Just got a Samsung phone after years and years on a moto/droid. What apps should I get to up the qol?

New motos are just too big for my baby hands so I got myself an s23 for a steal, but I’m finding that I miss some of the functionality that I used to have, and that some features are just annoying on this phone.

What kind of qol apps do you galaxy-havers use? Specifically are there any that let me use more than just double tap and long press on the power button for quick actions?

Note: I don’t know if I can jailbreak it and keep my carrier. I use Google fi so it seems like breaking it would break everything? But I have no idea :3

medicake,

Not exactly an App but I really enjoy the functionality that Samsung Dex brings.

It allows you to plug your phone into a desktop, monitor or lapdock (screen, keyboard/trackpad + battery) and give you a desktop like experience for when you need it. Plus each time you upgrade your phone you also get an upgrade to your laptop/desktop.

It does indeed have a bit of jank to it, but the functionality you gain is well worth it at least for me.

funkajunk,
@funkajunk@lemm.ee avatar

I use bxActions to remap buttons/add functionality. One of the few apps that I recommend buying the “pro” version.

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamwork…

ranandtoldthat,

One handed operation. Sound Assistant

Ilandar,

Download the Good Lock app. Lots of interesting stuff to play with in there.

Blizzard,

Was going to recommend the same. It allows a lot of customizations.

Lowbird,

If you download ADB AppControl to you computer, you can use that to disable bloatware over USB. Do this very carefully (consult guides, and make sure you know what something is before you disable it, and don’t use any program that claims to “clean up” bloatware automatically). But the great thing about this app in particular is it lets you just disable things instead of fully uninstalling them, so that this way if you fuck up it’s fully reversible; if your phone mysteriously starts having problems, just remember that you fucked with it and undo any recent changes to see if that fixes it.

Anyway, you might get a noticeable performance improvement out of disabling bloatware (there’s probably a lot of it), and you can remove various annoyances/“features” that have their “disable” option grayed out in the phone’s own settings menus.

You can also look into 3rd party launchers, like Nova launcher - some people prefer those.

Also, check the accessibility settings, in case there’s something helpful in there.

Also also, there’s probably a hidden “developer options” menu that may or may not be useful to you. You can look up how to activate it - it’ll probably be something like going to the about phone section and tapping on the model or serial number 10 times, or something similar to that. But I haven’t looked it up exactly for your phone model. With my phone, I use this mainly to manually change the audio codec when other menus don’t allow it, but not for much else. Do keep in mind most of the developer options are truly intended for developers and shouldn’t be tinkered with unless you know what you’re doing/have a reason.

Edit: I don’t know if the s23 specifically has this, but I’d check the lockscreen settings menu to see if you have the option to add quick buttons to it, if that’d be helpful to you vs the power key shortcuts.

brie,

For ADB, I can recommend Shizuku (available on F-Droid) with aShell (for adb shell commands) and Amarok (for disabling apps). It uses wireless debugging to allow the device to run adb commands on itself.

sic_semper_tyrannis,

See if DivestOS or Lineage support your phone and get rid of the crap Samsung software and spying.

d3Xt3r, (edited )

That’s highly unlikely. Samsung phones aren’t very custom-ROM friendly, especially if you’re going for a recent device like OP did. Also, Samsung devices use a hardware eFuse which is blown up the moment you unlock the bootloader, which permanently voids the warranty, and permanently disables some Samsung features, which also reduces the resale value of the phone.

So, I wouldn’t advise rooting/ROMming a Samsung. Best to get something like a Pixel instead.

algorithmae,

Samsung phones aren’t very custom-ROM friendly

Boy how the times change. Back in my day, Samsung devices had their own dedicated community. RIP SDX-developers

sic_semper_tyrannis,

Wow, I had no idea about this efuse things. That’s absolutely terrible. Is it’s only function to alert you of the bootloader being unlocked?

d3Xt3r,

No, Samsung’s KNOX security system checks the eFuse state for various functions, and if the eFuse is blown, it’ll disable several Samsung features, such as Secure Folder, Private Browsing in the Samsung browser, Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass etc. You cannot restore these features even if you flash the stock firmware and relock the bootloader.

sic_semper_tyrannis,

Oh, so it’s just Samsung applications that stop functioning properly. I think most people installing an alternative OS are trying to get away from that stuff anyways. I can also see why somebody wouldn’t want to do that though.

d3Xt3r,

The issue is it also voids your warranty. So suppose your brand new, expensive Samsung phone develops a hardware fault, they could deny repair because your warranty is now technically void.

And it also affects the resale value. The person you’re selling to in the future, might not want to use a custom ROM, and they might actually want to use those Samsung features.

ramjambamalam,

Presumably, Google Pay, Firefox, etc. all continue to work, so do I really care if Samsung’s web browser and mobile payment system is broken? (sincere question)

null,

The answer depends entirely on whether you use/prefer them to alternatives.

irasponsible,

It’s a genuinely good security feature, but wrecks custom roms as a side effect (which I’m sure samsung doesn’t mind)

simon574,

Except if you need banking apps etc which will refuse working when they detect a customized OS.

jcrabapple,

Or Android Auto.

Anafabula,
@Anafabula@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Many work fine, see if yours is listed here

worfamerryman,

Thanks for this link. All my US banks are on there. Although it’s not really a bank, but PayPal is not listed. Does anyone have experience with this or with banks in the Philippines?

Ilandar, (edited )

The PayPal app definitely works with microG. I can’t confirm whether it works with a completely deGoogled version of Android, but it has been reported as working by multiple users through Techlore’s Plexus project.

EDIT: Just checked PayPal on a completely deGoogled device and it works.

worfamerryman,

Thanks for the heads up🙏🙏

I’m really interested in android, but all the google services are kind of a turn off. I only really use YouTube, but not even the official way.

Ilandar,

What kind of phone do you have? If you are interested in privacy and haven’t used one of these alternative Android-based operating systems a try yet, I definitely recommend it if you have a compatible device. You lose very little in terms of app support and functionality while making significant gains in privacy, speed and battery life.

worfamerryman,

Well, I have an old Oppo f7 that I’ve been using as a secondary phone. But my main phone is an iPhone.

Sadly there are not alternative operating systems for either phone.

worfamerryman,

So, I’ve been using an Oppo f7 as I live between two counties and need apps that are exclusive to one country or another.

It’s dumb, but that’s how it is.

Anyway, the oppo f7 is kind of dated and the touch screen is hyper sensitive. I’m only really watching Disney plus on it or occasionally using it for Lemmy or mastodon.

I was thinking about getting a google pixel used for this purpose and putting GrapheneOS on there. I don’t want to spend a lot though. So, how far back would you go? Is a 4a going to be too old and run down?

Ilandar,

The 4a could stop receiving updates any day now because it’s minimum support lifecycle is due to end this month. GrapheneOS will only offer updates for phones still supported by Google, which means you could be on outdated security patches very quickly.

If you want to use GrapheneOS, a better choice (if you can afford it) would be to stretch to the 6a, because that was from the generation when Google started guaranteeing a minimum of 5 years of support. This means that the end of its minimum support lifecycle is 4 years from now so it will be secure for a lot longer.

Here is the GrapheneOS support chart for reference.

Alternatively, you could go with an alternative privacy based operating system like CalyxOS, iodéOS or even LineageOS as they all offer longer term support for the 4a and other older devices. You won’t get the additional firmware updates when manufacturer support runs out, but you will at least have recent Android security patches. There’s also DivestOS, but I haven’t used that myself so I can’t recommend it with the same confidence as the other three.

worfamerryman,

I’m really just looking to spend around $100 on an android.

Where I live the 4a is like $140 used.

I was hoping that GrapheneOS would have longer security updates for the phones.

Maybe you would not know, but do you have any android models you would recommend? I’ll mostly just use it for streaming and a few apps that are not in the US App Store.

Ilandar, (edited )

Do you really want to use GrapheneOS? If you don’t mind using something else, the other operating systems I mentioned support devices for a lot longer. And if you’re not using this as a main device for payments, photos, messaging, banking, etc, then there are less risks in terms of security and you could even buy something a bit older than the 4a.

In terms of video streaming, the Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 9 all have beautiful 1440p AMOLED displays with no notch. I still use a Note 9 myself and it’s really enjoyable to watch videos on. I even used to watch movies on it before I bought a tablet. Those three phones have great custom operating system support (no Graphene or Calyx though) and were very popular back in the day so there are lots available to buy secondhand. If you are buying this as a main phone, I would maybe recommend against it due to their age but for a second device they would be excellent (assuming you can find one for close to your budget).

EDIT: I should mention those three phones also have SD card slots and headphone jacks, which makes them even better again as media consumption devices.

worfamerryman,

Nevermind, I see that there is an s10e. I’ll compare those two phones to see if the 10e is worth the extra $20.

worfamerryman,

Thanks for the recommendation. I guess I do not mind running stock Android, but I would prefer something less bloated. It looks like the s9 is about $70 here, but the s10 is $150-200. Why would that one be so much more expensive?

Ilandar,

One year newer I guess. I think there’s a 5G model of the S10 too, so that may inflate prices. Personally I think the S9 was a much better phone. It has a headphone jack, SD card slot (which wasn’t available on the S10 5G) and no selfie camera notch/cut-out. The S10 series is when Samsung phones started going downhill badly. Though the S10e was a great phone, my partner has used one for the last 4 years. It does have a slightly lower resolution screen and it’s small with a selfie camera cut-out, so not quite as good for watching videos.

S10 series all have good custom OS software too though, so not a bad choice either.

lazylion_ca,

My banking app complains that I’m using a keyboard it doesnt recognize.

bug,

All the bank apps I’ve used have their own keyboard built-in

Ilandar,

Not always accurate. Depends on the institution (my credit union’s app has worked flawlessly for years).

gelberhut,

I would not recommend this. Many Samsung apps are very good - camera, gallery (especially it’s editor), many people like notes (I don’t), Bixby routines.

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