Each main cellphone has some declare to fame that makes it value 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 essentially the most rugged IP ranking round, plus epic battery life, charging pace, 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 utterly redesigned from the bottom up for Samsung’s newest Android launch. The previous, complicated UI parts are gone, changed with a single listing of all Good Lock modules that makes it far simpler to seek out what you need.
Samsung is the one firm that gives something like Good Lock. Some firms supply a number of completely different UI customization parts — issues like elective cut up notification shades or methods to tweak UI colours — however Samsung Good Lock helps you to change, tweak, and even add massively useful options and new performance to the cellphone you already love.
It is the very best purpose to purchase a Samsung cellphone, and Samsung solely has a number of extra steps to take to make Good Lock a one-stop store for cellphone customization.
One thing for (nearly) everybody
Samsung Good Lock is the corporate’s try to please everybody with choices and settings that the majority different telephones (together with its personal) do not supply. From the entire customization of the fast toggles and different UI parts, a number of multitasking UI selections, distinctive residence display screen customization, and even accessibility options not discovered elsewhere, Good Lock is tough to beat.
However it’s additionally tougher to seek out than it must be. Good Lock remains to be solely obtainable 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 grasp that the Galaxy App Retailer is completely 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 embrace the Good Lock launcher preinstalled on each Galaxy Telephone, because it solely takes up a paltry 34 MB of house as of One UI 7. This may 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 probably do not know exists.
Samsung ought to embrace the Good Lock launcher on each Galaxy cellphone as an alternative of requiring customers to seek 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 straightforward. That is fairly a change from the previous type, which incorporates bizarre names like QuickStar, Good Shot, MultiStar, RegiStar, and lots extra. Among the names make much more sense — Digicam Assistant and Routines+ are fairly self-explanatory — and I believe it will do Samsung some good to rename the bizarre ones into one thing extra primary.
The brand new UI now features a row of UI chips up prime. These little buttons assist you to discover settings like wallpaper, notifications, keyboard, lock display screen, and others. I would 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 will supply a whole 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 latest one, Show Assistant. This new module was teased as giving customers “complete show management” however that is not truly true. The primary function revolves round giving customers the flexibility to vary the refresh fee per-app, so you’ll be able to set some apps to 120Hz whereas others may be restricted to a decrease fee to save lots of battery.
And whereas Samsung provides you the choice to pressure excessive brightness for longer — even when your cellphone begins to get extremely popular — it would not give customers the choice to disable PWM dimming. Each cellphone from Motorola and OnePlus gives this selection, whereas some telephones from manufacturers like Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo additionally supply this, all with out having to put in a further app to do it.
My favourite Good Lock modules and settings
The very first thing I do once I get a Samsung Galaxy cellphone is obtain Good Lock, then set up the House Up module. This module helps you to customise not solely your property display screen 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 a lot 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’ll find this within the Activity 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 positive to like.
When you’re accomplished there, seize the QuickStar module and customise the fast toggles and notification space to your liking. I 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 helps 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 method 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 situation occurs to me on a regular basis and it drives me loopy, however NotiStar utterly fixes the difficulty. Good Catch provides you much more methods to dive into notification historical past, together with toast notifications, phantom vibrations, and extra.
Lastly, Digicam Assistant might help individuals who have particular issues with Samsung cameras. Do not like Samsung’s aggressive HDR algorithms? Flip it off! Have points with the software program taking too lengthy to really 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 pace. It is principally a bit of one thing for everybody, even when it could 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 function 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 a further obtain.
Samsung solely has a number of issues it might do to enhance the app, primarily revolving round surfacing the app itself in addition to making it simpler to seek out particular settings. Most Good Lock modules have been constructed out fairly a bit, however the firm might supply a number of extra choices that will 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 the event you’ve received a Samsung Galaxy cellphone and have not tried Good Lock, what are you ready for? It is the very best purpose to personal a Samsung cellphone and a implausible method to make the cellphone really feel extra like your cellphone quite than simply one other smartphone.
