Already purchased by more than five million users. After the initial acquaintance with the devices and minor, you may want to study them more deeply, install your own applications and make additional changes without having to root, change the firmware and perform other complex movements that may interfere with the operation.
Below we will present programs just for this. They will allow you to set wallpapers suitable for the AMOLED display, provide access to FM radio, and allow you to change the functionality of the Bixby button.
An AMOLED screen uses a lot of power if it displays a color other than white, and pixels turn off when displaying black, so OLED wallpapers should consist of a minimum of colors with significant areas of black. These are the wallpapers this application offers. There is a large selection of wallpapers available here that look beautiful, unobtrusive and allow the screens of these smartphones to save energy.
The official list of Galaxy hardware characteristics does not indicate work with FM radio, but it is included here as part of the Snapdragon processor (with which the smartphone is sold in the United States). This chip is not even locked like on some other smartphones. The NextRadio app contains new flagship smartphones in its database, so you can download it, connect your headphones as an antenna and enjoy local radio stations without having to use up mobile data or have a cellular connection.
On some Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices, Samsung has closed a loophole that allowed third-party programs to assign different functions to the Bixby digital assistant button. No need to worry because some enterprising developers have found another way to change the purpose of this button. The BixBye program does not even require launching a digital assistant to operate; you can immediately assign another function to the button.
If remapping the Bixby button using the bxActions app does not work after the release of the Samsung patch, if the functionality of the BixBye program described above seems insufficient to you, then you can use this suggestion. In it, you first need to launch the Bixby digital assistant, then assign the button to another action. It all works quickly, there are many options available, you can set the action to single, double or long press the button.
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EA has updated its popular franchise - the FIFA Football game has appeared in the Google Play Store app store with new features, which we will now talk about.
EVE: Echoes Multiplayer Coming to Android
EVE Online is a truly special game with massive multiplayer mode that has been played on computers since 2003. This is a fantasy sandbox set in outer space, and players have complete freedom of action.
New Game of Thrones will be released for Android in October
Developer Digital, publisher of the Game of Thrones series, has announced a new one that will be released in October. Dubbed Reigns: Game Thrones, the game will debut on both iOS and Android in the same time period.
NBA 2KVR Experience has been released for Gear VR
2K has released a new basketball game for the Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset. Dubbed NBA 2KVR Experience, it's the publisher's first mini-game of its kind with a variety of modes and challenges.
Lara Croft: Guardian of Light is now available for all Android devices
The adventure game Lara Croft: Guardian of Light was exclusive to Xperia series devices for almost 4 years, but from today it is available for all Android devices.
The next Asphalt game will be an off-road racing game
Asphalt from publisher Gameloft has long been one of the most exciting mobile game series. It offers excellent graphics, convenient controls and a lot of fun from colorful races.
Niantic has updated Pokemon GO with new features
Developer Niantic recently announced that a new update is available for their Pokemon GO app for both iOS and Android. In addition to new functionality and some improvements to the Pokemon GO Plus accessory, the update also contains long-awaited bug fixes.
Samsung has released Link Twin, its first exclusive game for Galaxy devices
Samsung started paying attention to mobile games when it released the first smartphone models with support for the Vulkan API. And now the company has introduced its first game called Link Twin, which is a puzzle game with a minimalist design.
Minecraft has been released for Gear VR
Last month we received confirmation that Mojang was going to release a version of Minecraft for the Gear VR virtual reality headset and it happened today.
Alto's Adventure has been released on Android and is now available for download for free
Alto's Adventure is one of the best iOS games in 2015. Now it has also appeared for Android devices, and for now it can be downloaded for free. The price of the game in the App Store for Apple devices is $2.99.
Best free games for Android [TOP 15]
At the end of the year, traditionally, the results of the past year are summed up. So we have already begun to look back and look at everything that 2013 gave us. Have we already talked about the best Android smartphones? But now let’s highlight the best free Android games, because we are all primarily interested in freebies. So I suggest you look at the best free games for Android.
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is now available for Android
In case you don't know yet, Electronic Arts has released another great game on Android. We're talking about Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes - a game where you collect real characters from the cult Star Wars saga, fight your opponents with them, complete missions and much more.
Samsung Galaxy S8+ is considered one of the coolest, most advanced, powerful smartphones on the market. So we decided to try it out in our traditional gaming test. The smartphone has a lot of cool features in the software, one of which is the ability to change the screen resolution. There are three of them: HD+, FHD+ and WQHD+. They are not standard, but elongated, since the aspect ratio of the S8 is 18.5:9.
We selected 11 games, dividing them into two groups. The first group includes those applications in which changing the resolution in the settings changes the resolution in the game itself. And the second are those that are not affected by changing the resolution in any way, that is, they either go to 720p, like Real Racing 3, or a higher resolution is forced by the game itself, like in Oceanhorn. Moreover, in the first group there was not a single toy that would come in an honest 1440p (we compared the ladders in the screenshots under a magnifying glass - when switching to this resolution, the graphics are absolutely identical to Full HD). In other words, all games from the first group were shown in 720p and 1080p. For a few screenshots in which you can verify the identity of a number of titles in FHD+ and WQHD+, see.
Regardless of what resolution is active, the games run very, very well (except for the crappy port of GTA: SA, which still rubs players with terrible Mali textures - a shame). And if you consider that the chipset is new and nothing is really optimized for its 20-core graphics accelerator, the results in the future may be even better. In general, judging by the black stripes on the sides in all games except Gameloft ones, nothing has been specifically optimized for S8 yet. And Gameloft is not doing well either - not all the effects in the racing games, and Extreme generally runs in ultra-low resolution. However, I'm sure it's a matter of time. You can get rid of black bars using Game Tools - swipe from below, tap on the desired icon and then “full screen”. And sometimes it works as it should - in Dead Trigger 2, for example. The wide screen is impressive and very easy to use. But sometimes opening in full screen is implemented in the most primitive way - the picture is simply scaled to the larger side and as a result, some elements are cut off. Try it, experiment.
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (1 run)
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (2nd run)
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (3rd run)
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (4 runs)
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (5th run)
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+ (6th run)
As for benchmarks, the situation with them is somewhat confusing. For some reason, in AnTuTu with HD+ resolution the test shows lower scores than with FHD+ and WQHD+, which have generally the same results. This is a bit strange. AnTuTu detected throttling, but in 3D it is not critical - fps in games will not drop much. In the other two tests - GeekBench and GFXBench - no anomalies were noticed. Those who like to compare numbers will be pleased with what they see.
HD+, FHD+, WQHD+
As for the resolution for everyday use, Samsung sets the default to FHD+ - it is supposedly optimal in terms of visual perception, operating speed and power consumption. I use WQHD+ for three reasons. Firstly, the difference in clarity is noticeable (at least I can see it) - fonts look much nicer at native resolution, whereas at HD+ and Full HD+ they are muddy. Secondly, I measured the battery discharge during an hour of playing with maximum brightness at all resolutions and the average and high discharge is the same, that is, there is virtually no saving as such under load. Thirdly, no games for WQHD+ have been seen yet, and at this resolution the games are maximum FHD+. That is, if you are afraid of slowdowns, then there will be exactly as much of them as with medium resolution. But I don’t recommend using HD+ at all, because looking at such a large, luxurious panel with it is simply painful.
In short, the Samsung Galaxy S8+ is good for gaming. Additional optimization would not hurt it (you need to get rid of stripes, enable effects and unlock 60 fps), like any other smartphone, but even now, when it has just been released, it is a pleasure to play on it.
Samsung has tried to concentrate all the technological trends of our time in its top-end smartphones Galaxy S8 and S8+. This includes a curved display, a retinal scanner, and a “night mode”. Of course, the software interface matches the hardware. We’ll talk about it today, or more precisely, about its hidden and unobvious capabilities. So, what does the new interface of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ contain?
Navigation Bar Secrets
The navigation bar on the Galaxy S8 and S8 has a few tricks up its sleeve, including allowing users to bypass the device's lock screen and instantly access the home screen.
To do this, you need to activate unlocking from the Home button in the settings - Settings > Display > Navigation Bar. Now a strong press on Home will unlock the device, and a double press will forcefully lock it. In addition, the user can hide the navigation bar in applications where it is not automatically removed, and also configure it to suit his tastes. In some applications, the navigation bar may disappear completely; to bring it up you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Edge of the screen
The edges of the screen on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ provide access to apps, news and key features, allowing apps, shortcuts and notifications to be displayed on the curved edges of the screen. In addition, there are notifications in the form of glowing stripes along the edges, so you won’t miss a message even if the smartphone is lying face down. This same mode works well during game battles.
Users can access screen edge settings by selecting Settings > Display > Screen edges.
Create convenient reminders
Found interesting articles you'd like to see later? Galaxy S8 allows users to simply save URLs using the reminder feature. To do this, click on the icon Reminder in the standard browser. The URL is saved automatically, and you can also set the time when the reminder appears.
In addition, the smartphone allows you to create reminders in instant messengers. To do this, click the menu item Message Options and select a sub-item Send a reminder. Finally, you can pin reminders to the display. To do this you need to select an application Reminders, select the desired reminder from the list and select the “Always on screen” option.
Power buttons and camera
Sometimes you only have a couple of seconds to take a good photo. On the Galaxy S8 and S8+, you need to double-press the power button to instantly launch the camera. You can zoom a photo from the camera application by dragging the shutter button left and right.
In addition to unlocking the device, the finger scanner allows users to open apps and control key functions. A simple swipe down or up will show or hide the notification panel, while a swipe from the screen to the sensor on the home screen will launch Samsung Pay. The function can be found in the section Settings > Advanced Features > Fingerprint Scanner Gestures.
If you cannot answer the call, you can reject it by sending pre-generated messages. For this, a heart rate sensor is used - double tapping will send a message. The setup is done like this: Settings > Display > Screen edge > Lighting > Advanced settings > Quick reply.
Game screenshots
To quickly take a screenshot of the game and merge the game, you need to press the volume down button and the power button. You can also swipe your finger across the screen from edge to edge and then select an area of the screen to save.
Configurable in Settings > Advanced Features > Smart Capture
Snap an application as part of a window
A new feature on the S8 allows users to select a portion of the most recently opened app to pin to the top of the screen. For example, this could be videos or stock reports. This allows you to keep two applications on the screen at the same time. To launch, you need to click the arrow button in the application title.
Unlocking chip
If you are using a retinal scanner, then in the authorization window you can select different masks for this. Not too interesting, but still, someone will probably like it. You can find it here: Settings > Lock screen & security > Retina scanner > Mask preview screen.
Samsung Cloud offers users an easy way to share large video clips and photos with other users. The function supports FullHD videos and files up to 1 GB in size. Users can save up to 2GB of content per day. After two days of storage, the files will be deleted from the server.
Users can also give other users access to shared content by sending them a code. Those who receive the code will be able to view the materials via the link.
Of course, these are not all the features, but we’ll tell you about others next time.
Samsung has packed a crazy amount of features into the Galaxy S8 and S8+. It's nowhere near the insane level of software bloat we've seen on some Samsung devices, but there are plenty of options to explore. You could spend hours clicking through the menus, hoping to stumble across all the cool things this phone can do. Or you can read this guide to learn all about the best tips and tweaks to get the most out of your new Galaxy S8.
Watch the video review of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus:
Customize navigation buttons
Samsung has finally caught up with the times and moved to on-screen navigation buttons, meaning you can customize them to your liking. The default layout is similar to other Samsung phones, with a Back button on the right and an Overview button on the left. You can change it to the standard Android back-home-overview layout by selecting Settings > Display > Navigation Bar. Here you can also change the background color of the navigation bar. Remember, the Home button is pressure sensitive. It works with firm pressure even when the display is off. At the bottom of the navigation bar menu, you can change the level of pressure required to trigger the button.
Set up or turn off Hello Bixby
Samsung's smart assistant Bixby isn't very smart yet, so you probably won't use it. At the same time, when you press the physical Bixby button, a screen called “Hello Bixby” appears. You'll also find this screen to the left of the main Home screen panel. It's a bit like Google Now, but not as good. You can customize Hello Bixby to show information more useful to you—by default, it has things you don't want, like random Giphy animations and suggested themes in the Samsung store. Click the gear icon in the top right corner to edit cards and customize what they display. If you don't want to use Bixby on your home screen, you can enter edit mode by pressing and holding the spacebar, then turn off the switch above the Bixby panel.Get rid of icon frames
The icons on the Samsung home screen are all squircles, and third-party apps you install will be enclosed in white squircle frames. It's consistent, but not very attractive. To get rid of icon frames, go to Settings > Display > Icons. Change it to "Icons Only" and you're done.Reorganize applications
The default sort in the Galaxy S8's apps folder is "custom," which is a fancy way of saying "you'll never find anything." You should immediately change it to alphabetical order by opening the folder, clicking the menu button, and selecting Sort. Unlike previous versions of Samsung's Home screen, the apps folder will remain in alphabetical order even when you install new apps.
Faster unlocking via iris scanner
Samsung decided to put the Galaxy S8's fingerprint sensor in a really awkward spot on the back of the phone, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with the iris scanner. It works surprisingly well, and you can make it even more convenient to use with a few tweaks. You can add Iris Scan in Settings > Lock screen & security > Iris Scan. Make sure Iris unlock is turned on so you can unlock your phone by looking at it, then turn on Iris unlock when screen turns on. In this mode, you don't have to swipe the lock screen to enter iris scanning mode. Just wake up your phone by looking at it and it will immediately unlock.Selecting display calibration mode
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ have several display calibration modes available in the settings. The default calibration is a responsive mode that includes custom color sliders to adjust colors to look the way you want. Some GS8 owners find the display too red, but you can change this using the sliders. There are also AMOLED Photo, AMOLED Cinema and Basic modes. Basic mode offers the most accurate colors of the sRGB specification, while Adaptive has a wider color gamut.Changing the default volume level
When you press the volume key, the default action is to change the ringer volume. How often do you need to change it? Changing the media volume is more useful and you can set it to default. Just go to Settings > Sound & Vibration. There you will find "Default Volume Control". Tap it and select Media.Set up Always-on display
Samsung's Always-on display feature allows you to see basic information about your phone without waking you up. This feature drains your battery a bit, so either turn it off or adjust it to make the battery drain more worthwhile. Always-on display appears in Settings > Lock screen & security > Always-on display. The display style can be changed to different clock, calendar, photo or minimal clock on the edge. On the other hand, Always-on display does not always have to be turned on. At the bottom of the settings screen is a toggle for "Always-on display". Disable it and you can set a schedule to turn it on and off.Editing the Edge panel
There is no flat version of the Galaxy S8, so it's time to make friends with the Edge Screen. It's a small tab on the right edge of the screen that shows you various shortcuts and tools when shooting. You can customize what you see on the edge screen by tapping the gear icon at the bottom or going to Settings > Display > Edge Screen. The Edge screen can be turned off if you don't want to use it, but set up Edge Panels first. There are almost a dozen panels by default, including a handy clipboard manager and weather. Don't forget to click the menu button in the top right corner to rearrange the panels and edit the Edge Screen. You can make the panel larger, smaller, more transparent, or even change its location.Improved multitasking with Snap Window
The Galaxy S8 runs Nougat, so it uses the standard Android multi-window system. However, Samsung has added a small bonus in the form of Snap Window. You'll find the Snap button right next to the split-screen button on the app cards in the multitasking interface. Tapping lets you define a section of your app that will remain at the top of the screen while you use the bottom section for another app. It is an ideal solution for streaming videos on Snap Window as it takes up less space and will continue playing even if it loses focus.Turn the brightness to maximum
By default, you can access the screen brightness slider from the advanced quick settings, but with another change you can access it even easier. Open Quick Settings and tap the arrow next to the brightness slider. Then switch the Brightness slider to maximum and tap Done. The brightness slider now appears below the settings bar at the top of the notification shade.Dual Audio via Bluetooth
The Galaxy S8 is the first phone with Bluetooth 5.0, and it comes with a pretty cool feature. The GS8 can stream audio to two different Bluetooth devices simultaneously, but the option is quite hidden. Select "Settings"; "Connections"; "Bluetooth"; "Menu"; "Double Sound" Once you enable this feature, you will be able to pair a second Bluetooth Audio device with your phone. Both will receive the same flow, but one may be slightly delayed.Use Smart Select
Samsung makes a big deal out of Smart Select on Note devices, but this screen selection and cropping tool is also available on the Galaxy S8. You can access it using Edge Screen, so add the Smart Select panel first. Smart Select can be used to capture a square or circular portion of the screen rather than a full screenshot. These clippings can easily be scanned into OCR text. It is also possible to make a GIF animation or crop the screen in a floating window. It's not very convenient to use without a stylus, but you can get pretty close.Turn on Download Accelerator
Download Booster is a feature that Samsung released a few years ago and then hid in the menu, never to be seen again. You might want to use it on the Galaxy S8. Download Booster links your LTE and WiFi connection, allowing you to download files larger than 30MB at faster speeds. It's on the menu Settings > Connections > Other connection settings > Download Booster.
Full screen application settings
The Galaxy S8 has virtually no bezels around the display, which comes with an unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio. This means some apps and games will look strange, either with black bars or chunks of the interface. The phone tries to guess which setting is correct, but you can always switch between full and not full by opening the multitasking screen and pressing the button in the top right corner of the deck. In addition, there is a complete list of applications and their screen modes in the section Settings > Display > Full Screen Apps. Just visit this menu and install applications in one of the modes without opening them individually.Setting Energy Saving Settings
There are several ways to save power on the Galaxy S8, all conveniently located inside the device management settings. You will find them in the section Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery. There are "Medium" and "Maximum" power saving modes, each of which can be changed using custom settings. Just select one of them and click the "Customize" link at the top. You can choose the screen resolution, brightness level, CPU limits, enable/disable background mode, etc. To activate the power saving mode, click the "Apply" button instead of the "Customize" button. Medium power saving mode can also be accessed from quick settings. There is also an advanced section accessible through the menu button in the top right corner. There, you can configure the app's power monitor, increasing or decreasing the time before the app goes to sleep (other Android devices call this app in sleep mode).Save data in Secure Folder
We all save important data on our phones, and Samsung offers a way to keep it all locked away. It's called Secure Folder and it only takes a few seconds to set up. Simply choose a new unlock method, decide whether you want fingerprints or a retinal scanner, and wait for the encrypted container to be created. Secure Folder can store files as well as copies of applications from your phone with completely separate data directories. Secure Folder even has a camera app, and yes, the photos it takes are saved in Secure Folder. This is an ideal place to store sensitive data that you don't want others to see.Based on materials from Greenbot
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