Samsung Galaxy S26: First Things To Do

Quick summary: Here are the first things I do on the base Galaxy S26. It’s a really nice, powerful small phone, and a few of these differ a bit from the S26 Ultra.

Phone app

1. Call screening: in the Phone app, tap the three dots > Settings > Call screening and turn it on. You can let the call assistant auto screen calls (for suspected spam or unknown callers), ask who’s calling and why, and show you the conversation. You can still pick up or switch to a text call any time, and change the assistant’s voice and language.
2. Call captions: shows what each person says on screen. Great if you have trouble hearing.
3. Scam detection: it analyzes calls with unknown callers and warns you about possible scams with a tone and/or vibration. I’d turn on both, especially for older family members.
4. Caller ID and spam protection: turn it on.

Camera

5. 4K video: in Video, set UHD and pick 60 or 30fps on both the rear and front cameras. Do the same in More > Portrait video.
6. Camera settings: keep scanning on, set Auto FPS to 30 and 60fps for better low-light video, turn on location tags, and turn off the shutter sound. Under shooting methods, keep voice commands and show palm on.
7. 24MP photos: in Camera assistant > Advanced resolution options, choose 24MP and turn on keeping it, so the camera stays at 24MP from the 50MP sensor.

Home screen and quick panel

8. Home screen settings: turn on lock home screen layout (great if you keep moving icons by accident), add new apps to home screen and swipe down for notification panel. Adjust the grid if you want.
9. Alphabetical apps: swipe up, tap the three dots > Sort > Alphabetical order.
10. Panel settings: swipe down, tap the pencil > Panel settings and switch from Separate to Together. Then rearrange, remove or add toggles (like a screenshot button) and tap Done.

Settings

11. Wi-Fi notifications: Connections > Wi-Fi > three dots > Advanced settings, turn off Wi-Fi network notifications.
12. Galaxy AI: go through each feature and turn it on. I’d leave Process data only on device off, because you get less functionality. Turn on Now Nudge for Samsung Keyboard suggestions based on things like upcoming events.
13. Dolby Atmos: in Sounds and vibration > Sound quality and effects, turn it on and set it to Auto. Change your ringtones here too.
14. Notifications: pick Detailed pop-ups, and in Status bar turn off show battery background, which makes the percentage easier to read.
15. Display: choose dark mode (or a schedule), set Screen mode to Vivid, pull the slider all the way right, then back one notch for that old-school vibrant Samsung look. Set screen timeout to 2 minutes. Pick gestures or buttons for navigation, and keep Circle to Search on.
16. Battery protection: keep it on if you’ll keep the phone a long time. If you upgrade every year, you could turn it off so it charges faster.
17. Wallpaper and style: featured, gallery, video or AI-created wallpapers, plus themes, icons and Always On Display designs in the Galaxy Themes store.
18. Always On Display and lock screen: choose when AOD shows and customize clock styles on the lock screen.
19. Advanced features: in Side button, keep double press for camera and choose whether long press opens your assistant or the power off menu. In Labs, turn on Multi window for all apps, plus swipe for split screen. I turn on all motions and gestures.
20. Software update: check for updates and install them.

Get it

• Samsung Galaxy S26 at Walmart
• Galaxy S26 from Samsung