Samsung® Galaxy S9™ For Dummies®
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943539
ISBN 978-1-119-50290-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-50289-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-50291-3 (ebk)
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are powerful smartphones, perhaps the most powerful mobile phones ever sold. As of the publication of this book, the Galaxy S9s are the standard against which all other Android-based phones are measured.
Each cellular carrier offers a slightly customized version of the Galaxy S9 line-up. Some phones from cellular carriers come out of the box with preloaded applications, games, or files. Most come with accessories, such as a corded headset; others don’t. This book doesn’t dwell on these kinds of differences.
The name for each network is different, these phones are largely the same. (At least one marketing person at each cellular carrier is cringing as you read this.) This similarity allows me to write this book in a way that covers the common capabilities.
At a more core level, these phones are built for high-speed wireless communications. The cellular carriers have spent kajillions upgrading their networks to offer more coverage and better data speeds than their competition. Again, this book doesn’t dwell on these differences in network technology because they don’t really make much difference. (Again, at least one engineering person at each cellular carrier is cringing as you read this.)
Similarly, most of the capabilities of the Galaxy S9+, with its bigger screen and three camera lenses instead of two, and the Galaxy S9 are identical. When there is an important distinction between the S9 and the S9+, I will mention it. Otherwise, I will just call the phone the Galaxy S9.
I assume that you already have a Galaxy S9, and I just hope that you have good coverage where you spend more of your time with your phone. If so, you’ll be fine. If not, you need to switch to another network; otherwise, the experience with your phone will be frustrating. I would advise you to return your phone to that carrier and buy your Galaxy S9 at another cellular carrier. As long as you have good cellular data coverage, owning a Samsung Galaxy S9 will be an exciting experience!
First, in much the same way that different brands of PCs are all based on the Microsoft Windows operating system, all Galaxy S phones use the Google Android platform. The good news is that the Android platform has proven to be widely popular, even more successful than Google originally expected when it first announced Android in November 2007. More people are using Android-based phones, and more third parties are writing applications. This is good news because it offers you more options for applications (more on this in Chapter 8 on the Play Store, where you buy applications).
In addition, all Galaxy S9 phones use a powerful graphics processor, employ Samsung’s Super AMOLED touchscreen, and are covered in Corning’s Gorilla Glass. The superior screen experience differentiates this product line from other Android phones. Because of these enhanced capabilities, you can navigate around the screen with multi-touch screen gestures instead of the hierarchical menus found on lesser Android phones. Plus, the videos look stunning from many angles.
Smartphones are getting smarter all the time, and the Galaxy S9 is one of the smartest. However, just because you’ve used a smartphone in the past doesn’t mean you should expect to use your new Galaxy S9 without a bit of guidance.
You may not be familiar with using a multi-touch screen, and your new phone offers a lot of capabilities that you may or may not be familiar with. There used to be a physical button on the front to bring you back to the Home screen. It’s no longer a physical button; instead, it’s now software based. It would be unfortunate to find out from a kid in the neighborhood that the phone you’ve been carrying around for several months could solve a problem you’ve been having because you were never told that the solution was in your pocket the whole time.
In fact, Samsung is proud of the usability of its entire Galaxy line-up — and proud that the user’s manual is really just a quick start guide. You can find lots of instructions on the web. However, you have to know what you don’t know to get what you want unless you plan to view every tutorial.
That’s where this book comes in. This book is a hands-on guide to getting the most out of your Galaxy S9.
This book is a reference — you don’t have to read it from beginning to end to get all you need out of it. The information is clearly organized and easy to access. You don’t need thick glasses to understand this book. This book helps you figure out what you want to do — and then tells you how to do it in plain English.
Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.
You know what they say about assuming, so I don’t do much of it in this book. But I do make a few assumptions about you:
Throughout this book, I used icons (little pictures in the margin) to draw your attention to various types of information. Here’s a key to what those icons mean:
This whole book is like one big series of tips. When I share especially useful tips and tricks, I mark them with the Tip icon.
This book is a reference, which means you don’t have to commit it to memory — there is no test at the end. But once in a while, I do tell you things that are so important that I think you should remember them, and when I do, I mark them with the Remember icon.
Whenever you may do something that could cause a major headache, I warn you with the, er, Warning icon.
These sections provide a little more information than is necessary to use your phone. The hope is that these sections convey extra knowledge to help you understand what is going on when things go wrong, or at least differently than you might have expected.
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet. To get to this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Samsung Galaxy S9 For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
You don’t have to read this book from cover to cover. You can skip around as you like. For example, if you need the basics on calling, texting, and emailing, turn to Part 2. To discover more about photos, games, and apps, go to Part 4.
Many readers are already somewhat familiar with smartphones and won’t need the basic information found in Parts 1 and 2. A reasonably astute mobile phone user can figure out how to use the phone, text, and data capabilities. Parts 1 and 2 are not for those readers. For them, I recommend skipping ahead to the chapters in Parts 3 through 6.
Former iPhone users, on the other hand, are a special case. (First, welcome to the world of Android!) The reality is that the iPhone and Galaxy S series have very similar capabilities, but these functions are just done in slightly different ways and emphasize different approaches to the similar problems. iPhone users, don’t worry if you find that this book spends a fair amount of time explaining capabilities with which you’re familiar. You can read through those chapters quickly, focus on the how instead of the description of what, and bypass potential frustration.
Current Samsung Galaxy S8 users are also a special case. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is very similar to the Galaxy S8 in many ways. Galaxy S9 operates mostly like the S8, but has improvements in usability, power consumption, and performance. Plus, the camera has even more capabilities (if you can believe it!). If you’re comfortable with the Galaxy S8 and now have a Galaxy S9, Chapters 15 and beyond will be of interest to you.
The majority of readers of this book are actually very astute and get the fact that this book covers the basics of using the Samsung Galaxy S9. A subset of readers complain in Internet reviews that a For Dummies book is too basic. If you do this, people will know that you did not read the title. Be sure to read the title and avoid public embarrassment.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Review the capabilities of cellphones and what sets smartphones apart.
Navigate your phone for the first time.
Turn off your phone and manage sleep mode.
Make sense of mobile data technology.
Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Reviewing the basic capabilities of just about any mobile phone
Understanding what sets smartphones apart
Mapping out what makes Samsung Galaxy S9 phones so cool
Getting you prepared to enjoy your phone
Whether you want just the basics from a mobile phone (make and take phone calls, customize your ringtone, take some pictures, maybe use a Bluetooth headset) or you want your phone to be always by your side (a tool for multiple uses throughout your day), you can make that happen. In this chapter, I outline all the things your Samsung Galaxy S9 can do — from the basics to what makes Galaxy S9 phones different from the rest.
All mobile phones on the market today include basic functions, and even some entry-level phones are a little more sophisticated. Of course, Samsung includes all basic functions on the Galaxy S9 model. In addition to making and taking calls (see Chapter 3) and sending and receiving texts (see Chapter 4), the Galaxy S9 sports the following basic features:
In addition to the basic capabilities of any entry-level phone, the Galaxy S9, which is based on the popular Android platform for mobile devices, has capabilities associated with other smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone:
I go into each of these capabilities in greater detail in the following sections.
Until a few years ago, the only way to access the Internet when you were away from a desk was with a laptop. Smartphones are a great alternative to laptops because they’re small, convenient, and ready to launch their web browsers right away. Even more important, when you have a smartphone, you can access the Internet wherever you are — whether Wi-Fi is available or not.
The drawback to smartphones, however, is that their screen size is smaller than that of even the most basic laptop. On the Galaxy S9 phone, you can use the standard version of a website if you want. You can pinch and stretch your way to get the information you want. (See Chapter 2 for more information on pinching and stretching. For more information on accessing the Internet from your Galaxy S9 phone, turn to Chapter 7.)
To make things a bit easier, many popular websites offer an easier-to-use app that you can download and install on your phone. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 8. Essentially, the website reformats the information from the site so that it’s easier to read and navigate in the mobile environment. Figure 1-1 compares a regular website with the app version of that website.
FIGURE 1-1: A website and the app version of the main site.
The image application on your phone helps you use the digital camera on your Galaxy S9 phone to its full potential. (It would almost make sense to call the Samsung Galaxy S9 a smartcamera with a built-in phone!)
Studies have found that cellphone users tend to snap a bunch of pictures within the first month of phone usage. After that, the photos sit on the phone (instead of being downloaded to a computer), and the picture-taking rate drops dramatically.
The Galaxy S9 image management application is different. You can integrate your camera images into your home photo library, as well as photo-sharing sites such as Google Photos and Flickr, with minimal effort.
For more on how to use the Photo applications, turn to Chapter 9.
On your Galaxy S9 smartphone, you can access your business and personal email accounts, reading and sending email messages on the go. Depending on your email system, you might be able to sync so that when you delete an email on your phone, the email is deleted on your computer at the same time so that you don’t have to read the same messages on your phone and your computer.
Chapter 5 covers setting up your business and personal email accounts.
Some smartphones allow you to play music and videos on your phone in place of a dedicated MP3 or video player. On the Galaxy S9, you can use the applications that come with the phone, or you can download applications that offer these capabilities from the Play Store.
Chapter 12 covers how to use the multimedia services with your Galaxy S9 phone.
Chapter 14 explores how to use Samsung’s intelligent agent called Bixby. You simply ask Bixby to take care of things for you, such as update an appointment or check for prices and Bixby will go off and do it.
Application developers — large and small — are working on the Android platform to offer a variety of applications and games for the Galaxy S9 phone. Compared to most of the other smartphone platforms, Google imposes fewer restrictions on application developers regarding what’s allowable. This freedom to develop resonates with many developers — resulting in a bonanza of application development on this platform.
As of this writing, almost two million applications are available from Google’s Play Store. For more information about downloading games and applications, turn to Chapter 8.
Chapter 10 of this book is for gamers. Although your phone comes with a few general-interest games, you can find a whole wide world of games for every skill and taste. In Chapter 10, I give you all the information you need to set up different gaming experiences. Whether you prefer stand-alone games or multiplayer games, you can set up your Galaxy S9 phone to get what you need.
Your phone comes with some very nice applications, but these might not take you as far as you want to go. You might also have some special interests, such as philately or stargazing, that neither Samsung nor your carrier felt would be of sufficient general interest to include on the phone. (Can you imagine?)
Your phone also comes with preloaded widgets, which are smaller applications that serve particular purposes, such as retrieving particular stock quotes or telling you how your phone’s battery is feeling today. Widgets reside on the extended Home screen and are instantly available.
Buying applications allows you to get additional capabilities quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Ultimately, these make your phone, which is already a reflection of who you are, even more personal as you add more capabilities.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is the top-of-the-line Android phone. That means you can run any application developed for an Android phone to its full capability. This is significant because one of the founding principles behind the Android platform is to create an environment where application developers can be as creative as possible without an oppressive organization dictating what can and cannot be sold (as long as it’s within the law, of course). This creative elbow room has inspired many of the best application developers to go with Android first.
In addition, Android is designed to run multiple applications at once. Other smartphone platforms have added this capability, but Android is designed to let you to jump quickly among the multiple apps that you’re running — which makes your smartphone experience that much smoother.
When you turn on your phone the first time, it will ask you a series of ten questions and preferences to configure it. Frankly, they are trying to make this book unnecessary and put me out of business. The nerve!
The good folks at Samsung are well-intentioned, but not every customer who owns a Samsung Galaxy S9 knows, from day one, whether he or she wants a Samsung account, what’s a good name for the phone, or what the purpose of a cloud service, such as Dropbox, is and how it would be used.
You can relax. I’ll help you answer these questions — or, when appropriate, refer you to the chapter in this book that helps you come up with your answer.
On the other hand, if your phone is already set up, you probably took a guess or skipped some questions. Maybe now you’re rethinking some of your choices. No problem. You can go back and change any answer you gave and get your phone to behave the way you want.
The following are the kinds of questions you may be asked. These questions may come in this order, but they may not. They typically include the following:
Wi-Fi: Your phone automatically starts scanning for a Wi-Fi connection. You can always use the cellular connection when you are in cellular coverage, but if there is a Wi-Fi connection available, your phone will try to use this first. It is probably cheaper and may be faster than the cellular.
At the same time, you may not want your phone to connect to the Wi-Fi access point with the best signal. It could be that the strongest signal is a fee-based service, whereas the next best signal is free. In any case, this page scans the available options and presents them to you.
Sign up for a Samsung Account: Go ahead and sign up for an account. The Samsung account offers you some nice things to help you get your phone back should you lose it. All you need is an account name, such as an email account, and a password.
When you buy a Galaxy S9 smartphone, you are now a customer of multiple companies! These include Samsung for the phone hardware, Google for the phone operating system (Android), and the wireless carrier that provides the cellular service. Plus, if you bought the phone through a phone retailer, such as Best Buy, it is in the mix as well. All of them want to make you happy, which is a good thing for the most part. The only downside is that they want to know who you are so that they can provide you with more services. Don’t worry. You control how much they offer you.
@gmail.com. If you already have an account on Gmail, enter your user ID and password here. If you don’t have a Gmail account, I suggest waiting until you read Chapter 5. I highly recommend that you create a Gmail account, but there are some considerations on selecting a good name. If you are game, pick a name for your Gmail account now. Otherwise, it can wait until you read Chapter 5.Location Options: Your phone knowing your location and providing it to an application can be sensitive issue.
If you’re really worried about privacy and security, tap the green check marks on the screen and then tap the button that says Next. Selecting these options prevents applications from knowing where you are. (This choice also prevents you from getting directions and a large number of cool capabilities that are built into applications.) The only folks who’ll know your location will be the 911 dispatchers if you dial them.
If you’re worried about your security but want to take advantage of some of the cool capabilities built into your phone, tap the right arrow key to move forward. Remember, you can choose on a case-by-case basis whether to share your location. (I cover this issue in Chapter 8.)
FIGURE 1-2: The Home screen for the Samsung Galaxy S9.