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16 hidden Samsung Galaxy S8 features

Surprise! Bet you didn't know you could do these things with your Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus.

Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Jason Cipriani Contributing Writer, ZDNet
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jessica Dolcourt
Jason Cipriani
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1 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

The Galaxy S9 is Samsung's newest S Series phone, but the Galaxy S8 is still a fantastic and cheaper choice.

If you have one or are planning to buy one, here are the features you need to know about. 

Originally published March 30, 2017.
Last updated Dec 10, 2018.

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2 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Floating camera button

The camera settings menu reveals a floating shutter button you can move anywhere on the screen. Tap it to take a picture.

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3 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Zoom in, zoom out

Slide the built-in, onscreen shutter button up or down to zoom in and out.

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4 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Navigation buttons

If you prefer the Back button on the right, and Recent apps on the left, you can swap the default order.

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5 of 23 Josh Miller/CNET

Play music on two devices

To play music or other audio on two Bluetooth devices -- like headphones or speakers -- find Bluetooth in the settings (make sure Bluetooth is on), press the menu button and select "Dual audio." Ta-da! 

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6 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Skip the lock screen

Dig into the navigation menu to skip the lock screen when you press the home button while the screen is off.

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7 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Custom color

Pick your favorite color for a navigation bar that stands out.

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8 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Home button sensitivity

You can make the capacitive home button more or less sensitive to pressure.

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9 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

App shortcuts

Long-press an app icon to launch various shortcuts (yes, we know this is part of Android Nougat, and it also mimics Apple's 3D Touch).

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10 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

App shortcuts

Significantly, Samsung has programmed shortcuts for its native apps too, like the camera.

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11 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Online doctor appointments

Samsung Health has a new tab called Experts. If you subscribe to a service, provided by Amwell, you can contact a doctor at any time.

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12 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Online doctor appointments

If you're signed up, you can tell the physician what's bothering you and get a consultation from the phone.

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13 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

One-handed operation

Samsung's had this for a long time, but it looks different now. Turn it on and you can shrink the screen at any time (it doesn't have to shrink right away).

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14 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

One-handed operation

You can either swipe diagonally or press the home button three times to shrink the screen. The settings gear you see makes it easy to switch back.

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15 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

One-handed operation

I can't get over the irony. We've spent so much time getting away from tiny screens, yet we sometimes want to go back. Also, everything in this mode looks adorable.

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16 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Dash of color

Look closely and you can see a thin blue line around the screen edge. Some notifications trigger this subtle display, but look fast!

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17 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Performance mode

The previous model had a standalone gaming mode and battery optimizer, but this setting is new to the Galaxy S8.

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18 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

App button 4U

I love swiping up on the home screen to get to apps. But if you prefer an app button, you can have that instead.

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19 of 23 Sarah Tew/CNET

Facewidgets

In theory, you can see even more on the Always-On display, but we haven't been able to make it work... yet.

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20 of 23 Jason Cipriani/CNET

Reminders

Samsung's Reminders app is also a good place to save links you come across while using Samsung's browser. 

Tap on the menu icon, then Share > Reminders to save links to the Reminders app. 

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21 of 23 Jason Cipriani/CNET

Link Sharing

With Samsung Cloud's Link Sharing feature, you can share files up to 1GB in size with friends and family members. Its primary use is to make sharing videos easier. 

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22 of 23 Josh Miller/CNET

Want more?

There are even more advanced features and customization tools inside, many of which carry over from the Galaxy 7 and earlier. 

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23 of 23 Joshua Goldman/CNET

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