How to change font size and display density on the Galaxy S9

The Galaxy S9 comes with a nice, big screen, but how much actually fits on it is up to you.

Having a big screen, you can fit a lot onto the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S9, but fitting a whole lot on your screen doesn’t mean much if you can’t comfortably see or use what’s on screen. My eyesight isn’t perfect, and so even though I’m not even pushing 30, I crank up the text size and the screen zoom on most phones I own.

Whether you need things to be a little easier to read like I do or you just want to fit everything on one screen so you don’t have to scroll so often, here’s how to make things fit better on the screen of your S9. Or S9+, or Note 8, because the bigger your screen, the more screen zoom and text size can impact your experience.

Before we get into how to change these settings, let’s first discuss them and their effect on your phone. Text size changes the size of the text that the system displays on your phone, allowing you to fit fewer or more words on your screen at one time. However, not all text is adjusted using the Text size feature, but we have another tool to help with that.

Maximum font size and screen zoom on the Samsung Galaxy S9+

Screen zoom adjusts how large everything on your screen is, from icons to menus to touch targets. This means that if you have a harder time seeing smaller elements on your screen and have a hard time tapping smaller touch targets on your screen, screen zoom can make the phone significantly easier to use. By combining these features, you can effectively adjust your screen density to your liking, whether you need everything to be bigger or smaller.

Minimum font size and screen zoom on the Samsung Galaxy S9+

If your eyes are fine but you want to eke every last usable bit of space out of your phone as possible, the easy way to interpret the two sliders is this: left on the slider makes things smaller, right makes things bigger. The top slider makes everything bigger or smaller while the bottom slider makes most text bigger or smaller.

How to adjust font size and screen zoom in Settings

Open Settings.
Tap Display.

Tap Font and screen zoom.

To adjust screen zoom, slide the top slider left or right as desired. The preview window above the sliders will adjust to show what things will look like once you apply the changes.
To adjust text size, slide the bottom slider left or right as desired. The preview window above the sliders will adjust to show what things will look like once you apply the changes.
Swipe the preview window left and right to see both preview pages and see how the changes will show in Settings and Samsung Messages in order to judge your changes before applying them.
Tap Apply to set your changes and apply them to the entire system.

Once you’ve applied these changes, the screen may go black a moment as they take effect, and then you’ll be returned to the Display settings page. While you’re there, you should go two settings below Font and screen zoom and set your Screen resolution to the highest setting. If you’ve set a smaller font, the higher resolution will make the text clearer. If you’ve set a larger screen zoom or font, the higher resolution will help keep things smooth.

As you explore your new screen settings, you will quickly find there is one place that they mean absolutely nothing: the Samsung Experience Home launcher. That’s right, you can set the largest screen zoom and the biggest font size, and the labels on the home screen will still be tiny and the app icons stay the same size. If you’re looking for a launcher that will change with your font size settings, you’ll need a different one, like Nova Launcher.

Another area where text will not change with the system setting is the Chrome Browser. Chrome has its own text scaling setting inside the app that you’ll want to adjust, because the system font size only applies to the address bar by default.

How to adjust font size in the Chrome browser

Open Chrome.
Tap the three-dot menu icon on the right edge of the address bar.

Tap Settings.

Tap Accessibility.

Drag the Text scaling slider to the left or right until the preview text below is the desired size.

Now when you visit most websites, the text will adjust as desired. The text doesn’t scale on Google Search in Chrome, but it does scale on other sites such as Google Support sites. Wikipedia applies the text scaling to some of the text on its site but not all of it, which can lead to some paragraphs being larger font than others. On Android Central’s mobile site, all text scales properly with the Text scaling feature.

Your turn

I use the smallest screen zoom but I do use a larger font just so my eye strain rears its ugly head later and later in the day. Does let fit on my screen? Sure, but I can read it easier and faster in a larger font. Do you prefer a larger font? Do you use screen zoom to avoid hitting the wrong buttons because some apps and web pages seem to put every action right next to each other? Do you have eagle eyes and can comfortably use the screen with the minimal font? Tell us in the comments.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Oculus Go: Everything you need to know!

We now have a third headset on the way from Oculus.

At Oculus Connect 4, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Oculus is working a new headset that sits in a “sweet spot” somewhere between Gear VR and Rift.

Officially called Oculus Go, this headset requires no phone and no cables running to the PC. It will be able to play movies, run games, and help you meet up with friends in VR. We’ve got the details for you here!

March 21st Update: Oculus Go updates from GDC

Our very own Russell Holly is at GDC feeding us with information! Jason Rubin, the VP of Content with Oculus states that, even though desktops are a priority, standalone headsets are the future. Seems that Oculus is aiming to remain in the future with their marketing as well, hoping to attract consumers with big name games and apps and keep them there, allowing existing content to speak for itself.

Oculus even took the time to reiterate the specs listed below, saying that OGO will basically be a phone when it comes to hardware, albeit with less overheating and better battery life. Furthermore, instead of limiting the eye buffer to 1024×1024 like it did on the Gear VR, Oculus is using Fixed Foveated Rendering to make the display clearer. To them, this means it will be very difficult to see the burls in the display, something we’re very excited to test out for ourselves.

The headset will also be capable of 72FPS, instead of the 60FPS ceiling on Gear VR. 72Hz means the display can be brighter and more vibrant. Lots of Gear VR apps can already handle this bump, but devs have to request it when porting to Go.

What is Oculus Go?

Oculus Go is the third headset from Oculus, and it’s meant to sit between Gear VR and Oculus Rift. A cordless headset, you’ll no longer have to strap in with your PC or have enough juice on your phone in order to play in VR.

It is built to be lightweight, has a new mesh foam interface, and it supposedly has the best visual clarity so far seen in VR, thanks to new lenses and a WQHD LCD fast-switch display with a higher fill-factor than OLED. We learned at CES 2018 that Oculus Go is going to be made by Xiaomi, and it will be run by a Snapdragon 821 processor making it more than capable of playing the awesome games that are going to be available.

Oculus says this headset lives somewhere in between the Gear VR and Oculus Rift, but it leans much closer to the Gear VR than you might expect. This is a standalone headset, meaning the computer is inside the headset with the display, but it’s still an Android-powered headset. The good news is this means it will run many of the apps currently available for the Gear VR. That means the headset will not let you walk around and do much. Functionally, this will be very similar to the Gear VR.

Read more: Lenovo Mirage vs Oculus Go

Whats the difference between Oculus Go and Gear VR?

To begin with, Oculus Go is a stand-alone headset. This means no need to be wired into your computer like Oculus Rift, or the need for a top of the line phone like with Gear VR. It’s a middle of the road option that is priced affordably in an effort to draw in new users to help Oculus reach their goal of one billion VR users.

Instead of including headphones with the headset, a spatial audio experience is built right into the headset. That is spatial speakers that are built on the rails of the headset to let you hear what’s going on clearly without headphones. Of course, if you’d rather go with classic headphones, you can plug a set of your own into a 3.5mm jack. Oculus Go will have a controller similar to that of Gear VR, meaning devs can create apps that work on both platforms.

Indeed, a lot of the Gear VR’s best apps will be available for the Oculus Go from day one. The controller employs three degrees of freedom (DoF), which is the same as the Gear VR controller. It’s interesting to note that the Go headset will also use three DoF. To put that into perspective, the Oculus Rift uses six DoF.

Oculus Go will also have access to its own catalog of games and apps to dive into on launch day. While ports of Gear VR games are sure to show up, you’ll be getting access to new content with Oculus Go. From the photos we’ve seen of Oculus Go, there is also a fairly pared down look compared to Gear VR. No touchpad on the side of the headset, and only two buttons on the top; volume controls, and a power button.

Games and Experiences

Since we have been notified that Gear VR apps and games will be compatible with Oculus Go we know we’ll have plenty to keep us occupied. Some of the titles in games you’ll be able to play are:

• Where’s Om Nom?
• Bait!
• Cloudlands VR Minigolf
• Lands End
• Ocean Rift
• Smash Hit
• Rush
• VR Sports Challenge
• Dragon Front
• Sing Space
• Dead and Buried
• Anshar Wars 2
• Ultrawings
• Rangi
• Catan
• Anshar Online
• Piece By Piece: Assembling They Suspect Nothing

And as for Experiences you’ll have:

• Facebook 360
• Netflix
• Discovery VR
• Hulu
• Jurassic World: Apatosaurus
• Rooms
• A Night’s Sky
• Star Chart

When is it launching?

The official website for Oculus Go still has the announced release date to be sometime in early 2018. If you want to keep notified keep checking in or sign up for their e-mailed newsletter by following the link below.

Redditer LifeWithAdd has found an image released by Oculus where it simply says “2018” instead of “early 2018″. Yet, as the website still shows “Early”, we’ll be expecting the headset before June 2018!

Get notified about the launch date at Oculus

How much will it cost?

While we don’t have an exact launch date yet, we do know how much Oculus Go is going to cost. You’ll be able to pick up this standalone headset for a tidy sum of $199. Considering Gear VR alone costs $129.99 and requires a top of the line smartphone, this is pretty exciting news!

Are you excited?

For now, we don’t have a ton of information about everything that Oculus Go will be able to offer, but that should be changing soon. However, the details we do have are definitely worth getting excited about, especially since this is a stand-alone headset, with an affordable price tag. Are you excited about Oculus Go, or are you sticking with another Oculus headset? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Updated April 2018: We’ve updated this article with all new images of the product up close!

A new Gmail design is launching ‘in the coming weeks’ with several fresh features

G Suite ‘Early Access Program’ gives us some details.

Google’s paid enterprise-level app platform, G Suite, has dropped a sweet nugget of information pointing to a forthcoming redesign and enhancement of the Gmail web interface. An email sent to G Suite administrators today announced that there will be a new “Early Adopter Program” to test out a new version of Gmail on the web, along with some information on what we can expect as part of the new design.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be announcing an Early Adopter Program (EAP) for a new experience in Gmail. This EAP will introduce a new design for the Gmail web interface, as well as several new features. These changes will also be made available to users with personal Gmail accounts, so we want to make sure you’re adequately prepared for questions from your G Suite users in advance of the public announcement.

Those new features, in short, include:

• A fresh, clean look for Gmail on the web.
• Easy access to G Suite apps, such as Google Calendar, from within Gmail.
• Smart Reply on the web, just like on mobile.
• Ability to “snooze” emails and choose when they reappear in your inbox.
• Offline support (native offline support in the new Gmail experience by June 2018)

The email for administrators doesn’t include any images of the new interface, but it sure feels like Gmail is due for a refresh — outside of small tweaks, Gmail on the web hasn’t changed substantially in several years. As for what it’ll look like, Google Calendar’s recent redesign on the web could be a good indication of what to expect. At the same time, the more important announcements here for many people are the new features, particularly better integration with Google Calendar and some “smart” features like Smart Reply and snoozing that started with the Inbox app and have started to trickle over to Gmail. There’s no word on what this could mean for the Gmail apps on Android and iOS.

Though this Early Adopter Program is currently pointed at G Suite customers and still in an early phase, you can expect that these changes won’t be exclusive to the enterprise-grade Gmail experience. The email is clear that the same (or similar) features will be coming to personal Gmail accounts as well. As for a timeline, the best we get is “in the coming weeks” — so be patient.

Top 3 ways to make Bixby more useful on the Galaxy S9

We can’t fix all of Bixby’s problems, but we can at least make it a little more useful.

If you bought a Galaxy S9 or S9+ in the last month, you’ve probably already gotten settled into one of the best Android experiences around. You’ve probably already captured dozens of photos with the incredible cameras Samsung placed on its latest flagships. You’ve probably already trained your phone to recognize your face, iris, and fingerprints so you never have to worry about anyone else accessing your private information.

You’ve also probably already disabled Bixby by now. Samsung’s smart assistant just hasn’t been met with the same fanfare as alternatives like Google Assistant — but to Bixby’s credit, it’s actually capable of handling some fairly complex tasks, and embracing the service could turn the Bixby key from a nuisance to a convenience in your daily routine.

Enable Voice Wake-Up

Voice assistants are especially great when you’re not holding your phone; just shout any question or command to receive an answer. If you aren’t already calling to Bixby from across the room, you should enable this feature immediately.

From the Bixby Home, tap the menu overflow icon in the upper right corner.
Tap Settings.
Tap Voice wake-up.

Tap the switch next to Off.

In the Bixby Voice prompt, tap theBixby logo at the bottom of the screen.
Follow the voice prompts, saying “Hi Bixby” and follow-up commands like “turn on Bluetooth.”
After reading each prompt, tap Done at the bottom of the screen.

With Voice Wake-Up enabled, you can prompt Bixby by saying “Hi Bixby,” even with the screen turned off. From the settings, you can also adjust sensitivity and further train it to recognize your voice.

Set the Bixby key to push-to-talk

The Bixby key is notorious for being too easy to accidentally press, largely thanks to its close proximity to the volume rocker. It’s easy to turn off, but you might not have known that even with the button disabled, you can still activate Bixby in a push-to-talk style.

From the Bixby Home, tap the menu overflow icon.
Under the General tab, tap Bixby key.
Tap Don’t open anything.

You’ll notice a caption under the Bixby key options, stating that even with the key disabled, you can still reach Bixby Voice by holding down the Bixby key. This means that you can prevent accidental triggers and still use the hardware button to quickly give a command.

Configure your Home Cards

Just like the Google Assistant, Bixby Home sorts information that might be relevant to your life into cards on its main feed. By default, you’ll see some social cards like LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as some cards for Samsung services like its theme store.

It’s easy to adjust what cards you’ll see in your feed with a quick trip to the settings.

From the Bixby Home, tap the menu overflow icon.
Under the Home Cards tab, tap Cards.
Under Show Cards, you can tap the switches next to any cards you want to see on your Bixby Home feed.
If there’s text underneath the app name, you can tap the app name to open a new menu and choose which aspects you want to see on your feed.

With a few minutes of combing through the Cards list, you can personalize your Bixby Home to only see relevant information.

How to disable Bixby

If you still just can’t stomach Samsung’s smart assistant, that’s okay — you’re not alone. Luckily, after some initial backlash, Samsung has made it easy to turn Bixby off entirely.

Read more: How to completely disable Bixby

Questions? Comments?

If you’ve got any burning questions about how else to use Bixby or just need to express in writing how passionately for or against the Bixby button you are, sound off in the comments below!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact U.S. pre-orders begin April 13

Available for $799 and $649, respectively.

Sony’s Xperia phones don’t get much love here in the States, and depending on who you ask, that’s either a shame or well-deserved. As such, you’ll either feel indifferent or ecstatic to learn that the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact will be available for pre-order in the U.S. on April 13.

These are the two Android phones that Sony showed off at MWC in February, and they’re some of the most exciting entries we’ve seen with the Xperia line in years.

If you’re interested in reserving either of the phones for yourself, Best Buy will begin pre-orders on April 13 with official sales following on April 20. Both the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact will be made available in local Best Buy Stores on May 6, with Amazon and “other participating U.S. retailers” following suit on May 20.

The Xperia XZ2 will set you back $799.99, whereas the smaller XZ2 Compact is going for $649.99.

Sony Xperia XZ2 preview: Slimmer bezels, wider appeal

Amazon Echo Spot coming to Canada on April 25 for $170, pre-orders now open

Spot the localization.

It took its sweet time coming to Canada, but Amazon’s diminutive Echo Spot is arriving north of the border on April 25 for $170 CAD. That’s a bit of a jump from the U.S. price of $130, but hey, exchange rates.

Phil Nickinson really likes his — he calls it “cute” and a great bedside alarm clock with Alexa built in — and given that the larger-screened Echo Show has yet to go on sale in Canada, this is the first Echo with such a feature. That adds video conferencing between Echo users to the repertoire of other Alexa features like listening to music, reading audiobooks and podcasts, and receiving answers to questions you didn’t even know you wanted to ask.

Despite the delay in coming to Canada, the Echo Spot won’t be localized for Canadian French, which is a bummer. That said, the list of Canadian-supported Alexa skills is growing, and now includes CBC, Uber, TELUS, The Weather Network, Air Canada, and more.

If you decide to pick up a couple of Spots, it’ll save you $50 off the total — so instead of costing $340 total, it’ll be $290 before tax.

You can pre-order the Echo Spot now from Amazon, and the company says it will also be on sale at Best Buy stores across the country.

How to get the most from Alexa in Canada

See at Amazon Canada

Samsung Gear IconX get wireless music transfers, equalizer, and more

The update’s rolling out to the earbuds now.

Last October, Samsung released the Gear IconX 2018 wireless earbuds. It’s not a perfect package, but it’s vastly improved compared to its predecessor. A new software update is rolling out to the earbuds right now, and there’s a lot included with it.

For starters, Samsung’s added a new Equalizer for the earbuds. With this, you can switch between five pre-made audio profiles to make your music sound as great as can be – including Bass Boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear, and Treble Boost.

Next to the Equalizer button in the Samsung Gear app, you’ll find another new option called “Ambient Sound.” Tapping on this allows you to control how much ambient noise the earbuds let in or block out, and you can also toggle a Voice Focus setting that amplifies the voices of others around you.

Last but certainly not least, Wireless Transfer finally lets you transfer music to the Gear IconX’s 4GB of internal storage without having to mess with cables. You can transfer multiple tracks at once, and it should make managing your music library considerably easier.

The update is rolling out to the Gear IconX 2018 now, and if you don’t already have a pair for yourself, you can nab one with the button below.

See at Amazon

This 20000mAh Car Jump Starter features a USB-C port with Power Delivery for $72

This is a must-have.

The iClever 30W 20000mAh car jump starter is basically a huge portable battery which can even charge your MacBook or Nintendo Switch. Using coupon code ICLEVER888 you can pick one up for just $71.99, which is nearly $20 off its regular price. It’s designed for vehicles with up to 8L gas or 6.5L diesel engines and can jump them up to 40 times with its included 800A current heavy-duty metal clamps.

It also features a USB-C port with Power Delivery which can quick charge your Nintendo Switch or smartphone. Quick Charge 3.0 is included for compatible devices as well as safety features like polarity protection, over-current protection, and over-charge protection.

Almost 300 Amazon reviewers rated this product with a collective 4.6 out of 5 stars. iClever includes an 18-month warranty in case the product doesn’t work as advertised.

See at Amazon

Cambridge Analytica’s acting CEO is stepping down

Embattled tech firm Cambridge Analytica announced that its acting CEO, Alexander Tayler, is stepping down to resume his post as chief data officer. The company’s board suspended and began investigating its previous head exec Alexander Nix a month ago after he was caught boasting about using propaganda and blackmail on behalf of previous clients.

The announcement didn’t indicate who would replace Tayler. A day before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went before Congress to detail the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, the tech firm released its own version of events, which unsurprisingly framed its actions as within legal bounds. As the chief executive began answering questions on Capitol Hill yesterday, the social network released a tool letting users check if the tech firm accessed their information. When Zuckerberg returned for a second day in front of Congress, he revealed that his data was also accessed by Cambridge Analytica.

Source: Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica accessed Mark Zuckerberg’s data, too

Mark Zuckerberg had his data accessed by Cambridge Analytica, too. In today’s Congressional hearings, the Facebook CEO admitted that even his personal information wasn’t safe. As part of a rapid-fire four-minute question and answer session, congresswoman Anna Eshoo from California asked Zuckerberg, simply, if his personal data was sold to malicious third parties along with that of 87 million other Facebook account holders. “Yes,” he answered. See, tech CEOs are just like us.