Opinion
Android rivals don’t have any answer to Samsung Good Lock
Android holds a large share of the global smartphone market compared to iOS and others. Specifically, Samsung is the leader in Android market with highest shipments. Rivals are giving tough competition to Samsung, but they don’t have any answer to One UI’s Good Lock.
Major Samsung rivals (in Android) include Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus, realme and vivo. Compared to Galaxy’s One UI software, the custom skins based on the Android operating system are significantly customizable, but, there is nothing like the Good Lock.
Other Android software skins such as MIUI, ColorOS and OxygenOS offer a lot of customization options to smartphones. Meanwhile, they (Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus, realme, vivo, even Apple iOS) don’t have any competitor to Samsung’s Good Lock service.
In case you are not a regular Samsung tracker, Good Lock is an application available on Galaxy Store for selected Galaxy devices and countries. Over time, the company introduced several additional plugins that make it a plenty useful customization suite.
Fine Lock (3rd party app)
Created by Samsung, the Good Lock and Galaxy Labs are official tools for customizing and optimizing Android experience on Samsung devices running Android/One UI software. The company is expanding availability but Galaxy Store in some markets still doesn’t let you download Good Lock app.
Even if you have them installed, they may not work at all. Fine Lock is here to solve the problem by acting like a launcher for Good Lock and Galaxy Labs modules. Fine Lock does not support Samsung devices running AOSP OS build, such as LineageOS.
Good Lock upgrades
The Good Lock app works like a manager of personalization modules and applications. Once opened, you will get dozens of plugins, letting you renovate different aspects of your Galaxy device as well as enable experimental features that are restricted by the operating system.
With the One UI 5.0 version, Samsung introduced four new apps/plugins to the Good Lock suite, which brings increment to the usability. The newly released Camera Assistant, Dropship, RegiStar, and Galaxy to Share are newcomers to the Good Lock app.
Apart from the newly added plugins, Good Lock already packed lots of modules and apps, which allow you to renovate your Galaxy device. Samsung’s One UI user interface can be customized in various ways, but the Good Lock removes every kind of restriction.
Here’s what Good Lock has to offer
Make Up Section
Theme Park: Samsung Theme Park app allows Galaxy smartphone users to easily and quickly create their own themes.
Pentastic: This module is supported by only Galaxy devices that have S Pen support. Using it, you can apply various styles to the S Pen menu.
Wonderland: There are a lot of wallpaper providers, however, Samsung Wonderland is an official way to give a 3D motion wallpaper with various effects on your Galaxy.
LockStar: This Good Lock plugin not only allows you to customize the lockscreen of your Galaxy device but also provides plenty of styles of always-on display feature.
KeysCafe: Using this Samsung app, you can create a keyboard that is optimized for you alongside different kinds of visual effects and colors.
NavStar: Conveniently organize the navigation bar and gesture mode.
HomeUp: For homescreen personalization of Galaxy devices, Samsung HomeUp module is the greatest solution. This plugin allows you to renovate your Galaxy’s homescreen in various ways and optimize it to your preference.
ClockFace: You can configure many different clock styles on the lockscreen and AOD, and customize the clock in any way you want.
QuickStar: It allows you to redesign the user interface of your Galaxy device’s Quick panel.
Life Up Section
NiceShot: NiceShot makes it possible to use features like screenshots and screen recording more conveniently.
NotiStar: Manage the notifications history easily.
EdgeTouch: It allows you to adjust settings for touch on edge screen easily.
NiceCatch: If you want to get rid of interrupting vibrations, NiceCatch module is here so you can look into the causes of unexplained actions.
One Hand Operation +: This module has different kinds of shortcuts and tools that make it easier to use your large screen with just a single hand.
Routines +: In the Bixby Routines, the Routines + module adds various features so you can create even more powerful Routines.
MultiStar: MultiStar service brings additional features and personalization options for the Multi window feature so you can have better experiences while multitasking.
Camera Assistant: It’s one of the newly added plugins to the Good Lock family. This module lets you customize your own camera settings to your preference.
RegiStar: With the help of RegiStar, Galaxy users can conveniently configure the Settings app and press the side key, tap the back, or press the screen strongly to quickly launch useful features.
Sound Assistant: It allows you to expand audio system settings and increase convenience.
When it comes to Android updates, Samsung is leading the Android world. However, this could be the last day of Samsung’s leadership as Google is expected to double up its current Android updates support for Pixel smartphones launching today.
2020 was a remarkable year in Samsung’s history when the company extended Android updates support from two years to three. A few months later, the company extended the security support as well, totaling it to four years for flagship Galaxy devices.
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In 2022, Samsung launched the Galaxy S22 series, which offers four generations of OS upgrades. In its announcement, the company listed all flagships launched in 2021 and later along with select Galaxy A series smartphones for 4 OS and 5 years of security patches.
With this decision, the South Korean tech giant surpassed Google’s support policy, which owns Android. To be noted, Tensor-powered Pixel smartphones come with three years of Android and five years of monthly security updates support.
Today, Google will launch the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones. And as per the leaks, both phones will offer up to 7 years of software support, surpassing the longest support provided by Apple to its iPhones. Pixel 8 and later might be eligible for 7 major OS upgrades, which sounds a bit confusing.
There are speculations that there will be five major OS versions and 7 years of regular security patches and quarterly Pixel Feature Drops for the latest flagship smartphones. If it happens, it will force other Android vendors to further extend their support.
While Pixel phones are limited to support 3 major OS versions, Samsung is offering 4 generations of OS upgrades to cheaper Galaxy devices that costs approx $249. Samsung won’t take too long to beat Google yet again in terms of software support.
Let’s see, what Google has to offer to the Android world!
After One UI 5.1, we started hearing a lot of news, leaks, and rumors about the upcoming One UI 6. Recently, Samsung has also started releasing One UI 6.0 support for stock apps, starting with the Calculator app.
Looking at all this, we can expect that Samsung will provide this support to more apps in the future too. But the question is, why is Samsung providing One UI 6.0 support to its stocks apps before the official release? If you are thinking that by getting their support, you will get some new features in your apps, then it is not only the reason.
Samsung One UI 6.0 support can also bring new features for apps, but the main reason for this is something else. But what? The answer is that Samsung is going to release a new One UI update in the coming weeks or months and the company aims to make its stock apps compatible with that accordingly. Once the app is supported, the app will not stop working or get crash whenever the company releases that update for the smartphone.
A recent report revealed that Samsung’s stable Android 14 update will be available in October. This is the same time frame as last year’s UI rollout, with the latest Galaxy S lineup being the first to secure it. Meanwhile, beta activity is seeing an early start if everything goes as planned by the internals.
Still, for the time being, we can consider this information as a pinch of salt as the company has not yet announced any official timeline for One UI 6.0.
Samsung confirms One UI 6 and Good Lock features finding underway
Nowadays, smartphones are being heavily used for gaming and photography. Accordingly, phone makers are focussing more and more on upgrading the imaging capabilities and performance of chipsets. So why not, Samsung should now bring battery upgrade to Galaxy flagships.
Battery upgrade should be the next aim
The recently launched Galaxy S23 Ultra brings a high-profile 200-megapixel camera, allowing users to capture lossless shots, even when cropped. With great collaboration between hardware and software, the new Samsung flagships offer peace of mind to consumers, when it comes to battery life.
In addition to camera lovers, people prefer buying a smartphone, which offers great battery life without compromising features and power specifications. In the same way, Samsung is reportedly working, and there’s still room for improvements in flagships battery life.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra could come with a new battery technology inspired by electronic vehicles. The company is considering stacked battery technology for smartphones, which will reduce the size keeping the same mAh and enhanced lifespan.
Since the stacked battery tech could leave more gap inside the phone, Samsung might not think about increasing mAh on flagship phones. Instead, the company may use an additional vacant area for upgrading other hardware elements and better placement.
The S23 Ultra even defeated the years-old leader iPhone in terms of battery performance, thanks to the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy” processor. Exynos 2400 is reportedly coming to the S24 series in certain markets, which re-creates concern about the phone’s battery life and performance.
That said, Samsung should focus on increasing premium Galaxy phones’ battery life so users can use them longer with a single charge. 45W fast charging is doing quite well, just improvements to battery life would prove as cherry on the cake.
What do you think about it, do share your thoughts with us through the Tweet embedded below.
Vote here: https://t.co/tOfPTuWKX7
— Sammy Fans (@thesammyfans) May 5, 2023
Poll Results: May 12, 2023
We ran a poll that received 106 votes from our readers’ community. Among all, about 70 percent of readers voted in favor of a battery upgrade instead of the camera, while 23.6 percent want both upgrades together. Meanwhile, 6.6 percent of voters still want Samsung to focus on flagship camera upgrade.
Instead of Camera, Samsung should bring battery upgrade to flagships #Samsung
— Sammy Fans (@thesammyfans) May 5, 2023