Seven Samsung Galaxy Settings You Don’t Get on Other Android Phones
When you buy a Samsung Galaxy phone, you get more than just a stock, pure Android interface: you also get One UI—Samsung’s own version of Android, with its own visual style, AI features , and other enhancements. One UI means you get access to settings on your Galaxy phone that aren’t available on other Android phones—you can apply personalization and controls not found on Samsung or Google phones. Whether you’re planning to buy a Galaxy phone and want to explore its benefits, or you already have a Samsung phone and want to make sure you explore all its features, here are some of my favorite One UI-exclusive settings.
Adjust the color balance of your Galaxy.
Some other Android phones offer basic display color balance settings, but Samsung goes even further, giving you more control. If you select Display > Screen Mode in Settings, you can adjust the white balance using a slider and switch between Vivid and Natural modes.
Click “Advanced Settings” to make even more detailed adjustments. You’ll have access to separate sliders for the red, green, and blue color channels, as well as a slider for adjusting screen brightness. Check out the preview images above to see the results of your changes.
Customize your Galaxy’s side button
On Galaxy phones, you can remap the main side button or the power button if you don’t want to use the default configuration, which includes a double-tap to launch the camera and a long press to launch Google Gemini. (Note that you can’t configure a single press to either lock or unlock the phone.)
In Settings, select Advanced Features > Side Button , then choose Double Press or Long Press . Double pressing offers a variety of options, from a flashlight and magnifier to Samsung Voice Recorder or any other app of your choice. Long pressing lets you switch to a different voice assistant or turn off the phone. By default, turning off a Samsung Galaxy phone requires you to simultaneously press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons, so long pressing may be more convenient.
Customize the Edge panel on your Galaxy.
The Edge panel, available on Samsung phones, is a true gem for One UI. It’s a quick-access pop-up window that provides quick access to apps, contacts, and features on your phone, and it can work just like the Windows taskbar or macOS dock.
You can customize the Edge panel in Settings by going to Display > Edge panels . Here, you can change the panel’s appearance and position, as well as choose the desired panel type: Apps , Contacts , Tasks , Weather , Tools , Clipboard , or Reminders . To customize the shortcuts in the Edge panel, open it by swiping in from the edge of the screen, then tap the pen icon at the bottom. This ensures that your most frequently used apps and shortcuts are always accessible.
Increase the available RAM on your Galaxy.
Samsung Galaxy phones have a feature called RAM Plus, which borrows some of the device’s memory and uses it as temporary RAM. This should speed up app launches and switching between apps. You can find this feature and adjust the amount of memory used by going to “Device Care” > “Storage” > “RAM Plus” in Settings.
Use multi-window mode on your Galaxy.
One UI features a multi-window mode that transforms Android into a more desktop-like operating system, which can be useful on phones with larger screens when you need to run multiple apps simultaneously. You can configure this feature by opening Settings and selecting Advanced Features > Multi-Window .
To display apps side-by-side, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see recently opened apps. Tap any app icon at the top of the carousel, then select “Open in Split Screen View .” You’ll then be able to select a second app to display alongside the first.
Automatically reboot your Galaxy
If you open Settings and select Device Care > Automatic Optimization , you’ll see the “Automatic Restart” option. If you enable it, your phone will restart when not in use to “keep it running at its best,” according to Samsung. You can choose to restart as needed or schedule a reboot . These regular reboots help clear the memory and cache of temporary files on your phone, which in turn optimizes performance. As indicated on the screen, reboots will only occur when the screen is off, you’re not actively using the phone, the battery level is around 30 percent, and the SIM card lock is disabled.
Apply Smart Wi-Fi to your Galaxy.
The One UI interface on Galaxy phones offers more than just Wi-Fi—it offers “intelligent Wi-Fi,” which uses artificial intelligence to optimize your connection. Latency-critical tasks (like video calls) are prioritized, and if the phone believes you’ll get better performance using cellular data, it will automatically switch to it.
To find the necessary settings, open “Settings” and select “Connections” > “Wi-Fi.” Then tap the three dots in the upper-right corner, select “Smart Wi-Fi” from the menu, and you’ll be able to enable the features you need. A secret Wi-Fi monitoring tool is also hidden here .