5 Quick Settings Every Galaxy Tablet Owner Should Be Using

It’s easy to think that you need accessories for your Samsung Galaxy tablet to make it as useful as possible. But while that’s true to a certain extent, you don’t always have to rely on an extra gadget just to get more out of your tablet. There are built-in features readily available on the device that you simply have to tweak to turn it into a productivity hub. A good place to start is the Quick Settings panel. 

Out of the box, this panel already has some preset tiles, but you can easily customize it to show only the Quick Settings you need in your day-to-day routine. To do so, tap the pen icon at the top and press Edit. Remove any tiles you don’t need by tapping the minus icon for that tile. Add more tiles to the panel by dragging and dropping them from the Available buttons section to the top section. Once you have your preferred tiles, arrange them to your liking. If you’re unsure what Quick Settings will be useful for your Galaxy tablet, here are five you can start with. 

One of the best uses for your Samsung tablet is note-taking. The thing is, constantly opening the Samsung Notes app just to create a new note can be tedious at best. You have to go into the app drawer, launch the app, and tap on the New note icon at the bottom.

Thankfully, there’s a Quick Setting designed exactly for that. It’s aptly called Create note. When tapped, Create note will automatically open a floating notepad on your screen. You can then add a title and type your note as usual. While the app is tiny, it still comes with basic tools, including the pen and highlighter style changer, eraser, and lasso. You can also open the floating notepad in full-screen mode if you need to. Just tap the handlebar at the top and select the maximize icon.

Notes you create using this Quick Setting will be saved to your All notes tab in the Samsung Notes app. You can automatically save notes by clicking the back arrow (which will redirect you to the Notes app home screen) or closing the floating notepad from the handlebar.

Part of why you probably got a Samsung tablet in the first place is to make working with documents, multitasking, and watching videos easier. And while that’s exactly what you can get with the device from the get-go, there’s actually a built-in Samsung Galaxy-exclusive feature that further upgrades the desktop experience: Samsung DeX.

DeX essentially gives your tablet desktop-like functionalities so you can do more without having to hop on a computer. In this mode, the tablet home screen becomes a little like your Windows or Mac device. It shows a tiny taskbar at the bottom, complete with apps and a Start menu. Other than changing the overall appearance, this mode also allows you to open multiple apps on top of each other and resize them to your liking, just like how you would on a computer.

To activate Samsung DeX, all you have to do is go to the Quick Settings on your Galaxy tablet and tap on the DeX tile. Your home screen will automatically change to indicate that you’re now in DeX mode. You can then start opening as many as five apps at the same time. Feel free to resize them with a quick drag from the bottom-right corner and move them to your preferred location. For better organization, you can also snap the windows to the left or right by just dragging and dropping them to the leftmost or rightmost side of the screen. Snapped windows can still be resized by using the handlebar between the apps. Similar to computer windows, DeX windows come with control buttons to minimize, maximize, go full-screen, and close the app any time you need.

Your Galaxy tablet might not be as powerful as a laptop, but it can still help you with your computer tasks — not as your main computer, but as a second screen for your Windows PC. Yes, your Galaxy tablet can actually double as an external monitor for any computer updated to Windows 10 v.2004 or later. You can use it as you would other external displays: extend your PC’s screen to the tablet, duplicate the PC’s screen, or even turn off the PC’s screen and use the tablet as your only display.  

To use this feature, you just need to go into Second screen mode on your tablet. That usually means opening the Settings app and selecting Second screen under Connected devices. For easier access, there’s a Second screen tile you can add to your Quick Settings panel instead. Once your Galaxy tablet is in Second screen mode, your PC will be able to detect it as a wireless second display. Here’s how to use your tablet as an external monitor:

1. Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network. 
2. Tap Second screen in the Quick Settings tile to activate Second screen mode.  
3. On your PC, press the Windows key and the letter K. 
4. Wait for your Samsung tablet to appear in the available devices list. 
5. Click on the entry for your tablet. 

Your Galaxy tablet should now display an extension of your Windows computer. If you want to reconfigure the display settings, head over to Display under System in your computer’s Settings app. From there, you can switch the location of the screens, change the mode from Extend to Duplicate or Second screen only, or even set the tablet’s orientation, scale, and resolution. 

Often, when you’re working on your Galaxy tablet, you end up needing something from your Galaxy phone. Whether it’s a file or a photo, you probably just send the items over via Quick Share or wait for your photos to sync to Google Photos on your phone and tablet. If you want an even quicker alternative for moving files between the devices, though, you can use Multi control in the Quick Settings panel.

Multi control is a continuity feature that lets you do two main things: control your Galaxy tablet and phone with the same set of mouse and keyboard and share files between the two devices with a simple drag and drop. For this feature to work, you need your Galaxy tablet and phone to be on the same Wi-Fi network, with Bluetooth turned on and a set of Bluetooth keyboard and mouse already paired to your tablet. You should also log into the same Samsung account on both devices. Once that’s set up, tap on Multi control in the Quick Settings panel on both devices. This enables the feature and opens the Multi control page on the Galaxy tablet. From there, click on Connect phone and choose your Galaxy mobile from the list of available phones. If needed, change the phone location from the left to the right, above, or below.

Now, when you drag your mouse past the edge of the tablet, the cursor will automatically transfer to your phone. To send files over, select the files you want to move and drag and drop them between the phone and tablet as needed. Transferred files get saved in the Download folder in the My Files app.

While reading on a Galaxy tablet isn’t exactly the same as using an e-reader, it’s still generally more convenient and comfortable than using a phone. The tablet acts like a physical book, where you can read more content at once without repeatedly scrolling and turning the pages. You also get to enjoy image-heavy books like comics and manga, as the bigger display lets you see the artwork and panels in full.

But there’s one drawback to reading on your Galaxy tablet: you get blinded by the screen when you’re using it in the dark. It’s still too bright even with the brightness turned all the way down. So you might end up straining your eyes, getting headaches, and even having difficulty falling asleep. The good news is, Samsung offers a nifty Quick Setting on your Galaxy tablet that makes the screen even dimmer than normal. It’s called Extra dim, and it essentially minimizes the brightness intensity beyond the usual level.

To turn on Extra dim, simply tap the tile in the Quick Settings panel. If the default setting isn’t dim enough, you can long-press the Extra dim tile to access the settings in the Settings app. Then, adjust the Intensity slider to your preferred level. The higher the intensity, the dimmer your screen will become. Keep in mind, though, that Extra dim also affects the colors on the screen, so they may not look as vibrant and true as before.