Ths probably won't be a popular post but even if it helps 1 other person, the time writing this will have been worth it.
Despite what some believe regarding battery capacity sizes and One UI 7's functionality across Samsung's range of phones. Their power consumption and operation are really well optimised, when you take the time to get equipped with the settings One UI 7 has available it can be a real asset in your life. However with all that battery life facilitating doom scrolling, it can just as easily aid an unwitting bad habbit to keep in check with the below Samsung tools.
You can.
- Block certain apps during select time ranges.
- Limit app usage to a set time limit each day with a 10min buffer, so you aren't caught out with it surprise closing.
- Make these unproductive apps run in greyscale to become less appealing to get lost in.
I get about 12-14 hours of screen time with an S24Ultra before needing to charge on the light processor speed profile, using Game Booster+ power saving, Galaxy App Booster optimisation, using an OLED friendly pure black background with the dark mode theme *.
This will reliably get me through a heavy day and often 2 navigating hiking/working. With a improved Power Saving mode in the Battery settings as an emergency backup when needed. However It could be better with some human improvement to stop me losing track of time too. So how do you enable these tools, read on.
Samsung Digital Wellbeing app with additional restrictions from the Samsung Modes & Routines app help set a usage time limit and block for individual or groups of apps you so you can sleep or concentrate better.
Opening certain apps at night if I'm struggling to sleep had to go (I'm only making it worse by using them) and have become less enticing but still functional when needed running in grayscale. Bright colours contribute towards keeping you awake so you can enable rules to autostart at a set time like midnight till 6am and on app openings to enforce these.
Step 1. Search Digital on your phone to find the app and select the app timers function.
Step 2. Select the add new timer button and select the apps you wish to limit usage to a global max time limit every 24 hours. If you want to give various times to each different app you will need to create a timer per app. You can specify if you want these limits to apply on scheduled days only if needed as well.
If you try to open one of these apps over 10min over your time limit the app icon will be faded and mildly blocked with the following reminder to get back to more constructive tasks.
Step 3. To block an app completely during certain hours such as when you should be sleeping you can edit the Sleep Focus Mode by opening the Modes & Routines App searching Modes.
Step 4. Select the focus profile you wish to customise and select the only apps you wish to be allowed active in this mode.
Step 5. Select the routines tab and create a new routine to activate sleep mode to autostart at midnight till 6am.
Choose if this applies everyday or set days for example.
Name and save your auto routine.
Step 6. Create a Visual Accesabilty option searching vision on the system and choosing visual enhancement and then visual correction.
Select greyscale which can be turned on and off as an extra option from the quick settings panel now as needed or set up for pressing both volume buttons at once.
Step 7. Create a new routine to make this greyscale accesbilty option auto turn on and off with certain apps.
This time instead of selecting time range on the if rule select App opened selecting the problem apps. Followed by for the then rule select Accesbilty for your colour correction.
Your apps will now appear like this when opened and the system will return to colour if you come out of or minimise these apps.
Hope this helps and it wasn't too boring. I just want to help people use their Samsung mobiles to the full potential they can and if it can help keep people productive then even better.
* Secret Tip. For clarity, There are rare exceptions with my usage patterns that I could need a minor supplimentry charge which are if I have taken hundreds of high resolution (50mp+) photos that day. The refining image phase post capture with ExpertRaw and the main camera app can use additional battery life while this is happening. However Samsung has still given you options here to defer this till you are back on charge by setting the camera app to sleep in the background and ExpertRaw to deep sleep in the background in the Background Usage Limits panel in the Battery settings. This will mean some photos will be unavailable to view/use fully pre-processing but you can reopen these apps to complete this process when charging is next available preventing this additional drain while out and about.
