Google Pixel phones and Google Photos have awesome photo-taking and editing capabilities. Samsung phones also have great camera hardware and excellent pro features. Samsung's newest flagship, the Galaxy S24, can level with the Pixel 8 Pro, and Samsung Gallery is a suitable alternative to Google Photos on Galaxy phones. Samsung Gallery has many features that rival or outdo Google's premium lineup and app. Use these tips and tricks to liven up your photos and get the most out of Samsung's handy Gallery app.
1 Experiment with Samsung Gallery Labs
New features are always in the works. Samsung lets you try them early. These features are accessed through Gallery Lab, which is activated using a method similar to Developer Mode in the Android operating system.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the overflow menu (three lines) in the lower-right corner.
- Select Settings.
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Scroll down and tap About Gallery.
- Repeatedly tap the Version number (under the word Gallery) until you see a notification saying that Gallery Labs has been enabled. If a notification has -1 or -3 tacked onto the end, click the version number that many more times to turn on Gallery Labs.
- Tap the Back button to go back to Gallery settings.
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Scroll to the bottom of the list and tap the new Gallery Labs option. You'll find the experimental and upcoming new features in the Gallery app.
2 Secure your private photos
Many people have photos with sensitive information that they want to hide from prying eyes. Samsung Gallery allows you to do so through Samsung Secure Folder, which is easy to set up and keeps your data safe and encrypted.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Select the photos, videos, and albums to move to your Secure Folder.
- Tap the More button at the bottom.
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Select the Move to Secure folder option.
When you use your Secure Folder for the first time, set it up by granting it the necessary permissions and creating a password, pattern, or PIN lock. Open your Secure Folder from your phone's app drawer to access your hidden photos and videos.
3 Try Samsung's Magic Eraser alternative
Sometimes, our photos show people or items we'd be happy to remove. For a long time, this was only possible if you knew how to use a photo editing app such as Adobe Photoshop. Google offers this feature through Magic Eraser, which was a Pixel-exclusive feature until it opened to Google One subscribers. Samsung released a similar feature with the Galaxy S21 series of phones in Samsung Gallery, dubbed Object Eraser.
- In Samsung Gallery, open the photo you want to remove an object from.
- Tap the Pencil icon in the toolbar.
- Tap the three dots in the lower-right corner.
- Select the Object eraser option.
- Tap or draw a border around the object you want to remove from the photo.
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Select the appropriate icons to erase shadows and reflections.
- Tap Erase to see the results.
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If the object is not erased satisfactorily on the first try, repeat steps 5 and 6.
If you aren't fond of Samsung's object removal implementation, try one of the Magic Eraser alternatives.
4 Give your black-and-white photos a pop of color
Another great editing tool Samsung includes in its Gallery app is spot color. This feature makes your photos black and white while keeping certain parts of the image colorized.
- Open a photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the Pencil icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the three-dot option in the lower-right corner.
- Select the Spot color option to convert the photo into black and white.
- Tap an object or element that you want to colorize. Any object or subject of the same color in the photo is also colorized.
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Use the Remove color or Erase color options to remove color from unwanted items in the photo.
- Tap Done to apply your changes.
- Select Save in the upper-right corner to save the photo with the edits you made.
Selecting Save in the upper-right corner saves these edits over the original photo. To save the edits as a copy of the photo, go to More options > Save as copy.
5 View and edit Exif data
Every photo you take on your smartphone is saved in the Exif (Exchangeable image file) format. This format includes data such as date and time, location, size, and more, which you can edit.
- Open a photo or video and swipe up to view the Exif data.
- To edit the Exif details, tap Edit in the upper-right corner of the details.
- Tap the data you want to change and edit it.
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Select Save when done.
6 Hide albums in Samsung Gallery
New folders of photos, whether you or an app creates them, show up as a new album in Samsung Gallery by default. Samsung allows you to hide albums and folders to keep your Gallery app uncluttered.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Go to the Albums tab.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Select albums to show.
- Deselect the albums and folders you want to hide. Some folders, such as Camera and Screenshots, cannot be hidden.
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Tap Done.
All the photos inside an album are also hidden from the gallery when you hide the album.
7 Drag and drop media between albums
If you have multiple folders or albums in Samsung Gallery, move media files between them by dragging and dropping them.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Go to the Albums tab.
- Select the photos and videos you want to move and long press one of them. The list of available folders or albums display in a sidebar on the left.
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Drag and drop the items to the desired folder or album.
8 Sync Samsung Gallery with Microsoft OneDrive
As a part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung offers OneDrive integration in its Gallery app. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, use your 1TB of OneDrive space to back up your photos and videos.
- Launch the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the three dashes in the lower-right corner.
- Tap Settings.
- Select Sync with OneDrive.
- Tap Continue.
- Activate, install, or launch the Microsoft OneDrive app to sign in to your Microsoft account.
- Agree to the terms and conditions and tap Connect.
- Link your Samsung and Microsoft accounts. You must be signed in to your Samsung account on your phone.
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Log in with your Microsoft account.
When this is complete, the photos and videos in your Gallery are automatically backed up and organized in OneDrive. You can search through your photos and videos in OneDrive using dates, tags, or other criteria.
9 Recover deleted photos and videos
Did you accidentally delete a photo or video from your Samsung phone? Samsung has you covered with its recycle bin-like functionality in its Gallery app, which gives you up to 30 days to restore your deleted media files.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- In the lower-right corner, tap the three lines.
- Tap Trash to see the deleted photos and videos from the last 30 days.
- Open a picture or video and tap the Restore icon to move it back to your gallery.
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To restore multiple items, tap Edit at the top, select the items, and tap Restore at the bottom.
10 Add portrait effect to photos
You can add a portrait effect to photos after you've taken a photo. This feature works best with selfies, and your mileage may vary.
- Open a photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
- In the lower-right corner, select the three dots.
- Select the Add portrait effect option. Samsung Gallery analyzes the photo and automatically adds the blur effect.
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Use the slider to adjust the blur intensity.
- Tap Apply to save the changes. Alternatively, keep the original photo unmodified using the Save as copy option from the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
11 Remaster your photos
Are you unhappy with how a photo turned out? Do you want your next profile picture to pop? If so, the remaster option in Samsung Gallery is for you. Here's how to remaster your photo:
- Select a photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the three dots in the lower-right corner.
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Select the Remaster picture option. The photo is analyzed, and a before/after image helps you make out the differences. Slide the divider back and forth to see the changes.
- If you like the changes, tap Save. Save the edited photo as a separate copy by tapping More and selecting the Save as copy option. Tap the back button to discard the changes.
12 Set a photo as your custom wallpaper
You can use Samsung Gallery to set any photo as your phone's home screen, lock screen, call background, or Always-On Display wallpaper.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app, and open the photo you want to set as your wallpaper.
- Tap the three dots at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the Set as wallpaper option.
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Choose where to set the wallpaper: Home screen, Lock screen, Always On Display, Call background, or watch face.
- Depending on the option you choose, a preview may show where you can adjust the crop of the photo.
- Confirm your action when done.
13 Bixby Vision
Even though Bixby isn't as useful as Google Assistant, it's useful for some things. One of those things is Bixby Vision, which works similarly to Google Lens and can identify items or text in your photos.
- Open a photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the Bixby Vision icon shaped like an eye in the upper-right corner of your screen.
- Bixby scans the photo to find text or subjects.
- If text is detected in the photo, you can copy, translate, or search for it on the web.
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View similar images on Pinterest by tapping the Find icon at the bottom.
To use text found in a photo:
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A T icon appears in the lower-left corner when text is recognized. Tap it to highlight the text in an image that you can copy.
- Tap the text you want to copy.
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Select the Copy, Select All, or Share option from the pop-up menu. Depending on the content you select, you'll see a contextual option to call a number or navigate to the address.
14 Let Samsung Gallery analyze photos and make suggestions
A large part of taking great photos on a smartphone is the processing that takes place after you take the photo. This usually gives a good photo, but running it through an improvement process can make it better. Samsung includes a photo analysis feature in the Gallery app to make your photos the best they can be. This analysis also helps you save space on your device by suggesting photos to remove from your device.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Tap the menu button located in the lower-right corner.
- Select Suggestions to display recommendations for photos on your phone.
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Tap a suggestion to read more about the recommended changes. A before and after comparison shows the differences.
- Tap Save if you like the changes. You can also share the edited photo or remove the changes.
15 View a photo in landscape without rotating your phone
Want to quickly view a photo in landscape mode in the Samsung Gallery app? You don't need to turn on auto-rotate. When viewing a photo, tap the Rotate button in the upper-right corner to switch to landscape view or vice versa. This allows you to view landscape photos properly without changing your device settings.
16 Change an album's cover image
Don't like the image that represents an album? Change it to a photo you prefer.
- Go to the Album tab in the Samsung Gallery app.
- Long press the album whose cover image you want to change.
- Tap More from the menu bar at the bottom.
- Select the Change cover image option.
- Select the photo from the album you want to set as the cover image.
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Tap Apply.
17 Create a highlight reel
Want to create a quick highlight reel of a holiday album to share with your friends or family? Similar to Google Photos, the Samsung Gallery app creates short videos of the best photos and videos in an album. All you need to do is create it.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app and move to the Albums tab.
- Open the album for which you want to create a highlight reel.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
- Select Create.
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Tap Highlight reel.
- Select the photos and videos you want to add to the highlight reel.
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Confirm your selection by tapping the Highlight reel button at the bottom.
The Samsung Gallery app creates a highlight reel with background music. You can edit the music, tweak the video's light, add various effects, and more before saving it.
18 Create a GIF
You can also create a GIF of burst photos using the Create tool in the Samsung Gallery app.
- Open the Samsung Gallery app.
- Long press and select the photos you want to include in the GIF.
- Tap the three-dot menu at the bottom.
- Select Create from the menu.
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Select GIF from the options.
The Samsung Gallery app creates and displays a GIF from the photos and videos you selected. Before saving, you can edit the GIF to speed up the transition, add stickers, doodle, and more.
19 Add stickers to make your photos more fun
Everyone loves stickers, and you can add them to your digital photos.
- Launch the Samsung Gallery app and open a photo.
- Tap the pencil icon at the bottom.
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Select the smiley face icon.
- Choose the Stickers option. A list of stickers appears.
- Tap a sticker to add it to the photo. You can resize, flip, copy, or delete it from the photo.
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When you're done editing, tap the Save button in the upper-right corner to overwrite the original photo. Tap the three dots in the lower-right corner and tap Save as copy to save a copy of the photo. To cancel the changes, tap Revert at the top.
20 Customize a photo's perspective
Samsung Gallery's transformative tool can straighten, horizontally, or vertically change your photos. You can customize the angle and orientation of a picture for a distorted look or use it to adjust the position. It's helpful when you're trying to correct a photo's angle or want to change the focal point on a busier photo (without using blur).
- Open the Samsung Gallery app and select a photo.
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Tap on the Pencil icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the Transform tool and choose between straighten, horizontal, or vertical.
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Move your fingers along the photo to distort and shift the image. Alternatively, use the Slider (below the photo) to customize the angle.
- Tap Save in the upper-right corner to apply these changes.
Managing your photos shouldn't be a chore
Samsung Gallery is an excellent app for managing your photos. It has several options to organize your photos while making them look cleaner and crisper. Even though Samsung Gallery works well, it must compete with Google's top-end photo editing and managing app. But Samsung is no slouch. The manufacturing giant has always been committed to improving its default software and hardware. The future looks bright for Galaxy owners.