After months of rumors and leaks, theSamsung Galaxy S23 seriesis finally available from carriers and stores around the world. Despite some minor year-over-year changes, these are three of thebest Android phonesyou can buy right now, ranging from the pocket-friendly S23 to the phablet-sizedSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Once you have your new phone in hand, take a few necessary steps to make your experience the best it can be. From customizing your homescreen to making the display shine, here are the first five things you should do with your new Samsung Galaxy S23.
12 Samsung Galaxy S23 tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your phone
Make the most of you Samsung Galaxy S23
1Maximize your homescreen
No matter how many apps you install, you’ll return to your homescreen dozens of times each day. Samsung’s launcher is full of settings worth tweaking to make the most of your experience. If you’re setting up your Galaxy S23 for the first time, it’s worth diving into the preferences and knocking these all out in one swoop.
Speaking of the app drawer, Samsung’s unsorted layout can feel frustrating and messy. If you prefer an alphabetical experience, swapping it out is simple.
Although you won’t see it out of the box, One UI 5.1 supports Material You dynamic theming. You just need to enable it.
2Take charge of your notifications
By default, Samsung’s notifications don’t match what Google and other Android manufacturers use. Some people might prefer the base One UI experience. Ifyou want a richer notification style, there are a few key settings you’ll need to change.
Finally, you’re able to change how notifications appear on the lock screen. You might think these options would be under theLock screen notificationssettings, but they’re not. Instead, you’ll need to head to the lock screen settings from the main page.
3Make the most of that gorgeous display
Samsung’s hardware is second to none, but the display is the highlight of its flagship smartphones. The company ships its devices with some specific default display settings designed, at least in part, to maximize battery life, but we think you deserve better.
This should give you a better experience with your Galaxy S23 display. You can adjust the rest of the settings here as you see fit. For example, you may prefer larger or smaller font sizes. That said, there are two other preferences we recommend adjusting.
Finally, take the time to change your phone’s navigation bar. This is how you get to your homescreen, swap between apps, or head back to previously viewed content. By default, Samsung uses its old-school three-button layout: recent apps, home, and back, when viewed left to right. If you want to swap the button order or move to amore modern form of gesture navigation, the display menu is where you’ll find these settings.
Once gestures are enabled, you have a few additional settings to choose from, including a gesture hint, a Hide keyboard button, and the option to block gestures from being activated with the S Pen.
4Grab those must-have power user apps
Samsung’s smartphones are built for power users, but two of its best applications aren’t included on the S23 by default, and you won’t find them on the Play Store.Expert RAW is a secondary camera applicationthat functions similarly to Pro Mode but can output RAW photos for perfecting your images in post. Meanwhile,Good Lock provides an endless collection of modulesto change how your phone works, from expanded quick settings menus to all sorts of customizable S Pen tricks.
You’ll need to use the Galaxy Store preloaded on your device to get these apps. Samsung doesn’t usually highlight these apps on the front page, but searching and installing them only takes a few seconds. While you’re here, we recommend grabbing Adobe Lightroom, as the two companies have partnered to create an app designed to edit your RAW photos on the go.
Getting started with Expert RAW and Good Lock requires some guides of their own, so if you’re new to the Samsung ecosystem, you’re about to dive deep into some seriously impressive tools. As a bonus, One UI 5.1 now sports an Expert RAW shortcut in the standard camera app, tying the two services closer than ever.
5Get your camera ready for split-second shots
Speaking of the camera, it’s the reason to upgrade to the Galaxy S23 Ultra this year — or really, any of the three phones. By default, the camera app resets to its default settings every time you close it, which can be frustrating if you’re trying to capture a moving subject as quickly as possible. Samsung makes it easy to keep your camera settings between sessions, but you’ll have to dig through your settings menu to find these toggles.
Each of these is worth considering on its own.Camera mode, for example, keeps the app active in Video or Pro mode, even after you’ve left the app. It’s also worth turning onHigh picture resolutionsif you plan to shoot unbinned photos. On the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+, you can capture 50MP images. On the Galaxy S23 Ultra, you can choose between 50MP binned images or full-size 200MP shots.
Your journey into the Galaxy is just beginning
There is so much to do with these phones, and we’ve just cracked the surface. If you own a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, check out ourtips and tricks for the S Pen. And if you’re upgrading from an older Samsung device, read up oneverything new in One UI 5.1.
