10 hidden features of the Galaxy S 5 that you need to know

It can be hard to keep track of all the things that the Galaxy S 5 can do. There are so many obvious ones, but here are 10 things you might not know your Galaxy S 5 can do, as provided by Samsung.

1. Write on your Galaxy S 5 with a pencil

You can increase the sensitivity of the Galaxy S 5's display by heading into Settings/Display and tapping on “Increase touch sensitivity.” Now you will be able to tap, swipe, or write on the display using a pencil. You can even use a gloved hand or your fingernail. Quick tip: You can also access Touch Sensitivity from within the 22 quick menu icons. Just pull down the status bar using two fingers to see your quick menu icons and toggle “Touch Sensitivity.”

2. Find similar music tracks by tilting your Galaxy S 5

While listening to the stock music player, put your GS5 into landscape mode. You will then see suggestions for similar tracks stored on your phone. Obviously, the more songs you have on your device, the more recommendations you will get.

3. Use Toolbox to bookmark your favorite apps

The Toolbox is just a glorified folder of your favorite apps, but it's actually a floating widget. To place it on your screen, just swipe down the notification panel with two fingers and tap “Toolbox.” You will see a white circle shaped icon with three dots appear on your current home screen. You can tap and hold to move it wherever you want, but it will be visible from all your home screens and whatever apps you run (excluding the camera).

Just tap on the circle to see your favorite apps. To customize what apps appear in it, tap and hold, then drag it to the top left “Edit” button. You can then check what apps you want to appear in it. If you want to remove it altogether, just tap and hold, then drag it to the “Remove” button at the top right.

4. Protect things with Privacy Mode

Need to hide certain pictures, documents, text messages, videos, voicemails, etc. from prying eyes? Samsung has you covered with Privacy Mode. Assuming you never used Privacy Mode, open your Settings and scroll down to Personalization. Select “Private Mode.” You will then be given the opportunity to select what type of security (Pattern, PIN, Fingerprint, or Password) you want to use to make your private files visible.

Now you can move files to private by hitting the menu key, and selecting “Move to Private.” Note: for photos, this has to be done in thumbnail view. Once you have selected all your files to be private, go back to Settings/Personalization/Privacy Mode and turn it off. Now those files won't be visible to anyone. If you want to see them again, go back to Private Mode and turn it on. You will of course, need to enter your PIN, password, pattern, or fingerprint to turn it on.

5. Kids Mode

If you have children, no doubt they will play with your phone from time to time. The Galaxy S 5 features a new Kids Mode that is fun and safe for all children. To get started, long press on any of your home screens, select Widgets, and find “Kids Mode.” Long press on it and place it anywhere on your home screen. Now tap on it, and it will install the application (63.1 MB).

Now open the app and set your PIN code followed by your child's name and what apps you want to be a part of it. Installing new apps creates a gift box so you can “give your child a gift” by installing apps they wanted. If you're looking for new kid-friendly apps, you can go to “Parental Control” at the bottom right of your screen, then tap the Menu at the upper left, followed by “Kids Store” to find more apps.

Limiting your child's play is also pretty easy. Just tap “Parental Control,” followed by the Menu, then “Daily playtime limit” to set the daily time limit.

6. Open the Camera app from the lock screen

Head into Settings and scroll down to Sound and Display. Select “Lock Screen” and then check “Camera Shortcut.” A camera icon will now appear at the bottom right of your Lock Screen. Just swipe it up to open the Camera app so you can grab that picture quickly. It will even bypass your security, but as soon as you leave the Camera application, you will need to enter your credentials or fingerprint in order to proceed.

7. Try these new camera features

Virtual Tour Mode

Want to give someone a virtual tour of a restaurant, your house, or any other location? Virtual Shot will do just that. Just follow the guided arrows that point forward, left, or right. You will then get a moving picture like a gif image.

Shot and More

With Shot and More you can edit pictures and apply various effects immediately after taking your shots. You will be able to choose the best photo from a set of burst shots, best face, drama shot, eraser, and more.

8.  Set Priority Senders in the Messaging app

You may have 1,000 contacts on your phone, but I bet you regularly text only a handful of them right? Well that is where Priority Senders comes in. Just open the Messaging app and select “Add Priority Senders.” You can add your favorite contacts, and they will be displayed along the top for easy access. Just tap on any one of the contact icons for sending and reading messages.

 9. Get caller information while you are still on the phone.

Need to get caller information while you are in the middle of a call.  To turn this feature on, head into your Settings, and scroll down to Applications. Select “Call,” then check “Show caller information.”

10. Enable Call Notification Pop-Ups 

Do you find it annoying that when you receive a call, whatever application you were using is stopped for the incoming call screen? With the Galaxy S 5, you can enable Call Notification Pop-Ups, which will still allow you to finish that email if you don't want to answer the call.

Go to Settings, then scroll down to Applications. Select “Call” and make sure to select “Call notification pop-ups.” From now on when a call comes in, you will get a much smaller pop-up over your currently opened app.

source: Samsung Tomorrow