past simple entry to the hour.
At the most simple stage you can get time, calendar information and even an alternative so as to add your own photograph to stare at lovingly… but you are able to do more. Further topics for the invariably-On show are to be had to download from the Samsung Apps portal and allow as you need.
Pop into Settings, show and Wallpaper then constantly-On display to show the function on and off or go into Settings, then issues, to search out new options to personalise the expertise extra.
16. Hide some thing in cozy Folder
although you’re no longer a undercover agent with sensitive knowledge spilling out of your smartphone, you may also good still have some items you’d decide on to maintain private.
Being discreet, Samsung has created a comfortable Folder that allows you to just do that.
This portal permits you to hide photographs, records and apps away from anyone who probably utilizing your unlocked mobile. This is Samsung Knox-level comfy, that means even though that man or woman has picked up your unlocked mobile they’ll then desire a password, PIN, fingerprint or iris scan to get into the hidden folders.
To fire up the cozy Folder for your S8 you’ll need to pop into the Samsung Galaxy store to install the at ease Folder app. Then login making use of your Samsung account details, add a password, PIN, fingerprint or iris scan and you’re all set to use the brand new comfy Folder.
17. Record future-proof video
You’ve already splashed out on the fondness phone, you’ve customarily received a lot of storage on there, so why hold recording video in the normal Full HD format? The Galaxy S8 can control 4K UHD video recording, so you could as well use the improved sharpness.
Should you’ve not enabled it, then you’ll need to head into the camera app and hit the correct elements to cajole sharper photographs out of the handset even as you’re recording – yes, it’ll absorb more space but in case you’ve bought a decent microSD card then it’s valued at the improve so while you re-watch the movies in 2025 things received’t seem so disgustingly fuzzy.
Go into the digital camera and tap the cog icon to access settings. Then, beneath Rear digicam, faucet Video dimension and you’ll be in a position to alter. Usual settings have you on 1080P at 30fps but if you decide upon UHD you’ll get 4K recording. Or if you need quite gentle video for motion then the 60fps 1080p choice perhaps useful – it’s no longer as clear, nevertheless it’s quite slick to look at.
18. Make GIFs utilising videos
What if it used to be as easy to make a GIF as it is to report a video? That’s what Samsung is providing with its shrewd choose mode that allows for easy construction of social media-friendly content material.
This wise video-to-GIF converter isn’t only for videos you create although, as that you may nab movies from quite often at any place you adore – including YouTube.
Swipe the brink of the screen to activate clever choose then opt for ‘Animation’. Make a field around the video you need to seize by relocating to the edges of its corners.
Then prefer report at the same time the video is taking part in at the part you need. The sensible instrument will seize whatever is taking part in in that boxed subject and convert it to a GIF. It’ll even exhibit, whilst recording, the file measurement and time so you know what you’re making.
The file is saved to your cell, making it super simple to share your marvel works with the arena.
19. Save a boatload of battery
Samsung has given us one of the most eye-wateringly clear displays ever positioned in a smartphone, however in case you fancy cranking it up to full vigor, it’ll bite through your battery.
As such Sammy has placed a couple of modes for vigour that enable you to change the gadget to swimsuit what you’re doing, eventually saving battery life.
There are three modes available to make use of: game, amusement and high performance. Whilst excessive efficiency will max the whole lot out for best possible resolution and brightness, recreation and amusement alter processor energy to provide you with simply what you need for what you’re doing.
Simply head into the gadget protection section of Settings, and you’ll see an option for efficiency Mode the place you can tweak this.
After that, you’ve acquired two vigor-saving modes (on hand in Battery, from Settings) referred to as ‘Mid’ and ‘Max’. Mid will sluggish your gadget down and stop background syncing, and is good if you happen to’re worried about now not making it by means of the day.
Max dials ordinarilly the whole thing down, and is first-class for emergencies while you recognize you’ll have to make a name in an hour and are scarily watching at 3% battery left.
20. Keep much more battery by sending apps to sleep
ship an app to sleep and it’ll stop jogging within the background, meaning no push notifications and no constant updates chewing through your power. That’ll save you battery.
So in the event you’ve received an app you’re no longer using then simply press and preserve the icon except a settings menu opens the place which you can opt for Sleep. You just elevated your battery existence – the Galaxy S8 may even continually monitor your purposes to do the equal thing for you.
21. Disable screenshot notifications
Do you like taking tons of screenshots for the duration of your day, however are ailing of getting the notifications can help you recognize that you just’ve taken but an extra screenshot? Well, luckily there’s a technique to shut them off for just right.
All you have got to do is take any screenshot, and just rough or lengthy press the notification that pops up, and it is going to deliver up the notifications settings for screenshots, and you could quickly disable it from there. On account that after the hundredth screenshot, do you fairly want your telephone telling you you’ve taken another screenshot?
22. Cast off unused apps in bulk
We’ve all been there, installing dozens of apps after we get a new telephone, simply rationale we are able to. Alas a number of these apps come to be going unused, taking over precious storage actual estate. The predominant predicament is that going by way of and uninstalling each app you don’t use is a laborious and tedious recreation. However what if we advised you there was once a better approach?
If you wish to get rid of every unused app speedily, go to your settings, then to device preservation, than to Storage, then to Apps. From there, you can simply pick all the apps you need to uninstall, and just get rid of them. Now you will have room to do it far and wide again.