Focus on gaming

Find your games and gaming tools in one place

Open the Games app and then:

Turn Gametime on/off

To turn it on/off for all games:

  1. Open the Games app.
  2. Touch and turn Gametime on toggle on switch or off toggle off switch.

To turn it on/off for a specific game:

  1. Open the Games app and touch edit icon.
  2. Touch a game to add or remove it.

Open sidebar

Use the sidebar to quickly adjust settings during a game.

To open it, you can either:

  • Tap .
  • Swipe right.
  • Swipe right but don't show . This gives maximum space for and interferes least with gaming.

If you don't see these icons, turn on full screen mode.

Reposition

Drag to the top, middle, bottom, or opposite side of the screen.

Reposition

  1. Swipe right.
  2. Tap Settings > Sidebar access.
  3. Tap next to Swipe right from the edge.
  4. Select top, middle, or bottom third of screen.

Customize tap or swipe to open

  1. Open the Games app.
  2. Tap > Sidebar access

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To tap , select Tap the icon.
    • To swipe right, select Swipe right from the edge.
    • To swipe without showing , select Swipe right from the edge, then tap and turn Show visual hint off toggle off switch.

Remove the sidebar

If you don’t want to use the sidebar, you can remove it. Open the sidebar and tap > Sidebar access > Hide the sidebar.

Turn off calls and notifications

From sidebar

  1. During a game, open the sidebar.
  2. Tap to block calls and to block notifications.
  3. When Block calls is on , calls from starred contacts are allowed as exceptions. To block starred contacts as well, or to permit calls from certain contacts, tap > Caller exceptions.

From Games

  1. Open the Games app.
  2. Tap .
  3. Turn Block notifications and Block calls on toggle on switch or off toggle off switch.
  4. When Block calls is on toggle on switch, calls from starred contacts are allowed as exceptions. To block starred contacts as well, or to permit calls from certain contacts, tap Caller exceptions.

Turn off gestures that conflict with game controls

Some gestures may conflict with game controls. You can turn them off while you’re playing games.

Turn off all gestures

To disable all gestures (system navigation, swiping for quick settings, and gestures like flashlight) during your game, open the sidebar and tap to turn Locked mode on .

Turn off individual gestures

  1. During a game, open the sidebar and tap .

  2. Tap Block Gestures and turn on toggle on switch the gestures you want to block.

Adjust display settings

  1. During a game, open the sidebar.

  2. Tap Settings and adjust settings:

    • To improve display, adjust Display refresh rate.
    • To keep brightness at a fixed level while gaming, turn Disable adaptive brightness on toggle on switch.
    • To hide labels below sidebar icons, turn Show labels off toggle off switch.
TipFor the smoothest motion, be sure the display refresh rate is set to the highest rate.

Use social apps while you play

You can add up to two shortcuts in the sidebar to social apps such as WhatsApp or Discord, for quick access to your gaming friends. When you open the app during a game, it appears in a small freeform window that you can reposition.

To add apps:

  1. Be sure the app you want is installed. If it isn't, download it from Play Store.

  2. During a game, open the sidebar and tap .

  3. Select the apps to add.

To use the apps:

  1. During a game, open the sidebar and tap the app's icon.
  2. Drag the app window where you want it.
  3. Use available app features as you normally do. Some app features might not be available in freeform mode.

Record or take screenshot during game

  1. During a game, open the sidebar.

  2. To record your screen, tap . Learn more.

    To take a screenshot, tap .

  3. To share it, tap .