Mario Bautista
Nothing comes close to the feeling of getting a new gadget, especially if you’ve been longing to try a new one. My gadget draught was finally over when I bought my first Samsung Galaxy S phone, the Galaxy S21. As exciting as it was, I was a bit anxious because I had to give up my then-favorite OnePlus 7 Pro and hand it over to my brother.
However, little did I know that I wouldn’t feel the need to go back to OnePlus after switching to Samsung in the next few years. While there is a lot to dislike about a Samsung Galaxy phone, five of its unique features made me forget about my OnePlus.
5 Samsung DeX
A computer in your pocket
The ability to connect your phone to an external monitor to get a desktop-like experience may not be the feature you’ll always need, but it gives you an escape route if your laptop acts up. I was keen on getting my hands on it when I saw a demo of the Continuum feature in Windows 10 Mobile in 2015. However, Windows Mobile disappeared, but the idea of Continuum lives on, thanks to Samsung DeX.
DeX was one of the first features I tried after getting the S21, and I was blown away by how good it was. The feature still works great on my three-year-old S21. If you have a supported Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, all you’ll need is a USB-C cable and an external monitor to set up Dex and enjoy a desktop-like experience, with features like a taskbar, multitasking, drag-and-drop support, and more.
DeX in my Samsung Galaxy S21 opened a new world. I enjoy the peace of mind that my phone can be a temporary substitute for basic productivity tasks if something goes wrong with my laptop.
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4 Private Share in Quick Share
Keeping you in control over how files are accessed
There are multiple ways to share files from one Android phone to another, but nothing like Quick Share in Samsung Galaxy phones. It allows you to share photos, videos, and other types of files with your friends and family without needing to pair devices. It also takes care of your privacy.
You get an extra layer of privacy when you use Private Share in Quick Share. Instead of giving full control to recipients over what they want to do with the received items, Private Share puts the command in your hands by letting you set the rules.
When sending them privately, you can set the number of days files will be available on the recipients’ phones by setting the expiry date. The files are automatically deleted from the receiver’s phone after that date. It’s similar to self-destructive messages in WhatsApp, except that Private Share has an additional functionality that lets you revoke the shared files. However, the drawback is that the Private Share feature doesn’t work with a non-Samsung Galaxy phone.
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3 Alert when phone picked up
Get helpful reminders when picking up the phone
I’ve been a fan of all-screen phones since I saw their concept designs when thick bezels were the norm. The OnePlus 7 Pro was my first all-screen phone, and I loved looking at the display. However, I quickly realized that the bezels also served an important purpose: they made room for phone makers to add notification lights.
A notification light isn’t the only way to let you know what you missed. The Always on Display feature on my OnePlus 7 Pro served the same purpose, keeping a portion of the display on when I miss a call or receive another notification. However, both consume a noticeable amount of battery. A Samsung Galaxy phone can save you from this because you know whether you missed a call or received a message in your inbox without turning on Always on Display.
When there is a missed call or message, I feel a slight vibration when I pick the phone up without looking at the display. I don’t have to activate Always on Display or turn the phone screen on to know whether I missed a call during working hours. The vibration gives me a helpful reminder when I pick up the phone, telling me to check if I missed any important calls or messages. The feature is activated by default, so you don’t have to worry about turning it on. My only complaint is that vibration happens only for calls and messages and no other notifications.
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2 Secure Folder
A secure base for keeping sensitive files and apps away from the crowd
Not everything needs to draw attention and remain unnoticed unless you intentionally access it, like the sensitive information on your phone. The Secure Folder in my S21 does just that. It provides a dedicated and safe space to separate work-related files from personal data on the same device.
However, Secure Folder is more than a safe space to store sensitive information. The apps running in Secure Folder are independent of the ones outside the folder because they don’t share the same data. You can add any app installed on your phone to Secure Folder. That way, you can set up a separate instance of the same app. This is why the Gallery app in Secure Folder contains only the photos, videos, and documents you want to keep private.
Moreover, you have plenty of customization options, including keeping a different name than Secure Folder, choosing a different icon for the folder, and more. The Secure Folder (or whatever name you use) is protected by your fingerprint, a password, or a pattern, depending on the lock type you choose during setup.
1 Modes and Routines
Samsung Galaxy phones know when to do what
Modes and Routines is one of the reasons I’ve held onto my Samsung Galaxy phone for this long. As much as I love playing with my phone, I don’t want to get caught up in notifications and calls during work. This is where Modes come in handy. It lets you create and activate different modes, such as Work, Sleep, and Driving, to keep your phone quiet or perform actions like activating Dark mode and changing the appearance of the lock screen when turned on.
The feature isn’t limited to helping you focus more on what you’re working on. In addition to Modes, you can create Routines for your Galaxy phone to perform actions, including connecting to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speakers and turning on the lights via SmartThings under certain conditions. My Galaxy S21 automatically connects to the gym’s Bluetooth speaker upon my arrival. You can create other routines to save time and effort.
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Samsung should love me back
Samsung Galaxy phones aren’t perfect. While my S21 made me realize what I was missing on my OnePlus 7 Pro, it didn’t take long for the problems to catch my attention. For example, the below-par performance of the Exynos chip was hard to ignore. While the chip is something I have to live with as long as I keep my S21, Samsung needs to put serious effort into fixing the One UI animations. Then there are features like Accidental Touch Protection that are highly unreliable.
I hope to see the company fix these issues in its future flagships. It’d be a great start if the rumors of future Galaxy S series phones getting Snapdragon worldwide are true.
