While the device maintenance tools are always running in the background to watch for problems, you can also click the Optimize now button to perform a manual optimization – very useful if you think there are a few problems with your smartphone.
The optimization process includes looking for duplicate or large files on your device that may be taking up unnecessary space, or finding apps that are draining the battery, or closing apps that are running unnecessarily in the background.
Customize the Always-On Display
Samsung phones give you more control than most over what appears on your lock screen, as well as how it is displayed. From Settings go to Lock screen and Always on display to configure it, but keep in mind that some cheap Samsung handsets don’t offer this feature.
You will find that you have all kinds of settings to play with. For example, you can choose how long the always-on display remains on and choose your preferred clock style from a variety of digital and analog options.
Other available settings let you switch between portrait and landscape orientation and choose how bright the text is on the lock screen. It’s also up to you whether the media playback controls are displayed via the always-on display.
You can even download entire themes for the always-on screen: Tap Themes from Settings, then choose AOD to see what’s on offer. The quality can vary, but you should at least find a few options that suit your taste.
Place items in a secure folder
If you own a mid-range or flagship Samsung smartphone, you have access to a Secure Folder: a specially protected area of your device where you can store any kind of file that no one else can access.
Accessing the secure folder on your Samsung phone requires additional authentication — a fingerprint, a PIN, or a pattern — and all the data in it is fully encrypted, meaning it’s nearly impossible to get hacked.
Choose in Settings Biometrics and Security and then Secure folder. After you set your authentication method and open the secure folder, you can add new files and apps to it by clicking the + (plus) button.
You can also add files to the secure folder from various other apps on your handset. For example, in the Gallery app, you can select photos and videos and then tap . to tap More and Move to Secure Folder.
Run Samsung DeX
Samsung DeX is a way to control your smartphone with a keyboard, mouse and computer monitor. For example, if you have to do a lot of image editing or word processing on your phone, that can be useful.
Essentially, what you’re doing is turning Android and OneUI into a desktop operating system, with all the benefits that entails: floating windows, more intuitive controls for your apps, keyboard shortcuts, and so on.
You need some specific hardware: this only works with a Galaxy S series phone and you need a specific DeX cable from Samsung to connect it to your monitor and peripherals. You can also connect it to a laptop or desktop computer and use the peripherals connected to it instead.
Samsung has a full guide to DeX for you to consult, but it’s not hard to get started and should significantly boost your mobile productivity, both what you can do on your phone and how quickly you can get it done.
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