Here are all the Samsung Good Lock 2018 features and what they do

Update: (06/25): After the release of this article, Samsung added a new feature to Good Lock called ClockFace. We added a section on this below.

Samsung Good Lock 2018 is here and it brings a ton of options for customizing the UI of your Samsung phone. After first being unveiled in Korea last week, it has now received a U.S. release and it should work using any Samsung device running Android 8.0 or higher.

Good Lock 2018 lets you change your lock screen, quick settings menu, task changer window, and more. Good Lock doesn’t work on its own though. Instead, it works as a space to download and access other apps that control the customization. 

The main apps that work with Samsung Good Lock 2018 are LockStar, QuickStar, Task Changer, and Routines. There are also four extra recommended apps: EdgeLighting +, Edge Touch, One-Hand Operation Plus, and Sound Assistant. While Good Lock isn’t required for these extra apps to work, it does make it easy to access them.

Here is a look at what each of the Samsung Good Lock apps does.

LockStar: Lock screen customization

LockStar lets you customize your phone’s lock screen. It brings plenty of options including the ability to change the following:

• Lock screen background: There are plenty of preloaded options on the app or you can choose a picture from your gallery.
• Clock type: You can choose from nine different styles of clock.
• Which items show up on the lock screen.
• Which app shortcuts appear on the lock screen: You can choose up to six.
• Placement: As well as options for what you want to appear on your lock screen, you can also choose how you want everything to be placed.

Once you have customized the lock screen to your liking, you then click apply and it will take over from the default lock screen. You can also save numerous lock screens in case you like to switch them around in different situations. I had a lot of fun choosing customization options and I especially like the analog-style clock face that you can see in the screenshot above.

See also: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus deep-dive review: Best of the best

QuickStar: Further customizations

QuickStar contains three features: Coloring, Simple Indicator, and Notification Multi-Window.

Coloring

Coloring lets you adjust the appearance of the quick settings menu at the top of your phone. This solves the problem of what to do when your wallpaper doesn’t match the quick settings menu. Options for customization include the ability to change the background color and transparency of the menu, the color of the icons, and the blur and dim effects. It’s super simple to use and it doesn’t take much playing around to end up with a color scheme you are going to be happy with. It is also possible to save numerous different color profiles if you like to switch things around a lot.

Simple Indicator

Simple indicator lets you choose which functions show on the status bar at the top of your screen. It’s not the most useful feature but it can be nice if you find that things get too cluttered at the top of your phone. Personally, I left everything on as I like to know what is turned on in the background of my phone.

Notification Multi-Window

Notification Multi-Window is a nice feature that gives you the option to open apps in a multi-window view directly from the notification. You simply swipe to the right on the notification to see the multi-window icon alongside the default notification settings icons. I found the feature to be especially useful for when I wanted to check out a notification without stopping what I was doing on my phone. It is probably the Good Lock feature that I use the most often and it makes quickly replying to messages super easy.

Task Changer: A stylish upgrade to the task-changer menu

Task changer is a cool feature that switches out the default task changer for an updated version with lots of fancy, customizable animations. It also has a mode that puts the menu in the lower half of the screen which should make it easier to use with one hand. As with the default task changer, you can drag and drop apps to enter the multiscreen or popup window modes. While the extra functionality isn’t a massive change, the update looks flashier than the existing task changer.

See also: Android P: The top features you need to know

Routines: An easy way to set your phone up for different situations

Routines lets you set up profiles that automatically turn on pre-determined settings at certain times or during specific situations. For example, you could make a nighttime mode that turns on Do Not Disturb and the red light filter before you go to bed. You can also set profiles using many different conditions including when you are at a specific location, when you have headphones connected, when your phone hits a specific battery level, and when you are connected to WiFi.

ClockFace: Clock options for the lock screen and Always on Display

Shortly after the initial release of Good Lock, Samsung introduced a fifth main app called ClockFace. ClockFace brings a ton of new clock options for use on the lock screen and the Always on Display. In total, there are 24 new clocks for the lock screen and 29 for the Always on Display. These range from traditional digital displays to more unique styles like the text clock seen above. Users can also use ClockFace to change the color of the clock on both the lock screen and the Always on Display.

Other Samsung Good Lock integrations

The four extra recommended apps that you can access through the Samsung Good Lock app are EdgeLighting+, Edge Touch, One Hand Operation+,  and Sound Assistant.

EdgeLighting+

EdgeLighting+ lets you customize the edge lighting that shows when you get a notification. You can change the animation effect, color, transparency, and width of the edge lighting effect. It’s not super useful, but it is a nice option to have. I definitely prefer the colorful edge lighting setup in the screenshot above to the default one.

Edge Touch

Edge Touch lets you set up and customize zones around the edges of your phone that won’t respond to touches. One complaint about Samsung’s Infinity Display is that it is too easy to accidentally press the screen when holding a phone. If this happens to you a lot, setting up a zone on Edge Touch should put a stop it. You can adjust the length and thickness of the edge zones.

One Hand Operation+

One Hand Operation+ lets you control your device using gestures with your thumb. It places a bar on the edge of your display, which, when swiped across, either brings up the navigation menu or works as the back button. It’s actually really responsive and definitely made my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 a lot easier to use with one hand.

Sound Assistant

Sound Assistant lets you customize sound settings on your phone. I’ve been using it for a while to turn down the volume on certain apps when I use a particularly loud set of headphones. It can also be used to make it so that the volume buttons control the media volume, not the notification volume, and switch it so that when headphones are connected, alerts only come through the headphones.

Wrap up

Samsung Good Lock 2018 brings lots of customization options to your phone. Some I really liked, such as the Notification Multi Window, and some I don’t think I’ll use much, such as the Simple Indicator settings. I doubt there are many people who won’t find at least something that they will use on their device. If you are interested in customizing your Samsung phone and want an easy way to do so, then give Samsung Good Lock 2018 a try.

Next up: 15 best Android launcher apps of 2018