Each main telephone has some declare to fame that makes it price contemplating. The Google Pixel 9 household has distinctive AI-powered experiences like Pixel Screenshots, Add Me, Name Screening, and extra. The OnePlus 13 sports activities probably the most rugged IP ranking round, plus epic battery life, charging velocity, and efficiency.
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So what do Samsung telephones just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely have? Samsung Good Lock. No, that is not me misspelling “good luck, Samsung.” That is the title for Samsung’s epic software program and UI customization suite, which debuted in South Korea in 2016 and has since expanded in scope and presence worldwide.
As One UI 7 rolls out to extra Galaxy telephones this month, customers will discover that Good Lock has been fully redesigned from the bottom up for Samsung’s newest Android launch. The outdated, complicated UI components are gone, changed with a single record of all Good Lock modules that makes it far simpler to search out what you need.
Samsung is the one firm that provides something like Good Lock. Some firms supply a number of totally different UI customization components — issues like non-obligatory break up notification shades or methods to tweak UI colours — however Samsung Good Lock allows you to change, tweak, and even add massively useful options and new performance to the telephone you already love.
It is the very best purpose to purchase a Samsung telephone, and Samsung solely has a number of extra steps to take to make Good Lock a one-stop store for telephone customization.
One thing for (nearly) everybody
Samsung Good Lock is the corporate’s try to please everybody with choices and settings that almost all different telephones (together with its personal) do not supply. From the whole customization of the short toggles and different UI components, a number of multitasking UI selections, distinctive residence display customization, and even accessibility options not discovered elsewhere, Good Lock is difficult to beat.
However it’s additionally more difficult to search out than it needs to be. Good Lock remains to be solely out there on the Samsung Galaxy App Retailer (for now). Which means not solely do prospects have to find out about Good Lock’s existence beforehand, however in addition they want to know that the Galaxy App Retailer is totally different from the Google Play Retailer.
Samsung introduced that Good Lock can be coming to the Play Retailer with One UI 7, so it is solely a matter of time because the replace has simply begun rolling out on the time of writing.
On the very least, Samsung ought to embody the Good Lock launcher preinstalled on each Galaxy Cellphone, because it solely takes up a paltry 34 MB of house as of One UI 7. This could make it a lot simpler for customers to customise their telephones out of the field with out having to analysis it and would give Samsung a wow issue that most individuals possible do not know exists.
Samsung ought to embody the Good Lock launcher on each Galaxy telephone as a substitute of requiring customers to search out it on the Galaxy App Retailer.
Fortunately, the improved UI within the One UI 7 launch makes discovering what you need in Good Lock simple. That is fairly a change from the outdated fashion, which incorporates bizarre names like QuickStar, Good Shot, MultiStar, RegiStar, and lots extra. A number of the names make much more sense — Digicam Assistant and Routines+ are fairly self-explanatory — and I feel it will do Samsung some good to rename the bizarre ones into one thing extra fundamental.
The brand new UI now features a row of UI chips up prime. These little buttons provide help to discover settings like wallpaper, notifications, keyboard, lock display, and others. I might like to see Samsung add a correct search to Good Lock so we will rapidly discover settings all through the suite of modules Good Lock gives, as that may supply an entire resolution to discovering what you need.
Good Lock 3.0 is a large improve over its predecessors, however that does not imply there is not room for enchancment.
Lastly, I need to see some modules attain their full potential, significantly the most recent one, Show Assistant. This new module was teased as giving customers “complete show management” however that is not truly true. The primary characteristic revolves round giving customers the flexibility to vary the refresh charge per-app, so you’ll be able to set some apps to 120Hz whereas others may be restricted to a decrease charge to avoid wasting battery.
And whereas Samsung provides you the choice to drive excessive brightness for longer — even when your telephone begins to get very popular — it would not give customers the choice to disable PWM dimming. Each telephone from Motorola and OnePlus gives this feature, whereas some telephones from manufacturers like Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo additionally supply this, all with out having to put in an extra app to do it.
My favourite Good Lock modules and settings
The very first thing I do after I get a Samsung Galaxy telephone is obtain Good Lock, then set up the House Up module. This module allows you to customise not solely your house display however, most significantly for me, the multitasking UI. I completely abhor the inventory Android multitasking UI and rank it among the many absolute worst multitasking UIs in existence. Samsung’s default UI is not significantly better, however Good Lock makes fast work of that.
I choose to make use of the grid format UI for multitasking because it locations six apps at my fingertips always. You could find this within the Process Changer part of the House Up module in Good Lock, and that is simply the tip of the iceberg. Head to the House Display part of the House Up module and activate DIY House Display for an expertise customization junkies are certain to like.
When you’re carried out there, seize the QuickStar module and customise the short toggles and notification space to your liking. I really like a dense fast toggle pane because it provides me the choice to rapidly select from 10-12 settings with a single faucet, whereas the default gives simply 8. It additionally allows you to flip off a few of these annoying standing icons like NFC or VoLTE that do not do something for anybody.
The very first thing I swap out is the multitasking UI, adopted by customizing the notification shade and fast toggles.
Subsequent, try each the NotiStar and Good Catch modules. NotiStar provides you a simple solution to see your notification historical past so you’ll be able to lastly determine what notification you unintentionally swiped away. I do not find out about you, however this state of affairs occurs to me on a regular basis and it drives me loopy, however NotiStar fully fixes the problem. Good Catch provides you much more methods to dive into notification historical past, together with toast notifications, phantom vibrations, and extra.
Lastly, Digicam Assistant can assist individuals who have particular issues with Samsung cameras. Don’t love Samsung’s aggressive HDR algorithms? Flip it off! Have points with the software program taking too lengthy to truly take the image after you press the shutter button? Allow fast faucet shutter!
There are even choices to regulate lens distortion correction, image softening, auto lens switching, and even to prioritize specializing in a topic over seize velocity. It is principally a bit of one thing for everybody, even when it might not embody each little nook and cranny.
What are you ready for?
After practically 10 years of Good Lock’s existence, it is nice to see Samsung’s renewed curiosity in constructing out the characteristic to make it the final word customization suite. No different model gives one thing like Good Lock, even when a handful of its options are included on some others telephones with out an extra obtain.
Samsung solely has a number of issues it may do to enhance the app, primarily revolving round surfacing the app itself in addition to making it simpler to search out particular settings. Most Good Lock modules have been constructed out fairly a bit, however the firm may supply a number of extra choices that may actually seal the deal. Extra show accessibility choices are an absolute should, whereas issues like the flexibility so as to add labels on fast toggle icons can be good.
In case you’ve acquired a Samsung Galaxy telephone and have not tried Good Lock, what are you ready for? It is the very best purpose to personal a Samsung telephone and a unbelievable solution to make the telephone really feel extra like your telephone reasonably than simply one other smartphone.
