A couple of days back, Samsung released a new UI for its new Galaxy owners, and from first impressions I can’t tell if it’s brilliant or terrible. I decided to take it for a spin, and show you what it’s like to set up and give you a visual walkthrough. You can download Good Lock from the Galaxy App store, or download the APK directly from APKMirror.
When you first install it, your phone will restart and then it’ll take you through a basic tutorial on how to interact with various parts of the new UI, like the clock widget which you can swipe down on to reveal another widget, and the lock screen notifications.
With the notifications, you can swipe down to expand them or swipe right to ‘keep’ them in a ‘read it later’ style list. Or you can tap on the notification to reveal other actions like scheduling it for later, accessing contact information, plus a few more. Swiping left dismisses them as normal.
The Good Lock UI also changes your drop-down quick settings menu to make it much more like a stock Android Material-design UI. Here, you’ll find a bespoke settings cog which takes you to the options for customizing the Good Lock colors and functions. Perhaps the coolest, and most useful feature is ‘Routines’.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gctEP_ToWEQ]
With Routines, you can customize the way your phone lock screen looks and what it features based on your location and/or time of day. For instance, you can set up a work profile by choosing your work’s location, then you put in your work start and end hours. Once you’ve set the location and time parameters, you select a number of visual and functional changes it should make based on those rules.
You can choose the quick settings options, which you’re mostly likely to use at work, then choose an overall color scheme which alters the colors with the notification drawer, popup windows and such. Most importantly, you can choose which apps you want to appear in the app drawer at the bottom of the lock screen, and remove the ones you don’t want. What’s more, you can choose widgets you want quick access too by dragging down on the lock screen clock.
Once you’ve set up a work profile, it makes sense to set up a home one too, using the same methods, but choosing different apps. For instance, I’m more likely to game, WhatsApp or message when I’m not working. Whereas my work apps will include things like Fenix, Instagram and Outlook.
If you go back in to the UI settings, you can change the app launching animation, choosing to make it more fancy, or simpler. Whatever suits your tastes. You can also decide to go with a solid color background, or choose an image.
Once set up, you get your brand new lock screen with your desired apps and widget shortcut. Good Lock UI doesn’t change the app drawer or your settings menu, but it does change the multitasking view, offering you the quick access apps at the bottom, and a cascading list of recently used apps on the top instead of the stacked card UI.
Overall, it’s pretty cool if you want a UI which responds to your schedule and location. Personally, I see a lot of potential here as did Ed, earlier in the week, but it’s nowhere near being a finished product yet. I’d like much deeper controls, and maybe even the addition of some Edge specific features for us S7 Edge users.
Download it, and see what you think. Is it a hellish mess, or a life-changer? Let us know in the comments.
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