Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are by far the best Android smartphones that Samsung has ever made. These flagship phones are a step ahead of anything else on the market right now in terms of style and performance.
Furthermore, they also have many awesome features that really make them stand out. Some of them are familiar from previous Galaxy S phones, some are new entries from Samsung, and some come courtesy of Google’s latest Lollipop-flavored Android 5.0 release. If you are own S6, the following tips and tricks will help get the most out of it.
Quick Camera Launch
Samsung Galaxy S6 has an awesome camera. To make sure you never miss a shot, the Camera app now has a Quick Launch option which is turned on by default. Just double press the ‘Home’ button and you’ll be ready to fire the shutter in an instant.
To turn this feature off, open the Camera app and tap the ‘Settings’ icon and then toggle ‘Quick Launch’ to off.
Smart Alert
Samsung includes a new feature called Smart Alert in the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Once enabled, your device will vibrate the next time you pick it up to let you know if you have any missed call or unread message. This feature is turned on by default so if you wish to play around with it go to Settings > Motions and gestures > Smart alert.
Change Your Phone’s Theme
Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with the ability to let you choose whichever theme you want. This basically changes your wallpaper, icons, system apps, and UI (User Interface). You can change the theme by going to the Settings > Themes, then choose one of the default themes.
There are three themes on the S6 by default, but you’ll find lots more via the Store link at the top right of the Themes page. There is also a theme tool on the way which will enable you to create your own themes.
Customize your Home Screen Grid
By default the home screen grid on your Galaxy S6 is 4×4, but you can change it up to 5×5 if you want to add more app icons and widgets to your home screen. To do that, just long press on an empty space on your home screen and choose Screen grid on the leftmost.
Customize Quick Settings
Quick setting is used to access the mostly used apps easily. You can customize this quick setting by going to the Settings menu. Open Settings and you’ll see some pre-populated apps at the top. Tap the Edit button and put check marks next to those which you want to appear. You can add up to 9 links of your choice.
Set Up Fingerprints
Like last year’s S5, the Galaxy S6 Edge has a fingerprint sensor built into the Home button, but it has been vastly improved. Now you can just lightly press it to have your print recognized — no more swiping.
The fingerprint registration process is very simple and only takes a few minutes. To add fingerprints, go to Settings > Lock screen and security > Fingerprints. You can add up to four fingerprints by tapping repeatedly on the sensor.
Remember to tilt your finger back and forth and place different parts of it on the sensor. This will help the system to recognize you more easily and reliably. Also make sure to get the very tip of each finger.
Remove Briefing Screen
Samsung previously called this feature ‘My Magazine’, but this year it has been renamed to ‘Briefing’. It is a Flipboard-powered news feed app that is turned ON by default. If you don’t want to display the Briefing on your home screen, you can disable it by long pressing on the home screen and then scroll over the briefing panel. There is a checkbox above that. Just uncheck the box and briefing will be disabled.
Enable Download Booster
Having debuted on the Galaxy S5, Samsung’s Download booster feature is also available on the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. It combines both your Wi-Fi and LTE connections into a singular force, allowing you to download files larger than 30MB even faster. To enable the feature, go toSettings > More Connection Settings > Download Booster and turn it ON.
Enable Do Not Disturb mode
If you’ve used phone with Lollipop, you might already familiar with this feature, but Samsung has its own version. With these settings you can control when you get notifications. To get started, go to Settings > Sounds & Notifications > Do Not Disturb.
If you turn on Do not disturb mode, there is an option to allow exceptions. If you don’t allow any exceptions the phone will be completely silent. You can also set up a schedule to automatically enable Do not disturb at a specific time every day.
Night Clock (S6 Edge Only)
Night Clock is a cool feature found on the Galaxy S6 Edge which shows you a clock right around the edge of the phone.
This feature does use up a little bit of your battery so you are probably want to keep it on when you are on a charger. To turn the Night Clock feature on, go to Settings > Edge Screen > Night Clock.
Edge Lighting (S6 Edge Only)
This is another feature that is only available on Galaxy S6 edge. Once enabled, it gives lightning to its edge screen when you receive calls or notifications while your phone is turned over.
One cool thing about Edge lighting is that you can set it up so that the screen color changes based on which of your contact is calling you. To enable Edge lighting, go to Settings > Edge screen > Edge lighting. To assign light coloration to specific contacts go to Settings > Edge screen > My people.
Enable Ultra Power Saving mode
Ultra power saving mode allows you to get the last drop of energy from your phones battery
When this mode is enabled, it switches the phone to a black and white interface and disables most background activities. You’ll still be able to take calls, send messages, and use a few important apps. You can set Battery Saver to automatically turn on at any level between 15-50%. To configure it, go to Settings > Battery > Power saving mode and turn it ON.
When this mode is enabled, it switches the phone to a black and white interface and disables most background activities. You’ll still be able to take calls, send messages, and use a few important apps. You can set Battery Saver to automatically turn on at any level between 15-50%. To configure it, go to Settings > Battery > Power saving mode and turn it ON.
Disable Built-in Apps
Even though Samsung has reduced the amount of built-in apps in Galaxy S6 edition, but it still have a bunch of bloatware that you don’t really need them. Instead of having to see all the unwanted apps in your app drawer, you can now disable or remove them from your phone.
To do that, go to the app drawer and tap the Edit button, then tap on the minus icon on the app that you want to remove. Any app that does not have a minus icon on the top right can’t be removed.
Enable Multi Window mode
The Galaxy S6 also comes with a Multi window feature that allows users to run two apps at the same time. Apps that support Multi Window will have a small twin rectangle icon in the corner when you have the app switcher open. You can tap on that button to move the app to the top half of the screen, then pick another app for the bottom half. When you’re done, just press Back button to leave the Multi Window mode.
Take a Screenshot on Galaxy S6
There are two methods that you can use to take a screenshot on Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.
- Swipe your palm across the screen from right to left. You can turn this feature on or off inSettings > Gestures and Motions > Palm Swipe to Capture.
- Press and hold both the ‘Power’ and ‘Home’ buttons at the same time.
Once you have succeeded, your screen will flash and a preview of your screenshot will appear in your notification bar. You can access screenshots in an automatically created ‘Screenshots’ folder in your Gallery app.
