Enhance App Drawer Experience on Samsung Galaxy

To enhance the app drawer experience on Samsung Galaxy phones, you can customize the layout, sorting, and visibility of apps, and enable or disable the Samsung Free page. This guide covers the built-in settings and hidden options that let you tailor the app drawer to your liking.

Understanding the Samsung App Drawer

The app drawer on Samsung Galaxy phones, powered by One UI (Samsung’s custom Android skin), is the screen that lists all your installed apps. Unlike the home screen, which you can fill with shortcuts and widgets, the app drawer is meant to be a complete inventory of everything installed. By default, you access it by swiping up on the home screen or tapping the Apps button at the bottom of the dock. The drawer can display apps in a vertical scrolling list or a horizontal page-based grid, depending on your settings.

Changing the App Drawer Layout

One of the most impactful changes is switching between the vertical list and the horizontal page view. To do this:

Open the app drawer and tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner.
Select Sort or View as (the exact wording varies by One UI version).
Choose Alphabetical order for a vertical list or Custom order for the page-based layout.

In Custom order, you can drag apps to rearrange them freely, and you can also create folders within the drawer. This is useful if you prefer to group apps by category (e.g., Social, Games, Productivity) rather than relying on alphabetical order.

Sorting and Organizing Apps

Beyond the basic layout, you can sort apps by:

Alphabetical order – the default, which is self-explanatory.
Custom order – lets you manually arrange apps and folders.
Install date – shows the most recently installed apps first, which can help you find new additions quickly.

To change the sort method, go to the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Sort. The option you pick applies only to the app drawer, not the home screen. If you have many apps, using the search bar at the top of the drawer (or the dedicated search icon) is often the fastest way to locate an app.

Hiding Apps and Using Secure Folder

If you want to keep certain apps out of the main app drawer, you have two primary options:

Hide apps – In the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu → Settings → Hide apps. Select the apps you want to hide. They will no longer appear in the drawer, but they remain installed and can be accessed via the home screen (if you placed a shortcut there) or by unhiding them later.
Secure Folder – This is a more robust solution that creates a separate, encrypted space on your phone. You can move apps (and their data) into Secure Folder, and they will be completely isolated from the main app drawer. Access Secure Folder via the app icon or from the notification panel. This is ideal for sensitive apps like banking or private messaging.

Note that hiding apps is not a security feature; it merely removes them from view. If you truly want to keep apps private, use Secure Folder.

Removing the Samsung Free Page

On many Galaxy phones, swiping left on the app drawer reveals the Samsung Free page (formerly known as Samsung Daily and Bixby Home). This page shows news, weather, and other content. If you find it distracting, you can disable it:

Open the app drawer and swipe left to reach Samsung Free.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) at the top.
Select Disable or Turn off (the exact wording may vary).

Alternatively, you can go to Settings → Home screen and look for an option related to the Samsung Free page. Disabling it will make the app drawer end at your last page of apps, giving you a cleaner experience.

Using App Drawer Settings in One UI

One UI provides a dedicated settings menu for the app drawer. To access it:

Open the app drawer.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) → Settings.

Here you can:

Change the button order – if you have a navigation bar, you can customize which buttons appear (Apps, Home, Back).
Add apps to the home screen automatically – when you install a new app, it will automatically place a shortcut on the home screen. If you prefer to keep the home screen clean, turn this off.
Enable or disable the Apps button – you can choose to have an Apps button in the dock (which opens the drawer) or rely on swipe gestures.

These settings give you granular control over how the app drawer behaves, making it more efficient for your daily use.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems with the app drawer, here are some common fixes:

App drawer is missing – If you don’t see the app drawer, you might have accidentally set the home screen to use the Home and Apps screens mode. Go to Settings → Home screen → Home screen layout and select Home and Apps screens to bring back the separate app drawer.
Apps not appearing in the drawer – This can happen if the app is disabled or hidden. Check Settings → Apps to see if the app is disabled, and check the Hide apps list in the app drawer settings.
App drawer is slow or laggy – Clear the cache of the launcher (One UI Home) by going to Settings → Apps → One UI Home → Storage → Clear cache. This can resolve temporary glitches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove the Samsung Free page from the app drawer?

Yes, you can disable it by swiping to the Samsung Free page, tapping the three-dot menu, and selecting Disable. If that option isn’t available, go to Settings → Home screen and look for a toggle related to Samsung Free.

How do I hide apps from the app drawer without uninstalling them?

Open the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings → Hide apps, and select the apps you want to hide. They will disappear from the drawer but remain installed. To unhide them, follow the same steps and deselect them.

Why is my app drawer showing apps in a list instead of pages?

This happens when you have the layout set to Alphabetical order. To switch back to pages, go to the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu, select Sort, and choose Custom order. You can then arrange apps manually.

Can I change the number of columns in the app drawer?

Yes, on most Galaxy phones, you can go to the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu, and select Settings. Look for Grid size or App grid and choose a different number of columns (e.g., 4×5, 5×5). This option may not be available on all models or One UI versions.

How do I move an app from the app drawer to the home screen?

Long-press the app icon in the app drawer, then drag it to the home screen. If you have the Add apps to Home screen option enabled in the app drawer settings, new apps will automatically appear on the home screen.

What is the difference between hiding an app and using Secure Folder?

Hiding an app simply removes it from the app drawer; the app is still installed and can be accessed via other means (e.g., a home screen shortcut). Secure Folder creates a separate, encrypted space where apps are fully isolated, requiring authentication to access. For privacy, Secure Folder is the better choice.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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