For 2022 Samsung’s top-tier flagship range is the Galaxy S22 series, comprising the smaller S22, the marginally larger S22+, and much larger S22 Ultra
Why you can trust Pocket-lint (Pocket-lint) – For 2022 Samsung’s top-tier flagship range is the Galaxy S22 series, comprising the smaller S22, the marginally larger S22+, and much larger S22 Ultra – the last of which comes with a curved-edge screen and integrated S Pen stylus, unlike the other two models. For the full set of differences between the three, check out our feature, link below: Samsung Galaxy S22 vs S22 Plus vs S22 Ultra: What are the differences? While all Galaxy S22 models arrive with Google’s Android 12 operating system, Samsung’s One UI 4.1 interface sits on top, bringing some unique software points and controls. Many users will be familiar, but some settings – such as how to switch the phone or take a screenshot – may differ to other Android handsets on the market. There’s a lot to learn and many trinkets you can discover. Here’s an in-depth guide so you can have various queries answered and make the most out of your new Galaxy S22 choice. Samsung Galaxy S22 top tip: If you’re struggling to find things, swipe upward from the bottom of the screen to launch the app tray. Within this there’s a search bar up top, but it doesn’t just search through apps, it searches through an abundance of integrated system apps – from calendar to settings and more – so there will be a bunch of selectable options to quickly jump to what you’re searching for. How to power off or restart the Samsung Galaxy S22: What appears to the power button on the right-hand side of any S22 handset (screen facing) actually defaults to launching Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant. A quick press of the button just takes you to the lock screen. To power down you’ll need to press-and-hold this power button and the volume down key simultaneously (not a short press, as that’ll just take a screenshot), which will raise a software screen complete with ‘Power off’, ‘Restart’, and ‘Emergency mode’. From this screen you can also select ‘Side key settings’ to reconfigure a long press to bypass Bixby and bring up the power-off page instead. Index • Home screen tips • Connection settings • Managing digital assistants • Quick settings • Apps tray and apps management • Lock screen and always-on display • Security and unlocking • Display tips • Notification tips • Volume, sound and do not disturb • Game booster tips • Camera and photos • Edge screen tips • Bixby tips and tricks • How to take a screenshot • Battery tips Samsung Galaxy S22, S22+ & S22 Ultra: Home screen tips Turn on Android gesture navigation: Unlike almost any other Android phone in 2022, the S22 loads up with three softkeys for navigation. If you want to switch to Android’s gestures then swipe down from the top, open settings (that little cog to the top right) > display > navigation bar. Yes, it’s a strange place for it to feature. From here you have the option to change the buttons’ order or select ‘Swipe gestures’ instead. Customise the navigation buttons: If you’re sticking with on-screen navigation controls, you can customise the order. As per above, head into settings > display > navigation bar and you can change the order of buttons from the default III [] Edit your home screen: A long press on the wallpaper on any home screen lets you edit the wallpaper and style, themes, widgets, and access additional settings. This area will also let you add screens (swipe to a fresh page and hit the giant + in a circle), or delete complete screens (hit the trash can icon up top, which will raise a prompt asking you to confirm the screen’s removal). Use Android 12 Material You: Adding customisation options at a native Android 12 level, press-and-hold the home screen to open the options. Then tap on wallpaper and style. In this section – aside from changing the wallpapers from default ones, including animated ‘video’ options – you’ll see the option for colour palette (which automatically appears after selecting a new wallpaper too). This will let you customise the user interface colours based on your wallpaper. There’s also the option to apply that to icons, but it only applies to native Samsung apps or folder backgrounds. Get more on your home screen: You can change the size of the screen grid on which your shortcuts and widgets sit, depending on how dense you want the home screen to be. Long press on the home screen, then select ‘Settings’ to the bottom right (alternatively swipe down from top of screen, select the settings cog, then ‘Home screen’). There are options for 4×5,4×6,5×5 or 5×6 which can be applied to Home screen grid and App screen grid separately, while Folder grid offers either 3×4 or 4×4 for those apps held within folder arrangements. How to access Google Discover: Simply swipe left to right on the home screen. If you prefer Samsung’s alternative option then long-press on the home screen and swipe right to access the left-hand page. Here you’ll see the option between Google Discover or Samsung Free, or hit the toggle up top to turn this page off entirely. Resize widgets: To access widgets long-press the home screen and select ‘Widgets’. You’ll need to place a widget on the home page or subsequent pages before you can make adjustments to them. Once any widget is placed, simply press-and-hold the widget itself, which will draw a border around it complete with four circular ‘pull points’. Drag these within the available parameters to change the size. Want to delete a widget? Press-and-hold it, a floating window will pop up offering information and a trash can with ‘Remove’ beneath it. Customise the status bar: This is the information that sits at the top of the screen. Head into settings > notifications and you can select between ‘Brief’ and ‘Detailed’ view options. You can open ‘Included apps’ and add/remove which apps are permitted to display in notifications on an individual app basis too. Change notification amount or switch off notifications: Within the notifications section (access as per above) you can select ‘Advanced settings’ to present further options. From here you can limit to three notification icons, a number of notifications only, or you can choose to see none or all – the choice is yours. Display battery as a percentage: Want to see more than just a visual representation of battery life? You can toggle a percentage counter, which appears to the side of the battery symbol in the status bar, by going to settings > notifications > advanced settings and hitting the ‘Show battery percentage’ toggle there. Allow your home page to work in landscape: This option will allow the home screen and apps tray, settings, etcetera, to display in landscape orientation. It’s off by default, but you can turn it on in settings > home screen settings > select the ‘Rotate to landscape mode’ toggle. This is different to the ‘buttons’ shortcuts within the swipe down notifications shade, where the ‘Portrait’/’Auto rotate’ option will only allow certain apps to rotate between orientations, not settings and the like. Create a folder: Simply drag one app on top of another on any home screen page and a folder is created. To remove an app from a folder, open the folder and long press an app and you’ll get a pop-up menu which lets you remove or uninstall it. To add more apps, either drag them into the folder, or hit the ‘+’ button within the folder to add apps where you can select multiples from your list. Change a folder’s colour or name: Open a folder and enter the name you want at the top. If you don’t want a name, leave it blank and nothing will show. To change the folder background colour – and you can do this individually per folder – tap the dot in the right-hand corner and select a new colour, including completely custom options. Delete a folder: If you no longer want a folder, press and hold and then hit the trash can icon. The folder and the app shortcuts will vanish, but it doesn’t uninstall said apps, it just tidies things up on your request. Close all apps: When you tap the recent apps button (the III softkey or via a slow bottom-to-mid swipe up if you’re using gestures) you’ll get thumbnails of your recent app pages. You can swipe these away individually, or hit the ‘Close all’ button beneath. Note, however, that swiping an app to close doesn’t prevent it from running in the background – see our battery settings information about how to control this. Hide apps: Don’t want an app to show on your home screen or in search? You can hide it. Long press the home screen, open settings, select ‘Hide apps’ and select those you don’t wish to appear, before hitting ‘Done’. Caveat: search will still reveal the app’s settings access in some cases. Pocket-lint Connection options on the Galaxy S22 series How to setup eSIM: If eSIM is enabled on your device, you’ll be invited to set this up when you first setup the device. If want to do it after initial setup, head into settings > connections > SIM card manager > add mobile plan. How to use Samsung DeX: The desktop experience (DeX) is a standard feature on the Galaxy S22, allowing you use your phone as a deskop computer either via a PC or with a TV or monitor. First you’ll have to turn on DeX on the phone in settings > advanced features > Samsung DeX. Once you’ve toggled it on, you’ll either have to install the Samsung DeX app on your PC or you’ll have to connect the monitor to your phone via the USB-C connection on the bottom. It will also work through USB-C hubs. Call and text on other devices: Using the Samsung account, you can allow calls and messages to come through on other Samsung devices, like a tablet, meaning you don’t have to change devices all the time when working. Head into settings > advanced features > call and text on other devices and turn it on. That will mean texts and calls to the number on your phone will be synced with your other Samsung devices. Link to Windows: If you want to sync to a Windows PC to manage mobile notifications, view recent photos, make and receive calls via PC, access messaging/conversations, and sync mobile apps, you can do that. Head into settings > advanced features > Link to Windows and toggle it on. You’ll then be taken through the setup process. Manage Android Auto on your Samsung device: Samsung phones will let you customise the Android Auto experience. Head into settings > advanced settings > Android Auto. Here you can customise the apps you are shown in Android Auto as well as change some other settings. Pocket-lint Managing your digital assistants on the Galaxy S22 Samsung pushes Bixby as its default digital assistant. As the S22 is Android you get Google Assistant too. Install Amazon Alexa and that becomes an option too. Here are all the management options for those virtual assistants. Access Google Assistant: A long press on virtual on-screen softkey will launch Google Assistant. If you’re using gestures then a 45-degree corner swipe will activate the same. This is synced with your Google account from sign-in, so works with anything you’ve already setup Google Assistant to do. 5 Reasons why the REDMAGIC 7 is a sublime gaming phone By Pocket-lint Promotion · 3 March 2022 This is a gaming phone that’s been designed from the ground up for the absolute best performance possible. Turn on “Hey/Ok Google” hotword: The hotword to get Google to respond with just your voice is part of the Google app. You’re prompted to set it up when you sign-in to a new phone, but if you want to do that later then search ‘Device assistance app’ from settings (found in settings > apps > choose default apps), hit the settings cog next to this, and you’ll be able to activate the hotword through Voice Match. Disable Google Assistant/all assistants: If you don’t want Google Assistant on that home button shortcut, you can remove the ability to launch it. As above, head into settings > apps > choose default apps, select ‘Digital assistant app’ and tap ‘Device assistance app’. You can select ‘None’ to disable, or another option to change the default system. Change your digital assistant: If you’d rather launch Alexa on the home button, install the Alexa app and then, as per above tip, switch the default device assistance app to Alexa – or Bixby Voice if you’d rather. However, the Alexa hotword will not work. Launch Bixby Voice: If you want to use Bixby, press and hold the side button and Bixby will launch. You’ll have to be logged-in to a Samsung account use Bixby. You can also enable the “Hi Bixby” hot word. Pocket-lint Samsung Galaxy S22: Quick settings tips and tricks Instantly access the quick settings and notifications pane from your home screen: Swipe down anywhere on the home screen and the notifications shade will slide down – meaning you don’t have to stretch up to the top of the page. Swipe down again and you’ll get quick settings buttons – really useful on the bigger Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra phones. You can deactivate this (as it’s on by default) but long pressing on the home screen, hitting the settings cog, then scrolling down to the ‘Swipe down for notification panel’ toggle. Quick access to Google Home controls: If you have Google Home installed and setup, drop the quick settings menu and then tap ‘Device control’. Now tap the drop-down menu option that says ‘SmartThings’, and you should see ‘Home’ as an option. Select that and now you’ll see big onscreen widget controls for your Google Home connected devices. Edit quick settings: To change the shortcuts you see when you swipe down the notifications, swipe down twice so you see the full grid of buttons, open the menu by tapping the three dots top right and select “edit buttons”. You’ll be shown the full list of options across pages. You can drag to reorder, or remove shortcuts you don’t need. Top tip: only the first six apps are shown in the compact view across the top (expanding to 18 once in quick settings fully), so make these your first settings shortcuts. Instantly access device settings from quick settings: This is a standard Android tip, but great for accessing settings instantly. Press and hold the shortcut (for example Bluetooth) and you’ll instantly jump to the full settings menu. It’s really useful for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and power saving options. Access connected devices in quick settings pane: By default you’ll find that device control and media output is shown in the quick settings pane.
