Focus on gaming

Find your games and gaming tools in one place

Open the Games app and then:

To play a game, tap .
If you don't have any games yet, tap Download games and choose one from Play Store.
To adjust display settings, prevent interruptions, and turn off gestures during games, tap Settings.
To see moments you captured during games, tap .
To turn Gametime on or off for a game, tap .

Open toolkit

Use the toolkit 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.

Reposition

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

Reposition

Swipe right.
Tap Settings > Toolkit access.
Tap next to Swipe right from the edge.
Select top, middle, or bottom third of screen.

Customize tap or swipe to open

Open the Games app.
Tap > Toolkit access
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 .

Remove the toolkit

If you don’t want to use the toolkit, you can remove it entirely. Open the toolkit and tap Settings > Toolkit access > Hide the toolkit.

Turn off calls and notifications

From the toolkit

During a game, open the toolkit.
Tap to block calls and to block notifications.
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 app

Open the Games app.
Tap .
Turn Block notifications and Block calls on or off .
When Block calls is on, calls from starred contacts are allowed as exceptions:
- To block starred contacts as well, or to permit calls from all contacts, tap Caller exceptions.
- To permit urgent calls if the same person calls a second time within a 15 minute period, turn Allow repeat callers on .

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.

During a game, open the toolkit and tap .
Tap Block Gestures and turn on the gestures you want to block.

Adjust display settings

During a game, open the toolkit.
If needed:
- To change performance mode, tap Standard , High performance , or Battery saver .
- To show lights on the edges when game sound is detected, tap Acoustic lights.
- To make details clearer in dark scenes, tap .
Tap Settings and adjust settings:
- To filter unintentional corner touches in landscape mode, tap Corner detection and set it to use a large area, small area, or turn it off.
- To improve display, adjust Display refresh rate.
- To keep brightness at a fixed level while gaming, turn Disable adaptive brightness on .
- To hide labels below sidebar icons, turn Show labels off .
- To improve voice quality in landscape mode, turn Voice enhancements on .

TipFor the smoothest motion, be sure the display refresh rate is set to the highest rate.

Use other apps while you play

You can add up to two shortcuts in the toolkit for quick access. When you open the app from the toolkit during a game, it appears in a small freeform window that you can reposition.

To add apps:

Be sure the app you want is installed. If it isn't, download it from Play Store.
During a game, open the toolkit and tap > .
Select the apps to add.

To use the apps:

During a game, open the toolkit and tap , then select the app.
Drag the app window where you want it.
Use available app features as you normally do. Some app features might not be available in freeform mode.

Record or take screenshot during game

During a game, open the toolkit.
To record your screen, tap . Learn more.

To take a screenshot, tap .
To share it, tap .

Allow game play over mobile data

To save mobile data, Gametime prevents games from using mobile data when Wi-Fi is available. But you can change settings and allow games to use mobile data.

Open the Games app.
Tap .
Turn Use mobile data on or off .