Samsung phones are known for packing in tons of features, sometimes even hiding them away for you to discover. While you might know about powerful customization tools like Good Lock, there are often useful settings tucked away right inside the standard apps you use every day. One such hidden gem is the “Gallery Labs” menu within the Samsung Gallery app. If you rely on Samsung Gallery to view and manage your photos, unlocking this secret menu can significantly improve your experience with cool tweaks you won’t find anywhere else.
Contents
The key takeaway? Samsung’s default photo app has a hidden panel of experimental features, including one simple toggle that makes searching your photos much easier on larger devices.
How to Find the Secret Samsung Gallery Labs Menu
Accessing this hidden menu might sound tricky, but it’s surprisingly simple. You don’t need to download anything extra; it’s built right into the app. Here’s how to make it appear:
- Open the Samsung Gallery app on your phone.
- Tap the three-line Menu button located at the bottom right of the screen.
- Scroll down and select Settings.
- Now, find and tap on About Gallery.
- You’ll see the Gallery version number listed prominently. Tap on this version number repeatedly – usually about 7-10 times quickly.
- After enough taps, you’ll see a small pop-up message at the bottom confirming that “Gallery Labs activated.”
Finding the version number in Samsung Gallery's About menu to activate Gallery Labs
To enter the newly unlocked Gallery Labs menu, simply go back to the main Settings menu in Gallery. Scroll all the way down, and you’ll find “Gallery Labs” listed as a new option at the very bottom. Tap it to dive in.
The Best Gallery Labs Setting for Easier Photo Search
Once you’re inside the Gallery Labs menu, you’ll find a long list of toggles and options. Many are experimental, but one, in particular, offers a major quality-of-life improvement, especially if you use a larger Samsung phone like a Galaxy S Ultra model.
By default, the search icon in Samsung Gallery is positioned near the top of the screen. On big devices, reaching this with just one hand can be awkward or even require a balancing act. This inconvenience means many people might not use the search function as much as they could, forcing them to manually scroll through endless photos to find what they need.
However, Gallery Labs has a simple fix. Look under the section titled One UI 7.x (or potentially a similar label depending on your phone’s software version). Find the toggle labeled Add search tab. Turn this setting on.
You’ll likely need to close and reopen the Gallery app completely for the change to take effect. Once you do, you’ll notice a new Search icon has appeared in the navigation bar at the very bottom of the screen.
Comparison showing Samsung Gallery search icon location before (top) and after (bottom) enabling the Add search tab option
This subtle change makes a huge difference. Now, the search function is easily accessible with your thumb, transforming it from a rarely used feature into a convenient tool for quickly finding specific pictures. It’s a prime example of how a small software tweak can drastically improve daily usability on modern large-screen phones.
Other Cool Things You Can Find in Gallery Labs
While the search bar move might be the most immediately useful feature for many, the Gallery Labs menu contains several other interesting toggles that can customize your photo viewing experience. Keep in mind that these features might be experimental or change in the future.
The hidden Samsung Gallery Labs settings menu showing various experimental options
Here are a couple of other highlights you might want to explore:
- Album entry-locks: If you want to keep certain photo albums private without using Samsung’s Secure Folder, this feature lets you lock individual albums. When an album is locked, its contents won’t show up in your main photo feed or album list. To lock one, select the album, tap the menu, and choose “Lock album.”
- Show EXIF in details: For photographers or anyone curious about their image files, enabling this option adds more detailed information (like camera settings, date, time, etc.) when you view a photo’s details.
As Samsung updates its One UI software, new experimental features might appear in the Gallery Labs menu. It’s worth checking back after major system updates to see what’s new. Feel free to experiment with the different settings to tailor the Samsung Gallery app exactly how you like it.
Discover More Samsung Customization
Unlocking the hidden Gallery Labs menu is just one way to customize your Samsung phone. Samsung offers deep personalization options across its software, from the lock screen to the app drawer. The Gallery Labs menu provides practical tweaks that make navigating your photos easier and offers additional privacy and information controls. Explore this hidden menu and see how it can enhance your photo viewing experience.
Looking for more ways to tweak your Samsung device? You might be interested in diving into the powerful world of Samsung’s Good Lock modules or uncovering other secret settings like the hidden Wi-Fi menu also found deep within your phone’s settings.
