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Galaxy Z Flip’s Most Impressive Hacks

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip has begun to offer pre-registration for its price and impending release after months of waiting – so what should you try first when you finally get the device?

A mix of Android settings and features that are exclusive to the Korean-based tech giants’ latest foldable phone is where to start.

Once you get your hands on one of these game changing smartphones, there’s a few Android 10 settings you can alter to optimise the Z Flip even more – especially for single handed use.

(EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)

1.     Transform The Fingerprint Sensor Into A Scroll Wheel

The Galaxy Z Flip begs to be used as a single-hand device and this feature only further enhances that. Despite Samsung’s OneUI 2 interface making buttons and windows easier to interact with, reaching the top of the top of the screen for notifications can still prove difficult.

Luckily, there’s an Android setting that transforms the fingerprint reader on the device’s side into a capacitive scroll wheel to pull down the notifications drawer.

To turn this feature on, users can simply go to Settings, tap on Advanced Features, select Motions and Gestures and turn the Finger sensor gestures slider button on.

Then, when your phone is open, draw your finger from the top of the fingerprint sensor to the bottom to unveil the notifications drawer.

Do the same motion a second time to reveal the control panel and swipe up on the sensor to close the drawer and panel.

2.     Take A Selfie Using The Power Button

When the Z Flip is closed, users can double-tap the power button to open the exterior camera to take a selfie. The minuscule 1.1-inch pill-shaped screen will display a cropped live preview.

To take a photo, users can either press the volume button or raise the palm of your hand to the camera to trigger a camera timer and countdown.

(EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)

3.     Master The Minuscule External Display

Aside from taking selfies while the display is closed, the little screen also have more functions.

Users can tap the power button to reveal the time, date and battery status. By swiping your fingers across the display to the right, notifications are unveiled. Tap any of the icons to see a brief summary of the notification.

If the phone is on charge, the display will show the battery percentage and give you an estimate of how long the phone will take to reach full charge.

4.     Flex Mode Transforms Z Flip Into Mini Laptop

The hinge on the Z Flip is stiff enough to enable the device to remain in any position. Samsung has optimised on this function by introducing a few apps to take advantage of the display while opened around halfway.

For example, when the YouTube app is opened in Flex Mod, the video will play on the top half of the screen, while comments appear on the bottom.

But there are other ways to use Flex Mode, including to make Google Duo video calls, using the bottom half of the screen to scroll through photo albums in the Gallery app, take a hands-free selfie and finally – use a tripod to take photos, videos and hyper-lapses.

5.     Z Flip Split-Screen Apps

The device’s tall 6.7-inch screen with its 21:9 aspect ratio is perfect for displaying split-screen Android apps, simultaneously.

For users to access this, they can swipe up on the home screen to go into recent apps view or tap the recent apps button from the navigations bar. Then, select the app you want to appear on the top half of the screen and press and hold the app icon.

After a moment, a menu will appear. Tap Open in split screen view. Finally, choose the second app you want to appear on the bottom half of the screen. Once you’re in the split-screen mode, you can press and hold on the divider bar to resize how much room each app uses on the screen.

6.     Gestures For Better Single-Hand Navigation

Some users might find the traditional Android navigation bar for gestures to make the Z Flip easier to use single-handedly. To enable gestures, users can open Settings and then tap Display. Select Navigation Bar and choose Full screen gestures.

To use gestures, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go Home. Swipe up and hold to go to view recent apps. You can also swipe from the right or left for the screen to go back.

7.     Claim Free YouTube Premium Access

One of Samsung’s big announcements while unveiling the Galaxy Z Flip was revealing users will get four months of YouTube Premium – which is the platform without ads in addition to YouTube Music, for free.

To claim this offer, users can open the YouTube app, tape on your profile in the top right corner of the screen, select YouTube Premium and tap the blue Try It Free button.

Users will have to enter their credit card information to begin their free trials and should be sure to cancel their subscription after the four-month free trial if they don’t want to be charged in the future.



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