The latest flagship from Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy S7 comes with a truck load of features; so it is not surprising that many settings remain undiscussed. The hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S7 are not going to be completely off the grid; they are the usually ignored settings that need just a little bit of attention. With a settings menu that can go on for miles, it can be a little hard to keep track of all those features that are jam packed into the cute, powerful smartphone. A point to be noted here is that I currently use a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and not a standard Galaxy S7. However, the hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Edge variant are almost the same. Apart from the edge features found on the curvier Galaxy, you will find everything to be the same. Just for the sake of clarity, the screenshots you see in this article are taken on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
1. Developer Options
This is perhaps the biggest hidden setting of Samsung Galaxy S7 because it is truly hidden. None of the other settings are hidden from view by default, but as these developer options can be tricky, they are hidden from normal users. To activate the settings, head over to Settings >About Device > Software Info > Build number. Now you need to rapidly tap on the Build number option until you see a pop up on screen. It will look like this:
After the confirmation that the Developer options are enabled, you can back out of the software and device info setting and you will see a new addition to the settings menu called Developer options. Now I don’t recommend you meddle around too much in those settings because most of them are intended for developers, but you can change a few things in there easily.
2. Change Animation Speeds
Now that we are already in the Developer Options, why not tweak a little bit. Don’t worry, I won’t be suggesting anything I haven’t tried on my phone and it will be completely safe. If you are tired of the same transition animations being played over and over again, you can make them go faster. This has an added bonus of making things seem a lot responsive. I don’t want to see a fancy animation when I launch an app, but don’t want it to go away completely, so I set the animation speeds to 1x. Take a look at the screen shot to see which settings I changed.
Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, Animator duration scale need to be adjusted. Play around with the scale values until you find something to your liking.
3. Smart Network Switching
If you like to be always connected to the internet regardless of what source you use, this option is made for you. Basically, it connects you to a mobile data connection if the Wi-Fi one is not accessible easily. This option is golden for those who have unlimited mobile internet data and can easily afford being connected to it. To access this feature go to Settings > Wi-Fi > More > Smart network switch and turn it on.
4. Wi-Fi Data Usage
A lot of people have capped internet connections at home. And many people pay a ridiculous amount of cash just to get a good internet connection. While every Android smartphone allows you to meter mobile network data with ease, the Samsung Galaxy S7 goes a step further and also monitors any data going through the local wireless network. What this means is that you will be able to see how much internet your Samsung Galaxy S7 used on Wi-Fi connectivity with ease. Head over to Settings > Data Usage > More > Show Wi-Fi Usage > Wi-Fi tab and you can see details about the apps that used most of the data.
5. Display Scaling
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a large smartphone with a high-resolution screen. Some people want to use the large screen to full effect by reducing the size of the icons and text on the screen. Samsung knows this and has cleverly implemented a display scaling feature in the Samsung Galaxy S7. Before you get excited, I have to say; this limited feature is only two sizes. One is the standard one you see when you first turn on the phone, and the other one is a little condensed. The effect, however, is quite drastic in the day to day usage. To explore this feature yourself, head over to Settings >Display > Display Scaling > Condensed.
6. Game Launcher
Samsung has done a great job making their latest smartphones appeal to gamers. This is one of the main reasons why I purchased this smartphone over Huawei P9 for myself. The Game Launcher collects all the games installed on your phone to a single, highly accessible folder. You don’t even have to do anything; the smartphone will automatically detect any installed games and move them to the launcher folder. What is interesting is that the folder allows you easy access to a couple of functions. You can enable “Do not disturb” mode that will block all notifications while you are in a game as well as launch the Game Tools. To enable it simply go to Settings > Advanced Features > Games > Game Launcher.
7. Game Tools
The Game Tools feature of the Samsung Galaxy S7 deserves a separate article in itself. The new game tools introduced in the latest flagship are nothing short of amazing. This feature clearly shows how great Samsung’s new phones are for gaming. The Game Tools feature is basically a persistent on-screen bubble that gives you access to awesome features. You can move the bubble around freely, and it is never an obstacle. In fact, I cannot imagine playing videogames without it now. The tools allow you to get no alerts during game, lock the recent apps and back keys, minimize the game, and take a screenshot, record a gameplay video and access different settings. You can enable Game Tools by going to Settings > Advanced Features > Games > Game Tools.
8. Game Tuner
One of the best hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S7 is so well hidden that it is not even on the phone. That’s right; Game Tuner is not installed on your smartphone but has a ton of settings that can help you get the most out of your smartphone when it comes to gaming.
Game Tuner
Now that you have installed the app launch it. You will see a list of games currently installed on your device. From here, things get a lot more interesting. Want to get 60 frames per second at full QHD resolution on your smartphone on every game? You can do that by heading into the “Modes” tab and selecting the Maximum quality option.
If you are like me, you would want to tweak each and every game you have on your smartphone. For example, for a farming game for Android, Simpsons Tapped Out, I use low graphics and a 30 FPS cap as the game doesn’t need the extra horse power. For a fast paced endless runner for Android like Spiderman, I drop down the resolution to 1080p and push for 60 FPS. This enables buttery smooth gameplay with zero lags. You can experiment on this amazing app and change the settings to your own liking.
9. Doorbell Detector
Imagine a situation where you have your earphones on in the far side of the house, and someone rings the doorbell. Now chances are you won’t be able to hear them ring it due to the loud music you a hearing. Now you can counter this by lowering the volume and losing the enjoyment factor or removing one bud from your ears so you can listen to the environment. Thankfully, you don’t have to do any of that stuff with the Samsung Galaxy S7. All you need to do is go to Settings >Accessibility> Hearing> Sound Detectors > Doorbell detector. Now you can record the door bell, and you are ready to roll. From now on, your smartphone will alert you if someone is ringing the doorbell. You can do the same with a crying baby, but I don’t recommend it, babies tend to cry in different notes all the time, and the Smartphone may not catch that.
10. Mono Sound
I accidentally broke one of my earphones by crushing it under my chair. Long story short, only the right bud of the earphone was outputting any sound. Thankfully, Samsung Galaxy S7 had the option of enabling mono sound when using earphones so that we get the full experience even if we have only one working earbud. The best thing is you can also change the balance of the earphones by using this option. To enable mono sound, head over to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing > Mono Sound.
Conclusion
These were a few hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S7. I also recommend checking out the best features of Samsung Galaxy S7 as well as the best cases and covers for Samsung Galaxy S7 articles for more fun. You can also check out the best apps for Samsung Galaxy S7 and pros and cons of Galaxy S7 for more information about the smartphone. Just like always, if you have any questions about the smartphone or the hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S7, feel free to talk to me in the comments below. Feature Image Credits
