Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Zoom In or Zoom Out in the Camera App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

A useful feature that has been available in the Samsung Galaxy S4 since this phone got update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is the ability to change the Volume key function in the Camera app. If in the previous version you're only allowed to use the Volume key to zoom in or zoom out, now you can assign the Volume key as the camera key or the record key.

See also: How to Change the Volume Key Function in the Camera App in the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4 Kitkat

The zoom function can be used when you want to enlarge the size of the object you'll take, for instance when you want to take a picture from a distance (e.g: taking a picture of a small bird or something far away) or when you want to take a picture of a small object more focus and detail.

How to zoom in or zoom out in the Camera app?
There are two methods available that you can use to zoom in or out in the Camera app, by using the Volume key and using the gesture.

Method #1: By using the Volume key
Unless you've assigned the Volume key to another function, by default you can use this key to zoom in or out in the Camera app.

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Tap the Volume up key to zoom in up to 4x.
3. Tap the Volume down key to zoom out.
4. Tap on any part of the screen to change the focus manually. When the focus point shows green means the focus has been locked and you're ready to take a picture by tapping the camera key.

Method #2: By using gesture
If you don't want to zoom in or out by using the Volume key or if you've already set the Volume key as the camera key or the record key, then you still can zoom in or out in the Camera app by using gesture.

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Spread two fingers apart on the screen to zoom in up to 4x.
3. Pinch the screen using two fingers to zoom out.
4. Tap on any part of the screen to change the focus manually. When the focus point shows green means the focus has been locked and you're ready to take a picture by tapping the camera key.

For the record, if you use the zoom feature while taking a picture then only the object in the focus point will be focused and the others will be blurry(see the picture above). So, how about you? Do you often use the zoom feature while taking pictures? Which method do you like best to use?

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Change the Volume Key Function in the Camera App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Nowadays, how well the camera performance to take pictures becomes one of the users considerations when they're buying a smartphone. To meet that need, the Samsung Galaxy SIV has pinned 13MP rear camera and 2MP front camera to allow you get the best result when taking a picture using this phone. Moreover, the flexibility to change the default storage will allow you to set the SD card as the default storage in the Camera app so that all pictures taken by the Camera will be saved in the SD card and you don't need to worry running out the internal storage free space quickly.

See also: How to Change Default Storage in the Camera App in the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4 Kitkat

Another adjustable option in the Camera app is the Volume key function. By default, the Volume key can be used by the user to zoom in or out while taking a picture. But, after this phone got update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, the Volume key can be assigned as the camera key or the record key. This will of course will helpful for those of users who want to be able to take a picture or to record a video by using the physical button.

How to change the Volume key function in the Camera app?
Use the following steps to change the Volume key function:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Tap the Menu key and then select Settings.
3. Tap Settings tab.
4. Tap Volume key and you'll be presented with the following options:
• The zoom key: select this option if you want to use the Volume up key and the Volume down key to zoom in or out while taking a picture.
• The camera key: select this option if you want to take a picture using the Volume up key or the Volume down key.
• The record key: select this option if you want to record a video using the Volume up key or the Volume down key.
5. Select the desired Volume key function you wish to use.
6. The selected Volume key function will be applied.

For the record, if you're using the Volume key as the camera key or the record key then you still be able to zoom in or out while taking a picture by pinching the screen and while you're using the Volume key as the camera key make sure to hold the phone as steady as possible to reduce shake or unfocused image so that you can get the best result. So, how about you? Which function of the Volume key do you like best?

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Change Default Storage in the Camera App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Samsung Galaxy SIV has been equipped with the SD card slot that will allow you to expand your storage and prevent the internal storage fully loaded quickly by inserting an SD card to your phone. If you have already inserted an SD card to your phone, then you can set it as the default storage in some apps. One of apps that will let you to change the default storage is the Camera app. You can set this app to save all pictures you take with the Camera app to the internal storage or to the SD card.

How to change default storage in the Camera app?
If you wish to switch between the internal storage and the SD card as the default storage in the Camera app, then you can use the following steps:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Tap the Settings icon to view more options.
3. Tap the Settings icon to enter the settings menu
4. Tap the Settings tab.
5. Scroll down to find Storage, then tap it. You'll see two options available:
• Device: select this option if you want to save the picture you take with the Camera in the internal storage.
• Memory card: select this option if you want to save the picture you take with the Camera in the SD card. If you've chosen this option then the SD card icon will be displayed in the viewfinder screen.
6. Once done, all pictures taken by the Camera app will be saved to the selected storage.

If you're like me, I prefer to set the SD card as the default storage in the Camera app. As we've known, for some users photo files often make the internal storage run out free space quickly. By setting the default storage to SD card, you can keep your internal storage has free space enough to make your phone works well and not encountering any problem caused by low internal storage.

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Add or Remove Songs Within Playlist in the Music Player App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Creating playlist is the feature that you can find in the stock Music Player app. You can use this feature to categorize the songs according to your own category, for instance a playlist contains the love songs or a playlist contains the religious songs, etc.

See also: How to Create, Edit or Delete Playlist in the Music Player App in the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4 Kitkat

When you're creating a playlist usually you'll be brought to a screen where you can add songs into the playlist you've just created. However, aside from adding songs when creating a new playlist you can also add or remove songs within an existing playlist with ease.


How to add songs to a playlist?
Basically, there are two methods available that you can do to add one song or more to a playlist, from the playlist or from the menu/tab where you can see the songs list.

Method #1: From the playlist

1. Open Music Player app.
2. Tap Playlists tab.
3. Tap the required playlist.
4. Tap Add button.
5. Select the desired songs you want to add to the playlist or tap Select all to select all the songs.
6. Tap Done button.
7. The selected songs will be added to the playlist.

Method #2: From the menu where the songs list is displayed

1. Open Music Player app.
2. Under the Songs tab or another menu/tab where you can see the songs list, tap the Menu key and then select Add to playlist.
3. Select the desired songs you want to add to a playlist or tap Select all to select all the songs.
4. Tap Done button.
5. Tap the required playlist.
6. The selected songs will be added to the selected playlist.

How to remove songs from a playlist?
If you have done a mistake by adding the wrong song to a playlist or when you want one song or more no longer listed in a playlist, then you can easily delete the songs by following the steps below:

1. Open Music Player app.
2. Tap Playlists tab.
3. Tap the desired playlist.
4. To delete a single song in the playlist go to the step #5, while to delete multiple/all songs in the playlist go to the step #6.
5. Delete a single song within playlist:
• Long tap the desired song.
• On pop up menu select Remove.
• The selected song will be removed from the playlist.
6. Delete multiple/all songs within playlist:
• Tap the Menu key and then select Remove.
• Select the desired songs you wish to remove or tap Select all to delete all songs within the playlist.
• Tap Remove button.
• The selected songs will be removed from the playlist.

The easiness to add or remove music within an existing playlist of course will be able to help you managing your playlist well. So, hope it helps :)

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Show or Hide Default Playlists in the Music Player App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Almost everyone likes listening to the music. That's why no wonder if the Samsung Galaxy SIV has provided the stock Music Player app to the users so that they can listen to the music whenever they want with ease directly from the phone without having to install any music player app first. The Music player app also allows you to create your own playlists to facilitate you grouping them per category you like. It'll be useful if you have lot of music with various genres.

See also: How to Create, Edit and Delete Playlist in the Music Player App in the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4 Kitkat

Aside from allowing the users to create their own playlists, the Music Player app also has provided four default playlists that you can find under the Playlists tab/menu, The playlist names are pretty self explanatory: 1) Favourite 2) Most played 3) Recently played 4) Recently added. Except the Favourite playlist, you're allowed to show or hide other default playlists.

How to show or hide the default playlists?
You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Music Player app.
2. Tap the Menu key and then select Settings.
3. Tap Music menu.
4. To show default playlists go to the step #5, while to hide default playlist go to the step #6.
5. Show default playlists:
• Under the Playlists section, mark the checkbox next to the desired default playlists (Most played, Recently played, Recently added) you want to show.
• Tap Done button.
• The selected playlists will be displayed in the Playlists menu/tab.
6. Hide default playlists:
• Under the Playlists section, clear the checkbox next to the desired default playlists (Most played, Recently played, Recently added) you want to hide.
• Tap Done button.
• The playlists will not be displayed in the Playlists menu/tab.

By knowing these steps, now you can hide or show those three default playlists. I personally only display the Recently added playlist which will make me easier to play all songs I recently added or downloaded. So, how about you? Do you prefer to show or hide those three default playlists?

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Create, Edit and Delete Playlist in the Music Player App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

Almost everyone like to listen to the music, especially listen to their favourite music. It may be the reason why the Samsung Galaxy SIV made the Music player app as one of its stock apps. By using this app, you can listen to the music that you've saved in your phone easily whenever you like.

See also: How to Play Music Using Music Player in Android 4.4 Kitkat in the Samsung Galaxy S4

To facilitate you, the Music player app also has been equipped with some useful features, for instance a feature that let you to create a new playlist to allow you grouping some music per category or edit a playlist or even delete unwanted playlist. Creating playlist of course will useful for those of you who have tons of music files or those of you who like music with various genres.

How to create a new playlist?
By default, this app has some build-in playlists. But, if you want to create your own playlist, then you can do so by following the steps below:

1. Open the Music player app.
2. Tap Playlists tab.
3. Tap the Menu key and then select Create playlist.
4. Enter the desired name for the playlist.
5. If necessary, you can add an image for the playlist by tapping the picture box in the left side of the playlist name field. You'll see two options available, they are:
• Take picture: select this option to take a picture using the Camera app and then use the result as the playlist image.
• Images: select this option to select a picture from the Gallery app and then use it as the playlist image.
6. Tap OK button.
7. The new playlist has been created and you'll be asked to add music to the playlist. You can do so by using the following steps:
• Tap Add button.
• Select the desired song you wish to add to the playlist or tap Select all to select all songs.
• Tap Done button.
• The selected songs will be added to the playlist.

How to edit a playlist?
You can change the playlist name and change order of the songs in a playlist by using the following steps:

1. Open the Music player app.
2. Tap Playlists tab.
3. Tap the required playlist you want to edit.
4. To rename playlist go to the step #5 while to change order of the songs in a playlist go to the step #6.
5. Rename a playlist:
• Tap the Menu key and then select Edit title.
• Enter a new name for the playlist.
• Tap OK button.
6. Change order of the songs:
• Tap the Menu key and then select Change order.
• Tap and hold the grid icon next to the desired song and then drag it to the desired position. Release to placed it.
• Tap Done button.

How to delete playlist?
You're allowed to remove a single/multiple/all playlists by following the steps below:

1. Open the Music player app.
2. Tap Playlists tab.
3. To delete a single playlist go to the step #4 while to delete multiple/all playlists go to the step #5.
4. Delete a single playlist:
• Long tap the required playlist you want to delete.
• On pop up menu select Delete.
• The selected playlist will be deleted.
5. Delete multiple/all playlists:
• Tap the Menu key and then select Delete.
• Select the required playlists you want to delete or tap Select all to select all playlists.
• Tap Delete button.
• The selected playlists will be deleted.

For the record, if you move a music file that you already have added to a playlist to another folder via My Files app or another third-party File Manager app, then the music file will be automatically removed from the playlist.

Samsung Galaxy S4: How to Play Music Using Music Player App in Android 4.4 Kitkat

In addition equipped with some communication-related apps to facilitate the user to communicate with others such as Phone app to make a call or Messaging app to send a message, this phone also has been equipped with some media-related apps. One of media-related apps is Gallery app that will allow you to view all pictures you've saved in your phone or even viewing pictures from other sources such as Facebook or Picasa web albums.

See also: How to Fix Can't Remove Picasa Album from Gallery App in the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4 Kitkat

Another media-related app available in this phone is the Music player app. You can use this app to play all music files on your phone, either those are in the internal storage or in the SD card. All music files will be automatically scanned and indexed by the Music player app so that you can play them easily using this app.

How to use music player app to play music?
Below are the steps to do so:

1. Open Music Player app.
2. You can see all your music files listed and sorted alphabetically under the Songs tab.
3. Tap the desired song you wish to play.
4. While you're listening to the music, you can use the following options:
• Screen Mirroring icon : tap this option to play music on DLNA-enabled devices.
• Volume icon : tap this option to adjust the volume.
• Shuffle mode icon : tap this option to enable shuffle mode or disable shuffle mode. When this mode is enabled, the app will play songs in the music list randomly.
• Favourite icon : tap this option to add/remove the currently playing song to Favourite. When this icon shows yellow means the song has been marked as favourite and will be added to the Favourite playlist.
• Repeat mode icon : tap this option to change the repeat mode. There are 3 repeat modes available 1) select this option to repeat the currently playing song 2) select this option to play the currently playing song until the last song in the music list 3) select this option to play the currently playing song until the last song in the music list and then repeat from the first song and so on.
• Hide icon : tap this option to hide the music player screen.
• Rewind icon : tap this option to restart the currently playing song or skip to the previous song. Tap and hold this option to move backward quickly.
  
• Pause/Resume icon : tap this option to pause or resume the currently playing song.
• Forward icon : tap this option to skip to the next song. Tap and hold this option to move forward quickly.
• Open playlist icon : tap this option to switch between the playlist screen and the music player screen.

Music player app is one of my favourite apps because I really like to listen to the music. I use this app almost everyday to listen my favourite songs while I'm doing my daily activities. So, how about you? Do you often use this app to listen to the music like me?