This guide explains how to force apps to full screen mode on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Samsung’s phones feature stunningly large 5.8 and 6.2 inch Quad-HD displays. However, you’ve probably noticed that many apps don’t use all of this space. If so, here’s how to get all apps to use full screen on your Galaxy S8.
You may see black bars at the top and bottom of the screen after launching some apps and games. Below the notification bar and above the soft keys. This is due to the new 18.5:9 aspect ratio on most new smartphones in 2017 and 2018. The screens are tall and thin and not that wide.
You may remember a similar situation with 16:9 widescreen movies and videos a few years ago. Many users are having problems with new phones with all this screen size, such as the Galaxy S9, Note 8, LG V30 and even the Galaxy S8. Until more app developers adopt this standard, you’ll have to enable “full screen apps” yourself in the settings on the Galaxy S8.
Most Android apps scale easily and instantly to fill the entire screen. Google’s current system allows most apps to easily scale from phones to tablet sizes and even Android TV, but not all. As a result, you will find these strange black bars in some cases.
We have good news though, you can get rid of them quickly on Galaxy S8.
How to Enable Fullscreen Apps on Galaxy S8
Most apps work perfectly on the larger screen, but not all. And for some they’re fine, but they don’t look that great. With that in mind, follow the steps below to fix the issue.
Our image above is a quick look at exactly what you’re looking for in the settings. Some apps default to the correct setting, others don’t. Apps like Snapchat and a few other apps need a quick toggle where you force them to enter the correct mode manually.
Now just press the home button and open all apps and enjoy the complete Infinity screen experience. It is also worth noting that videos have a similar option and will appear in front of users. If not already, let us expand them to full screen. You can pinch to zoom YouTube to change fullscreen mode.
You should do it?
Your next question will probably be how this works, whether you should do it and if there will be any issues. Personally, anything I manually force fullscreen to work just fine. However, there will be some cases where it doesn’t look perfect. At this point, most app developers have fixed all display issues, but you may encounter the occasional issue.
Samsung is essentially expanding the apps to better fit the full screen. It’s similar to what the Netflix app does with certain shows or movies. Or how we can zoom in with cable TV.
When closing, the edges of some apps may appear squashed or things may actually slide off the edge of the screen. This is because the developer needs to update the app. With the new Galaxy S9 due in March, we expect most apps to receive updates, if not yet.
We also expect additional support for full-screen apps and split-screen apps with the incoming Samsung Galaxy Android Oreo update. For any other questions regarding the Galaxy S8, leave a comment below.
