T-Mobile AT&T Verizon Sprint Samsung Android Picks

15 TouchWiz features that make the day-to-day Android experience better

posted by Paul.K

Mar 11, 2015, 10:52 AM

15 TouchWiz features that make the day-to-day Android experience better

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are right behind the corner and with them we are, supposedly, about to be introduced to a much lighter version of Samsung's home-baked TouchWiz. So, we figured it's a great time to take look at the latest version of the interface we have on-hand right now, comb through its features, and really think about which ones of them we hope will stay (if Sammy actually removes features, instead of just making the UI graphically simpler).

Yes, yes, TouchWiz has been getting a lot of flak for being overburdened with components and “gimmicks”, which are rarely useful, but often harmful to the workflow of the operating system. However, we feel it has been a while since it actually got some praise for all the nifty little (and not so little) tweaks and functions it adds to make Android just that much better in our day-to-day lives.

So, we decided to make a little list. It's based on the latest Android Lollipop-based TouchWiz that can currently be found on the Galaxy Note 4 / Note Edge and the tally does not involve big or oddly specific features, rather – it shines a light on the tiny details that have been added to the apps we use on a daily basis. Details so well placed that we are quick to get used to them, and anyone who makes a jump from a Galaxy Note 4 / Note Edge to a stock Android device will miss.

15 TouchWiz features that make the day-to-day Android experience better

View more + 10 images

Related phones

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

9.3

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.2

Based on 75 Reviews

Display 5.7 inches
2560 x 1440 pixels

Camera 16 MP (Single camera)
3.7 MP front

Hardware Samsung Exynos 7 Octa, 3GB RAM

Storage 32GB, microSDXC

Battery 3220 mAh

OS Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Samsung TouchWiz UI

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

9.0

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.3

Based on 13 Reviews

Display 5.6 inches
2560 x 1440 pixels

Camera 16 MP (Single camera)
3.7 MP front

Hardware Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, 3GB RAM

Storage 32GB, microSDXC

Battery 3000 mAh

OS Android 5.1 Lollipop

FEATURED VIDEO

Options

62 Comments

54. galaxius

Posts: 82; Member since: Sep 06, 2014

One of the reasons I moved to iOS was the call minimising , no3. I never knew u could do that with samsung phones. I tried it on htc but it doesn't have that feature. Ios had this feature at default. Now I know. Now that s6 has all these features and the best hardware, you can't go wrong, can you? I love android. iOS is so closed, so limited to do anything. You rely on iOS updates for icon changes. How pathetic. Now with new s6 you can change everything with them changer. Isn't that awsome? All I wished for was, a similar hardware design of Apple with android OS. Galaxy s6 has it all.. Thanks Samsung. I think this phone will be the best phone I ever had!

posted on Mar 12, 2015, 2:34 AM 0

43. Donbenie

Posts: 265; Member since: Aug 04, 2013

Generally finds Stock Android boring to you compared to TW,matter of fact,Tw is my reference UI for any Smartphone..

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 5:03 PM 1

42. GeekMovement unregistered

Although I think the icons on Touchwiz and the appearance in general (maybe the colors) could use an overhaul, the reason why I stuck mostly with Samsung Galaxy devices is due to the features. It's just too convenient to lose.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 4:16 PM 0

41. aniketcool06

Posts: 1; Member since: Mar 11, 2015

Im really digging the new theme store on the new s6 but i wonder if samsung is going to give that to the note 4

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 3:51 PM 1

39. Rick_Deckard

Posts: 27; Member since: Oct 31, 2014

Is Samsung updating the Note 4 with the new TouchWiz? Or is it exclusive to the S6?

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 2:48 PM 0

36. JohnK

Posts: 117; Member since: Mar 03, 2015

Samsung sells a complete package with its Galaxy series and you get to know the difference when you try other brands / stock android, having to look for this mod or this app (oops, a malware, oops non working etc..). That's why i always have a Galaxy among my sets.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 2:17 PM 1

28. Macready

Posts: 1834; Member since: Dec 08, 2014

One important feature missing: battery efficiency. That's the main reason why a Note 4 blows the Nexus 6 out of the water when it comes to battery life, when both running Lollipop. And in general why Samsung devices do better and better in this regard, relative to their true rated capacity. Other smaller features missing: - Adapt Sound (tailor sound to each ear based on a small test, since no ear is the same). - Fixed memory leak in latest Note 4 TW Lollipop - Fixed audio delay (present on all Android devices) in latest Note 4 TW Lollipop - Return of silent mode in latest Touchwiz Lollipop skin.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 12:57 PM 2

27. tedkord

Posts: 17544; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

I think one the most insanely useful features of touchwiz is Smart Stay. It's something that just works in the background and doesn't ever get in the way. You just enable it, and it's there when you need it.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 12:45 PM 2

31. RoboticEngi

Posts: 1251; Member since: Dec 03, 2014

Exactly i cant live without it :-)

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 1:31 PM 2

26. bubbadoes

Posts: 1225; Member since: May 03, 2012

i cant think of one. I prefer stock android! or sense

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 12:42 PM 1

24. mixedfish

Posts: 1579; Member since: Nov 17, 2013

Picture #7 is the very definition of why Touchwiz is infamous for bloat. You do not need half of those shortcuts on the notification drawer, more is not better.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 12:31 PM 1

33. dmakun

Posts: 382; Member since: Jun 06, 2011

Stick with your boring stock Android and leave the rest of us to "cope" with our beloved TW. We don't mind the famous "bloat". Thanks for the insightful comment (sarcasm).

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 1:43 PM 4

34. JMartin22

Posts: 2429; Member since: Apr 30, 2013

What are you rambling about? Isn't that statement the very contradictory views to your claim and love for an open, customization user experience that Android as a platform offers? What's wrong with Samsung giving you the utility and entitlement to prioritize what toggles you see right when you first pull down the notification window? As for the options, whether or not you use them is simply subjective and your opinion is not conducive as a whole to the user experience Samsung brings to Android with their own proprietary offerings.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 1:46 PM 3

23. JMartin22

Posts: 2429; Member since: Apr 30, 2013

TouchWiz now performs better and is simply more optimized for speed and efficiency than stock Android on Galaxy devices. You can simply move around the UI and access desired menu options and destinations quicker. TW Lollipop builds put the performance largely equates to, or even surpasses frame rate tests of Vanilla Android as well on older devices such as the Note 3, as documented in early test builds. The native optimization of TouchWiz Lollipop on the S6, along with the formers more powerful hardware will make it even faster. Any claims of lag are simply propaganda talk, misconstrued observations or intentional dishonesty.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 12:05 PM 6

20. gamblor77

Posts: 118; Member since: Apr 26, 2012

I actually love TouchWiz more than stock too, way more useful features. I moved to Cyanogen and a few other mods and ended up flashing back to stock with Root. One other thing they did not mention in the article is the ability to hold/slide through app pages. If you hold and swipe the dots at the bottom the app/home screen you can quickly slide left/right to jump to a page. It works really well too and you don't have to swipe 17 times to get to the app page you want. You can also pinch to zoom out on the app/home screen and it shows you all pages at once, which you can jump to. Makes things REALLY handy when you've got a ton of apps like I do.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:48 AM 6

18. Sondae

Posts: 291; Member since: Jan 02, 2013

Multi window is what i love the most in touchwiz.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:40 AM 2

17. willywanta

Posts: 503; Member since: Jun 04, 2014

that's why i love samsung

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:34 AM 12

16. danceosmsiles

Posts: 19; Member since: Feb 07, 2015

The versatality of touchwiz ans haters will hate.. the newer is faster and smoother ..The older ones had minor lags of point 1 or max point .8 sec ...but they troll as if they are winning a race ...they are useful and lively ...place touchwiz, tock android and i os 8 side by side ..u will realize how lively is touchwiz.... i would request PA to go menu by menu and customizations by customizations article on Touchwiz , stock android and i os 8 ...that would be a great article

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:31 AM 11

12. Symon_Fleece

Posts: 351; Member since: May 30, 2014

That's why i prefer TouchWiz over stock, eventhough it is laggy (but not much). Touchwiz is king of multitasking :)

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:26 AM 6

62. zacsaturday

Posts: 262; Member since: May 09, 2014

Touchwiz is getting better :) 10 years from now Samsung = 98% of the smartphones

posted on Mar 16, 2015, 7:44 AM 0

11. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

Love the TW lollipop new multi windows and text selection. It's sleek. Testing out my Note 3 with pebble combo for the coming weeks. So far I like it. Though I do miss my watch call answering capabilities on my Gear and Samsung Tab S 8.4 combo.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:26 AM 1

10. SonyFindOneDroidple

Posts: 865; Member since: May 11, 2013

I navigated first on the list and saw a pretty neat touchwiz and read the Note 4/edge at the article and I said --- why do these screenshots differ from my Note 4. Oh well they have the lollipop, and this made me excited. :)

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:21 AM 0

6. Gulenkov

Posts: 50; Member since: May 15, 2013

Stock Android actually has a power saving mode. It first appeared in 5.0 Lollipop

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:16 AM 3

9. maherk

Posts: 7114; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

But it isn't as powerful as the one offered with TW, grayscaling mode is superb for Amoled screens. And U.power saving mode gives you around 14 days on a single charge.

posted on Mar 11, 2015, 11:20 AM 12

61. zacsaturday

Posts: 262; Member since: May 09, 2014

What is stupid is that Samsung doesn't downscale the resolution with Battery saver on (which is why i installed Pixel Battery Saver by Pakosi something (i think thats how you spell it) (only works on OLED based screens btw (Most Samsungs and Moto X series))

posted on Mar 16, 2015, 7:43 AM 0

63. gamblor77

Posts: 118; Member since: Apr 26, 2012

Just saw this post and checked into the app and wanted to say thanks. I've never thought of looking for an app like this but it's frikin brilliant! Gonna test it out today on my Note 3 and see how much of a difference it makes.