After the Samsung Galaxy S24 release in January 2024, Samsung Galaxy S23 became an even better deal, thanks to carrier and online retailer deals. If you recently picked up a Galaxy S24, you'll be happy to know the phone provides powerful hardware and multiple years of software updates.

The S23 series has impressive features that help cement its place as one of the best Android phones, including Dolby Atmos, an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and an immersive screen. Other attributes can make it more useful as your everyday carry. We list the prominent ones in this article.

1 Use Android and Galaxy apps

Samsung phones have access to Android apps via the Google Play Store and to Samsung apps through the Galaxy Store. The Google Play Store has a wider variety of apps than the Galaxy Store and is available on all Android devices.

The Galaxy Store is only available on Samsung devices and has exclusive apps the Play Store doesn't have. It also includes themes, which can change the look of your phone. Using both app stores gives you access to a wider variety of apps than a typical Android phone, so take advantage of it. To access each, look for the corresponding app in your app drawer.

2 Get information quickly with widget stacks

Widgets have become a popular feature in phones again, and Samsung has made them better. Widget Stacks, which are similar to Apple's widget stacks, allow you to stack widgets in the same screen space so that they don't take up much of your screen. Swipe left and right to cycle through the widgets in the stack. One UI's launcher moves widgets to the top of the stack to give you relevant information.

To create a widget stack on your new Galaxy device, long press the home screen until the home menu pops up. Tap the Widgets button at the bottom and select a widget to add it to your home screen. After that widget is added, long press it. When the edit menu pops up, tap Create stack and select the widgets to add to the stack. A few new widgets are included with Samsung's One UI 5.1 version of Android 13, so check them out.

3 Add widgets to your lock screen

You can add widgets to your lock screen. This gives you access to information without opening your phone. To edit these widgets, go to Settings, select Lock screen, and tap the Widgets image. Toggle the widgets you want to see, including music, weather, digital well-being, and more. You can change the order they appear on your lock screen by tapping Reorder in the upper-right corner.

While in lock screen settings, you can change how other items on your lock screen appear. Tap the Lock screen image and tap the element you want to modify.

4 Use the Always On Display to always see what's going on

It might be useful to see the time or your notifications when you look at your phone, even if it's locked and sitting away from you. Samsung included an Always On Display with the S23 line. To access this in the Settings app, go to the Lock screen settings and tap Always On Display. Toggle it on or off, change how it appears, and modify how it looks on your screen.

5 Colorize your UI

Material You, which matches the colors of UI elements throughout your phone, came with the release of Android 12. This feature was released on Google's Pixel phones, and Samsung now includes it in its One UI software. To use this feature, long press your home screen until the home menu pops up. Next, tap Wallpaper and style in the lower-left corner and select Color palette from the available options. Finally, turn on the color palette option and choose the wallpaper colors you want.

To make compatible app icons in your app drawer and home screen, use the same color palette and turn on the Apply palette to app icons option. This feature can make your new phone feel like your own version of the S23.

6 Use Bixby text call to see if you're getting a spam call

Google has a great feature called Call Screen that lets Google Assistant talk to callers to see who they are. Since this feature is so popular, Samsung made its version in One UI 5.1 called Bixby text call. To activate this feature, open the Phone app, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select Settings. Next, tap the Bixby text call option and toggle it on.

When you receive a call, tap the Bixby text call button to have Bixby talk to the caller. This feature one-ups Google's Call Screening feature because you can type anything for Bixby to say to the caller instead of pre-written prompts. You can customize the Bixby quick responses by tapping the Quick responses button in the Bixby text call settings.

7 Make your video calls better with effects

Video calls are a common way to communicate and help you feel like you're connecting more with the person you're talking to. To make video calls the best they can be, Samsung included video-calling effects in the S23 line. To find these features, open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap Advanced features. Then, tap Video call effects to turn the feature on and check out the included features. You can choose a background color or add a background image for your meetings.

You'll also see a list of apps compatible with video call effects. You must join a video call through a compatible app to access the rest of the features. When you're in, an effects button appears, allowing you to blur your background, focus on yourself, and more.

8 Save your eyes and battery with dark mode

A bright, mostly white phone screen can hurt your eyes at night or when in an obscure area. That's where dark mode comes in. Dark mode turns the bright white features of your phone's UI to black. This helps save your eyes because bright light can be blinding when you look at your phone. It also saves battery life because AMOLED displays shut off the individual pixels when they display black, which means less battery is used to power your screen.

To access Dark mode, go into the Settings app and tap Display. Then, choose dark mode at the top if you want it on all the time. If you only want it on at certain times, tap the Dark mode settings option and tap the Turn on as scheduled toggle. Choose to turn on Dark mode from Sunset to sunrise or create a custom schedule.

9 Change your side key functionality

Most would call it the power button, but Samsung likes to call it the side key. Either way, it's the button on your phone that isn't the volume rocker. You can customize what it does on the S23 line. Out of the box, it opens the Bixby assistant when you hold it down.

If you want to hold down the side key to power off the phone, change the key's function. Launch the Settings app, go to Advanced features, and select the Side key option. Then, choose what should happen when you double press and hold down the side key, like creating a shortcut to access your camera.

10 Reorganize your quick settings menu

You may have seen the list of buttons called the quick settings menu. You'll find quick settings by swiping down when the notification shade is open. You can access commonly used settings and functions such as toggling your Wi-Fi, accessing Bluetooth devices, and turning your phone into a wireless charger through Wireless power sharing.

To customize this menu, swipe down twice on your home screen so the full quick settings menu is open. Then, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner and select Edit buttons.

At the top of the screen, you'll see a list of buttons that aren't in your quick settings menu. Long press and drag them into your desired location in quick settings. To move a button that's in your quick settings menu, long press the button and move it to your desired location. To remove a button, long press it and move it to the upper portion of your screen. The first six buttons on your first screen appear when you pull down the notification shade, so put the most important buttons first.

11 Take advantage of Samsung's camera and photo editing features

Samsung's camera app is full of features that make your photos and videos the best they can be. To access these settings, open the Camera app and tap the gear icon in the upper-left corner to access the settings menu. You'll find all the camera settings Samsung offers with various modes and customization options, including:

• Scene optimizer: Brighten up your photos. There's also a setting for scanning documents and text.
• Shot suggestions: Get suggestions for taking the best shot.
• Scan QR codes: Scan QR codes with your camera.
• Watermark: Add a customizable watermark to your photos.
• Video stabilization: Make your videos more stable.
• Auto FPS: Automatically adjust the frames per second when filming to record brighter video in low-light conditions.
• Tracking auto-focus: Stay focused on the subject even if they move in the frame.

There are more settings than these, including some advanced settings, so take a look and decide which ones are best for you.

After taking a photo, use the options in the Samsung Gallery app to make your photos better. Select an image and tap the pencil icon to edit your photo. You can do things like rotate the image, put a filter over it, or crop it, but there are also more advanced features.

One of the most useful is Object Eraser, which is similar to the Google Magic Eraser feature that erases unwanted elements from your photos. Select the feature and circle or move your finger over the item you want to erase.

Another feature worth checking out is image clipping, which takes the subject out of your photos and saves it as a separate image or an emoji to use in your conversations. This feature is similar to a feature Apple introduced in iOS 16. Open a photo in the Gallery app and long press the subject to use it. You'll see some circles, and then the subject pops out, allowing you to move it around and take it from the photo.

12 Ultra users have an S Pen

If you have a Galaxy S23 Ultra, your phone has a built-in S Pen. The S Pen can be used to do several things, but the simplest application is to use it to navigate your phone without getting fingerprints on your screen. You can also use it for more productive things by tapping the floating Air Command menu icon on the right when the pen is taken out of its silo. Here, you can write and edit notes, send live messages to others, and take screenshots.

Samsung's Galaxy line is full of features

With these features, you can use your Samsung S23 to do almost anything you want to accomplish. Other neat abilities, such as the Samsung DeX software, allow your smartphone to become a desktop wherever a monitor is handy. Look through your Galaxy S23 and see what other impressive features you find.