This Samsung app is the explanation I will not swap to a Google Pixel

Between my previous Galaxy S22 and the present S26, I’ve been a loyal Samsung person for over 4 years now. However I’ve all the time been tempted by Pixel telephones. Not simply as a secondary system, however to really use it as a day by day driver. And truthfully, units just like the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10a make a really compelling case for themselves. You get a clear Android expertise, helpful Pixel-only options, and above all, sooner software program updates.

But when there’s one Samsung app that stops me from making the swap, it’s Good Lock. It’s not simply any OEM app — it’s extra like a toolkit for energy customers. And the extra I’ve used it over time, the extra it’s modified what I anticipate from a smartphone.

Good Lock is Samsung’s official app for customizing and tweaking numerous elements of a Galaxy telephone. It’s mainly a group of modules that allow you to change how your telephone seems, feels, and behaves at a a lot deeper stage. We’re speaking about customizing the app drawer, creating 3D wallpapers, redesigning the Fast Settings panel, unlocking additional digital camera options, and much more.

What I like most about Good Lock is that it’s not a single, overloaded app with infinite toggles. As an alternative, it lets me discover accessible modules, see what they do, and obtain those I really need. And since Good Lock is an official Samsung app, all the pieces simply works the way in which it ought to. I don’t have to fret about safety dangers, privateness considerations, or updates breaking key options.

I lately tried utilizing an iPhone for a day, and it jogged my memory why I’ve by no means critically thought-about switching. It largely comes all the way down to customization. Sure, that’s nonetheless Android’s largest energy, and whereas Pixel telephones do supply some flexibility, it’s nowhere close to what Good Lock lets me do on my Galaxy telephone.

Let’s begin with the Good Lock’s Keys Cafe module. It provides me full management over how my Samsung Keyboard seems. I can change colours, add results, tweak typing sound, and even arrange two and three-finger gestures for issues like undo, redo, copy, paste, or switching languages. Heck, I may even design a keyboard from scratch and have management over which buttons seem and the place they sit.

The QuickStar module affords one thing comparable, however for customizing the Fast Settings panel. I can change the button colours, resize sections, and even fine-tune the spacing. I additionally like the way it lets me disguise particular icons from the standing bar, so there’s all the time much less muddle.

Good Lock’s Residence Up module is one other one in every of my favorites. It affords a number of choices, however I primarily use it to vary the duty changer format. The default tilt-stack model feels gradual to me, so I keep on with the grid format — it lets me see extra apps at a look with out all of the swiping.

Good Lock even extends into locations you wouldn’t anticipate, just like the Settings app. With the RegiStar module, I can rearrange sections and conceal the choices I don’t use to make the Settings app simpler to navigate. Even higher, RegiStar lets me remap the aspect button’s press and maintain motion for issues like turning on the flashlight, enabling reside captions, and even opening an app.

And the loopy half is, that is all simply scratching the floor. Good Lock additionally affords the identical stage of customization for the lock display screen, app drawer, always-on show, and extra. It’s the form of granular management you merely don’t get on a Pixel telephone.

Even if you happen to’re not into customizing each little a part of your Galaxy telephone, Good Lock continues to be useful. A few of its modules aren’t nearly seems — they’re about making your telephone adapt to the way you really use it.

As an illustration, once you set a display screen timeout, Android follows it on each display screen. However with Good Lock’s Show Assistant module, I can set completely different display screen timeouts for various apps. This manner, apps like Samsung Notes or Courageous keep on longer after I’m studying or writing, whereas all the pieces else sticks to my common timeout.

One other small however extremely helpful possibility is the power to manage quantity on a per-app foundation. The Sound Assistant module lets me decrease the amount of a loud recreation whereas retaining music or a podcast on the excellent stage. It saves me the trouble of continually adjusting the amount relying on what I’m doing.

And for anybody who loves utilizing gestures like me, the One Hand Operation+ module is a gem. It permits you to arrange completely different swipe gestures on the left and proper edges of the display screen. I’ve arrange mine to launch apps, flip off the display screen, swap to a pop-up view, and management media playback.

Then there are modules that enhance a few of One UI’s finest options, like MultiStar, which improves the split-screen expertise, Routines+, which provides extra highly effective automation, and NotiStar, which supplies longer, searchable notification historical past. I may go on and on, however you in all probability get the purpose.

These aren’t headline-making options, which is why you gained’t even see Samsung speaking about them throughout massive launch occasions. However when you get used to this stage of management and comfort, it’s inconceivable to reside with out it.

I genuinely like what Google has finished with Pixel telephones in recent times. In some ways, they provide the purest model of Android you may get. And sure, that clear, inventory expertise has its appeal. However if you happen to ever get bored with it or need extra flexibility, there’s not a lot you are able to do besides perhaps set up a third-party launcher like Nova or Niagara Launcher. And even then, you’re largely simply altering icons, residence display screen layouts, and perhaps the app drawer. For somebody who’s been spoiled by Good Lock’s infinite choices, that merely isn’t sufficient.