Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus - advice and recommendations?

The Darkness

I've just gotten a new S9 plus and I was hoping to get some tips, tricks and/or helpful advice wrt to setup, registrations, security, apps and widgets etc. that any of you might be able to give, for someone new to samsung devices.

What's the best way to get rid of facebook and other pre-loaded bloatware, if possible?

Is there any way to download more widgets so as to better personalise and specify/access functions on the homescreen etc? (as the existing choices are extremely limited)

My previous phone was an HTC M8, so quite the technology leap, and I'm used to and very much prefer being able to set up the phone just the way I like it; so any advice or means of improving such will be greatly appreciated indeed.

Also, what's the best music player for a Samsung?

As, astonishingly, it doesn't seem to have a stock music player (apart from the atrocious Google Play Music) - which is barely believable, for a phone with such a high-end media capability. I have about 100 Gigs of music on my SD card and have it well organised by folders, which is something, very annoyingly, that a lot of players seem to not want to do or offer as an option; so any players that anyone can think of that do this well, would certainly be at the top of the list.

Any and all advice, criticism and/or info will be very gratefully received - thanks in advance!

The Darkness

Also - any recommendations wrt cases (preferably low profile and unobtrusive) and glass screen protectors would be very gladly accepted too.

Cheers!

GustavoFring

You can make the menus pretty much identical to the HTC, even the icons with some minor tweaking of the theme.

Glass screen protector - have a whitestone dome on my wife's S9+ and despite her best efforts it's protected the screen well.

One of the better thin cases is this one:
https://mnmlcase.com/products/galaxy-s9-plus-mnml-case

Regarding music, most people just stream these days, so there's not much point in phone manufacturers investing resources in a player which virtually nobody will use.

Samsung music is available on Google play, though. Haven't tried it myself.

drunkmonkey

Not sure how it's on a s9+ but nova launcher prime is a great app for getting the phone to behave exactly how you want it.

sentient_6

There's any amount of good music players out there. Shuttle is my personal favourite. Samsung music player is good too and can be got from either app store.

The Darkness

GustavoFring wrote: »

You can make the menus pretty much identical to the HTC, even the icons with some minor tweaking of the theme.

Glass screen protector - have a whitestone dome on my wife's S9+ and despite her best efforts it's protected the screen well.

One of the better thin cases is this one:
https://mnmlcase.com/products/galaxy-s9-plus-mnml-case

Ha, cheers for the screen protector recommendation - especially pertinent considering your other half's seemingly extensive in-field testing.

That case looks nice too - have you used one or seen it up close yourself?

And how would you go about tweaking the themes?

I've managed to get it more or less as I want it, with a few outstanding issues; although opening the lock screen seems to be a little too dependant on pressing the power button for my liking - and the bixby button/function is rather annoying, when picking the phone up blind and then pressing it by accident etc.

The Darkness

Basil3 wrote: »

Regarding music, most people just stream these days, so there's not much point in phone manufacturers investing resources in a player which virtually nobody will use.

Samsung music is available on Google play, though. Haven't tried it myself.

I think you might well be surprised just how many people don't rely on streaming to listen to their music. Certainly a lot of the music I like to listen to often isn't available on streaming platforms and I'd prefer to avoid being tied to a need for internet connection to do so also, particularly in a country as badly served for it as ours. Not to mention preferring to avoid being profiled on my musical tastes while I do so too.

Also, if Samsung produce a player, then they should include it on their devices IMO; after all, they include/impose plenty of other nonsense bloatware that no-one wants or needs or asks for - and a music player app would certainly be of more use or value than most of that.

The Darkness

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Not sure how it's on a s9+ but nova launcher prime is a great app for getting the phone to behave exactly how you want it.

Cheers drunkmonkey, I hadn't heard of that app before; and from reading the reviews it sounds like the business - I'll definitely be checking it out.

The Darkness

sentient_6 wrote: »

There's any amount of good music players out there. Shuttle is my personal favourite. Samsung music player is good too and can be got from either app store.

Thanks a lot sentient_6; I hadn't heard of shuffle before, so another option for the list of potentials, happy days!

GustavoFring

The Darkness wrote: »

Ha, cheers for the screen protector recommendation - especially pertinent considering your other half's seemingly extensive in-field testing.

That case looks nice too - have you used one or seen it up close yourself?

And how would you go about tweaking the themes?

I've managed to get it more or less as I want it, with a few outstanding issues; although opening the lock screen seems to be a little too dependant on pressing the power button for my liking - and the bixby button/function is rather annoying, when picking the phone up blind and then pressing it by accident etc.

I've had that case on another phone and it's very minimal, mainly for protecting against bumps and scratches though.

There's a bixby remapper app available and you can set it to do nothing with it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamworks.bxactions

The Darkness

The Darkness wrote: »

I think you might well be surprised just how many people don't rely on streaming to listen to their music. Certainly a lot of the music I like to listen to often isn't available on streaming platforms and I'd prefer to avoid being tied to a need for internet connection to do so also, particularly in a country as badly served for it as ours. Not to mention preferring to avoid being profiled on my musical tastes while I do so too.

Also, if Samsung produce a player, then they should include it on their devices IMO; after all, they include/impose plenty of other nonsense bloatware that no-one wants or needs or asks for - and a music player app would certainly be of more use or value than most of that.

I don't personally know anyone who doesn't use a streaming service for music, so I'd say it's a very low percentage. You can download for offline listening as well, so you're not dependent on an internet connection.

Regardless, surely it's a good thing that you can download the Sammy music player, and you're not forced to have it on your device. Options are good.

The Darkness

GustavoFring wrote: »

I've had that case on another phone and it's very minimal, mainly for protecting against bumps and scratches though.

There's a bixby remapper app available and you can set it to do nothing with it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamworks.bxactions

Ya, it looks like a nice case alright and exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Is it reasonably protective?
I'm not expecting anything bulletproof, just that it'll protect against the odd drop etc.

Also, do you know what's the situation wrt shipping from the US - would there be any issues with customs etc?

Thanks for the Bixby remapper app link too btw, much appreciated!

lukin

I bought the Galaxy S9 last week and I am a little disappointed that there doesn't seem to be a case and screen protector that fit together so that both the screen and the back and sides of the phone are protected.
I had a Galaxy S7 before this and I had an Otterbox case and screen protector for it and both could be placed on the phone at the same time. I realise the S9 (and the S8 even though I skipped that one) has a raised screen so it is harder to get a cover on it as well as a case but I am still surprised.
I bought this case:https://www.otterbox.ie/en-ie/galaxy-s9/defender-series-screenless-edition-case/sam2-galaxy-s9.html
and this screen protector:https://www.otterbox.ie/en-ie/galaxy-s9/alpha-glass-screen-protector/sam38-galaxy-s9.html

I guessed I couldn't use both at the same time but I said I would try it anyway. I put on the case and then the screen protector. I couldn't put on the clips that hold the screen protector in place while I had the case on so instead I put a small piece of blu-tack on each of the four corners of the screen protector to hold it in place.
That didn't work out because it kept sliding so I took it off. While I was cleaning the blu-tack off the screen protector it cracked in my hand so I can't use that anymore.
It seems to be that you can either have a screen protector on it or a case on it but not both. I have the case on it now but no screen protector which means if I drop it the screen will probably break.
Does anyone know of a screen protector for this phone that can be used along with a case?

Mac B

In the past I've used Poweramp for music (I usually stream now) and was happy with it. There is a trial version to try before you buy.