Top 15 Samsung One UI 3 Tips and Tricks to Use Like a Pro

Samsung used to get a lot of stamps on the bloated TouchWiz UI back in the Galaxy S7 days. With the launch of phones with high aspect ratios like the Galaxy S8, the company has launched a brand new One UI for all Galaxy devices. When the third iteration of One UI became available, it became a fan favorite. If you just got the update, check out the Samsung One UI 3 tips and tricks to get the most out of your phone.

One UI is much better than TouchWiz and has become a big win for Galaxy devices. Along with tons of customization options, the One UI 3.0 update adds some neat tricks for users. Along with customizing it to your preference, you can use new features to make your phone run more smoothly and its battery last a little longer.

1. Switch to Google Discover Menu

By default, Samsung offers the Samsung Home menu in the left pane. Users have been asking for Google Discover integration for years. The company finally heeded the growing demand and added a toggle option to the Google Discover menu on the left.

Swipe right on the home screen. Press and hold the screen and it will offer you to choose between Samsung Home and Google Discover menu.

2. Change Home Screen Layout

Switching from iPhone to Samsung and constantly missing the app drawer on the home screen? Samsung takes care of that too. You can go to home screen settings and change the default layout for apps.

3. Add Lock Screen Widgets

Taking a page from Apple’s book, Samsung added a trick to show default widgets on the lock screen. You can add Music, Weather, Digital Balance, Bixby Routines and more from the Lock Screen option in the Settings menu.

4. Live Copy

Samsung has finally implemented Google’s excellent Live Copy feature. Live Caption shows the speech as text on your screen so you can join the conversations around you. You can type a response on the screen while viewing the transcript.

The option is embedded inside the Settings > Accessibility menu.

5. Explore Call Backgrounds

Samsung offers a great customization option during calls. From the call settings menu, you can create customized call backgrounds. You can select a picture or video when you call or receive the other person.

There are loads of layouts and backgrounds.

6. Remove Location While Sharing Photos

This is a neat privacy trick to remove location data from photos. Once you hit the share button to send the selected image, One UI will remove the location data from the image.

7. Customize Notification in Status Bar

Those from the iPhone world will appreciate it. By default, Android OS shows the number of notification icons from apps. You can limit this to the last three apps and make things less crowded in the status bar.

Go to Settings > Notification > Advanced options and toggle the status bar to show the last three notifications.

8. Customize Always On Display

Many Android OEMs offer an AOD (Always On) option. But Samsung takes the experience even further with tons of customization options. Turn on Always On Display from the Settings menu.

You can choose from many clock styles, add an image as a lock screen, and even play around with gradient colors to customize the experience.

9. Enable Wireless Power Sharing

This option is only available for those with high-end Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S21 series. Using Wireless Power sharing, you can share device battery juice with compatible devices and accessories.

Simply enable the option from the device’s Battery menu and place your smartwatch or headset on the back of the device. The device will share the battery wirelessly.

10. Enable Notification History

This is straight from the Android 11 operating system. You can enable notification history from the settings menu and check which app is sending notifications to the device frequently.

11. Customize Side Switch

Meeting user demand, Samsung offers a way to customize the side switch experience. Go to Settings > Advanced Features > Side Key and you can let it open Bixby, Camera or any app. You can also customize the press and hold side key functionality.

12. Turn Off the Screen with a Double Tap Gesture

You no longer need to press the Power button or use a third-party gestures app to quickly lock the screen. It is enabled by default, you can turn off the screen by double tapping a space on the home screen.

If you want to disable the feature or it is not working, go to Settings > Advanced Features > Gestures & gestures. Enable the ‘Double tap to turn off screen’ toggle.

13. Use Power Search

If you’ve never used the calling feature on your Samsung phone, it’s time to rethink. You may like it because One UI 3 improves the search capabilities of the Finder. As a result, it now includes settings and search suggestions in addition to apps and people.

14. Continue on Other Devices

If you are using more than one Samsung Galaxy device, you may want to take advantage of the continue apps feature on other devices. Once the feature is enabled, you can continue using apps such as Samsung Notes and Samsung Internet browser on a different device from where you left off on the first device. This feature can also send text, images, etc. to a Samsung phone. It also allows you to copy and paste into another.

To use this feature, go to Settings > Advanced features. Tap on Continue apps on other devices. Turn on the feature.

15. Use the Google Duo Integration

Samsung has partnered with Google to provide a native integration with the Samsung Phone app. When you dial a number, you have the option to make a call using the Google Duo app or the calling app.

Explore One UI Capabilities

Check out the cheats above and start using One UI like a pro. While we’re at it, let us know your favorite add-on to One UI 3.

Next: Microsoft launcher is another capable Android skin out there. Read the comparison post below with Samsung One UI to know all the differences.