In an effort to catch up and overtake the industry leader Apple, manufacturers of Android devices have staged a real arms race - each new Google phone flaunts features and features that should lure users from the iPhone to mobile platform Google. Often, in an effort to create a unique product, they use features, many of which are completely useless, do not work, or are just a marketing gimmick.

The publication offered 10 functions of Android devices that are present in smartphones, but are practically not used by users.

1. Dual shooting mode

This function is present in some models of Samsung and LG smartphones and allows you to simultaneously take pictures from both cameras of the gadget. When photographing something, you can capture your facial expression at that moment, with a small self-portrait appearing in the corner of the main photo. Of course, it can be interesting to remember what kind of grimace you had during a particular event, but overall it is a pleasant trinket, nothing more.

2. Contactless call acceptance

Owners of the most advanced smartphones from Samsung and other devices using the Android platform can enjoy the opportunity to control the gadget without even touching it: the user performs the necessary manipulations by moving his hand over the infrared sensor built into the device.

The paid version of the application has significantly expanded functionality: you can not only receive and make calls, but also turn on the speakerphone, send messages via e-mail about a rejected call and mute the sound if you want to ignore the caller.

The developers are confident that their invention will help people be less distracted by conversations when they are driving, but often mysterious body movements require more time and attention than simply pressing the “Answer” button.

3. Buttons on the back

The vast majority of smartphones and tablets have hardware keys, such as volume buttons or on/off the device, located on the top or side edges, but LG decided to go its own way. At the presentation flagship model"G2" immediately attracted the attention of journalists and consumers to the unusual arrangement of the main buttons - on back cover apparatus.

According to representatives of the Korean corporation, the original decision was dictated by concern for consumers, who have repeatedly complained that, for example, when shooting videos and photos, it is difficult to hold a device with a large screen diagonal in your hands if you have to feel the tiny buttons on its sides. According to company representatives, the innovation makes it easier to use the gadget with one hand, but how practical this solution is is still unclear - among the reviews about this characteristic feature of the smartphone there are both positive and negative.

4. Smart pause

That Samsung smartphones follow the user’s gaze, reminiscent of a “peephole” on the top panel of the screen. The so-called “Smart Pause” - pausing video recording when you look away - is one of the main declared features of the company’s flagship phones. We can call it a “smart pause” front-camera, which “looks” into the eyes of the observer and monitors his attention. As soon as the owner of the phone turns his head away while watching a video, the player automatically pauses and waits for the moment when attention returns again in order to continue playing. A useless feature that is practically not used by Google phone owners.

5. Smart scrolling

It seems that Android manufacturers and application developers hope to eventually wean people off using their hands to control gadgets. Among others, the Korean giant Samsung continues experiments in this direction - Galaxy smartphones S4 and Galaxy Note 3 offer the user to scroll through Internet pages with one movement of the eyes, using the “smart scrolling” function.

The technology was implemented by DigitalOptics Corporation (DOC) and is still more decorative in nature - many are more accustomed to scrolling the old fashioned way using their fingers. However, according to experts, Smart Scroll is only one of the first DOC developments that will be used in gadgets. The company is also developing a facial recognition system and some other projects.

6. Launch the camera by shaking

On most gadgets, entering photo or video camera mode is not difficult - you just need to press one or two buttons. However, Motorola assures that the feature of its flagship “X” is much more convenient: to turn on the camera, you need to “shake” the device twice, and to take a photo, you just need to touch the screen.

Of course, in some cases this allows you to save a fraction of a second, but more often than not, in order to take a successful photo, quick reaction time alone is not enough, and not everyone will like to constantly shake the gadget. Fortunately, the developers have provided the ability to disable quick launch.

7. Intellectual anticipation

Like many other gadget functions, Samsung's Smart Wait feature uses a fancy feature to track the user's eye position. If a person is looking at the screen, the built-in application will not turn off the backlight. Perhaps this is really convenient, but apparently the company admits that the gadget’s overly sensitive reactions to eye movements can get boring - the function can be turned off.

8. Photographing “HTC Zoe”

Smartphones and tablets allow anyone to feel like a professional photographer or film director: specialists from a Cupertino company and device developers in Android based They are coming up with more and more new possibilities for processing images and videos.

The Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, trying to keep up with the market leaders, came up with the “HTC Zoe” system, which allows you to record 3-second videos, from which you can then get high-quality photographs. The problem is that the function is available only to HTC owners, and to view images and videos you will have to use a special service from the manufacturer - HTC Zoe does not allow you to upload videos and pictures to social media like Facebook or Twitter.

9. Photo with sound

Samsung introduced this feature specifically for those who lack suitable sound when viewing photos. When you take a photo using the patented Sound & Shot technology, you can record a short comment (eight seconds maximum) that will be played while you look at the photo. Unfortunately, this function is practically useless - it is impossible to transfer the image to a computer along with the audio track.

10. Group Play function

Wireless headsets and headphones that use the Bluetooth data transfer protocol are much more convenient than outdated wired ones peripheral devices. This saves people from having to get tangled up in wires between the gadget and the headset, which are also constantly torn and pinched.

Samsung went even further - it suggests using wireless transmission data for playing music on devices within the capabilities of the gadget’s Wi-Fi transmitter. In other words, you can play your favorite song not only on your smartphone, but also on all those that are in close proximity, of course, provided that they are also Samsung products and they have this function.

Sometimes impatience costs us too much...

“Follow the rhythm of life of nature: its secret is patience,” Ralph Emerson.

Life goes on as usual despite our impatience. The trouble is that it is because of our impatience that we cannot fully appreciate its beauty and watch with joy as it goes. This is where all the tension and dissatisfaction in life comes from. Especially today, with the fast pace of modern life, reducing the level of impatience could help reduce tension in the world.

Fortunately, much of what surrounds us teaches us that it is possible to endure. For example, the impatience of youth eventually turns into patience, because... growing up begins. An impatient artist becomes patient once the work is completed. Traffic jams become bearable because you have arrived.

Impatience, however, can come at a cost. In so many things in people's lives, impatience has led to things that might never have happened: losing a true friend over a five-minute conversation; bad grades at school due to lack of attention to what teachers said; great and numerous opportunities passed by because people were prevented from knowing about them by anger and anxiety - the by-products of impatience.

The Art of Intellectual Waiting

It is clear that impatience is not an emotion that only befalls the unfortunate few. It is true that some people have a lot of impatience, but everyone has a little impatience.

Patience can be called "the art of intellectual waiting" - waiting with purpose, positive intention and a sincere belief that waiting is an essential element for all things. Patience is a way to maintain a state of inner lightness and flexibility if you are ready to be impatient. Especially when the mind wants quick results, not movement in the flow.

Impatience is a recipe for frustration, misunderstanding and poor decisions. With a light heart, based on intentions and experience, we can change everything - replacing impatience with patience. This is the main secret of life. When our hearts are truly willing to endure, then our minds will begin to cooperate, suppressing their resistance to take deliberate steps towards the goal.

Although we don't always consciously acknowledge that we're already impatient, it's certainly not a reflexive emotion. There is no reason why we cannot remain patient in endless situations during a difficult day. Here are some common examples:

• Meeting a neighbor, colleague or acquaintance while we are going to the office, store, meeting or other place
• Driving in traffic
• Waiting for an endlessly rotating waiting circle on a computer screen
• Listening to a long story about something that happened to someone
• Inability to sit still, looking at the clock towards the end of the day at work or school

Think back to your thoughts when you found yourself in any of the situations above. Did you tell yourself: "I don't want to be here", or "I don't have time for this". How much effort would it take for you to go to your heart and say to yourself: "I have a choice. I shouldn't be impatient. I can live with this situation."

The biggest ideas in human history have emerged from sudden bursts of inspiration. Then, when patience prepared them for the world.

Patience through inner lightness

Even people who meditate and lead from the heart can still experience some impatience, but there are practices that can help reduce our impatience to a mild or subtle feeling that we can easily acknowledge and let go of.

The main goal of this practice is to achieve inner lightness, when the choice not to be impatient comes naturally and quickly.

A state of ease is a salvation for the heart and mind when it comes to action. Instead of the usual old ways of reacting to the stresses and challenges of the world around us, we can take a little time to turn to what is in our hearts - love, caring and compassion.

A state of ease can be achieved within a few minutes using several methods (techniques) any time you feel at risk of falling into the grip of impatience. If you practice these techniques on a regular basis, you can increase the flow of your life and significantly reduce moments of impatience.

Ways (techniques) of developing patience:

• If you feel impatient, recognize that experiencing feelings such as impatience, frustration, anxiety, judgment, or mental blockage is a serious destabilizing factor that prevents you from acting in a measured and clear-headed manner.
• Take a short time out to do “heart breathing”: you need to breathe a little slower than usual and imagine that you are breathing through your heart or chest.
• When you do “heart breathing,” imagine that with each breath a feeling of patience and inner lightness appears in you.
• Fix these feelings of patience and inner peace in your heart. Do this while solving your daily questions, problems and communication.

Remember that having genuine patience means the absence of many of the by-products of impatience: negative emotions such as anger, frustration, despair, guilt, etc. Instead of exhausting yourself and creating negative energy, you can increase your energy and flexibility. Genuine patience means approaching a situation with a positive attitude, caring, understanding and genuine concern.

Long lines at the store, traffic jams and slow computers will not disappear instantly as you gain inner lightness. However, it helps us tune our psyche and emotional state to respond to the situations that life throws at us in the most intelligent and effective way.

The shell (interface) is the calling card of any Android smartphone. The degree of satisfaction with the device as a whole depends on how well thought out and easy to use it is. Today, one of the most common shells among Android smartphones is TouchWiz, a proprietary shell for Samsung smartphones. The latest edition of TouchWiz, which debuted with this year's flagship Samsung Galaxy S4, brings with it many changes. Soon this shell will be used on all new devices of the manufacturer. In order not to repeat ourselves every time in reviews of new Samsung products, we described all the features of the TouchWiz shell in a separate material.

The current TouchWiz shell is based on the operating system - the most current at the time of writing this review, not counting smartphones developed jointly with Google. In this regard, we note that updating TouchWiz to the current version can be expected along with firmware containing Android 4.2.2 and vice versa, firmware containing an update to the operating system to version 4.2.2 will also carry the latest edition of the TouchWiz shell. By tradition, the description of the interface begins with the lock screen, that is, what the user first sees when turning on the smartphone. But in this case, we will move somewhat away from the usual framework and start from the very beginning - the first time you turn on the smartphone.

Special and basic settings

The first thing the user is asked to do is select the interface language. Then there are two options: go to “special features” or “Next”. “Accessibility features” mean enabling automatic screen rotation when changing orientation, backlight timeout, voice pronunciation of passwords you enter, options for answering/ending calls, and others. If everything is very clear with the first three points, then the subsequent ones require a more detailed description.

Answer/End Calls includes settings for answering and ending calls. All possible options can be seen in the given screenshot. These include receiving a call using the hardware Home key, a separate key on the touch screen, and also using your voice. You can end the call as follows: traditional way, by pressing a key on the touch screen, or by pressing the hardware “Power” key on the right side of the case. Thus, the need to access the touch screen is completely eliminated, which can be useful in cases where the smartphone does not have a special sensitive layer that allows it to respond to touches by any objects. For example, in winter, when your hands are in gloves and you need to answer the phone. You will either have to remove them or use the described settings in advance.

Following the settings for answering calls, there are font size settings, displaying the “special features” menu when you hold down the power key, saving all selected settings and then sending them via Bluetooth, NFC or transferring them to a computer, scaling the image on the screen with a triple press, displaying in negative , color adjustment, on-screen text-to-speech conversion, sound adjustment, auxiliary menu appearance and partial blocking touch screen. As you can see, there are more opportunities than you can imagine, and few of them are aware of the presence of most of them. Samsung owners Galaxy S4 knows. A significant portion of these features are designed to help people with disabilities, which is commendable because such devices are very difficult to find.

Having configured or skipped the settings with special features, we continue to personalize our gadget - we set the date, time, and also add existing or create new accounts in Samsung account and Google. Accounting Samsung entry allows you to automatically archive messages and call logs in case you need to restore them. Google has something similar. For example, if you previously used another Android smartphone where a Google account was set up, when setting up a new device, it will be enough to add it so that the applications available on the old smartphone are installed on the new one. The same applies to saved passwords for Wi-Fi networks, browser bookmarks, contacts, photos, calendar, and so on.

The next important step in setting up your smartphone is “Basic Features”. As with setting up special features, there is a very large number of various items here. Let's list them all in order: S Beam– function for wireless (with using NFC And Wi-Fi Direct) exchange data with a similar device. To exchange, just turn on the S Beam in the menu and bring the back side to another smartphone;

Guidance– the principle of operation is explained in the screenshots;

Gesture control– control the device using gestures without having to touch the screen. This is another feature that makes it easier to work with a smartphone in difficult weather conditions;

Intelligent anticipation– the smartphone follows your gaze using the front camera and, depending on whether you are looking at it or not, turns the display backlight on or off;

Smart pause– the principle of operation is the same as that of smart wait, but is used to control the video player - if the user looks away, playback is paused and resumes when he looks at the screen again;

Smart Scroll– works in the browser and mail client. When the screen is tilted to the side, the smartphone automatically moves to the next or previous letter, or turns pages;

Easy mode– a simplified view of the shell, designed for users who have not encountered Android smartphones;

Display optimization– the last settings menu, in which the user is asked to set an optimized display mode that works in the camera, gallery, video player and browser. Optimization affects the adjustment of color balance, saturation and sharpness of the image.

That's it, with preliminary settings it's over! You can start using your smartphone.

And only now can we move on to describing the capabilities of the Desktop, Lock Screen, Notification Panel and more.

Lock screen

The lock screen is the first thing an Android smartphone user encounters when waking up from sleep mode. On the lock screen, from top to bottom, the following information is located: a clock or a personal message (you can choose a color, font type) with the clock and date, as well as the name of the operator.

If desired, you can also add five shortcuts here for quick access to applications, and remove the hint on how to unlock the screen. In addition, the user can choose how the screen will be unlocked. To do this, he is offered seven options to choose from, including an option without blocking.

No less interesting is the ability to automatically remove the blocking when you are in certain areas (determined by Wi-Fi networks). If the auto-unlock mode is active, the smartphone itself will unlock the screen in places specified by the user, while the screen lock will be disabled. There is also the possibility of choosing one of two unlocking effects or using the standard one built in by yourself. operating system. Finally, last option unlocking using voice. To do this, you need to press the “Home” key and say a predefined or existing phrase. It is worth noting that voice control in the new Samsung models implemented at a very good level. You can see how voice control works in the video review.

The last thing to talk about when describing the lock screen is widgets. We have already written about one of them - a watch or a personal message, but there are many others. To access them, you need to swipe the screen in the clock widget area from left to right or right to left. If lock screen widgets are enabled in the menu, then when you move from right to left, you will be taken to a page with 11 shortcuts, or launch the camera. All 11 shortcuts can be replaced with any others available on the device. If you slide the screen from left to right, you will find yourself in a window with many widgets, some of which are pre-installed and some that you have downloaded. In total, the lock screen, in addition to the main window, can contain four additional windows with custom widgets, and one with quick launch shortcuts or access to the camera. To date, TouchWiz has the most extensive options for personalizing the Lock Screen.

Desktop

The desktop is the screen where the user ends up after unlocking the smartphone. It can contain from one to seven

windows with widgets and shortcuts located on them.

Clarification: if the smartphone was locked while an application was running on it, then when the lock is removed, it will be displayed and not the Desktop. To get to the Desktop you need to press the “Home” button.

There are five shortcuts at the bottom of the screen: four for accessing applications and one for calling up the Application List. The location of the shortcuts can be changed at your discretion. In addition to shortcuts, there may be folders with shortcuts at the bottom of the screen. To create them, you need to call the context menu (using the “Menu” key) and select “Create Folder” or touch the shortcut and do not release it until the icon for creating folders appears in the upper left corner of the screen, where you need to drag the shortcut you selected . The third way to create folders is to hold on a free part of the Desktop and then select the “Folder” item in the menu that appears. Folders can contain more than 35 shortcuts.

In order to display all desktop windows on one screen, you need to move two fingers. In the menu that appears, you can choose which window will be the main one or delete unused ones.

Moving between windows is carried out using the standard method for touch devices - scrolling, or by pressing and holding on the area above the shortcuts at the bottom of the screen, where there are two, three, five (depending on the number of Desktop windows) rectangles, one of which looks like a house.

Installing widgets and shortcuts on the Desktop is a simple and straightforward task. To do this, you need to drag the object you need from the corresponding section or click and hold on the free space of the Desktop, and then select the desired item in the window that appears. When you install any of them, thumbnails of all windows appear at the bottom of the screen with a schematic representation of the widgets and shortcuts located on them, which show where there is free space left. If free space no, but the Desktop allows you to add another window, the smartphone will automatically perform this operation for you. Some of the widgets support scaling - another way to compete for free space.

List of applications

Application list – a menu where all the applications available on the smartphone are collected. From here you can go to the “Widgets” and “Downloaded” tabs.

Here, as on the Desktop, folder creation is supported. True, unlike the Desktop, there is only one option for creating folders - through the context menu. All labels are arranged in a 4x5 matrix. Labels can be swapped, sorted alphabetically, in list form, or at your discretion. From here you can also send links to applications installed by the user using any of the available methods, as well as hide any of them.

Notification panel

The notification panel is a window that can be accessed by swiping down the screen from its top edge. It contains notifications about current events (letters, messages, information about application activity, etc.), icons for controlling various operating modes of the smartphone, as well as a brightness adjustment scale. By clicking on the icon in the upper right corner, you are taken to a menu with all possible settings icons. There are a total of 20 different icons. To change the operating mode of a particular module, just touch it. If you want to go to the settings of this parameter, you need to hold your finger on it for a few seconds.

Telephone functions: calls, contacts, messages

With each new generation, smartphones acquire more and more new functionality, but despite the progress, the smartphone still remains a means of communication, therefore, it is used for making calls, sending and receiving messages. Samsung does not forget about these functions, improving these parameters with each new version shells. The digital dialing keyboard contains not only numbers, but also letters of the Latin and Cyrillic layout. This means that when you dial a number, the smartphone automatically matches the entered data with contacts from phone book not only by phone number, but also by letters.

During a conversation, the user has the following functions: turning on the speakerphone, turning off the microphone, connecting a Bluetooth headset, as well as turning on high volume, noise reduction, and adjusting the sound (adaptive, soft or ringing). In addition, during the call you can go to contacts, notes and messages. If the number to which the call was made is not saved, at the end of the conversation you will be asked to add it to your contacts.

The call log groups identical numbers, showing in brackets on the right the number of incoming and/or outgoing calls to the same number. To find out detailed information about received calls, you need to click on the number you are interested in.

When making a call, the contact picture is displayed on half the screen. For speed dial You just need to swipe the number across the contact field from left to right. To send a message, from right to left. Simple and very convenient!

A huge amount of information can be added to each contact in the phone book, ranging from a personalized ringtone for voice and video calls to messages. In addition, a contact can contain a date of birth, more than ten phone numbers, the same number of events, one of several call options and a lot of other information. In the settings you can set which contacts will be displayed, all or only those that have phone number, specify the sorting type: first name, last name and display: first name, last name.

The TouchWiz shell text keyboard supports predictive input (T9) and gesture typing. By adding a media file to a message, it is automatically formatted as multimedia. Using the volume keys, you can change the font size, and by pressing the menu key, you can add emoticons or text, and you can also set the message to be delayed by setting the time and date when it will be sent. If you wish, you can use a translator, although the Cyrillic alphabet is not yet supported. The last thing you can do with the message is to add the recipient to spam numbers.

In the message settings, the user specifies when the limit is reached, old messages and MMS will be deleted automatically. Here you can also find settings for receiving reports, SMS and MMS centers, but more interesting are the choice of message background and style. In addition, in the settings you can set an alert in the notification panel about incoming messages, turn on the screen backlight when received, a ringtone and vibration, the frequency with which the smartphone will remind you of an unread message and whether to show the message text in the status bar.

In addition to the described capabilities, the TouchWiz shell is distinguished by a set of pre-installed software, including the well-known Premium Suite, which we considered separately using the example of the Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphone and the ChatOn messenger. In order not to repeat ourselves, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the set of applications included in the Premium Suite package by following the link; here we will concentrate on the remaining programs and utilities. Clock – a set of four utilities: alarm clock, world time, stopwatch and timer. There is no need to explain the purpose of each, we will only note the capabilities of the alarm clock, since it has something to describe. So, in addition to the ability to ring at a given time, the alarm clock allows you to specify the day of the week, select the melody and type of signal, its volume and trigger only in specified places, set to pause with a specified repetition frequency and, best of all, has an intelligent signal. Triggering based on a given location is useful in cases where you are not at home. Having determined by network or GPS coordinates that the subscriber is in a different location, the alarm clock will not go off, even if it is usually supposed to wake you up that day. Convenient if you travel frequently. Pause will be useful for those who find it difficult to wake up from just one alarm, and the smart alarm is one of the most pleasant features of TouchWiz. The user sets the time before the alarm goes off when this signal turns on. Its main difference from an alarm clock is that the melody starts playing at a minimum volume, and the melody itself is the sounds of nature. As a result, before the alarm goes off, you will already be warned by the pleasant sounds of nature, which will help you avoid a bad mood in the morning.

Calculator with additional functions(in landscape mode) allows you to choose from three font size options.

Voice recordings can be saved to the device’s memory or to a card, in stereo or mono mode using noise reduction during recording.

We will separately talk about applications for listening to music, FM radio and watching videos. The audio player can sort songs by playlists, albums, artists, music square and folders. Playlists include: favorites, popular files, latest files or recently added.

But in Samsung GALAXY The S4 has done a lot to improve the user experience, so as soon as you turn on the device for the first time, you will be greeted by the proprietary TouchWiz 5.0 interface. There are a lot of differences from regular Android 4.2.2. Firstly, these are their icons; long-time users of Samsung smartphones are very familiar with them. Secondly, the notification menu is designed differently. A huge plus of TouchWiz 5.0 is that here you can disable or enable a variety of functions without going to settings, let's try to list them:

• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• Turn off vibration
• Rotate the screen
• Mobile data (disabling data)
• Lock mode
• Power Saving Mode
• Screen Mirroring (transferring an image to another device)
• “Two active windows” mode
• Wi-Fi access (work as a hotspot)
• S-Beam
• Guidance
• Gesture control
• Driving mode
• Intelligent anticipation
• Smart scrolling
• Synchronization
• Offline mode

Let me remind you that all these options can be turned on or off directly in the notifications menu, this is very convenient. Moreover, in the settings you can choose which buttons will be shown first.

Continuing the conversation about TouchWiz 5.0, the keyboard is also different: there is word prediction and T9 continuous input mode. It’s worth mentioning especially about the last function: you don’t need to type each letter separately, just press your finger on the screen and move it from one letter to another. For example, it helps to create messages several times faster. Moreover, when typing, you will see words above a row of numbers; you can always select the one you need, and this also affects the typing speed. In addition, in the settings Samsung keyboards You can enable the "Cursor Control" feature. Let us explain with an example what will happen in this case. Let's say you're typing messages and you need to go to the first line. You need to press your finger on the keyboard and use it like a touchpad on a laptop: a sharp upward movement will take you to another field, another one will move the cursor to the contact selection field. Handwriting will appeal to those who are used to writing notes; In the settings you can change the type and time of recognition, thickness and color of the pen.

Settings are also optimized, this is an essential part of the TouchWiz 5.0 interface. You can see bookmarks here so that the user can quickly navigate and select the required item. In the “Connections” tab there are items Wi-Fi settings(there is work on a schedule, it’s convenient), Bluetooth, NFC, S-Beam (high-speed data transfer between mobile devices), DLNA, Screen Mirroring (smartphone screen sharing), data usage, network selection, Wi-Fi synchronization. Let us remind you that the proprietary Kies program is used for synchronization; we will talk about its capabilities separately.

In the “My Device” tab - the main settings are the screen lock, where you can select the unlock type. There is a simple movement, and facial recognition, and face and voice recognition, and a pattern, and a PIN code, and a password. There are clues about which type of blocking is the most reliable. Lock screen widgets, shortcuts, auto-unlock zone, and activation on the lock screen can be configured here (you can “wake up” the device with your voice). Display settings - wallpaper, notification panel, multiple windows, screen mode, brightness, auto-rotate, timeout, screen saver. Interestingly, you can customize the font type and size. In the same menu, you can configure the key backlight, enable display of the charge in percentage, auto-adjust brightness and sensitivity, this is the main thing. In the “My Device” tab, you can also configure the operation of the indicator light, select a melody and sound alerts, vibration type, activate the security assistant - in emergency situation The device is able to take pictures with the front and rear cameras and send pictures to selected contacts along with a pre-composed message. To activate, you need to simultaneously press the volume buttons. One of the most interesting items in the “My Device” tab is “Motion and Gestures”, this is where the fantasy begins. Relatively speaking, communication with Samsung GALAXY S4 for the user reaches new level. Using gestures, you can call up basic information on a locked device by simply moving your palm over the display, scroll through pages with your gaze - the front camera tracks the position of the pupils; When you reach the end of the page in the browser, it will automatically scroll. It is even possible to accept a call by swiping your palm over the display, and in the settings you can choose to activate the speakerphone. And Samsung GALAXY S4 can dial a number automatically if you look at messages from the subscriber and then bring the smartphone to your ear. We highly recommend that you carefully study all these new features of working with the Samsung GALAXY S4 in order to speed up and simplify the most common actions. We recommend watching our video about special Samsung features GALAXY S4.

The “Accounts” tab contains your accounts, for example this Google data, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, in this menu you can add or delete account. Finally, in the “Options” tab there are items “Location”, security settings, program manager, information about the battery, memory, setting the date and time, viewing device information. It is in the last paragraph that “Software update” is located; if available, a message will appear in the notification menu. Let us remind you that you only need a Wi-Fi connection and a little time until the update occurs.

We will talk about some of the capabilities of TouchWiz in other materials, but here we need to add a couple more points - novice users sometimes do not notice them. We recommend that you select “Calls” in the “My Device” tab and configure the speaker sound, we especially recommend using the Adapt Sound function. You will need headphones and a little time, but then the sound will really match your preferences. At the same point, you can activate the “Noise Removal” function; we recommend doing this; your interlocutors will probably note that the quality of speech transmission has improved. And also about the “Calls” item, be sure to check the “Call louder in your bag” checkbox, this thing works both in your pocket and in your bag.

Control

A little about basic capabilities device control, will be especially useful for beginners. To switch between running applications, you need to press and hold Home button, you can scroll through the list; if you hold your finger on the application, a menu will appear - you can remove the program from the list or view information. In the same menu below there are three items: go to menu running applications, RAM cleaning, information about loaded programs and capacity system memory. Next to it are buttons to launch Google Now and remove all programs from the list. If you press and hold the “Back” button, you activate the multi-window mode, which we talked about in the first material of the project.

If you click on the menu button, a list appears additional options, this is adding an application to the desktop, creating a folder, setting wallpaper, changing the page, searching and going to settings. To change the location of desktops or their number, you need to select “Change Page” in the menu; you can select any one and drag it to the trash can or add selected widgets and shortcuts to this segment.

And don’t forget, the most important control element in the Samsung GALAXY S4 is the display, and you can work with the display not only with unprotected hands, but also with gloved hands - go to settings, “My Device” tab, display, auto-adjust sensitivity, in the cold season We recommend turning it on for greater convenience.

Lock screen

When you press the power button, samsung screen The GALAXY S4 lights up and you see the welcome message “A companion in your world.” The device is truly your reliable friend, capable of guessing a variety of desires and helping in a variety of matters - but now it’s worth saying a few words about the capabilities of this very blocking mode. In the settings, you can add your favorite applications to the screen, change your personal message - for example, instead of “Companion in your world,” write something else. You don't need to unlock the display to find out the information you need. By swiping your finger at the top (the zone can also be customized), you can go to the menu of favorite programs and launch the one you need right from here, view your mail and immediately access the program, check notifications. Here you can add the Samsung WatchON client (remote control for home appliances), Yahoo News, Google posts+, music player widget. To delete an item, press and hold your finger in the center of the screen, then slide the panel to the trash can from the top.

As you understand, Samsung has done a truly titanic job so that the user of the Samsung GALAXY S4 can communicate with the smartphone on some special, sometimes intuitive level. Many are amazed at how much this amazing device simplifies life, helps in business, how every detail, every menu item is thought out here. Believe me, all this is just the beginning of our story about the Samsung GALAXY S4.

In an effort to catch up and overtake industry leader Apple, Android device manufacturers have staged a real arms race - each new Google phone flaunts features and features that should lure users from the iPhone to Google's mobile platform. Often, in an effort to create a unique product, they use features, many of which are completely useless, do not work, or are just a marketing gimmick.

The publication Publy proposed 10 functions of Android devices that are present in smartphones, but are practically not used by users.

1. Dual shooting mode

This function is present in some models of Samsung and LG smartphones and allows you to simultaneously take pictures from both cameras of the gadget. When photographing something, you can capture your facial expression at that moment, with a small self-portrait appearing in the corner of the main photo. Of course, it can be interesting to remember what kind of grimace you had during a particular event, but overall it is a pleasant trinket, nothing more.

2. Contactless call acceptance

Owners of the most advanced smartphones from Samsung and other devices using the Android platform can enjoy the opportunity to control the gadget without even touching it: the user performs the necessary manipulations by moving his hand over the infrared sensor built into the device.

The paid version of the application has significantly expanded functionality: you can not only receive and make calls, but also turn on speakerphone, send email messages about a rejected call, and mute the sound if you want to ignore the caller.

The developers are confident that their invention will help people be less distracted by conversations when they are driving, but often mysterious body movements require more time and attention than simply pressing the “Answer” button.

3. Buttons on the back

The vast majority of smartphones and tablets have hardware keys, such as volume buttons or on/off the device, located on the top or side edges, but LG decided to go its own way. At the presentation of the flagship model “G2”, the attention of journalists and consumers was immediately attracted by the unusual location of the main buttons - on the back cover of the device.

According to representatives of the Korean corporation, the original decision was dictated by concern for consumers, who have repeatedly complained that, for example, when shooting videos and photos, it is difficult to hold a device with a large screen diagonal in your hands if you have to feel the tiny buttons on its sides. According to company representatives, the innovation makes it easier to use the gadget with one hand, but how practical this solution is is still unclear - among the reviews about this characteristic feature of the smartphone there are both positive and negative.

4. Smart pause

The fact that Samsung smartphones follow the user’s gaze is reminded by the “peephole” on the top panel of the screen. The so-called “Smart Pause” - pausing video recording when you look away - is one of the main declared features of the company’s flagship phones. It can be called a “smart pause” by the front camera, which “looks” into the eyes of the observer and monitors his attention. As soon as the owner of the phone turns his head away while watching a video, the player automatically pauses and waits for the moment when attention returns again in order to continue playing. A useless feature that is practically not used by Google phone owners.

5. Smart scrolling

It seems that Android manufacturers and application developers hope to eventually wean people off using their hands to control gadgets. Among others, the Korean giant Samsung continues experiments in this direction - the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 smartphones offer the user to scroll Internet pages with one movement of the eyes, using the “smart scrolling” function.

The technology was implemented by DigitalOptics Corporation (DOC) and is still more decorative in nature - many are more accustomed to scrolling the old fashioned way using their fingers. However, according to experts, Smart Scroll is only one of the first DOC developments that will be used in gadgets. The company is also developing a facial recognition system and some other projects.

6. Launch the camera by shaking

On most gadgets, entering photo or video camera mode is not difficult - you just need to press one or two buttons. However, Motorola assures that the feature of its flagship “X” is much more convenient: to turn on the camera, you need to “shake” the device twice, and to take a photo, you just need to touch the screen.

Of course, in some cases this allows you to save a fraction of a second, but more often than not, in order to take a successful photo, quick reaction time alone is not enough, and not everyone will like to constantly shake the gadget. Fortunately, the developers have provided the ability to disable fast launch.

7. Intellectual anticipation

Like many other gadget functions, Samsung's Smart Wait feature uses a fancy feature to track the user's eye position. If a person is looking at the screen, the built-in application will not turn off the backlight. Perhaps this is really convenient, but apparently the company admits that the gadget’s overly sensitive reactions to eye movements can get boring - the function can be turned off.

8. Photographing “HTC Zoe”

Smartphones and tablets allow anyone to feel like a professional photographer or film director: specialists from the Cupertino company and developers of Android devices are coming up with more and more new possibilities for processing images and videos.

The Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, trying to keep up with the market leaders, came up with the “HTC Zoe” system, which allows you to record 3-second videos, from which you can then get high-quality photographs. The problem is that the function is available only to HTC owners, and to view images and videos you will have to use a special service from the manufacturer - HTC Zoe does not allow you to upload videos and pictures to social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

9. Photo with sound

Samsung introduced this feature specifically for those who lack suitable sound when viewing photos. When you take a photo using the patented Sound & Shot technology, you can record a short comment (eight seconds maximum) that will be played while you look at the photo. Unfortunately, this function is practically useless - it is impossible to transfer the image to a computer along with the audio track.

10. Group Play function

Wireless headsets and headphones that use the Bluetooth data transfer protocol are much more convenient than outdated wired peripherals. This saves people from having to get tangled up in wires between the gadget and the headset, which are also constantly torn and pinched.

Samsung has gone even further - it offers to use wireless data transmission to play music on devices that are within the capabilities of the gadget's Wi-Fi transmitter. In other words, you can play your favorite song not only on your smartphone, but also on all those that are in close proximity, of course, provided that they are also Samsung products and they have this function.