Anyhow, there are still a few ways in which you can customize this tablet to your liking and make it more effective as a multimedia and reading device. Let’s see how.
1. Wallpapers
The Tab S2 comes in 2 variants – a smaller 8-inch and a 9.7-inch one. Both have high resolution screens with 1536 x 2048 pixels forming a 4:3 aspect ratio. This is great for reading, but not ideal for multimedia. In any case, a helpful user on the XDA forum has shortlisted quality high-res wallpapers that can be used on the Tab S2. I’ve used a few myself and really loved the look. These cover a wide array of interests including Star Wars, Technology and also Material Design. Who doesn’t like pretty wallpapers on their large screen devices after all?
2. Backlit Buttons
The back and multitasking buttons on the Tab S2 are backlit, but the problem is that they stay lit for a very little while (1.5 seconds only). Once they are off, you tend to hunt where they are and if you’re not used to larger tabs, this can be annoying. The best workaround is to install the Galaxy Button Lights app. Using this, you can keep the backlit buttons on for more than 5 seconds, which makes quite a difference.
3. Reading Mode
Though Samsung seems to have missed a few goodies (no theme store AND no customizable grid for the Tab S2? Why?!) on the Tab S2, this is one option where they didn’t drop the ball on. The Reading Mode can be turned on using the toggles in the notification drop-down menu. It works really great, especially considering the Tab S2 has a high-res Super AMOLED screen and this mode really makes the text stand out, whether it be a browser or any other reading app. Turn it off once you’re done reading though, or you’ll complain how multimedia has started to look yellow on your brand new tab. Love Reading? Then read our guide on how to make it more fun while being on the go.
4. Faster Animations
This is an old-school Android trick which lately I haven’t had to use, but for whatever reason, the TouchWiz UI on the Tab S2 feels a bit jittery. If you’ve installed plenty of apps and are experiencing the same issue, then head over to Settings then the very last option About device and then keep tapping on Build number a number of times till you get a small notification stating that Developer options are now enabled. Once you see them, head over to the Drawing section and change the animation scales for Windows animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale from the default of 1x to 0.5x.
5. Create Groups of Similar Apps
Again, this might interest only those who install plenty of apps on their tablets. But, if you are one of those, you really ought to create folders in the main app drawer to create groups for better organization. There’s no need to install 3rd party launchers for this and neither should you start dragging app icons around. Rather, just hit the Edit button on the top-right corner of the app drawer screen and arrange apps in relevant groups like I created one for Google Cloud. This is also the quicker way to uninstall apps, by hitting the minus sign on the top-right corner of the app you wish to uninstall.
Love Tablets?
Mostly meant for reading and multimedia, tablets haven’t been the game-changers that manufacturers had hoped they would be. How do you use your tablet though? We’d like to hear from you in our forum.
