Manage Applications on Samsung Galaxy S8
Edited by Jay, Maria Quinney
9 Parts:
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Understanding app management on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ is highly essential because let's face it, everything about the phone is based on applications. When you make a call or send a message, you're using an app, when you take photographs and shoot video, again you're using an app. Without functioning applications, The Galaxy S8/S8+ (or any smartphone for that matter) would be useless.
Clearing app data and cache is sometimes necessary because, after a while, frequently used applications can slow your device down. Knowing how to change the default apps for primary functions like calling, texting, surfing the web and managing email, for instance, is good to know as well. Updating apps should also be done regularly to ensure you're always using the latest versions, for both security and performance reasons. Uninstalling apps, as well as removing their shortcuts is essential, especially if you're someone who likes to test out a lot of applications.
In the following Article, we'll walk through the steps involved in managing applications, using a Samsung Galaxy S8 running Android Nougat.
Contents
- 1 Clearing application cache and Data
- 2 Force Stop, Disable, and Uninstall Apps
- 3 Installing and Updating Apps
- 4 Enable or Disable Add Icon to Home Screen for New Apps
- 5 Closing Recently Used Apps and Using Split Screen Mode
- 6 Add and Remove App Shortcuts from the Home Screen
- 7 Change the Default Application and Manage Permissions
- 8 Syncing Apps with Online Accounts
- 9 Comments
Clearing application cache and Data
- 1On the home screen, swipe up to get to the app drawer.
Advertisement - 2From the app drawer, tap "Settings".
Advertisement - 3On the SETTINGS screen, tap "Apps".
- 4Once on the APPS screen you can select an app or, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner for additional sorting options.
- 5With the apps are organized the way you like, scroll through and tap an app that you want the cache cleared from.
- 6From the APP INFO screen, tap "Storage".06
- 7On the APP'S STORAGE screen, tap "CLEAR CACHE".
- 8Clearing the App's Data is done on the STORAGE screen also. Please be careful here, clearing an app's data will reset everything and bring it back to its original state (fresh install).If you're willing to reset all the app's settings, tap "CLEAR DATA".
- 9WE can also clear the cache for all the apps on the S8. Head back to the main Settings screen, then tap "Device maintenance".
- 10Once inside DEVICE MAINTENANCE, tap "Storage".
- 11On the STORAGE screen, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner, followed by "Storage settings".
- 12Here on the INTERNAL STORAGE screen, tap "Cached data", then tap "CLEAR" when the pop-up appears.
Force Stop, Disable, and Uninstall Apps
Sometimes you may want to stop or disable an app. On devices without root access, system and pre-installed apps cannot be uninstalled.
- 1From the main SETTINGS screen, tap "Apps".
Advertisement - 2Sort the apps by tapping the three-dot menu in the upper right corner or, scroll through and tap one.
- 3On the APP INFO screen, tap "FORCE STOP". Depending on what app you're stopping, it may cause errors, so be careful.When the warning pop-up appears, tap "FORCE STOP".
- 4While Still on the APP INFO screen, tap "DISABLE" to turn it off. Just as with Force Stop, you'll see a warning pop-up reminding you that disabling pre-installed apps can cause issues with other installed applications.Unless it's an integral system app, most bloatware can be disabled without any problems. Tap "DISABLE" to turn off the app.
- 5Uninstalling an application is handled from the same place. Select an app from your list and tap it.
- 6One on the APP INFO screen, tap "UNINSTALL". When the pop-up window appears, tap "OK". Again,unless your device has root access, you won't be able to uninstall a system or pre-installed application.
- 7You can also uninstall an app directly from the home screen. Tap + hold the app's icon, then select "Uninstall".Tap "OK" to uninstall the app from your device.
Installing and Updating Apps
- 1To install an application, go to the app drawer, then tap the "Play Store" shortcut.
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Once in the Play Store, search for the app you want, then tap it when the results populate.
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On the App's information page, tap "INSTALL". Once it's installed, tap "OPEN".
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Some apps have intro screens that give an overview of how it functions. Tap or skip through each screen to proceed.
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Depending on the app, it may request permission to access various parts of your device. Tap "ALLOW" to continue.
You don't have to allow access but remember that the app may not function as it should if you don't.
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To check for app updates, open the Play Store app, tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper left corner, then tap "My apps & games".
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On the My apps & games screen you'll see any applications that have available updates. You can tap "UPDATE ALL" (if there is more than one) or, "UPDATE" next to an individual application or game.
You can also scan for issues with any apps by tapping the refresh icon near the top.
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You can also set your device to update your apps and games automatically. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper left corner, followed by "Settings".
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On the Settings screen, tap "Auto-update apps". When the pop-up box appears, choose one of the three options; "Do not auto-update apps, Auto-update apps at any time (data charges may apply), or Auto-update apps over WiFi only.
Enable or Disable Add Icon to Home Screen for New Apps
- 1If you'd rather not have an icon added to your home screen each time you install a new app, disable the feature. From the app drawer, tap the "Play Store" icon.
- 2Inside the Play Store, tap the hamburger menu in the upper left corner, then "Settings".
- 3On the Settings screen, remove the checkmark next to "Add icon to home screen". This will ensure that no shortcuts get added to your home screen after installing new apps.
Closing Recently Used Apps and Using Split Screen Mode
- 1To close any applications you have running, first, tap the recent apps icon in the lower left corner of your display.
- 2You can either tap, "CLOSE ALL" or, tap the "X" in the top right corner of an individual app.You can also close an application by swiping from left-to-right.
- 3To view two applications at the same time, tap the split-screen icon on one of the apps. Once both apps are visible, move the horizontal line up or down to expand or shrink the app's viewable portion.
- 4You can also pin a specific area of one application to the top portion of the screen by tapping the square icon in the app's title bar.
- 5Move the box around to select the desired section of the app, then tap "DONE".
- 6To get out of split-screen mode, tap + hold the split-screen icon until the first app goes fullscreen.
Add and Remove App Shortcuts from the Home Screen
- 1To delete an app's shortcut from the home screen, tap + hold the icon, then select "Remove shortcut".
- 2To add an application shortcut to your home screen, access the app drawer by swiping up.
- 3Locate the app, tap + hold the icon until the quick launch menu appears, then select "Add shortcut to Home".
Change the Default Application and Manage Permissions
- 1To make an app the default for a particular function such as browsing, go into Settings, then tap "Apps".
- 2Scroll through and tap the app you want to make the default. For our example, we went with Chrome because the Galaxy S8's default browser is the Samsung Internet app.
- 3On the APP INFO screen, tap "Browser app". This will be different if for example you're making a message or calling app as default.
- 4On the BROWSER APP screen, select the radio button next to the app you wish to make the default. In our case, it's Chrome.You'll now notice that the default has changed on the APP INFO screen.
- 5To view which permissions are granted for various functions, head back to the main APPS screen. Next, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, followed by "App permissions".
- 6On the APP PERMISSIONS screen, tap a function. For our example, we went with the camera.
- 7Here on the CAMERA PERMISSIONS screen, all the apps/functions that have permission will be toggled on. You can sort them by tapping the three-dot menu in the top right corner, for a more organized view.To disable access to an app/function, toggle the off the switch next to it.
Syncing Apps with Online Accounts
- 1To edit which apps (or all) get synced with your online accounts, tap the "Settings" icon from inside the app drawer/tray.
- 2Inside SETTINGS, tap "Cloud and accounts".
- 3On the CLOUD AND ACCOUNTS screen, tap "Accounts".
- 4Now tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner, followed by "Enable auto sync".This will ensure that any changes made to your accounts online will get automatically copied to your device.
- 5To sync individual accounts, select an account from the list.
- 6On the accounts screen, first toggle any option you want to be synced up. Next, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, then tap "Sync now".
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
