Gadgetory

so you've just bought a Samsung Galaxy Note edge and you're trying to make some sense out of that crazy strip of pixels lighting up the side you my edgy friend have come to the right place I'm Michael Fisher and this is your edge screen lesson from pocket now if you've seen our Galaxy Note 4 versus Note edge comparison video lots of this will seem like a rehash if you don't know what I'm talking about and wish I'd just get on with it okay then here goes even though the edge display is integrated into the phone's main panel the software treats it as though it's an independent screen that makes the edge a lot like 2011's Samsung continuum but here the added display is much more capable even when the main screen is turned off one of the smallest and also most useful enhancements is the night clock when it's turned on the edge screen will show date time and current weather conditions at the lowest brightness setting so dim it won't keep you up at night if you leave the phone on a bed stand to turn this on you use the settings screen that we're going to come back to a lot just flick up from the bottom of the landing strip to reveal the settings cog tap on it and select night clock you can set the start and end time so it only comes on during sleeping hours and it won't work when the battery is below 15% which is smart sadly as a press time there's no way to keep it on constantly when the screen is on but the phone is locked the edge display shows the express me panel a customizable side screen that lets you make the note edge your own through a bit of digital flair to customise it tap the express me option in the settings menu and choose one of the panels since the out-of-the-box default phrase is pretty dry you can change it up by tapping the pencil icon and replacing the text you can even replace it with handwriting change the animation style layer to top it if a slogan is not your style choose the stock animation or any image on the phone to put in its place including photos you've taken yourself the selection window shows you which areas of the photo will be included on the edge display and pro tip the express may screen Scrolls as you tilt the phone for an added touch of fun keep in mind that the Express made text is different from what Samsung calls the personal message the Express me text shows up when the phone is locked and the personal message always shows up when the edge display is on lit so to change the text select personal message from the settings menu and edit accordingly sadly there doesn't seem to be a way to change the typeface at this time in regular unlocked usage the edge screen transforms from ornament to utility all the folders and icons you'd normally put on the home screen can go here instead freeing up slots for widgets or just wide open space to keep your wallpaper less crowded managing what you want on the edge screen is a little more involved than just dragging icons there though instead we've got to visit our old friend the settings hamburger and hit manage panels this time this lets you select which ones you want available you can choose up to seven and you can arrange them in whatever order you want using the overflow menu up top the favorites panel is the first one by default and you decide which apps you want on it by hitting the Edit pencil and moving apps from there it's a little cumbersome but stick with it and soon you'll have a nice collection of favorite apps to jump to at the touch of a thumb in the future if you want to edit these it's a little simpler just hit the star button at the top of the favorites panel the edge screen normally hides itself if you're inside an app but it's always just a flick of a thumb away and keep on flicking to see the other panels you've selected some like the Yahoo News and Twitter tickers let you pull down to refresh headlines most let you tap on an icon at the top to take you to the full-screen version of the app and getting more panels is simple just go to the settings cog again select manage panels and scroll all the way over to the right to download more from the galaxy app store if you get tired of any one panel the uninstall option is in the overflow menu above all the swiping and scrolling here might distract you from the pull tab up top but don't forget about it because it can make your life a lot easier if you need to find a flashlight in the dark same goes if you need a timer stopwatch or voice recorder quickly and there's even a ruler with inches and centimeters these quick tools aren't editable at this time but they are simple to use and really handy once you train yourself to remember that they're getting back to the shortcuts panel just takes a simple X tap and clearing the quick tools is just an up swipe away for all the things you can do with the edge display sometimes it's best colors shine when it's doing stuff for you phone calls on the Note edge for example don't interrupt a game or video as they do on the note 4 they come in via the edge screen so you can dismiss them without leaving the action similarly when you're playing music or a podcast you can control play pause and track skipping from the edge without leaving what you're doing it's similar to the functionality already built into Android notification shade but it's got a little more room to spread out on the edge screen if you want to choose what notifications are shown on the edge you just head on in to manage panels again and hit the Edit pencil on the briefing panel it's not labeled but it's the one with the example notifications on it finally there's the option to flip the screen 180 degrees though this is in the edge screen settings it actually applies to the whole display enable it and now you can flip the phone on its head to get the full edge screen experience even if you're a lefty it looks pretty silly but it works just as well in this orientation and some South paws will doubtless appreciate it really it's just nice to see Samsung thinking about this stuff the attention to detail that led to the creation of this option also touches most aspects of the edge screen so if there's a setting you want changed dig deep into the options menu and it's probably there and let us know what tips and tricks you've picked up down in the comments below as for how useful some of this stuff is well check out our full Galaxy Note edge review video up soon here on YouTube and watch our Galaxy Note edge vs. galaxy note 4 video if you're stuck deciding between notes follow PocketNow and all your favorite social beats and please subscribe here on youtube so you don't miss future videos most importantly though thanks for watching this has been michael fisher with pocket now captain to phones on twitter living on the edge since sometime last week we'll see you next time