10 awesome usability tweaks and add-ons for your Samsung Galaxy Note 3

We're almost halfway through 2014, but last year's Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is still one terrific powerhouse of a smartphone. Thanks to its impeccable build and buckets of differentiating features, the phablet still holds its own among the current crop of fantastic smartphones with large screens and beefy hardware. Owners of the Note 3 have little to complain about, as there is very little the phone can't do. With the help of the S-Pen, it's still the closest thing to an Android-powered pocket PC you can get in this date and age, while the combination of Snapdragon 800 CPU and 3GB RAM is very potent.


As great as the Galaxy Note 3 is out of the box, however, Samsung's flagship phablet is an Android device. What does this mean? It means there are hundreds of ways in which we can make it better! We chose ten of them, and we feel that any Note 3 owner will appreciate them. There are some nice surprises in there, along with some things that could be considered essential. Don't miss out on any of them.

10 awesome usability tweaks and add-ons for your Galaxy Note 3

1. Turn the S-Pen into an S-kickstand

Your Galaxy Note 3 always had an in-built kickstand - you just didn't know it! Go ahead and take out the S-Pen from its rightful slot. Then, insert its blunt end into the slot hole, with the Samsung logo on the S-Pen facing you while turned upside-down. Next time you're out for coffee, put the Note 3 on your table like this and enjoy it like a boss - no need to thank us! Be aware, though, that this position isn't strong enough for actually using the phone's display. It's only suited for reading, or watching photos and videos.

2. S-Pen, I miss you!

While we're on the topic of the magnificent note-taking, kick-standing appendage that is the S-Pen, here's how to set up an alarm system to worry less about losing it in the everyday grind. Take your phablet and move to Settings -> Controls -> S Pen. Put a check-mark next to 'S Pen Keeper' to activate the feature. The system will now display an alert if you happen to walk away without attaching the S Pen to the Note 3. The catch is that the alerts only work if the display is switched off, so don't get too comfortable about your stylus already.

3. Run your own weather station

The Galaxy Note 3 is all business and class on the outside, but it's very sensitive on the inside - it includes ambient light, proximity, position, temperature, and humidity sensors that make it capable of some neat tricks. Try downloading a popular weather app, such as Weather Station, and you'll get elaborate readings and graphs for temperature, pressure, relative humidity, elevation, and more. You can also “borrow” the "exclusive" Activity Zone app from the Galaxy S5 Active, which does the same and looks quite nice. No matter which app you choose, having a Note 3 is like having a portable weather station!

4. Open the S-Pen air command circle without touching the stylus

Good Mood Droid came up with a solution to open the S-Pen's Air Command menu without reaching for the stylus. What's even better is that the app, called GMD Air Command, is available from Google Play (right here) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gmd.aircommand . Simply install, tap the icon and the menu opens. You can now access and use Action Memo, Screen Write, S Finder, and Pen Window with your fingers.

5. One swipe forward, two swipes back

Buckle your seatbelts, because the next round of tweaks expects you to root your Note 3 and install the Xposed framework. These two things are essential to anyone that loves tweaking and modding Android. If you are new to them, devoting some time for research is well worth it, because they are easy to install, yet offer many opportunities. So, the first thing we can do after getting rooting and x'posing out of the way is enabling the Swipe-Back gesture. This is so you can easily navigate back within any app without reaching for the on-screen buttons. This is done by installing the SwipeBack module from Xposed and rebooting. Then, you will be able to assign a custom gesture for navigating back - a swipe from left, right, or bottom.

6. Get your apps floating without the S-Pen

If you are a Note 3 owner, you surely know how the S-Pen lets you open an app inside a floating window with the Pen Window feature. Good stuff, Samsung - but if only we could do the same without having to reach for the stylus all the time? Here's where Floating Windows Shortcut enters the stage. Install the application from Google Play and get in on the fun. The app lets you create shortcuts that automatically open apps in Floating Window mode, with the added option of specifying the exact width and height you want to have. You can also have the app open in two or more windows, and show notifications in the tray. However, these last two options cost money.

7. Keep the display awake for certain apps

Letting your display get some rest is good for its beauty and battery life, but it would have been just dandy if we could choose which apps can keep the screen going without the auto-timeout dimming and turning it off in a rude fashion. Luckily, we can do that with Xposed. Install the Never Sleep module and simply put a check-mark next to the apps you want keep on screen. This works especially well for reading and office apps.

8. Use any app in multi-window mode

Previously, we figured out how to run four windows simultaneously in multi-window mode. Here's the next best thing - the freedom to have your own shortcuts in the MW-drawer. Get it by installing Multi Window Manager from the Google Play Store. Then, simply open it and check the apps that you want within the shortcut sidebar. When you're finished, save the configuration and enjoy the multi-window overload.

9. Enable 4-window multitasking (requires root)

Did you know that Samsung buried the ability to have four app windows opened simultaneously, floating anywhere on the screen, in the Note 3's code? Sammy totally did it, and what this means for you is that you are no longer limited to two-window multi-tasking. To discover this freedom, root your phablet and download the MultiWindow Plus .apk from the XDA Developers board. Hopefully, four windows should cover your multi-tasking needs! The Docking functionality is awesome on its own, too. Just drag an app icon anywhere on the display, and you will have it open in a floating window which you can move, dock, and re-size.

10. Enable One-Tap page scrolling

Have you rooted your Galaxy Note 3 already? Great - you can now make scrolling on that big screen much, much easier. Install OneClick Scroll from Google Play Store, open it, and hit Enable. You can now tap the left area of the notification bar to return to the top of the page, or tap the right area to hit the bottom. The app comes with some additional settings, including vibration feedback, persistent notification, and automatic start on rebooting. Neat!

 

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