Essential Steps After Buying a New Samsung Galaxy Phone

Samsung makes some of the best Android phones on the market, thanks to its polished One UI experience and excellent software support. As a longtime Galaxy user, I now tweak a few settings and configure a lot of features before I start using them.

So, when you get a new Samsung Galaxy phone, there are a number of essential steps that will help you get the most out of your device. From security settings to customizing apps and features, these steps will ensure you have a comfortable and secure user experience from the start. Check out some Samsung Galaxy phone settings that you should always change to improve your experience.

1. Enable navigation gestures

Google moved away from the three-button navigation bar with the release of Android 10 in September 2019. For reasons best known to Samsung, the company continues to ship its phones with the navigation bar enabled by default. What’s worse is that you don’t even get the option to switch to navigation gestures during the initial setup process.

Usually, the first thing I do after setting up a new Samsung Galaxy phone is switch to navigation gestures. Follow the steps below to learn how to do that:

1. Open the Settings app on your Galaxy phone and go to Screen.
2. Scroll down and click Navigation barFrom the page that opens, select Swipe gestures.
3. To adjust the sensitivity of gestures, select More optionsThen, depending on your preference, drag the gesture sensitivity slider to the left or right.

You can also enable or disable the Circle app gestures for Search and Assistant from the Navigation bar settings page. Check out the best ways to control your Samsung Galaxy phone with motions and gestures.

2. Show more information on the screen

Despite their big, beautiful, high-resolution displays, the information density on Samsung’s screens is woefully low. For example, compared to the Pixel 8 Pro, the Galaxy S23 Ultra displays less content on the screen despite packing a slightly larger, higher-resolution screen. Thankfully, changing the screen zoom level helps alleviate this problem to a large extent.

1. Go to الإعدادات -> الشاشة On your Galaxy phone.
2. Select an option Zoom in Then move the slider all the way to the left. This will reduce the size of the content on the screen, allowing the screen to accommodate more content than before.

If the lower option is still not good enough for you, enable the hidden Developer Options menu on your Galaxy phone. Then go to الإعدادات -> خيارات المُطور Scroll down to Minimum bidThe default value should be 411. A higher value will allow your Galaxy to display more information on the screen. I typically enter a display between 435 and 449 on most Galaxy phones. Don't go above these values, as this can cause issues with UI scaling.

3. Use Good Lock for additional customization

Samsung’s One UI interface offers a lot of customization options. However, the Good Lock app lets you take things to the next level by unlocking experimental features and options. The app itself doesn’t do much; you have to download the relevant Good Lock modules for that.

With modules, you can customize your lock screen and navigation bar, add new triggers to modes and routines, and unlock new multitasking features. Check out the best Good Lock modules to customize your Samsung phone.

Given how powerful Good Lock is, it’s one of the first apps I download on a new Galaxy phone to unlock additional features and customization options. There are a few other ways to customize your Galaxy phone, but Good Lock stands out for its powerful options.

4. Reduce shutter lag with Camera Assistant

The main problem with all Samsung phones launched in the last few years is the shutter lag in the camera app. There is a noticeable delay in the phone taking the picture after you press the shutter button. One reason for this is that the phone takes the picture when you lift your finger from the shutter button, not when you press it.

That’s why Camera Assistant is one of the first apps I download and set up on a new Galaxy phone. It lets you take better photos on a compatible Galaxy phone. Available as a Good Lock module, it features an option to reduce shutter lag.

While Camera Assistant won't completely eliminate shutter lag and slow shutter issues on Samsung phones, it will greatly reduce them.

1. Open the Good Lock app on your Galaxy phone and select Camera Assistant. Download the module if you haven't already.
2. Enable the toggle switch next to Quick tap shutterIf your phone takes a lot of blurry and unclear photos after enabling this option, enable the option Prioritize focus on speed. also.

The next time you open the camera app on your Galaxy phone and press the shutter button, it will take a photo almost instantly. Check out our Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs Galaxy S24 comparison: Is this the year to go foldable?

5. Enable notification categories

Notification channels are one of the best parts of Android. Also known as notification categories, they allow you to restrict certain types of notifications from apps. For example, you can use them to block unwanted marketing notifications from an app while still receiving other notifications.

But for some strange reason, Samsung ships its newer Galaxy phones with notification categories disabled by default.

Given how useful notification categories are, they're among the first features I enable on my new Galaxy phone. Here's how:

1. Open الإعدادات -> الإشعارات -> الإعدادات المتقدمة On your Galaxy phone.
2. Enable the toggle switch next to Manage notification categories for each app.

Next, you can manage the app's notification channels by long-pressing on its notification, and tapping Settingsand specify Notification CategoriesFrom the page that opens, turn off notifications for unwanted categories.

6. Switch to adaptive battery protection

Starting with the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung is promising up to seven years of OS and security updates for its flagship phones. This means you can use your phone for a long time. So, it’s also important to keep the battery in good condition.

Most Galaxy phones offer great battery life, and since I charge my phone overnight while I sleep, I enable the toggle next to Adaptive Battery Protection To extend the life of the cell.

In this mode, my Galaxy phone will automatically stop charging once the battery level reaches 80% while I’m sleeping. Based on my sleep schedule, the phone will return to base mode, filling the battery to 100%. This ensures that I start my day with 100% battery while extending its lifespan while charging overnight.

Follow the steps below to enable Adaptive Battery Protection on your Galaxy phone:

1. Go to الإعدادات -> البطارية -> حماية البطارية.
2. Enable the toggle switch and select Adaptive mode.

Adaptive Mode will help extend your Galaxy phone’s battery life without compromising its overall runtime. Check out why I only charge my devices to 80% and how it helps improve battery life.

7. Setting up Phone Link

Phone Link bridges the gap between Android phones and Windows PCs. The companion Link to Windows app comes preloaded on all Samsung Galaxy phones and mirrors incoming notifications, photos, screen mirroring and more to your Windows PC. Higher-end Galaxy models also get exclusive access to features like Instant Hotspot.

After you sign in to the Link to Windows app with your Microsoft account, check out these hidden Phone Link tricks to share instant files, copy text from photos, and copy and paste across devices.

In addition to all the above, I also tweak several settings on my new Galaxy phone to get the best experience. These include blocking ads, switching to Google Password Manager for autofill, and enabling floating notifications. You can now check out Why I won’t trade in my phone for a Google Pixel?