Samsung Galaxy Note 7 tips and tricks: The ultimate guide to mastering your Note

If you thought the Galaxy S7 was going to be the top smartphone of 2016, then think again, as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 wants to be top dog. 

In typical Samsung style, this superphone is absolutely stuffed full of features, options and settings. You’ll need to be a smartphone master to find your way around the discover everything.

Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you. Here’s every tip and trick to help you master the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 home screen

The home screen is where you live on your Android phone. Offering loads of customisation, it’s the first place you land when you unlock your phone, and it’s where you return to when you hit the home button. Here’s how to make your Note 7 feel like your own.

Edit your home screen: A long press on the wallpaper on any screen lets you edit the wallpaper, widgets, themes or the grid size. This grid size applies not only to the home screen, but the apps tray too.

Enable a 3D or parallax effect on your wallpaper: If you want an added pop to your wallpaper, toggle on wallpaper motion effect. Long press as above and select your wallpaper, then turn on “wallpaper motion effect” before you tap the “set as wallpaper” button. 

Apply a theme: Samsung has a load of themes. Just long press on the wallpaper as above, and you’ll get the option to change the theme. Many are paid for, but there are free themes too. Hit the one you’re interested in and change the look of your phone.

Change your icons: Along with themes there are also icon packs. Again, many need paying for and will adapt the style of your icons. Just head into the wallpaper and theme manager as above and you’ll find the option to change your icons.

Remove the icon background: One of the things that Samsung likes to do is apply a background and create a “squirkle” out of all app icons. It’s own icons are designed to look like this, but when you install third-party apps, you don’t want them looking rubbish too. Head into settings > display > icon frames. Turn that off, and your apps look like apps again. Yay!

Get more on your home screen: You can change the size of the screen grid on which your shortcuts and widgets sit. It fit more on, select 5×5. This makes widgets more compact or lets you have up to 25 shortcuts.

Resize widgets: Many widgets are resizable. A long press selects them. When you lift your finger, you can drag the blue box that appears and resize your widget. 

Create a folder: Simply drag one app on top of another and a folder is created. To remove an app from a folder, open the folder and long press an app to select it and drag it to delete at the top of the page. To add apps, either drag them into a folder, or hit the + within the folder and tick the apps you want to add from the list.

Move apps from one folder to another: If you’re an organisation fan, moving apps from one folder to another is easy. Samsung offers a “move apps” function, but this is best suited to bulk moving – simply press and hold the app, drag to “move apps” and repeat for all the apps you want to move. Then hit the back arrow, open the folder you want and drag them back in. If you’re just moving one app, drag it out of the folder, keep holding it and you’ll return home: you can then place it where you want, or in another folder.

Change a folder colour or name: Open a folder and enter the name you want at the top. If you don’t want a name, leave it blank. To change the folder background colour, tap the palette in the right-hand corner and select a new colour. 

Access upday news reader: Swipe right from your home page to access upday for your news updates. Hit more > my interests in the top right-hand corner to customise the content you see. This replaces Flipboard on the SGS6, but offers a similar news digest. In the US, a different service is offered.

Disable upday: If you don’t want it, you can remove upday. Long press on your wallpaper, swipe right to upday and toggle off the switch. It will then vanish. Not everyone gets upday – different territories get different news services.

Stop adding new app icons to home screen: If you don’t want new apps you install cluttering up your home screen, head into Play Store > settings and uncheck the box.

Access Now on Tap: As the Galaxy Note 7 is a Marshmallow handset, you get Now on Tap. Press and hold the home button and Now on Tap will scan the page and deliver results.

Access Google Now: A long press on the home button will launch Now on Tap. Tap the G at the bottom of this screen and you’ll be in Google Now.

Change launcher (home screen): You can easily change the experience of your phone with a different launcher, such as the Google Now Launcher. Just download the launcher from Play Store and install it. When you press the home button you’ll be given a choice to select a new default launcher. To change the default launcher, head into settings > applications and tap the top-right menu. Tap default applications > home screen. Here you’ll find a full list of launchers to select or delete.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 quick settings

Quick settings is a feature of Android putting your essential and often used settings at your fingertips. Samsung adds a range of tweaks and changes. Here’s how to get the most out of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 quick settings.

Instant access to quick settings: Swipe down with two fingers and you’ll skip notifications and head straight into the full quick settings panel. Or double swipe down.

Edit quick settings: To change the selection of shortcuts in quick settings, press and hold on an icon. Those opens up the editor. You can then reorder or remove functions to your preference. Remember that the first five in the list are those you can see all the time, so make these your most frequently used functions.

Access full settings from quick settings: There’s a settings cog in the top right-hand corner when quick settings is open. This takes you to the full settings menu. To see more options for an individual quick, tap the bottom section. For example, this will let you choose your Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth device, or your power saving level.

Search your entire device: In the quick settings you’ll find a Finder search box, also offering voice search. This will search your entire device, either for settings, or for content, apps or people. You can also use this to scan for devices to connect to using quick connect.

Enable/disable quick connect: You can have the option to quick connect to devices in the quick settings box all the time (it’s on by default). This will scan for things to connect to and offer devices that are found, like your Samsung TV. To turn off the option, open quick connect, hit the top-right menu, and turn off quick panel connect. If you want to turn it back on, open quick settings, tap the Finder search box and scroll down. There you’ll find the option to scan for devices.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 apps tray

The apps tray is where all your apps are stored. By default it’s a mess, randomly arranged, with new apps being plonked on the last page, and removed apps leaving gaps. Here’s how to manage your apps tray like a pro.

Search for apps: There’s a handy search bar at the top of the apps tray so you can search for your apps. Or, swipe down quick settings and use the universal search option – this also reveals your apps.

Manually reorder apps: Hit the menu button in the top right-hand corner of your apps tray and tap edit. Drag the apps to the position you want them in. Hit DONE to save.

Create an apps tray folder: As above, hit menu > edit, drag one app over another and a folder will be created. You can then drag this folder to wherever you want it to be.

Uninstall apps: You can uninstall directly from the apps tray. Hit the edit option, then tap the minus icon that appears in the corner. If the app can be uninstalled, it will be. If it can’t be uninstalled, it will be disabled.

Remove a folder from the apps tray: If you don’t like folders you’ve created, or want to break the apps out of the default folders Samsung offers, hit menu > edit and then tap the minus button in the corner of a folder. The folder will be removed and the apps set free into the apps tray.

Alphabetise your apps: In the apps tray, hit menu > A-Z. This puts all the apps into logical order. You need to hit SAVE when you’re finished. Also note that if you install new apps, they’ll appear at the end of the list, so you’d need to sort into alphabetical order again, and again, and again.

Add apps to your home screen: Press and hold on the app shortcut in the apps tray. This will let you place a shortcut on your home screen.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 lock screen and security

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 offers a whole range of security options, including iris and fingerprint. Using everything means more options for unlocking your phone.

Change lock screen shortcuts: You can have two shortcuts on the lock screen for quick access. These are phone and camera by default, but can be anything you like. Head into settings > lock screen and security > info and app shortcuts > app shortcuts. Here you can select the left and right shortcuts, or turn them off completely.

Fingerprint security: To use your fingerprint to unlock, head into settings > lock screen and security > screen lock type. Here you can select fingerprints. We recommend registering at least both thumbs, so you can unlock with either hand. You’ll have to set a back-up PIN or passcode at the same time.

Iris security: To use your eyes to unlock the Note 7, head into the the screen lock type as above. Alongside fingerprint, you’ll get the option to scan your iris as another unlock option.

Use your iris to unlock the phone: To use iris, you need to swipe up from the lock screen. This will open the iris scanner and beam your eyeball.

Instant lock: When you press the standby button, you want your phone to lock instantly. Head into settings > lock screen and security > secure lock settings. There’s the option to lock the device as soon as the screen goes to sleep or when you press the standby button. If you do want a delay, there’s plenty of time options.

Smart Lock/Bluetooth unlock: Again in settings > lock screen and security > secure lock settings there’s the Smart Lock section. This is a standard Android feature and you have the option to nominate trusted devices, so your Android will unlock when connected to something else. You can nominate Bluetooth devices (like your smartwatch or car Bluetooth), location, trusted voice and so on.

Automatically wipe your device: If you’re worried about your phone falling into the wrong hands and being cracked, you can have it automatically wipe. Head into settings > lock screen and security > secure lock settings. Here you’ll find the option to auto factory reset if 15 failed unlock attempts are made.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 edge screen tips

Edge screen is the name that Samsung gives to the functions that can be applied to the edges of the display on the Note 7 and other edge devices form the company, like the SGS7 edge. On the Note 7 it makes more sense, as it can make the larger display much more manageable. Here’s how to use edge screen like a pro.

Manage edge screen content: Head into settings > display > edge screen > edge panels to manage what you see when you swipe in. Or, swipe in to open edge screen, then tap the cog in the bottom left corner. You can add or remove content, as well as download other content here. For best effect, don’t have too many panels, otherwise you might as well just unlock the phone and go direct.

Change the apps in apps edge: One of the edge panels offers you app shortcuts. This means quick access to up to eight apps. As above, head into edge panels and tap EDIT at the bottom of apps edge. You can then bin Samsung’s suggestions and load it with your own apps, like Pokemon Go.

Change the location and size of the edge screen handle: This is important. As the Note 7 is a big phone, it’s really useful to be able to change the location of the edge screen launch tab. Head into edit edge panels as above and click the menu top right, tap handle settings. This lets you change the handle to left/right, the location along that edge, the size as well as the transparency. Make it 100 per cent transparent and it vanishes, so you don’t have the little bar there looking ugly.

Reorder edge screen panels: If you want to swipe in and see your calendar before your apps shortcuts, head into settings > display > edge screen > edge panels and then tap the menu top right, and hit reorder. You can then arrange your panels.

Use edge screen from the lock screen: You don’t have to do anything, it just works. Swipe in and you’ll be presented with your edge panels from the lock screen if its awake. Before you can open an app or contact, you’ll need to unlock your phone, which it where iris scanning is really quick and easy.

Enable edge lighting for incoming calls: If your phone is face down, you can have the edges light up when there’s an incoming call. Head into settings > display > edge screen > edge lighting. This is ideal for meetings. Your phone will reveal there’s an incoming call without you needing vibration or showing everyone who is calling. 

Set a quick reply message for incoming calls: If you don’t want to answer the call, you can reject it and send a customisable reply message by placing your finger on the rear heart rate scanner. Head into settings > edge screen > edge lighting and toggle on the quick reply option. Here you can also change that message.

Get notifications through edge screen: Called briefing feed, you can select which app notifications are displayed. Head into settings > display > edge screen > edge feeds. At the bottom of the panel, tap EDIT. You can then select the notifications you want in edge feed. Note that you have to manually swipe the edge to see this feed.

Have the edge show a night clock: Head into display > night clock. Here you can enable a small clock that will sit in the edge of the display when the screen is off, showing time, date and battery status. You can pick the schedule that night clock comes on and off and choose left or right side.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 S Pen tips and tricks

The S Pen is the Note for some people, giving you a whole world of additional features and ways to interact with your phone that you don’t get on any other device. With a new S Pen and new features, the Note 7 is the best stylus-equipped device out there.

Write notes on your lock screen: Just pop out the S Pen and start writing, without having to unlock your phone. Just press the button to delete your scribbles when you make a mistake. Tap save to keep that note. Called Screen off memo, head into settings > advanced features > S Pen and turn on this excellent feature.

Choose what happens when you remove S Pen: Head into settings > advanced features > S Pen > detachment options. Here you have three action options for when the S Pen is removed – Air command is the default, but it could be to create a note, or do nothing at all.

Customise Air command: Air command is the interface that pops-up for you to tap with the S Pen. To customise this, open Air command and tap the settings cog in that appears in the opposite corner. Here you can change the shortcuts, including to launch any app you have on your phone.

Launch Air command if the icon has vanished: If you have the S Pen in hand, but the Air command icon has vanished or you’ve turned it off, just press the button as you approach the display and Air command will appear.

Highlight text with S Pen: Simply press and hold on the text you want to highlight. Or, press the button and tap the screen to select a word, or drag the selectors out to extent that selection.

Zoom in on a photo: In the Gallery, open a photo you want to look at. Double tap to zoom, then touch with S Pen and press and hold the button to zoom. It’s basically pinch zooming.

Preview photos in Gallery with S Pen: Hover over a photo in the gallery and it will pop up from the thumbnail giving you options to write on it, share, edit or delete, using Air view. The same can be done in calendar, scroll lists, and viewing links.

Have an alarm if you move too far from S Pen: To make sure you don’t lose your S Pen, or leave it lying in a coffee shop, there’s an option to get an alert if you move off and forget it. head into settings > advanced features > S Pen > S Pen alerts.

Don’t the the S Pen removal vibration or sound? Head into settings > advanced features > S Pen and you can turn off those sounds when removing or replacing S Pen.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 notifications tips and tricks

Notifications are really powerful on Android and Samsung is giving you a whole range of ways to control your notifications. There’s a new “notifications” section of the settings menu to control things, as well as access via the applications settings. The former is much simpler, so here we break down how to manage your notifications on your device.

Disable/enable lock screen notifications: If you don’t want notifications on your lock screen, head to settings > lock screen and security > notifications on lock screen. You can turn all notifications off with one switch.

Only show notifications as app icons on lock screen: We love this option. As above, head into notifications on lock screen and there’s a toggle option for notification icons only.

Hide some lock screen notifications: If you never want lock screen notifications from a particular app (like a messaging app, or annoying game), head into notifications on lock screen as above, then you’ll get a list of all your apps. Switch off the apps and you’ll never get lock screen notifications from them. To make it faster, turn off all and then turn on the ones you actually want.

Instant access to lock screen notifications: Just tap a notification twice and it will open up the app. Want to dismiss it? Just swipe it away. If you want to open it and you have security in place, you’ll need to unlock your phone to view the content.

Hide content in some app notifications: If you want to have notifications on your lock screen, but hide sensitive information in some of those apps (like a messaging app), first enable lock screen notifications to show content as above. Then head into settings > notifications > ADVANCED. Here you can manage the notifications of each individual app. You can opt to hide or show content from the lock screen here for specific apps.

To turn off notifications on an app: Go to settings > notifications. Here you’ll find a list of apps and you can turn off notifications on those you don’t like. 

To turn off pop-up notifications on an app: Go to settings > notifications > advanced. Tap on the app you want. Here you can turn off pop-up notifications, so you don’t get a notification for that app appearing at the top of your screen when it arrives.

To mark an app as a priority app: Head into settings > notifications > advanced. Tap on the app you want. Here you get app controls, and you can set an app as a priority so you always get notifications from that app, including in Do not Disturb mode – so all the time basically.

Still getting a notification you can’t get rid of? A quick general Android trick – press and hold on any notification and you’ll be taken through to the notifications for that app directly, so you can kill it.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 volume controls and Do not Disturb

While you need to know what’s going on with your phone, sometimes it just needs to shut up and leave you alone. There’s loads of options to manage how your device behaves at different times and it’s confusing. Here’s how to manage everything perfectly.

Quickly switch to vibrate alerts: If you want silence, but are after vibration alerts still, push the volume button and tap the bell on the pop-up. This will switch to vibrate. Or you can hold down the volume button so it slides all the way down to vibrate.

Set your phone to silent: The normal volume controls only go to vibrate which is a little irritating. To make your phone silent, swipe down to the quick settings and tap the sound shortcut. This will cycle through sound/vibrate/mute. Or tap the bottom of the icon and you’ll be able to select sound/vibrate/mute directly.

Turn down media volume: Hit the volume up or down button, and the volume slider will appear. Tap the down arrow on the right-hand side, and you can change the ringtone, media, notifications and system volumes independently. Perfect for when you want to watch a YouTube video on the bus without disturbing others.

Turn on Do not Disturb: Do not Disturb is an Android feature that lets you silence your phone, but set up a range of exceptions. For example, it will let specific people call, or certain apps notify you. You could use it to silence work apps, but still let you hear eBay alerts, for example, or silence all notifications, except calls from your mother. Swipe down quick settings and tap the Do not Disturb button to turn it on.

Customise Do not Disturb: The best thing about Do not Disturb is how flexible it is. Firstly, turn it on as above, then tap the notification that appears to customise it. Here you can set a schedule as well as set your exceptions, including whether you want alarms to sound, or your favourite contacts to still come through.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 app management

Of course your phone is all about the apps: that’s what makes a smartphone. Android gives you loads of options and in many cases you’ll want to use alternatives to those supplied by Samsung. Here’s some key tips for app management.

Change the default app: Android lets you decide which is the default app if you have more than one that will do the same thing. Under applications > menu > default applications you can see what has been selected as the default browser, calling app, messaging app and home screen/launcher. You can also elect to have the Note 7 automatically select default apps, or ask you when there’s a choice. 

Control app permissions: Marshmallow lets you manage all the permissions for each app on an individual basis. Go to applications > select the app and hit Permissions. This will let you toggle permissions on and off, so you can disable location access, for example, or check what that dodgy APK is accessing.

Install apps from unknown sources: One of the joys of Android is freedom to do what you want. If course the phone doesn’t want you, so by default the option to install an app manually is turned off. Everything that doesn’t come from Google Play is classed as from an “unknown source”. THere’s legitimate apps you might want to install, like Amazon Underground or Amazon Instant Video. To do so, head into settings > lock screen and security > unknown sources. This will let you install those apps.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 display tips

The Galaxy Note 7 offers a 5.7-inch Quad HD display with support for Mobile HDR. It’s stunning, but also loaded with features you need to know about. Here’s the insiders’ guide to the Note 7 display.

Turn on Always On display: To have the lock screen show you “always on” information, head into settings > display > Always On display > and switch it on. This displays when the phone screen is in standby.

Customise Always On display: There are lots of options for the Always On display. Tap on Always on display > layouts and you’ll see lots of different clock options and the option to enable notification icons in Always On display. 

Add a background to always-on display or change the colour: You can customise what you see in always-on display by heading to the layouts section above and tapping on the design you like. You then get the option to pick a colour – a pink clock perhaps – or to set a soft background image.

Use Always On display to show calendar or an image: If the clock doesn’t tickle your fancy, head into layouts above, tap “content to show”. Here you can select a screensaver type image or calendar instead.

Change the display colours: Head into settings > display > screen mode and you’ll get the option to change the way the display looks. If you want something more vibrant, it’s here you can set it.

Enable blue light filter/Night Shift: Designed to reduce eye strain in low light, the blue light filter will make the display warmer (more yellow, cutting out blue light), so it’s easier on your tired eyes. Head into display > blue light filter. Here you can change the intensity of the change, as well as set a schedule – including a simple sunset to sunrise option. Blue light filter is also available in quick settings.

Get more on the screen: Aside from changing the app grid, you can change the scale of the screen content. Head into display > content scaling and you can pick larger or small. Pick small to get more content on the display.

Engage smart stay to aid reading: Smart stay will automatically detect your face when you’re reading something and stop the display timing out. This might be useful for reading, if you’re a slow reader, or if you’re examining something in detail. Head into settings > advanced features > smart stay.

Take a screen shot: There’s a number of methods for taking a screen shot. Press and hold standby and the home button at the same time to take a screen shot. Or you can use a palm swipe – head into settings > advanced features > palm swipe to capture. This will let you swipe the display with your hand to capture the screen.

Supercharge your screen shots: If you want more than just what you can see, head into settings > advanced features > smart capture. This will let you do a range of cool things, the best of which is scroll capture to include things that can’t be seen in one screen shot – a great way to capture a full document or webpage for example.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 multi-tasking

Samsung has done more to push multi-tasking than anyone else in the mobile space, so it’s no surprise to find that the Note 7 offers a number of alternative ways to interact.

Multi app view: To view two apps at the same time, long press the recent apps button and the current app (if compatible) will occupy the top half of the screen. You can then select the second app from the apps shown on the bottom of the display. You can change the size of each app by pressing the dot in the centre and dragging it up or down.

Pop-up view: To view your app as a pop-up, drag the app in from the top left-hand corner. The app will shrink down and can then be moved around and placed where you want. To close it, tap the dot at the top – when it expands you have the option to return to fullscreen, close and so on.

Pop an app out of recent apps: A fun way to get the pop-up view is to hit recent apps and press and hold an app. This will pop that app out (if the function is supported), so it floats on whatever else was in the background. This works well with S Pen, because it’s easier to 

S Pen Glance: One great way to look at two things at the same time is using the S Pen Glance function. Tap Air Command > Glance and the current screen will become a thumbnail in the corner, leaving you to look at something else. You can switch between the two by hovering the S Pen over the thumbnail to view it. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 camera and photo tricks

Quick launch: Double tap on the home button to launch the camera. You can do this from the lock screen or any other location in the phone. If it’s not turned on, head to the camera app > settings and toggle on “quick launch”. Alternatively, head into settings > advanced features > quick launch camera.

Quickly flip from rear camera to front: Swipe up or down the screen and you’ll flip from rear camera to front which is much faster than tapping the small button to switch cameras.

Control HDR: In the camera app, hit the HDR toggle button on the left-hand side. This cycles through on-off-auto HDR options, although it’s only available in the Auto mode.

Enable video stabilisation: To stabilise your video on the rear camera, you’ll have to make sure the quality it set to QHD 2560 x 1440 or lower. It doesn’t work on the UHD setting. Head into camera app > settings and you’ll find the stabilisation option.

Wide selfie: To get more into your selfie shot, select the front camera, then swipe in from the left to select the mode. Tap wide selfie and you can take a wider shot by moving the camera when taking a selfie.

To take a selfie using a gesture or the heart rate sensor: In the camera flip over to selfie mode and hit settings > ways to take pictures. Here you’ll find the options for gesture, using the heart rate sensor, or tapping the screen to take a picture.

Use voice to take pictures: Voice works on both the front and back camera. From the camera head into settings > voice control and turn the option on to use voice capture.

To take a long exposure photo: In the camera app, swipe in from the left to select the Pro mode. On the right-hand side you’ll see the option to change the length of the exposure (it looks like a camera shutter). Use the slider or the arrows to select the length of time you want – you might want to use the S Pen to make it easier. The exposure compensation meter just above it will indicate whether you’re going to over or under expose.

Download extra camera features: Swipe in from the left to open the mode and hit download in the top right-hand corner. This will offer you other camera features that you can add to the selection.

Reorder the camera modes: If there are some features you would rather see higher up the list, in the modes screen, hit the menu, then Edit. Then press and hold an icon to move it.

Add a camera mode as a home screen shortcut: If there’s a mode in the camera you love – like Pro – you can have a shortcut to that mode on your home screen for instant access. From the camera, enter the mode selector, hit menu > add shortcut to home screen and then pick the mode you want.

Save pictures to microSD: If you inserted a microSD card you can save your photos to it. From the camera app, head into menu in the top corner, scroll down to storage location. 

Change gallery view: If you’re looking at your photos and you want more or less on display, you can pinch zoom, to change the thumbnail view. 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 managing calling, data and networks

Smart network switching: If you want to let your phone switch to mobile data when a Wi-Fi network is poor, enter settings > connections > Wi-Fi > advanced > Smart network switch to enable or disable.

Set a data limit: If you don’t want to exceed your contract data, head into settings > connections > data usage and you have the option to set the data limit and the date your contract renews.

Disable background data for apps: In settings > connections > data usage > background data you can select which apps are allowed to access data in the background. This is designed to save your contract data, but gives per-app control, so is really useful. It also has the advantage of saving battery life.

View your Wi-Fi data usage: In settings > connections > data usage hit the menu button top right and select to show Wi-Fi usage. This creates a new tab so you can see how much data you’re using both over the cellular network and through Wi-Fi. 

Restrict Wi-Fi hotspots: Phone always jumping on Wi-Fi networks you don’t want it to? Head into settings > connections data usage > menu > restrict networks and you’ll get a full list of recognised Wi-Fi networks. Here you can limit those annoying hotspots so you don’t connect when you’re walking down the street.

Enable download booster: If you’re looking for download booster to use Wi-Fi and mobile networks simultaneously for big downloads, head into settings > connections > more connection settings and you’ll find the option. 

Identify incoming calls: If you want the phone to identify who is calling you, head into settings > advanced features and turn on identify unsaved numbers. You’ll then be shown any information that can be found on incoming callers. There’s also the option to share your information, so you can be identified. We opted out of that.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 storage tips

The Note 7 offers 32GB of internal storage, with a tray that accepts both the SIM and microSD, making it easy to expand your storage. Samsung doesn’t support Android Marshmallow’s adoptable storage feature.

Explore what’s on your device or SD storage: The easiest way to view the content of your internal storage or SD card is to open the My Files. Here you’ll find my device, microSD, different categories as well as Google Drive (if you sign-in). You’ll see folders and files for each storage type and you’re free to explore.

Move an app to SD card: If you want to move apps to the microSD card to make more space on your internal storage, head into settings > applications and tap on an app. Within the app’s details you’ll find a storage section. Tap this, then “change” and you’ll be able to select the SD card. The phone will then move the app to external storage.

Auto restart to keep things fast: If you’re a power user and want to restart your device to flush out the caches, you can do it automatically. Head into settings > cloud and accounts > backup and reset > auto restart. Here you can set the day of the week and the time you want your phone to restart itself.

Clean your storage up: To clean up your storage, head into settings > device maintenance and tap on storage. Here you’ll find an option to clean the contents and remove files you don’t need.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery tips

Battery life is the Achilles heel of modern smartphones. The Note 7 has a large 3500mAh battery, but there’s still a lot you’ll want to do to make sure you’re not wasting it. The Note 7 has a new device maintenance area to take care of the hardware, as well as a new power saving feature. Here are some top battery tips.

View what’s eating battery: Head into settings > device maintenance > battery and tap battery usage. This will show you the predicted battery usage based on your 7-day averages. This is a fairly standard Android feature and shows you both hardware and apps that are eating battery.

Kill battery-hungry apps: Head into settings > device maintenance > battery and at the bottom of the page you’ll see the apps that have been chewing through the battery. You might find some apps are using background power when they don’t need to be, and here you can put them to sleep.

Engage power saving mode: Power saving on the Note 7 is all new. Hit the button in the quick settings to select medium or max power saving. Or, head into settings > device maintenance > battery and you’ll find the settings for those power saving modes.

Customise power saving: You can customise how power saving works. Head into settings > device maintenance > battery and tap the level of power saving you want. A pop-up shows you what it will do – brightness, screen resolution, hardware throttling, background data – with the option to customise and change those four areas. You can set the max brightness to your preference, or deselect anything you don’t want. For example, you might want background data to stay on, which you can do.

Turn off Wi-Fi during sleep: Head into settings > connections > Wi-Fi and you’ll find the option to turn off Wi-Fi when the phone is sleeping.

Enable fast charging: Head into settings > device maintenance > battery hit the menu and tap advanced settings > fast cable charging. If this is not turned on, the phone won’t use fast charging.

Use Android Doze: Android Doze is a low power state that lets apps sleep when your device isn’t being used. It saves a lot of battery in quiet times, for example over night when you don’t have a charger. It’s part of Android Marshmallow and is automatic – so you don’t have to do anything – it just works.

Time till fully charged: Charge time is displayed when connected to a charger. Look at the bottom of the lockscreen and in the battery status screen. If you’re fast charging, it will say so, and the estimated time left.

Android 6.0 general tips and tricks

Enable developer settings: To turn on the developer settings, head into settings > general management > software info. Tap on the Build number. After a number of taps, you’ll unlock the developer options.

Play Flappy Android: Marshmallow’s Easter Egg is an Android take on Flappy Bird, as it was in Lollipop. Head into settings > general management > software info. Then tap the Android version repeatedly until it changes to the Marshmallow screen. Once you have the full Marshmallow wording visible, press and hold. You’ll flip into the Flappy Android game. Enjoy! 

NASA will answer your questions about its journey to Mars

NASA has a ton of Mars-related projects that it hopes would culminate in sending humans to the red planet within the next 25 years. There’s the stationary InSight lander that it plans to launch in 2018 and the next-gen rover that will succeed Curiosity scheduled for 2020. Since it can all be a bit overwhelming, the space agency will entertain your questions about its Martian dreams on Facebook and Twitter today (August 18th), starting at 9:30AM Eastern time. You simply have to add hashtag #askNASA to your posts.

You can watch a panel of the agency’s directors, administrators and astronauts answer your questions during a live broadcast aired on NASA TV and Periscope. But if you can’t stay glued to a livestream, you can also catch snippets of the event via Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Besides the social media Q&A, the agency will also show off various projects housed at its Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Facebook Live, starting at 1:30PM.

NASA will then end the event by test firing an RS-25 engine for seven-and-a-half minutes. To watch that part, just fire up NASA TV again when the clock strikes 6PM. The agency will showcase an RS-25 in action because the engine was designed to power the Space Launch System — NASA’s biggest and most powerful rocket yet that will carry its Orion capsule to the red planet and other deep space destinations.

Source: NASA

Apple Pay Comes to Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, and ‘B’ Customers in the U.K.

Apple has added Apple Pay support for customers of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank in the United Kingdom.

Apple’s official list of participating banks in Europe has yet to updated, but the two banks independently confirmed news of the added support via Twitter and on their websites.

The support also covers the two banks’ new co-operative digital banking service, called simply “B”, which offers customers a current account, a savings account, and a mobile app featuring budgeting tools that enable customers to set saving goals as well as tag and categorize purchases.

You asked, we delivered! Introducing #ApplePay. Payments are now only a fingertip away https://t.co/dQo1sPZKrD pic.twitter.com/IClYVkZfW5

— Clydesdale Bank (@clydesdalebank) August 16, 2016

“Making Apple Pay available to our customers across Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and B is the latest initiative in our omni-channel strategy across the business, which is centred on using digitisation to deliver better, sustainable services for customers and an enhanced customer experience,” said Helen Page, chief marketing officer at CYBG, the independent banking group that owns the three brands.

The British banks join 18 others supporting Apple’s mobile payment feature in the country, making the U.K. the second region behind the U.S. with the widest support for the service, ahead of China in third.

(Thanks, Leon!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: United Kingdom
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Best SIM-only plans available in the UK

Over the past few years, SIM-only contracts have seen something of a resurgence in the consumer market. There are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, carriers (or networks) don’t make much money on selling phones, and so they can make practically pure profit from selling you a SIM-only contract.

Secondly, consumers have watched as regular contract tariffs monthly costs have grown from around £35 per month to almost £50 pre month. SIM-only then, is much more affordable than a conventional phone+line contract. 

SIM-only can often be the best way to get great value for money, especially if you already have a phone, or if you’d rather buy your unlocked phones direct from manufacturers. 

UK network coverage checkers 

In each of the categories we’ll break down offerings available from the UK’s big four networks as well as some of the more popular MVNO’s like GiffGaff, BTMobile and such. However, it is worth checking which carrier has the network coverage you need. After all, there’s no point snagging yourself a stonking deal if you can’t use the allowances you’re paying for. 

Below you’ll find links to the four coverage checkers you need. Why four? Because any other network is an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which means they don’t have their own masts and signal, they use the networks provided by Vodafone, EE or O2. GiffGaff and Tesco mobile, for instance, uses O2’s network, while BT Mobile uses EE’s. 

• O2 coverage checker
• EE coverage checker
• Vodafone coverage checker
• Three coverage checker

BT Mobile

Best SIM-only plans: the cheapest available

If you’re a very light user and literally just want the most dirt-cheap contract available, you’ll have little reason to spend more than £10 per month. Most network operators have deals available that cost less than a steak dinner.

Unless otherwise stated, all plans are 12-month contracts (since that’s how you get the lowest monthly costs), allowances listed are UK only and up to 4G speeds. 

BT Mobile – £10 per month (£5 for BT broadband customers) – 200 mins – unlimited texts – 500MB data
Virgin Media – 30 day rolling plan – £5 per month – 250 mins – unlimited texts – 250MB data
GiffGaff – 30 day rolling plan – £5 per month – 125 mins – 500 texts – 100MB data
Tesco Mobile – £7.50 per month – 250 mins – 5000 texts – 500MB data
Three – £8.00 per month – 200 mins – unlimited texts – 500MB data 
Vodafone – £9.50 per month – 250 mins – unlimited texts – 250MB data
EE – £9.99 per month – 250 mins – unlimited texts – 250MB data
O2 – £10.00 per month – 250 mins – unlimited texts – 250MB data

If you’re a BT broadband customer, there’s very little reason to choose anyone other than BT Mobile. For £5 per month you’ll get half a gig of data as well as unlimited texts and 200 minutes.

If you’re not a BT broadband customer, other options could include Tesco Mobile’s £7.50 per month one year contract with half a gig of data, 250 minutes and 5000 texts, or there’s Virgin Media and GiffGaff who both offer a £5 per month 30-day rolling plan.

Of those two, Virgin Media’s is easily the most competitive offer since GiffGaff only includes 100MB data, 500 texts and 125 mins. With that said, for just £2.50 per month more you can get yourself 500GB data, with unlimited texts and 250 minutes. 

Arguably however, Virgin Media’s next tariff up is better value for money. For £8 per month you can get a whole 1GB of data each month as well as 1000 minutes and unlimited texts. This is all on a plan that only ties you in for 30 days at a time. 

Voda

Best SIM-only plans: with the most data?

If you’re a Pokemon Go addict, or are constantly connected and streaming videos on the go, you just want as much data as you can get. Amazingly, for just over double the price of the cheapest available tariffs, you can get more data than you’ll possibly need. 

Three – Unlimited data – £23/£28/£33 per month for 200/600/Unltd minutes – (+30GB hotspot allowance)
Vodafone – 20GB data – £22.20 per month 
Tesco Mobile – 20GB data – £29 per month
O2 – 16GB data – £28.90 per month
BT Mobile – 15GB data – £21 per month (£16 per month for BT Broadband customers)
Virgin Media – 10GB data – £23 per month – 30 day rolling agreement
EE – 8GB data – £27.99 per month
GiffGaff – Always on* – £20 per month – 30 day rolling agreement – (*speed restrictions after 6GB usage)

Unsurprisingly, Three are the kings of data. The disruptive carrier has been one of the few offering unlimited (all-you-can-eat) data for the past few years.

Depending on how few minutes you can live with, you can get unlimited data from Three from as little as £23 per month. And because it’s on Three’s Advance plans, you can use your allowances abroad in more than 40 countries. Plus, you get a 30GB allowance for tethering, in case you need to use your phone as a hotspot. 

We’re hesitant to recommend GiffGaff’s “Always On” data, since you get penalised if you use more than 6GB, which is nothing close to unlimited. That means, surprisingly, Vodafone comes as our next recommendation after Three with its 20GB plan, which comes in at £22.20 per month and includes 4GB of data to use abroad in 40 countries. 

Three

Best SIM-only plans: for roaming?

So you travel abroad a few times each year and you want to stop coming home to a bill filled with additional roaming charges. Thanks to the impending EU-wide abolition of roaming charges, carriers are already working on hard on getting the competition going. 

Three – Feel at home on the Three Advanced plans lets you use your allowances in 18 countries abroad (more than 40 from September)
Vodafone – several plans include unlimited roaming minutes and texts plus some roaming data for use in 40 European destinations
EE – EE Extra plans come with unlimited mins and texts in Europe, £3 per day for 500MB data just text EURODATA to 150
Tesco Mobile – plans include European Roaming in 31 countries
O2 – O2 Travel bolt-on costs £1.99 per day in EU, £3.99 in Turkey and £4.99 in other destinations – 120 mins/texts and data
Virgin Media – Extra charges depending on country plus extra data bundles
GiffGaff – Extra charges depending on country
BT Mobile – Extra charges depending on country

Of all the offerings, Three, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone offer the most seamless experience when it comes to taking your phone overseas. Voda’s 12-month SIM-only plans all include unlimited minutes, texts and picture messages in 40 EU destinations, while many plans come with 4GB data to use abroad. 

Three’s “Feel at Home” is the mostly widely advertised and is still, arguably the best offer for travellers. On its Advance plans from September, customers can use their allowances in over 40 countries across the globe, not just in Europe. Those include popular holidaying countries like the US, Australia, Spain, France, Italy and many others. 

Tesco Mobile deserves a mention, since its SIM-only plans include roaming in 31 European countries. 

Best SIM-only plans: for tablets and dongles 

If you have an unlocked Wi-Fi dongle, data stick or SIM tray-equipped tablet and want to find the cheapest, best value for money way to stay connected on the move, you’ll be pleased to know several carriers offer data only SIMs just for you. All the prices listed below are for 30-day contracts. 

Virgin Media – 500MB/1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB plans for £5/£8/£11/£14/£21 per month
O2 – 500MB/1GB/3GB/15GB plans with 100 texts for £5/£10/£15/£20 per month
Three – 2GB/5GB/15GB/20GB plans for £10/£15/£20/£23 per month
Vodafone – 1GB/3GB/10GB plans for £10/£15/£20 per month
GiffGaff – 500MB/1GB plans for £5/£7.50 per month
BT Mobile – No data-only SIMs available
Tesco Mobile – No data-only SIMs available
EE – Nothing without buying a WiFi dongle or tablet

As far as competition goes, it’s GiffGaff, O2 and Virgin Media that offer the cheapest monthly options at just £5 per month. Those only offer 500MB of data, but that could be enough if you just want to check the odd email, when you’re in the rare spot that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.

Three perhaps offers the most variation since the carrier sells their data plans as 12-month or 30-day options. The former cost roughly £2-£3 less than the 30-day rolling contract options, and also come with a 1GB data tier which is just £7.50 per month. Three’s 2GB deal looks a safe bet, especially at just £10 per month (or £8 per month on a one year plan).

Perhaps be-musingly, EE don’t sell monthly rolling contracts for data-only SIMs online (unless they’ve been hidden out of sight). It sells tablets and personal hotspots on contract, but doesn’t sell the data plans with just a SIM. Similarly, BT Mobile and Tesco Mobile don’t offer data-only plans. 

Nissan BladeGlider first drive: Madcap concept hints at all-electric sports car future

It’s almost 34-degrees Celsius and we’re standing at the edge of a rickety karting circuit that’s located around 50-miles outside the centre of Rio de Janeiro. No, this isn’t the Olympics, this is our real-world induction to the Nissan BladeGlider.

The BladeGlider is bizarre looking sports car, featuring a skinny track at the front and a wider track at the rear that gives it the appearance of a motorised arrow head.

There’s a burly looking policeman guarding the gates to the track and every now and then the sound of human flesh sizzling under the fierce sun is interrupted by the high-pitched whine of its electric motor and the squealing of tortured rubber. It pounds the tight circuit with two rather bemused and behelmeted individuals belted into the rear seats.

But this is one all-electric prototype that’s highly unlikely to ever grace a Nissan showroom. So “completely and utter pointless”, you may be thinking but, hey, the caipirinhas here are supposed to be awesome, right?

Nissan BladeGlider prototype preview: Electric excitement

But let’s be serious for a second. Nissan first unveiled its BladeGlider concept at the Tokyo Auto Show in 2013, with its jaw-dropping styling borrowing elements from the DeltaWing Le Mans racer and electric powertrain promising equally racy performance without the nasty tailpipe emissions and the associated running costs.

Nissan

“We wanted to prove that electric cars can be exciting,” explains Gareth Dunsmore, director of EV Nissan Europe, when asked why the company invested so much time and money into a prototype that probably won’t see the light of day. “But the only way to do that is actually build something, to let people experience it for themselves,” he adds.

A cynic would have interrupted at this point and suggested that Tesla has been doing such a thing for a few years now – but BladeGlider is very different. If you had to compare it to a conventional car it would be a Caterham rather than a comfortable BMW 5-Series rival.

Nissan BladeGlider prototype preview: Flicking a V to convention

The driver, who sits at the very front of the three flying-v formation seats, is cocooned in a fighter jet-esque cockpit. There are three screens, the middle-most monitor providing power output information and battery charge details, while the flanking two displays replace the wing mirrors with a live video feed from outside.

Nissan

All three occupants are strapped in with a race-spec four point harness, while the F1-style steering wheel features a plethora of buttons and dials that control everything from the strength of the regenerative braking to the amount of power delivered to the rear wheels.

A conventional sports car this isn’t, because on top of the space age interior there’s an all-electric powertrain that sees a 220kW lithium-ion battery and two 130kW electric motors (one at each rear wheel) pair up to deliver around 268hp.

The angular machine weighs just 1,300kg, meaning the ludicrously instantaneous 707Nm of torque is enough to propel it from 0-62mph in under 5-seconds.

Nissan BladeGlider prototype preview: Sounds, smells and sighs

It feels like a true performance machine from the rear seats, with the open-top cockpit allowing all of the sounds, smells and sights to leak into the cabin.

Nissan

The lack of screaming V8 engine also means that every tyre squeak can be heard, while the sound of the wind rushing past is both slightly eerie and massively exhilarating.

We can only imagine what it’s like to pilot the machine, but the skilled helmsman sat in front wrestles with the steering wheel every time we exit a corner and he occasionally tackles certain sections completely sideways.

Nissan claims that a race-honed torque vectoring system offers the driver plenty of options when it comes to grip levels. The electric motors can be tweaked to constantly monitor and deliver optimum power for tidy lines or flicked into Drift Mode if you feel like acting the hooligan.    

And that’s a given considering Formula E experts Williams Advanced Engineering were drafted in to help with the development of BladeGlider – and the UK firm’s experience on the race circuit is instantly obvious.

Nissan BladeGlider prototype preview: Coming to nowhere near you, ever

Scintillating stuff, then, but Dunsmore and the rest of the Nissan technical staff claim it’s extremely unlikely this thing will ever go into production.

Nissan

And as for the whole “electric cars can be exciting” thing, that’s all well and good when your model line-up actually contains an enthralling EV but Nissan is currently peddling the Leaf and the eNV-200. Both of which lack a certain amount of fizz.

However, Nissan is currently mapping out a future that sees its internal combustion engines slowly replaced by electric and hybrid vehicles, so let’s just hope that one of those is a bonkers, three-seat sports car that looks a bit like a Dairylea Triangle with wheels.

Because the BladeGlider is bonkers and brilliant.

Asus ZenWatch 3 to launch on 31 August, going head-to-head with Samsung Gear S3

In the world of wearables, 31 August is going to be a busy day. First of all Samsung pinned a date on its next Gear launch and now Asus has joined the fray, tweeting that it will also be lining up a launch on 31 August, just a few days before IFA 2016 opens its doors.

Asus is expected to announce the ZenWatch 3, which appears to be making the shift from a squared face to a circular face, joining the majority of other wearable devices out there – and leaving the Apple Watch as about the only device that’s sitting in a squared body.

Confirming its plans, Asus shared the news of a new launch on Twitter, the emphasis falling on that word “time”.

The time for something incredible is now! #IFA16 #ASUS pic.twitter.com/D7GgqHJvUW

— ASUS (@ASUS) August 17, 2016

The Asus ZenWatch 3 has previously revealed itself, passing through the FCC, along with a selection of images that confirm the design. It looks to be carrying three buttons on the body, so offers a slightly chunkier design than the previous ZenWatch models.

We’ve been fans of Asus’ Android Wear devices so far. The affordability and interesting design has set them apart from rival devices, along with comfortable straps and nice features like a decent clasp to make it nice to wear.

As it stands at the moment, little else is known about any features that the Asus ZenWatch 3 might offer, but we’ll know everything on 31 August.

You can keep up with all the IFA 2016 news on our hub and we’ll be reporting live from the show in Berlin, Germany.

NASA’s asteroid-bound spacecraft will blast off in September

It’s official: OSIRIS-Rex is blasting off to meet a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu on September 8th, NASA has confirmed at a press briefing. The spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral and travel for two years before it reaches its destination. Once it’s on the object, it will spend another three years to take its temperature, 3D scan its surface, and look around for the best site to collect the 2-to-70-ounce sample it needs to take back home. That’s right — OSIRIS-Rex will be the first US spacecraft to grab a chunk from an asteroid as part of its round-trip journey. It follows in the footsteps of Japan’s Hayabusa, which successfully brought home a sample after seven years in space. NASA expects the spacecraft to be back by September 24th, 2023, assuming everything goes according to plan.

The agency has also revealed during the briefing that it plans to give four percent of the sample to Canada’s space agency, which is a project partner. Another 0.5 percent will be given to JAXA (Japan’s agency) as thanks for the Hayabusa sample it gave NASA. However, most of the material (75 percent) will be stored and kept safe for future techniques that could yield more clues on the beginning of life on Earth.

Source: NASA