Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Hide Apps in Android 7.0 Nougat

Hide apps is a feature in Samsung Galaxy S8 that you can use to hide apps, either pre-loaded or third-party apps, so that they won't be displayed in the apps screen. You can use this feature to clean up your apps screen for easier access by hiding unused/unwanted apps that cannot be uninstalled or to avoid those who use your phone know apps that you'd rather keep just for yourself. However, hiding an app will not disable its function so that other related apps can continue using this app.


How to hide apps?
As the example, we'll hide the Calendar app by using three different methods: from a home screen, from an apps screen, and from the settings menu.

Method #1: From a home screen

1. On a home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
2. Tap Home screen settings.
   
   
3. Tap Hide apps.
   
   
4. Select the Calendar app and then tap Apply button to apply your selection.
   
   
5. The selected app will be hidden and not be displayed in the Apps screen.

Method #2: From an apps screen

1. On a home screen, swipe up the bottom of the screen to go to the apps screen.
2. Tap at the top right and then select Settings.
   
   
3. Tap Hide apps.
   
   
4. Select the Calendar app and then tap Apply button to apply your selection.
   
   
5. The selected app will be hidden and not be displayed in the Apps screen.

Method #3: From the settings menu

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
   
   
2. Tap Display.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen.
   
   
4. Tap Hide apps.
   
   
5. Select the Calendar app and then tap Apply button to apply your selection.
   
   
6. The selected app will be hidden and not be displayed in the Apps screen.

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Adjust Home Screen Grid Size in Android 7.0 Nougat

By default, the grid size of a home screen in your Samsung Galaxy S8 is set to 5x5 which means a single home screen will be divided into 5 rows and 5 columns so you can display up to 25 1x1 widgets or app shortcuts. If needed, you can adjust that grid size so you can display more or less items in your home screen.


How to adjust the grid size of a home screen?
As the example, we'll do so by using two different methods: from a home screen and from the settings menu.

Method #1: From a home screen

1. On a home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
   
2. Tap Home screen settings.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen grid.
   
   
4. Select the required grid size you want to use. There are three grid sizes available:
   
   • 4x5: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 4 rows and 5 columns so you can display up to 20 items.
   • 4x6: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 4 rows and 6 columns so you can add or display up to 24 items.
   • 5x5: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 5 rows and 5 columns so you can add or display up to 25 items.
   
   Once done, tap Apply button to apply your selection.
5. The selected grid size will be applied to your home screen.

Method #2: From the settings menu

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
   
   
2. Tap Display.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen.
   
   
4. Tap Home screen grid.
   
   
5. Select the required grid size you want to use. There are three grid sizes available:
   
   • 4x5: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 4 rows and 5 columns so you can display up to 20 items.
   • 4x6: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 4 rows and 6 columns so you can add or display up to 24 items.
   • 5x5: select this option to divide a home screen becomes 5 rows and 5 columns so you can add or display up to 25 items.
   
   Once done, tap Apply button to apply your selection.
6. The selected grid size will be applied to your home screen.

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Automatically Show All Apps in Home Screen in Android 7.0 Nougat

By default, the home screen layout in Samsung Galaxy S8 is set to Home and Apps screens which makes your phone has a separate Apps screen contains with all your apps that you can access simply by swiping up the bottom of the home screen. While using this layout, you can add shortcuts to your favourite apps on your home screen for faster access. However, if you don't have many apps in your phone and want to be able to access all your apps directly from your home screen, you can set the layout to Home screen only to have your phone disables the Apps screen and shows all your apps in your home screen automatically.


How to set the home screen layout to Home screen only?
As the example, we'll do so by using two different methods: from a home screen and from the settings menu.

Method #1: From a home screen

1. On a home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
2. Tap Home screen settings.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen layout.
   
   
4. Select Home screen only and then tap Apply button.
   
   
5. A pop-up window appears to inform you that changing the layout will discard any customisations you have made to the home screen. Tap Apply button to continue applying your selection.
   
   
6. Now, your phone will show all your apps on the home screen for easier access.
   
   

Method #2: From the settings menu

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
   
   
2. Tap Display.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen.
   
   
4. Tap Home screen layout.
   
   
5. Select Home screen only and then tap Apply button.
   
   
6. A pop-up window appears to inform you that changing the layout will discard any customisations you have made to the home screen. Tap Apply button to continue applying your selection.
   
   


7. Now, your phone will show all your apps on the home screen for easier access.
   
   

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Auto Align Shortcuts on Home Screen in Android 7.0 Nougat

If you have a messy shortcuts on a home screen in your Samsung Galaxy S8 but have no time to rearrange them manually, you can use the auto align shortcuts feature to easily tidy them up by moving those shortcuts, either widgets or app shortcuts, into a line at the top or the bottom of the screen so you can have a neat home screen in one go.


How to auto align shortcuts on a home screen?
You can do so by using the following steps:

1. On a home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
2. Swipe the screen to the left or right to find the required home screen you want to align it shortcuts.
3. Tap to move all shortcuts into a line at the top of the screen, or tap to move all shortcuts into a line at the bottom of the screen.
   
   
4. A pop up window appears to tell you that once you align shortcuts on the selected home screen, you cannot go back to your previous arrangement. Tap Apply button to apply your selection. As a note, if you don't like this pop-up appears each time you align shortcuts on your home screen, check the Do not show again option before you tap the Apply button.
   
   
5. The shortcuts on the selected home screen will be aligned.
   
   

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Add or Remove App Shortcuts on Home Screen in Android 7.0 Nougat

If you have installed many apps in your Samsung Galaxy S8 and it makes you have difficulty when you want to access your favourite apps, you can create shortcuts to those apps on your home screen for easier access.


How to add an app shortcut to a home screen?
As the example, we'll add a shortcut to the Gallery app on a home screen by using the following steps:

1. On a home screen, swipe up the bottom of the screen to access the Apps screen where you can find all your apps. However, if you don't like this way, you can show the Apps icon on the home screen so you can use it to access the Apps screen.
2. Swipe the screen to the left or right to find the Gallery app.
3. To add a shortcut to the Gallery app on a home screen, long tap the Gallery app icon and then select Add shortcut to Home. Alternatively, you can do so by tapping and holding the Gallery app icon and then drag it to an empty area on a home screen.
   
4. A shortcut to the Gallery app has been added on your home screen.
   
   

How to remove an app shortcut from a home screen?
When needed, you can easily remove unused or unwanted app shortcuts from the home screen. As the example, we'll remove the Gallery app shortcut from the home screen by using the following steps:

1. Go to the home screen where the Gallery app shortcut is placed in.
2. Long tap the Gallery app shortcut and then select Remove shortcut.
   
   
3. The Gallery app shortcut has been removed from the home screen.

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Add or Remove Widgets on Home Screen in Android 7.0 Nougat

Widget is a simple application extension that runs on a home screen to let you easily launch a specific function of an app, either pre-loaded or third-party app, in your Samsung Galaxy S8 to get information or for more convenient access. As the example, you can use the direct dial widget to easily call a specific contact with a single tap from your home screen, or you can use the direct message widget to easily send a message to a specific contact, etc.


How to add a widget to a home screen?
As the example, we'll add a direct dial widget to a home screen so you can easily call a specific contact from the home screen by using the following steps:

1. On the home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
2. Tap Widgets to go to the widgets screen.
   
   
3. Swipe the screen to the left or right to find the direct dial 1x1 widget, or you can use the search function to easily find this widget by typing direct dial on the search field.
   
   
4. Tap and hold the direct dial 1x1 widget and then drag it to an empty area on the home screen. Release the widget to place it.
5. Select the required contact you want to assign to the direct dial widget.
   
   
6. The direct dial widget assigned to the selected contact has been added to the home screen.
   
   
7. Now, you can easily call the contact simply by single tapping the direct dial widget.

How to remove a widget from a home screen?
When needed, you can easily remove unused or unwanted widget from the home screen. As the example, we'll remove the direct dial widget from the home screen by using the following steps:

1. Go to the home screen panel where the direct dial widget you want to remove is placed in.
2. Long tap the direct dial widget and then select Remove shortcut.
   
   
3. The selected direct dial widget has been removed from the home screen.

Samsung Galaxy S8: How to Show Apps Icon on Home Screen in Android 7.0 Nougat

In Samsung Galaxy S8, the Apps icon on the home screen where you can use to access the apps screen is hidden by default. As the compensation, you can access the apps screen simply by swiping up the bottom of the home screen. However, if you don't like using this way and want to get the Apps icon back on your home screen, you can set your phone to show the Apps icon as a favourite app shortcut on the bottom of the the home screen so you can use it to easily access the apps screen.


How to show the Apps icon on the home screen?
As the example, we'll do so by using two different methods: from the settings menu and from the home screen.

Method #1: From the settings menu

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
   
   
2. Tap Display.
   
   
3. Tap Home screen.
   
   
4. Tap Apps button.
   
   
5. Select Show Apps button and then tap Apply button to apply your selection.
   
   
6. The Apps button will be displayed as a favourite app shortcut on the home screen.
   
   

Method #2: From the home screen

1. On the home screen, pinch the screen using two fingers or long tap on an empty area to go to the screen where you can customise your home screen.
2. Tap Home screen settings.
   
   
3. Tap Apps button.
   
   
4. Select Show Apps button and then tap Apply to apply your selection.
   
   
5. The Apps button will be displayed as a favourite app shortcut on the home screen.