Here are the first 10 things you should do on your brand new Samsung Galaxy S20 phone

imagesource Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
  • I tweaked 10 different things on the stock Galaxy S20 to make the phone look and work better.
  • Out of the box, Samsung's default settings don't take full advantage of its own capabilities, like the super smooth 120Hz screen.
  • Many of these tweaks are aesthetic, so pick out the ones you like.
  • Others are functional and can give you a better experience with the Galaxy S20.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

    • One of the things I love about Android phones is how much control you get over finer settings to make the phone look and feel the way you want it to.

    Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy S20 is a great smartphone, but it's not the greatest it could be. Surprisingly, some of Samsung's default settings don't make the most of some of the device's hardware, like its new 120Hz screen. That's one of the first few things you should change.

    Otherwise, there are a bunch of little tweaks you can make to make the Galaxy S20 your phone and work the way you like it.

    Check out the first 10 things I did when I received the Galaxy S20 Ultra review unit, and note that all these tweaks are available on all Galaxy S20 models:

    The Galaxy S20 has a sharp WQHD 1440p display, but it's set to FHD 1080p by default. Don't change that — it's better for your battery life, and FHD still looks great.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    When you first start up the Galaxy S20, its display resolution is set to FHD 1080p by default.

    The temptation is strong to set the display resolution to its full WQHD 1440p option for the crispiest, sharpest look for Android, your apps, photos, and videos.

    I hardly noticed a difference between the default FHD 1080p mode and the WQHD 1440p option. And keeping it to FHD resolution will help extend your battery life, as the Galaxy S10's processor won't need to work as hard to render items on the display at a sharper resolution.

    The Galaxy S20's screen is also capable of giving you a smoother experience while you swipe around the phone. You have to actively enable that feature.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    By default, the Galaxy S20's screen is set to the standard 60Hz refresh rate, which gives a familiar look and feel to the phone.

    But you can set the screen to 120Hz for a faster and smoother overall experience, and it's absolutely worth it. It might reduce battery life a little bit, but I have no complaints so far on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Battery life is still among the best I've ever experienced on a smartphone.

    To change the screen from 60Hz to 120Hz, head to Settings > Display > Motion smoothness > tap High refresh rate (120 Hz) > then tap Apply.

    Also note that the 120Hz option is only available for the FHD 1080p resolution.

    Turn on Dark Mode to give your Galaxy S20 a sleeker look. It's also easier on the eyes at night.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    Not only is dark mode easier on the eyes – especially at night – but it looks sleeker, in my opinion. Setting whatever you can to a dark or night mode will also help with battery life, as the Galaxy S20 won't be using up battery power to light up the default white color theme.

    To enable Night Mode, swipe down the notifications shade > swipe down again > swipe left > tap Dark mode.

    Use the latest Android navigation mode with swipes instead of the traditional buttons on the bottom of the screen. Not only are they more useful, but it gives your phone a cleaner look, too.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    By default, you get the standard Android navigation buttons on the bottom of the screen, including the multi-task button, the home button, and the back button.

    You can clean up Android's look on the Galaxy S20 by switching to gestures instead of buttons, which removes the navigation bar at the bottom. I kept the Gesture hints option turned on to serve as a guide for where to swipe.

    To do this, go to Settings > Display > Navigation bar > select Full screen gestures.

    Swipe down from anywhere on the home screen to pull down the notifications shade. source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    The icons are set to look large by default on the Galaxy S20, and it looks a little cartoon-y, which doesn't match the Galaxy S20's sleek aesthetic.

    To remedy this, I made the home screen icon grid more compact, which made the icons smaller and let me add more apps to the home screen.

    To do this, go to Settings > Display > Home screen > Home screen grid > tap 5×6, or whichever grid style you like.

    Do the same for the "Apps screen grid" option in the Home screen menu.

    Change the way the edge lighting looks and works on the Galaxy S20. source Crystal Cox/Business Insider

    Instead of summoning the Bixby virtual assistant with the Galaxy S20's side button, you can set it to act as a shortcut for your favorite app, or even back to a power button!

    To do this, head to Settings > Advanced Features > Side Key > select what you want the side button to do.

    Change the keyboard to Google's Gboard.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    Samsung's default keyboard is fine, but I've always preferred Google's own Gboard. The keys are wider, which makes it easier and faster to type more accurately. It's also a cleaner keyboard compared to the cluttered Samsung keyboard. You can also customize Gboard more than you can Samsung's keyboard.

    Just install the Gboard app from the Google Play Store and follow the instructions. Then, you can customize Gboard to your preferred themes and settings.

    Make the Galaxy S20 feel faster.

    image

    source Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

    You can reduce the superfluous animations when navigating around the Android operating system, which lets you get back to your home screen and close or open apps more quickly. It gives the Galaxy S20 feel faster overall.

    With animations switched on by default, it always felt like I was waiting for the animations to finish before I could go on to do what I wanted to do next.

    To get rid of them, go to Settings > Advanced features > tap Reduce animations.

    Galaxy S20 Ultra: First 20 Things To Do

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