I am an author and features writer at Android Police. I primarily writes guides, how-tos, and roundups on the latest smartphone apps and features for Android Police since joining the team in early 2022.
While my work often diversifies depending on the topic, you'll often find me writing about the newest entertainment or hidden utility Android apps or discussing my paranoia about digital privacy and poor smartphone practices.
I will occasionally dabble in Samsung's latest features in One UI. On the games side, my area of expertise is in action RPGs and gacha games, but I will play and study the occasional competitive shooter. But most of all, my appetite for new stories still goes unquenched — as shown with my personal love for the Trails series.
Before joining Android Police, I studied chemistry and graduated with an honors specialization in Chemistry in 2016, leading me to spend many hours toiling around the lab as an undergraduate. Eventually, all those hours spent at the lab led me to develop my analytical mindset. So now, if you give me a problem, I will relentlessly tackle it to find a solution.
My favorite pastime as a student was always writing reports, presentations, tutorials, and literature reviews, which guided me into completing a graduate certificate in technical writing in 2019. Thanks to my current role with Android Police, I learned to appreciate user security and privacy, leading me into studying Cyber Security.
My first Android phone was the Samsung Galaxy Note II in 2012, which gave me a taste of how a small piece of powerful hardware can open up endless opportunities for my favorite hobbies. Though if you ask about my purchasing regrets, I will always say missing out on the Google Nexus still stings to this very day.
I've also been a gamer for over 20 years, starting with Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Thanks to those early influences, I now own over 15 devices for gaming, ranging from handhelds to consoles.
Nowadays, you'll find me studying spreadsheets and assembling data to theorycraft new teams and builds for Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, and Zenless Zone Zero. You'll also see me digging deeper to uncover the truth behind AI as a field: which part is actually useful, or it just a bunch of bloat being sold with your phone?
I constantly procrastinate when it comes to cleaning up my phone's home screen. I have so many apps on my home screen that shouldn't be there, and it keeps getting worse.
Because of that, I rely on my Edge Panel even more. I couldn't live without using Edge Panels on my Samsung Galaxy S25+.
Edge Panels are another Samsung One UI quirk, so if you don't have a Samsung device, you'll miss this feature — though you might be able to replicate a similar side-panel experience.
It is also one of my favorite features to check when a new One UI update comes out. I generally revisit it every few months to see what else I can do with those swipe-in menus.
It makes multitasking between my apps much easier. Plus, tools like my compass and ruler are easy to access when I need them.
As a result, I reduced the digital clutter on my home screen and made full use of my apps' Edge Panel. Here's how I set it up.
Enabling your Edge Panel in your Samsung settings
Visit your display options to find this crucial toggle
I do a quick check of my settings when I download a new update, to make sure my favorite settings stay intact or transfer over properly. I do the same with my One UI settings.
To quickly check whether your Edge Panel is enabled, look for a handle when you unlock your phone. The handle should be translucent and appear on the right side of your screen.
The handle is mostly tucked in. If you don't see one, it may not be enabled. To enable your Edge Panel, go to Settings > Display. From there, toggle on Edge panels.
After it's enabled, the handle appears on the screen or in the app you're using. Swipe it to the left side to open it. Then tap anywhere else on the screen to collapse it.
To access your Edge Panel tools, such as a compass, flashlight, or ruler, swipe left again.
It stays on the tool you selected, but you can easily swap it. Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the panel to change between the tools.
I love using my flashlight this way because I can keep my notifications panel separate from the quick panel. Sometimes I swipe wrong and open my notifications instead of the quick panel (since that is one of the easiest methods to access my flashlight).
So I use my Edge Panel to access my flashlight most of the time, rather than using my quick panel.
Customizing your Edge Panel to keep your home screen tidy
The feature provides many helpful app shortcuts
The Edge Panel is fantastic for keeping your screen less cluttered, and it takes about as long to open your panel as it does to access your home screen.
One advantage is that the Edge Panel is available across all my apps, so I can use it to check something quickly without suspending my app, going to the home screen, and finding the app.
The Edge Panel is my favorite thing to customize. You can add a list of apps by tapping on the pencil icon below the expanded panel. Select an app from the grid and then hold and drag the icon to an empty spot.
You can repeat this for more apps even after you fill the initial 14 slots; you will just have to scroll down to see the rest.
I don't like adding more than 16 apps since it will get cluttered, and I might forget which apps I have on my Edge Panel versus ones I left on my home screen.
If you have real estate on your device's screen, use the Home Up module in Good Lock to rearrange it so that you see three app columns instead of two.
You can also create app folders containing your icons on the Edge Panel. To do this, drag and drop an app icon in your Edge Panel onto another app icon to create a folder.
Another nifty trick is to add split-screen app pairs to your Edge Panel.
To do this, open two apps in split-screen mode, tap the middle of the split-screen app pair (the three-dot icon), and select Apps edge panel. Tapping that adds the pair to your Edge Panel.
In the Edge Panel editing settings (the pencil icon), you can add apps in split-screen view from the panel. Select the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the edit section to open more options.
You can choose Touch and hold or Tap. I prefer the touch-and-hold button since it's muscle memory for me.
You can also remove the Galaxy AI Edge Panel shortcuts by tapping the icons in the More menu (the three-dot icon in the editing settings).
If you want more from Edge Panels, you can download new ones from the Galaxy Store, though availability varies by your One UI version. Plus, third-party support is very limited on newer One UI versions (One UI 7 or later).
Cast more magic with Samsung One UI
I always adore One UI. I recently got an older Google Pixel and still have my OnePlus 12R, but I can't ever get enough of customizing One UI.
Good Lock is your best friend if you want tools to change your One UI experience, like Home Up to improve your home screen design and app or folder placement, and QuickStar for a new quick panel glow-up.
Good Lock modules might become outdated after a recent One UI update. The team needs time to optimize and tweak the tools for the new version.