I’ve been using Samsung phones for a long time. In 2012, the Galaxy S2 was my first smartphone, and after a break for Nexus and Pixel phones, I’ve been back with Samsung since the Galaxy S10 Plus in 2019. That means I’ve used every version of One UI so far and delved through every app, settings menu, and Good Lock module over the years. With that experience, I have a checklist of settings and features I enable right away, most recently on my Galaxy S25, and you should use them too.
Samsung loves to pack its phones with more menus than an overbooked restaurant, which can be confusing and daunting to the uninitiated. It’s worth the work, though, as One UI can be the most personalized flavor of Android once you have it set up right.