Samsung Galaxy S20 Guides

Everything about Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

Galaxy S20 Settings

How to Use Enhanced Processing on Galaxy S20 with Android 11 update?

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Enhanced Processing on Galaxy S20 with Android 11 updateEnhanced processing is one of the prominent new features in Galaxy S20 Android 11 update.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what the enhanced processing is, how to enable it from Settings and quick settings panel and how to use enhanced processing on Galaxy S20 with Android 11 update.

The enhanced processing option is available after you upgraded Galaxy S20 (and Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy Note 20) to Android 11.  If your Galaxy S20 is still running Android 10, please check this guide on how to use and customise the power mode.

What is enhanced processing on Galaxy S20 with Android 11 update?

As mentioned here, Samsung revamped (simplified) the power modes and added the enhanced processing option in Android 11 (One UI 3.0) update for Galaxy S20, S10, Note 10, and Note 20.

But Samsung hasn’t offered a detailed explanation of this feature, except stating:

Get faster data processing for all apps except games. use more battery.

There are some wrong inceptions on this feature on the internet. Some mistakenly thought the enhanced processing is simply the old high-performance mode.

So, what is enhanced processing?

First, the enhanced processing, once enabled, can unleash the full CPU (and GPU) power so that the app can run faster.

Second, the enhanced processing works with power saving mode. In other words, you can use this feature even in the power saving mode.

It sounds confusing. But it makes sense.

Apparently, the enhanced processing actually unleash the CPU power on demand. When you are using an app in the power saving mode, in the past, the CPU speed is capped. Now, with the enhanced processing, the limit can be removed on demand with other restrictions (e.g., brightness) in place. Of course, it does not affect background apps.

Third, enhanced processing is a standalone feature.

Galaxy S20 Android 11 update simplified the power modes to 2 modes only: default mode and power saving mode.  The enhanced processing adds the option to speed up the CPU speed on demand for active (foreground) apps. This addressed the battery consumption issue in the old performance mode.

At the same time, there are many complaints about the old medium power saving mode, which slows down the apps noticeably. Some owners question the rationale of limiting the speed for the foreground apps. The enhanced processing addressed this … Read the rest

How to update Galaxy S20 to Android 11?

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update Galaxy S20 to Android 11You can update Galaxy S20 to Android 11 to enjoy enhanced security and privacy, One UI 3.0, and new Android 11 features.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains why you should update Galaxy S20 regularly, when and how to update Galaxy S20 to Android 11 (and One UI 3.0), and how to enable and play the Android 11 Easter egg game (Neko Cat) on Galaxy S20.

Android 11 (with One UI 3.0) update has been rolled out to a few Samsung Galaxy devices including Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy Note 10, in addition to Galaxy S20. This guide applies to all these phone models.

Why should you update Galaxy S20 regularly?

Many Galaxy S20 owners may be scared by updates, possibly due to poor user experiences in the past, for example, losing personal data or customisation.  Therefore, some owners may refuse to update Galaxy S20.

This is dangerous.

First, Android monthly security update (patch) is essential.

You may be unaware that there are many prying eyes (through apps) on Galaxy S20. Some bad guys may use some exploits or bugs to gain unauthorised access to your personal or sensitive data on the device.

Android monthly security update patches and fixes some exploits and bugs to keep your Galaxy S20 relatively safer.

Of course, the update cannot stop apps from collecting data because you granted permission. But it can prevent unauthorised data collection.

In some regions, Samsung issued the update monthly. In other areas, the update may be delivered quarterly depending on your region. Samsung has a good record of updating Galaxy S phones for about 3 years.

Second, Android updating is matured.

In the past, some users might encounter some issues after the update. Some data went missing mystically. Some customisations were lost under your nose.

Sometimes, the update might break your favourite apps.

These issues have become rarer in recent years, thanks to the improved and matured Android update system.

New versions of Android brings new life for Galaxy S20.

Each version of Android adds some new features and improvements.  In recent releases, privacy, security, and data protection are the focus of Android core update.

At the same time, Samsung uses the Android version update to bring new versions of the One UI, which improves the usability and adds some new features as well.

For example, as explained in this guide, there are many … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S20 lockdown mode?

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Galaxy S20 lockdown modeGalaxy S20 lockdown mode allows you to turn off biometric and smart lock in some special situations to enhance security and privacy protection.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 lockdown mode is, when to use it, how to enable and exit the lockdown mode.

The lockdown mode is available in all Samsung Galaxy phones with Android Pie (Android 9), Android 10, or Android 11. So, this guide applies to not only Galaxy S20 phones but also Galaxy phones with Android 9 and later versions including Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy Note 20.

What is Galaxy S20 lockdown mode?

Android 9 (Android Pie) introduced the lockdown mode to boost phone security on-the-fly. And Samsung implemented it in all od their Galaxy phones with Android 9 or later Android OS.

Galaxy S20 lockdown mode, once activated,  blocks all biometric security (face unlock and fingerprint) and smart lock. In the lockdown mode, the only way to unlock your Galaxy S20 is using the primary PIN, Pattern or Password.

Voice recognition (Bixby and Google Assistant) will also not work when the lockdown mode is activated.

Besides, all notifications that would usually be displayed on the Galaxy S20 lock screen will be hidden, and you can only read them after you unlock the phone.

In a nutshell, Galaxy S20 lockdown mode:

  1. Force you to use PIN, Pattern or Password to unlock Galaxy S20.
  2. Hide all notifications from the lock screen regardless of the notification settings for the lock screen.

Therefore, it is a security feature, not a convenience feature.

Please note, Galaxy S20 lockdown mode is a one-time feature. It means it will return to normal once you unlock Galaxy S20 with PIN, pattern or password. If you need the mode again, you have to activate it again.

If you want to use the lockdown mode permanently, you may set the phone in this way:

  • Delete the registered facial features and fingerprints
  • Reset the smart lock and remove any trusted devices and locations.
  • Choose not to show any notification on the lock screen.
  • Disable Bixby and Google Assistant on the lock screen.

Anyway, this would cause some inconveniences.

When to use Galaxy S20 lockdown mode?

Using face recognition to unlock Galaxy S20 is usually blazingly … Read the rest

A Complete Guide Of Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu

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A Complete Guide On Galaxy S20 Assistant MenuGalaxy S20 Assistant Menu is more than an accessibility feature. It offers many shortcuts to help you improve your productivity with Samsung Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu is, what it can do, how to enable, use and customize it, and how to use Assistant Plus to get even more from the Assistant Menu on Galaxy S20.

As Assistant Menu is more or less universal on all Samsung Galaxy phones, this guide applies to other Samsung Galaxy phones as well.

What is Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu?

Samsung Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu, a semi-transparent floating button overlayed on the phone screen, was initially designed for owners who need assistance for motor control and other physical impairments.

But it has been used by many seasoned Samsung phone owners to get faster access to some functions and features.

You may find the Assistant Menu very handy if you get used to it. It is more than an accessibility feature: it is also a productivity feature.

Of course, the Assistant Menu is not a new feature of Galaxy S20. Samsung introduced this feature since Android 4.0 and maintained it in all Galaxy phones and tablets.

What can Samsung Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu do?

With Galaxy S20 Assistant Menu, you can:

  • Access navigation buttons regardless of the navigation method (navigation gestures or navigation buttons) you are using.
  • Access power button option (power menu). You can power off or restart the phone without using the power button (side key). You can also invoke emergency mode or lockdown mode for Galaxy S20. You may use it to power off the phone, then boot into Galaxy S20 safe mode or Galaxy S20 recovery mode. Please refer to this guide on how to enable and activate Galaxy S20 lockdown mode.
  • Access notification panel. You can access notification panel by tapping the button in the Assistant Menu, instead of swiping down from the top of the screen.
  • Add a touchpad on the screen and use a cursor to navigate to anywhere of the screen.
  • Add a circle touchpad (page control) to scroll up and down and to navigate among pages (panels).
  • Adjust volumes.
  • Turn off the screen.
  • Take a screenshot.
  • Adjust screen brightness.
  • Rotate the screen.
  • Use a magnifier on the screen.
  • Open Bixby.
  • Talk to Bixby.
  • Send SOS
… Read the rest

How to manage location services on Galaxy S20 to protect your privacy?

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How to manage location services on Galaxy S20 to protect your privacyLocation services collect your location info and offer them to apps that request such info (and approved by you). It is usually one of the core parts of privacy settings.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains why you should manage location services on Galaxy S20, how to turn on and turn off location services, how to manage location services for individual apps, and how to hide or remove location info when sharing photos through Google Photos or Samsung Gallery app.

As privacy settings (including location services) are almost identical on all Galaxy phones with Android 10, this guide applies to not only Galaxy S20 phones (including Galaxy S20, S20+, S20 Ultra, and S20 FE) but also  Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9.

Why is it important to manage location services on your phone?

For most phone owners, the location info is part of the critical private data. It reveals your whereabouts. It reveals your movement path and history.  Smart guys or some AI apps can even figure out what you were doing based on the location information.

Of course, you do not want spammers, scammers, and bad guys to get such information.

Even for close friends or family members, occasionally, you may be reluctant to share such sensitive information.

But you cannot just turn off location services on Galaxy S20. Many apps need the info to function properly.

For example, most banking apps require location info for any transactions.  Some shopping apps may also demand such info to reduce fraud.  Of course, location-based apps or games, like Pokemon Go,  Google Maps, or the weather widget on Galaxy S20 Home screen, rely on your location info to provide functions or services.

So, it is important to manage location services on Galaxy S20 so that only apps that genuinely require location info get the access. Other apps will be limited for accessing such info.

How to turn on and turn off location services on Galaxy S20?

You can categorically turn off location services on Galaxy S20 in Settings — Location, as shown in the screenshot below (marked as 1).

In this case, some apps, for example, the camera app, will remind you that the location is not available and ask you to enable it.

Please note once you turn off the location service, no apps can get the location info … Read the rest

How to use Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20?

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Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20Do Not Disturb (DND) allows you to escape from nonurgent disruptions from your phone while important calls, alarms, notifications can still alert you.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Do Not Disturb (DND) on Samsung Galaxy S20 is, how to enable and disable it on-the-fly, or based on predefined schedules, how to customize Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20 so that you can allow specific contacts to reach you and certain apps to alert you.

The DND feature is common on most Galaxy phones. So this guide applies to not only Galaxy S20 but also other Samsung Galaxy phones with Android 10, for example, Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9.

What is Do Not Disturb?

Android Marshmallow (Android 6) introduced the Do Not Disturb to help users limit interruptions from the phone and therefore improve productivity.

Over the last a few Android releases, Google fine-tuned this feature to make it easy to understand and easy to use.

Basically, on Samsung Galaxy S20, Do Not Disturb mode allows you to filter interruptions so that:

  • Only some contacts can ring you.
  • Most notifications are silenced.
  • You can choose to hide specific or even all notifications.
  • You can manage an exception list.

Please note, Samsung removed some Do Not Disturb features found in the stock Android, for example,

  • You cannot trigger DND automatically based on calendar events. In most other Android phones, you can add event-based rules to turn on DND automatically.
  • You cannot allow apps to overwrite DND.

So, do not assume Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20 is identical to many non-Samsung Android phones.

How to enable and disable Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20 on-the-fly?

In addition to turning on/off Do Not Disturb automatically (read on), there are a few different ways to enable or disable Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20 on-the-fly.

Method 1: from Galaxy S20 Quick Settings

You can swipe down twice from the status bar, or from the top of the screen (when the status bar is hidden, e.g., in full-screen mode), to access Galaxy S20 quick settings panel.

As shown in the screenshot below, you can find the Do not disturb button.

Tap the Do not disturb button to enable or disable DND mode immediately on Galaxy S20.

enable and disable Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy S20 on-the-fly

You can tap and hold the button to … Read the rest

How to customize Galaxy S20 ringtone quickly without using any third-party apps?

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customize Galaxy S20 ringtone quickly without using any third-party appsYou can use Galaxy S20 ringtone to identify calls from which SIM card, or from which contact without looking at the phone.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains how to set and customize Galaxy S20 ringtones for each SIM card (if you are using two SIM cards) without installing any third-party apps, and how to customize ringtone for individual contacts so that you can “hear” who is calling when the phone rings.

This guide works on not only all Galaxy S20 (Galaxy S20, 20+, and S20 Ultra), but also all Galaxy phones with Android 10, including Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note10, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9.

When do you need to change the ringtone on Galaxy S20?

The default Galaxy S20 ringtone can cause confusion when there are a couple of Samsung phone users in the same room because most Galaxy phones use the same default ringtone.

So, in this case, it is wise to change the default ringtone to something else.

Sometimes, you may want to know who is calling without looking at the phone. Especially, you don’t want to miss some calls from a few important contacts.  A customized ringtone for individual contact can solve your problem.

Some owners of the dual SIM versions of Galaxy S20 may use the two SIM cards (including eSIM) for different purposes. Of course, you may want to set a memorable ringtone for each SIM card so that you can hear which SIM card is called.

In short, you may consider to change or customize Galaxy S20 ringtone:

  • To distinguish your phone calls from others in the room.
  • To know who is calling you, just from the ringtone.
  • To know which SIM card is called without looking at the phone.

Galaxy S20 allows you to choose from many pre-installed ringtones, or select your own music or audio files.

How to set Galaxy S20 ringtone for each SIM card?

You may follow these steps to change Galaxy S20 ringtone for individual SIM card.

Step 1: Open Galaxy S20 Settings

You can open Galaxy S20 setting in many different ways, for example:

As shown in the screenshot below, in Galaxy S20 Setting page, tap Sounds and … Read the rest

How to use and force Galaxy S20 dark mode?

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use and force Galaxy S20 dark modeGalaxy S20 dark mode can significantly reduce your eye strain when using the phone. It may also slightly save battery for Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 dark mode is, how to use and customize the dark mode on Galaxy S20, and how to force all apps to use dark mode on Galaxy S20.

Galaxy S20 dark mode works identically on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. So this guide applies to all these three Galaxy S20 phones.

What is Galaxy S20 dark mode?

Galaxy S20 dark mode turns on a dark theme at the system level to alleviate eye strain, especially under low-light conditions. In the past, it was called night mode sometimes.

To avoid confusions with the camera night mode, Samsung followed the Android convention of the dark theme and named it officially as the dark mode since Android 10 update.

So, essentially, Galaxy S20 dark mode is the dark theme in other Android phones noticeable improvements.

The dark theme will try to use dark (black or grey) background and white text. This usually makes your eyes more comfortable when staring at the screen, especially when the light condition is not good.

Individual app developers may choose to implement the Android dark theme, or ignore it, or implement their own dark theme.  So, by default, some apps may ignore the dark mode. In Android 10, you can force all apps to use the Galaxy S20 dark mode (read on).

One beneficial side-effect of applying Galaxy S20 dark mode is noticeable power saving (without changing Galaxy S20 power mode).  Because Galaxy S20 uses super AMOLED. The black pixels consume almost no power. So, when you switch to the dark background, the screen will utilize less power. For most owners, power saving is noticeable, and it is helpful to extend the battery lifespan slightly.

For most Galaxy S20 owners, there are three benefits of turning on the dark mode on Galaxy S20:

  1. Alleviate eye strain.
  2. Save battery.
  3. Aesthetic (depending on individual owners). Some users prefer a white (light) background, and others may prefer the black (dark) background.

You can enable or disable Galaxy S20 dark mode at any time manually, or use it automatically based on your schedule.

How to enable and disable the Galaxy S20 dark mode?

By default, the dark mode is not enabled on Galaxy S20. There are at least … Read the rest

Use advanced features of Galaxy S20 wallpapers on the lock screen and home screen

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Use advanced features of Galaxy S20 wallpapers on the lock screen and home screenMany Galaxy S20 owners customize Galaxy S20 wallpapers once they migrate the data from the old phone and finish the initial setup.

But most owners may not be aware that Galaxy S20 wallpapers are not just a few pictures. You can also use videos, random photos, or Samsung curated photo packs as Galaxy S20 wallpapers.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the differences between Galaxy S20 Home screen wallpapers and lock screen wallpapers, the advanced features of Galaxy S20 wallpapers (multi-pack, live wallpapers, video wallpapers, dynamic lock screen, Samsung Global Goals), and how to customize Galaxy S20 wallpapers with these advanced features.

The difference between Galaxy S20 lock screen wallpapers and home screen wallpapers

Samsung made some changes on the wallpapers on the home screen and lock screen on Galaxy S20. Other Samsung Galaxy phones with Android 10 (e.g., Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10) also have identical wallpaper settings.

The major differences between Galaxy S20 lock screen wallpapers and home screen wallpapers include:

  1. Live wallpaper is NOT supported on Galaxy S20 Home screen. The infinity effect (and motion effect) of wallpapers does not work on Galaxy S20 Home screen either.
  2. Multi-pack is NOT supported on Galaxy S20 Home screen.
  3. Random photos (photo slideshow) works on Galaxy S20 lock screen only.
  4. Videos can be assigned for wallpapers on the lock screen only.
  5. The Dynamic Lock is for Galaxy S20 lock screen only.

In a nutshell, without using a third-party app, you can only use one static image for the Galaxy S20 Home screen wallpaper.  For the lock screen, you have many options.

If you just migrated from an old Galaxy phone, you may find the live wallpapers are missing from the Galaxy S20 Home screen.

5 advanced features of Galaxy S20 wallpapers on the lock screen and home screen

Samsung tried hard to improve the wallpapers on the lock screen. But at the same time, they keep removing features from the home screen wallpapers.  It is a very confusing move.

Most of the advanced features of the Galaxy S20 wallpapers discussed here are mainly for the Galaxy S20 lock screen.  Only the dark mode for wallpapers is for both the Home screen and lock screen.

Here are the five (5) noteworthy advanced features of Galaxy S20 wallpapers.

#1. Dark mode for Galaxy S20 wallpapers

Galaxy S20 dark mode is excellent. It may significantly reduce your eye … Read the rest

How to enable and use Galaxy S20 developer options?

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enable and use Galaxy S20 developer optionsYou 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.

Update: After you update Galaxy S20 to Android 11, you may notice there are minor changes in the developer options. For example, you cannot find the option to customise the app icon shapes.

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
… Read the rest

How to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout to prevent unintentional changes?

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ock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout to prevent unintentional changesYou can lock the Galaxy S20 lock screen layout to avoid unintentional modifications of the home screen.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains when you need to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout, how to do it, and the side effects of locking the layout of Galaxy S20 Home screen.

Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra share the same launched and the identical home screen settings. So this guide applies to all Galaxy S20 phones, although we use Galaxy S20 in the guide.

Besides, because locking the home screen layout is a feature of Samsung’s One UI launcher, you can find and use this feature on all other Galaxy phones with One UI, including, Galaxy S8, S9, S10, Note 8, Note 9, and Note 10, as well.

When do you need to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout?

Thanks to the useless “curved” screen since Galaxy S6 edge, you may very easily touch the screen inadvertently and therefore move or remove some app icons or widgets on the Home screen.

Although Galaxy S20 makes the curved part of the screen less obvious, it is still a big distraction and a big waste (of usable screen space).

So, it is not uncommon that you may get surprised at the “new” Galaxy S20 Home screen: some app icons disappear, some app icons moved.

In the worst scenario, you may uninstall some apps inadvertently from the Galaxy S20 home screen when the phone is in your pocket or bag.

You can minimize such accidental modifications by locking the home screen layout.

Please note, when you boot Galaxy S20 into safe mode using hardware buttons, widgets may be removed even you lock the home screen layout, as explained here.

How to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout?

By default, the layout of the Galaxy S20 Home screen is not locked.

For example, when you install new apps on Galaxy S20, the app icon (a shortcut to the app) will be added to the Galaxy S20 Home screen.

To lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen, you may follow the following steps.

Step 1: Enter the edit mode for Galaxy S20 Home screen

The quickest way to access Galaxy S20 Home screens settings is through the edit mode.

On Galaxy S20 Home screen, you can pinch to enter the edit mode of Galaxy … Read the rest

How to use a micro SD card on Galaxy S20?

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use a micro SD card on Galaxy S20Samsung always supports the micro SD card support on all Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones except on Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5. Galaxy S20 can support a micro SD card up to 1TB.

But the support of the micro SD card on Galaxy S20 is different from that in stock Android.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the supported micro SD card features on Galaxy S20, the requirements of using a micro SD card, how to add and manage the SD card, how to move apps to the micro SD card and how to mount and unmount the SD card on Galaxy S20, and how to choose an SD card for Galaxy S20.

In this guide, Galaxy S20 refers to Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Does Galaxy S20 support adoptable storage so that I can use the micro SD card as internal storage?

No, Galaxy S20 does not support the adoptable storage. But Galaxy S20 does support moving apps to the micro SD card.

Since Android Marshmallow (Android 6), Google introduced the adoptable storage to let you use the micro SD card as internal storage. It essentially increases the internal storage capacity at a far lower price.

Of course, due to performance limitations of the micro SD card, most flagship Android phones do not support the adoptable storage. Some, for example, Google Pixel phones, do not have a micro SD card slot at all. The adoptable storage support can be found in many middle-range and budget Android phones.

The other option is to use the micro SD card as portable storage, where you can save your own files, for example, your music or media collections. Apps can also request to access the portable storage to download and save large files.  The “flagship” (usually means expensive and overpriced) Android phones with a micro SD card support, often only support the portable storage.

Unlike other Android vendors, Samsung chose a proprietory way to support micro SD card. It is somewhere between adoptable storage and portable storage.

  • You cannot format the micro SD card as the internal storage on Galaxy S20.
  • But you can move most apps to the micro SD card if you want.

Actually, this is a better implementation than the adoptable or portable storage, because

  • The micro SD card is portable.  You can share the media files on the SD card on any
… Read the rest

How to set Galaxy S20 display refresh rate?

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set Galaxy S20 display refresh rateThe 120Hz display refresh rate is one of the prominent new features of Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the role of the display refresh rate on Galaxy S20, how to change the refresh rate on Galaxy S20, the limitations of the 120Hz refresh rate on Galaxy S20. Some questions you may have on this feature are also addressed.

The display refresh rate feature on three Galaxy S20 phones are identical. So, S20 in this refers to Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra.

What are the 60Hz and 120Hz display refresh rate on Galaxy S20?

The display refresh rate measures the number of times per second the display can redraw the whole screen. So, the unit of the refresh rate is Hertz (Hz, 1/s).

For most smartphones, the display refresh rate is 60Hz. And it is good enough for most users.

Most videos have a frame rate of 24~30 fps (frames per second).  Loosely, you can think one frame means one static image on the screen.

So, as long as the refresh rate is higher than the fps of the video, we say the display can handle the video. You can watch the video on such a display.

In reality, the 60Hz display refresh rate allows you to watch the video smoothly.

But some users, mainly gamers,  may prefer a higher refresh rate to enjoy more realistic gaming experiences.

The hardware and the software on Galaxy S20 are capable of generating graphic output at very high speed, far higher than 60fps even at the full WQHD resolution.

So, some games can benefit from the high fps if the display can handle the output smoothly.

Galaxy S20 answers such demands with the 120Hz refresh rate display.

As mentioned, the 120Hz refresh rate is not for everyone. You will see the difference if:

  • You are playing 60fps (or higher) videos.
  • You are playing a few games that can handle/generate output at a rate higher than 60fps. Most games do NOT benefit from a high frame rate.

Anyway, as a new feature of Galaxy S20, the 120Hz refresh rate display (motion smoothness) may improve your experiences with a few games and videos.

How to set the Galaxy S20 display refresh rate?

By default, the Galaxy S20 display refresh rate is et at 60Hz.  You can change it to 120Hz in the motion smoothness settings.

Please note, the 120Hz refresh rate is not … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD) effectively?

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use Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD)Galaxy S20 always-on display can display some useful info on the screen without waking up Galaxy S20 when you cannot put your hands on the phone.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD) is, the differences between AOD and lock screen, how to enable and customize AOD on Galaxy S20, and how to use AOD with Galaxy S20 clear view cover.

The always-on display (AOD) feature on all three Galaxy S20 models (Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra) is identical. This guide works identically on these three phones although Galaxy S20 is used in the guide.

What is Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD)?

Galaxy S20 always-on display allows you to customize Galaxy S20 screen to show time, date, battery status, notifications, screen savers, faceWidgets, pinned image, today’s schedule after the screen times out.

Always-on display (AOD) is not new. But Samsung did remove some features from the Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD).

For example, you cannot pin a note,  or a memo, or a reminder, or a future calendar event on Galaxy S20 AOD screen, if you migrated to Galaxy S20 from older Galaxy phones.

Anyway, the Galaxy S20 always-on display was designed to show some useful info when it seats on the desk. You can quickly peek the time, notifications,  or battery status on the screen without stopping your work.

By default, when the screen times out (no activity on the screen), the display will be turned off automatically to save battery and maximize the lifespan of the screen. For this reason, the maximum screen timeout on Galaxy S20 is 10 minutes.

The Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD), if enabled, will turn on the screen without waking up the phone after the screen is turned off.

Because the AOD does not wake up Galaxy S20, it will not consume battery excessively. The added battery consumption is mainly for lighting up part of the screen.  For Galaxy S20, the AMOLED display is very power efficient and does not consume power for black pixels.

So, Galaxy S20 AOD will only slightly affect battery life (screen-on time) on Galaxy S20.

The differences between Galaxy S20 always-on display (AOD) and the lock screen?

Although Galaxy S20 AOD screen usually displays after the lock screen times out and shares the same faceWidgets and a few other settings with the lock screen, it is different from … Read the rest