Galaxy S20 multiwindow

How to enable and use Galaxy S20 developer options?

You can enable and use Galaxy S20 developer options to access some advanced or experimental features.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains when you need to enable developer options, how to enable and use the options, and a complete list of Galaxy S20 developer options. Examples of using Galaxy S20 developer options to add developer tiles to the quick settings panel, and to customise the default USB configurations are also included.

Please note, in this guide, Galaxy S20 refers to all three Galaxy S20 models: Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, because the developer options on these three phones are identical.

What are Galaxy S20 developer options?

Traditionally, Android hides with some special additional features for developers so that they can test their apps on any supported Android devices while normal users may never notice such features.

Some beta, experimental, and even legacy features were also hidden in Andriod devices. Google has to make sure that such features are visible only to users who are aware of such features,

Developer options in Android devices is a collection of these features. Some Android vendors may add or remove a few entries on their devices.

Galaxy S20 developer options are very similar to those in stock Android 10. Only a few new entries were added by Samsung.

When do you need to enable and access Galaxy S20 developer options

If you are an Android developer, surely, you can use the developer options to test apps on Galaxy S20, instead of the virtual machines of Pixel or Nexus devices.

Samsung is the largest Android vendor. So, it is necessary to test apps on the latest Galaxy phones.

Besides developers, many Android enthusiasts may also try some experimental or beta features of Android 10 on Galaxy S20.

For typical Galaxy S20 owners, you may still occasionally need to enable and use the developer options to access certain features. For example:

You want to force all apps to be resizable so that you can use it in both pop-up view and split-screen view.
You want to force all apps (except system apps and pre-installed apps) to use the micro SD card. As explained in this guide, many app developers choose not to support the micro SD card. You can overwrite their settings on Galaxy S20! (read on)
You want to add a quick settings button to turn on and turn off all sensors when

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Meaning of status icons and notification icons on Galaxy S20

By simon 4 Comments

Understanding the meaning of status icons and notification icons on Galaxy S20 can help you get quick information about the phone status, system health, and notifications.

This Galaxy S20 guide first covers the differences between status icons and notification icons on Galaxy S20, then explains the meaning of Galaxy S20 status icons and notification icons in Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra.

Because Samsung uses slightly different icons in different regions or for some carriers, you may get the notification icons or status icons that are different from shown in this guide. It is normal. If you cannot figure out the meaning of those icons, you may share the screenshot on our FaceBook page so that others can help you identify them.

What is the difference between status icons and notification icons on Galaxy S20?

All Android phones including Galaxy S20 use the top part of the screen as the status bar to display some icons indicating the system status, alerting you possible issues and notifying you about incoming notifications.

Traditionally, a status icon refers to the icons telling you the phone status (e.g., mobile network status, WiFi status, battery percentage, or battery charging status), They are typically displayed on the right side of the status bar and aligned to the right side of the screen.

The status icons on the Galaxy S20 are always shown on the left side of the status bar, as shown below. These notification icons include notifications from all apps(system apps and normal apps).

Since Android 9, Google has moved the time to the left side of the status bar. The notch or hole-punch for the front camera usually are located in the status bar. So, the space for notification icons becomes very limited.

To avoid the overcrowded notification icons, Galaxy S20 allows you to customize how the notifications are shown (all notification icons, the 3 most recent icons, or just the number of notification icons) as explained in this guide.

The differences between status icons and notification icons on Galaxy S20 include:

Status icons are always related to the system; while notification icons are usually linked to specific apps (including a few system apps and third-party apps).
Status icons are shown on the right side of the status bar; while Galaxy notification icons always appear on the left side of the status bar.
Status icons are more or less universal

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How to use the Galaxy S20 Recents screen on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra?

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Galaxy S20 Recents screen (aka overview screen, recent task list, or recents apps in the stock Android) lets you switch back to recently used apps quickly, or launch apps in the multiwindow mode (pop-up view or split-screen view) on Galaxy S20 easily.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains everything you need to know about the Galaxy S20 Recents screen, shows you how to access, navigate, and customize the Recents screen on Galaxy S20, and demonstrates how to use Galaxy S20 Recents screen to launch apps in the multi-window mode.

The Overview screen (Recents screen) on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra is identical. So, this guide applies to all these 3 models of Galaxy S20, although we use S20 in the text.

What is the Galaxy S20 Recents screen? Why is it important?

Like in other Android phones, Galaxy S20 Recents screen is a system-level UI component that lists recently accessed apps on Galaxy S20. It does not depend on individual apps or third-party launchers.

In other words, unless you root the phone, the Recents screen is always there. You cannot hide or disable it.

App developers cannot exclude their apps in the Recents screen. Instead, they can register some tasks of their apps as individual “apps” in the Recents screen. For example, if you open two documents in Google Docs, then you can find two entries in the Galaxy S20 Recents screen.

The Recents screen is designed for productivity. It is intended to help you switch among apps quickly.

Since Android Nougat (Android 7.0), Google finally introduced multi-window (split-screen view) into the stock Android. You have to launch apps in the split-screen view from the Overview screen in the stock Android.

Samsung added the multi-window feature since Android Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) with different ways to launch the app in the pop-up view or the split-screen view. But since Android Oreo, Samsung gradually streamlined the multi-window feature into the Recents screen.

So, the second common usage of Galaxy S20 Recents screen is to launch apps in the multi-window mode (split-screen view or the pop-up view).

Of course, you can also quickly manage the apps from the Galaxy S20 Recents screen.

How to access Galaxy S20 Recents screen?

As explained in this guide, you may use the navigation buttons or navigation gestures on Galaxy S20. So, the way to access Galaxy S20 Recents screen … Read the rest

How to use and customize Galaxy S20 navigation buttons?

By simon 2 Comments

Galaxy S20 navigation buttons allow you to navigate across, into and back out from the different pages of an app, Galaxy S20 Home screen, Apps screen and lock screen.

Although Android 10 introduced the full-screen navigation gestures, Galaxy S20, by default, uses the traditional three navigation buttons for you to interact with the phone.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the three navigation systems on Galaxy S20 (navigation buttons, Android 10 full-screen navigation gesture, and Samsung navigation gestures) and the functions and usage of Galaxy S20 navigation buttons (Recents, Back, and Home). It also shows you how to customize the layout (order) of Galaxy S20 navigation buttons

The navigation buttons are identical on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, although we used Galaxy S20 in the guide.

What are the three navigation systems on Galaxy S20?

When you interact with Galaxy S20, you can use one of the following 3 navigation systems to navigate through different apps, or within an app, or through pages of Home screen, Apps screen, and lock screen:

Galaxy S20 navigation buttons (the default).
Android 10 full-screen navigation gestures.
Samsung’s full-screen navigation gestures.

The full-screen navigation gestures remove all buttons (including the Home button). This guide explains these gestures and illustrates how to use them on Galaxy S20.

On the contrary, Galaxy S20 navigation buttons keep and use the traditional 3 navigation buttons.

Although navigation buttons look old-fashioned, they can be more efficient for many Galaxy S20 owners. This is the main reason why Samsung keeps Galaxy S20 navigation buttons as the default option when you set up Galaxy S20.

Please note, since Galaxy S8, Samsung ditched the hardware capacitive navigation buttons and adopted the software-based navigation buttons.

In other words, Galaxy S20 navigation buttons are NOT physical buttons (see Galaxy S20 layout). They are generated by the Android system when needed. And therefore, it is possible to disable/hide them and switch to full-screen navigation gestures without using any of these buttons.

What are the Galaxy S20 navigation buttons?

As shown in the screenshot below, there are three navigation buttons on the Galaxy S20 navigation bar:

Home button
Back button
Recents button (aka, Overview button)

Please note, the screenshot shown below is the default navigation button layout on Galaxy S20 (and all Samsung phones), which is opposite to the layout on other Android phones.

In the stock Android, the Back … Read the rest