New Samsung Galaxy Phone? Do These 6 Things IMMEDIATELY or Regret It Forever

Look, I get it. You just dropped $1,000+ on a shiny new Samsung Galaxy S26 (or S25, or whatever flavor Samsung shoved down your throat this year), and you're ready to experience the future of mobile technology. The box is open. The excitement is real. You're about to set up your new best friend.

Then reality hits.

Within approximately four minutes of powering on your brand-new Samsung device, you'll realize something disturbing: Samsung's One UI software is like that friend who talks too loud at parties — packed with "features" nobody asked for, running on pure chaos energy, and absolutely refusing to shut up.

I've been doing this Samsung setup dance for years. Years. And every single time, I find myself physically pained by the same handful of garbage default settings that Samsung insists on force-feeding its users. It's like they hired a team of masochists to design the out-of-box experience.

So here's the deal. I'm going to walk you through the six Samsung features I disable within the first 10 minutes of unboxing any new Galaxy device. Some of these are actively painful. Others are just… why? Why would you do this, Samsung? WHY?

Let's get into it. 🔥

Feature #1: Samsung Keyboard — The Worst Keyboard in Human History

DELETE IT. BURN IT. REPLACE IT.

I cannot stress this enough: Samsung Keyboard is an absolute disaster. It is the numerical equivalent of trying to type with oven mitts on while experiencing mild earthquake tremors. The autocorrect thinks it's playing a creative writing game. Voice typing enters the chat and decides to interpret your words as some kind of abstract poetry.

If you're using Samsung Keyboard right now, I genuinely feel sorry for every person in your group chats. They're probably staging an intervention behind your back. "We love you, but we can't handle the typos anymore."

The solution is simple: Gboard.

Google's Gboard is basically the opposite of Samsung Keyboard in every conceivable way. It works. The autocorrect knows what words are. Typing feels like a gift you give yourself.

Here's how to make the switch:

1. Download Gboard from the Play Store.
2. Open the app.
3. Tap Enable in settings.
4. Tap the toggle next to Gboard.
5. Tap OK.
6. Tap Default keyboard.
7. Tap Gboard.

Congratulations. You've just improved your daily phone experience by approximately 847%. You're welcome.

Feature #2: The Split Notification Panel — Samsung’s Worst Design Decision

ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?

Let me explain what Samsung did here. They looked at the notification shade — you know, the thing that works perfectly fine on literally every other Android phone — and said, "You know what it needs? To be broken in half. Let's make users swipe from different corners of the screen to see different things."

The upper-left corner? That's for notifications. The upper-right corner? That's for Quick Settings. Swipe from the wrong place? Congratulations! You get nothing! Try again!

This is the kind of decision that makes you wonder if Samsung's UX team is just running a perpetual chaos simulation. But here's the beautiful part — you can fix it in about 12 seconds.

Here's how to unify your notification panel:

1. Swipe down from the upper-right corner to view your Quick Settings.
2. Tap the pencil icon to enter edit mode.
3. Tap Panel settings.
4. Tap Together.

MAGIC. Now you swipe down from anywhere at the top of your screen, and everything appears in one beautiful, logical panel. Just like Android was always meant to work. You're welcome, Samsung — you can thank me later.

Feature #3: Edge Panels — The Feature Nobody Asked For

Edge Panels have entered the chat, and they're just as annoying as you'd expect.

For the uninitiated, Edge Panels are those little sliding panels that appear when you swipe from the edge of your screen. Samsung has been pushing this "feature" for what feels like geological epochs. The idea is that you can swipe from the edge to access your favorite apps quickly.

The reality? You will accidentally trigger this panel approximately 4,000 times a day while just trying to use your phone normally. It pops up when you're trying to tap a link. It appears when you're scrolling Instagram. It has the spatial awareness of a drunk toddler.

Some people genuinely love Edge Panels, and I'm genuinely happy for them. But for the rest of us mere mortals who just want to use our phones without random panels assaulting us from the side, here's the kill switch:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Display.
3. Scroll down the page.
4. Tap the toggle next to Edge panels.

Poof. Gone. Your phone is now a normal phone again. No more surprise panel appearances. No more accidental app launches. Peace has been restored to the universe.

Feature #4: Samsung Wallet Shortcuts — The Home Screen Invader

Samsung has a secret weapon of mass annoyance hiding at the bottom of your home screen, and it's called the Samsung Wallet shortcut.

If you use Samsung Wallet, great! This shortcut is probably super convenient for you. But if you're like me — someone who uses Google Pay like a normal human being in 2026 — that little Samsung Wallet button is nothing but a perpetual reminder that Samsung really, really wants you to use their payment system.

It sits there. Judging you. Taking up valuable home screen real estate. Mocking your financial decisions.

Here's how to banish it from your life:

1. Open the Samsung Wallet app on your phone.
2. Tap Continue.
3. If prompted, enter your Samsung account password.
4. Allow phone permissions.
5. Confirm your PIN or fingerprint if prompted.
6. From the Samsung Wallet home screen, tap the three dots in the upper-right.
7. Tap Settings.
8. Tap Quick access.
9. Tap Swipe up gesture.

Now you'll see toggles for three different Samsung Wallet swipe-up gestures: Lock screen, Home screen, and Screen off. Turn all of them off if you don't use Samsung Wallet. ALL OF THEM. Be aggressive. This is a war, and you're winning.

Your home screen is now slightly more yours and significantly less Samsung's. That's the dream.

Feature #5: Lock Screen Notifications — The Invisible Messages

Picture this: You're walking down the street, you glance at your phone, and you see… nothing.

Well, wait. There's a tiny icon. Maybe it's an envelope? Is that a chat bubble? Is someone trying to tell you something important? WHO KNOWS! The notification icons on Samsung's lock screen are so small and vague that you'd need the eyesight of a hawk and the interpretive skills of a detective to figure out what message you just received.

It's absolutely ridiculous. Samsung defaults to showing just tiny icons — no preview text, no sender name, nothing useful. You basically need to unlock your phone to find out if that notification was urgent or just another email about someone's crypto wallet.

Here's the fix, and it only takes four taps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Tap Lock screen.
4. Tap Cards (it's set to Icons by default).

CHANGE "ICONS" TO "CARDS."

Now your lock screen will show full notification banners with actual text. You'll be able to see who texted you and what they said without unlocking your phone. Revolutionary concept, right? Samsung somehow buried this setting, but now you know. You're welcome.

It's actually insane that this isn't the default. But welcome to the Samsung experience, where basic functionality is always one settings menu away.

Feature #6: The Screenshot Swipe Gesture — Accidental Captures Galore

This one is personal.

Samsung's screenshot swipe gesture — officially called "Palm swipe to capture" — is enabled by default on every new Galaxy phone. The idea is that you can swipe your hand across the edge of your screen to capture a screenshot. Sounds convenient in theory, right?

WRONG.

In practice, this means that every single time you try to wipe smudges, dust, or pizza fingerprints off your display — which is, you know, something humans do — you accidentally capture a screenshot. I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at my photo gallery to find 47 screenshots of nothing, just because I cleaned my screen.

It happens. Every. Single. Time.

Here is how to end this nightmare:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down the page.
3. Tap Advanced features.
4. Tap Motions and gestures.
5. Tap the toggle next to Palm swipe to capture.

DONE.

You can still take screenshots the old-fashioned way (volume down + power button), which is what actual humans have been doing successfully for years. Your phone is now safe from your cleaning habits. Your photo gallery will no longer be flooded with accidental blank screenshots. It's a beautiful day.

Wait, There’s MORE? — The Samsung Bloatware Rabbit Hole

Let's be real: these six features are just the beginning.

Samsung ships essentially their entire app ecosystem pre-installed on every device, and most of it is complete bloat. There's the Samsung browser, the Samsung app store, Samsung's entire productivity suite, Samsung's health app, Samsung's this, Samsung's that — at some point, you realize you're carrying around a Samsung convention in your pocket.

The six features we covered today are the ones that actively interfere with daily use. The ones that make you want to throw your phone into the sun. But there's a whole other layer of Samsung software you can dive into disabling if you're feeling spicy.

The poll results from the Android Authority community actually match my experience almost perfectly. Samsung Keyboard took the top spot at 31% — which tracks, because typing on that thing is a crime against fingers everywhere. The split notification panel came in at 24%, Edge Panels at 19%, and the screenshot gesture at 9%.

We're all suffering together. But now? Now we suffer LESS.

The Bottom Line

Let's wrap this up, because I've given you six features to disable and honestly, that's six more than Samsung deserved to force upon humanity.

Here's the ugly truth: Samsung makes incredible hardware. The Galaxy S26 display is stunning. The cameras are ridiculous. The processors are blazing fast. But the software experience out of the box? It's like eating a gourmet burger wrapped in sandpaper. Why would you do that?

The good news is that with about 15 minutes of tweaking, you can transform your Samsung phone from a bloatware nightmare into the absolute powerhouse it was always meant to be. Disable the garbage. Keep the goods. Profit.

Your turn. What Samsung "feature" makes you want to yeet your phone into the void? Drop it in the comments below. Maybe I'll write a part two. Maybe we'll start a support group. Either way, let's suffer less together. 🔥

Now go forth and disable everything.