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Top 10 new features of Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+

by simon in Galaxy S8 How-to Guides, Galaxy S8 new features 2 Comments

Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+ has been rolled out in some regions. More and more Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners want to know how to use the new features of Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+.

In this Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung updated the UI (Samsung Experience 9.0) and added Android Ore0 8.0.

This Galaxy S8 guide explains the top 10 new features of Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+.

You may check this Galaxy S8 Android Oreo update guides page for step-by-step guides on how to use these new features.

For new features of Android Oreo 8.0, you may check this guide.

#1. Notification channel (categories)

In Android Oreo, notification channels (notification categories) were introduced so that the app developer can “categorize” their notifications.

These categorized notifications can then be pushed through notification channels, just like radio channels. You, as an app user, can then turn on/off individual notification channel to get what you want to receive and block what you don’t.

You may find more info on notification channel on Android Oreo here.

#2. App shortcuts support in Home screen

When you tap and hold (long tap) an app icon in Galaxy S8 home screen, you have some options.

In Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+, you get additional options to launch some special features of the app directly (if the app developer enabled this feature).

Compared to the traditional way to access such app features, app shortcuts are faster.

Such app shortcuts are shortcuts to certain features of the corresponding apps.

App shortcuts in Home screen were introduced in Android Nougat 7.1. The firmware for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ was … Read the rest

How to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition?

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You can wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition to solve many problems in Galaxy S8 and S8+ by yourself without affecting your data, or settings.

It is also the last method in solving software related problems before resetting your Galaxy S8 and S8+.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide first explains what Galaxy S8 cache partition is and why and when you may need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition, then shows you how to clear Galaxy S8 cache partition.

What is Galaxy S8 cache partition?

Galaxy S8 cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8+ is a special (and reserved) part of the phone storage. But it is not user accessible in normal mode.

As suggested by the name, this special partition stores and serves the cached files for the phone. This is needed in all Android phones to speed up the apps.

For most owners of Galaxy S8 and S8+, it is not necessary to know the existence of such a cache partition. Of course, they do not need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition in the lifespan of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

The cache partition is normally well managed by the Android system. The partition will be refreshed automatically for example, when a major update is applied.

But occasionally, something in your Galaxy S8 or S8+ may go wrong and you may try to clear Galaxy S8 cache partition to avoid a factory data reset.

When you may need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition?

As mentioned, normally Android is smart enough to properly manage the cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8+.

But in some cases, you may need to manually wipe cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8, for example:

after a major update. Although any major update should clear and refresh cache partition when you

… Read the rest

Migrate to Galaxy S8: how to transfer data from old device to Galaxy S8 and S8+?

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When you get your Galaxy S8 or S8+, you may want to transfer data from old device to S8 or S8+.

This guide explains to you what data can be transferred, what data cannot be transferred, and how to transfer data from old device to Galaxy S8 and S8+ in different ways: with USB cable, through wireless connection (WiFi direct), through a PC, or through Samsung cloud.

What data can be transferred? What data cannot be transferred?

Before migrating to Galaxy S8 or S8+, it is important to know what can be transferred, and what cannot.

In this guide, we are going to use Samsung Smart Switch, which was pre-installed in Galaxy S8 and S8+, to migrate or transfer data from old device to Galaxy S8 or S8+.

Your old device was very likely pre-installed with Smart Switch if it is newer than Galaxy S6 (for example, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy 6 edge plus, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, and many other Galaxy devices released in last 2 years).

If your device is older, or is other brands, you can install SmartSwitch app from Play store. The minimum requirement for Smart Switch app is Android 4.0, which is actually hard to find.

Basically, you can transfer almost everything from old device to Galaxy S8 and S8+.

The data can be transferred from old device to Galaxy S8 and S8+ include:

Contacts;
Messages;
Samsung Calendar (S Planner) events;
Memos;
Call logs;
Alarms and world clock settings (if you are using Samsung clock app);
Internet (browser) app settings (only for Samsung’s browser app);
Email account settings (only for Samsung Email app);
S Health (Samsung Health) settings;
Apps. Apps from all sources including Play store, Amazon appstore, Galaxy Apps, can be transferred.
App data of most

… Read the rest