Review of TouchWiz - Samsung's proprietary shell for Android smartphones. Goodbye TouchWiz! Meet the new Samsung Android shell The touchwiz screen application is not responding, what should I do?

Samung is going to say goodbye to the heavy Android TouchWiz shell forever, replacing it with a new and more convenient one - Samsung Experience. The Grace UX shell will also not be used; its life was very short: it is installed only on the Galaxy Note 7, which was withdrawn from sale in October.

TouchWiz first appeared on Samsung smartphones in 2010. Over time, this interface developed along with Android and acquired more and more new (not always useful) capabilities. The main complaint about TouchWiz is that it froze even on flagship devices, as it was cluttered with dozens of Samsung proprietary applications and services. In terms of their capabilities, these applications were inferior to those that could be found in the Google Play Store, but the company was in no hurry to get rid of them.

However, TouchWiz had fans who believed that this shell adds functions to Samsung smartphones and tablets that are missing in stock builds of Android. Perhaps it is thanks to this interface that Samsung smartphones have become the most popular in the world. In terms of their demand, they have surpassed devices from other manufacturers, thanks to which the company has become the leader in the smartphone market.

Samsung Experience is a slightly redesigned Grace UX shell that was used in the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. It is based on Android Nougat and contains only minor improvements compared to the stock version of the operating system. Samsung is currently testing Android Nougat with Samsung Experience on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. These smartphones will come pre-installed with a small number of Samsung apps (Samsung Pass and Samsung Note), and there will be several buttons in the notification area that are not present in pure Nougat, including an automatic screen brightness switch. In addition, Samsung Experience includes a huge number of minor cosmetic changes.

Probably, the idea to get rid of TouchWiz and create a new Samsung shell was prompted by the release of Google Pixel smartphones with a “pure” version of Android Nougat. These smartphones turned out to be very successful, and Samsung understands that many users will not choose TouchWiz. Additionally, highly modified versions of Android are much more difficult to update, as recent statistics show. According to Google at the beginning of December, Android Nougat is installed on only 0.4% of Android devices.

The cause of this situation may be problems with the firmware or third-party applications. What to do in this case?

Soft reset

The easiest way to resurrect your smartphone is to perform a soft reset and then boot the smartphone into safe mode. This method almost always helps if you are experiencing the “TouchWiz Screen app has stopped” problem for the first time. The device issues one-time messages of this kind when the firmware or the user interface itself fails.

The order of your actions:

1. Remove the battery from the turned on device
2. Press the power button and hold it for at least 30 seconds
3. Reinstall the battery and secure the back cover.
4. Turn on the phone

Clearing the Touchwiz cache

1. Go to “Settings” and application options
2. In the general list we find “Information” - “Touchwiz Screen”
3. I'll clear the cache and check. everything should work

If, due to an error, you cannot go to another menu item or the “Back” button does not work, then use the quick menu by swiping down and selecting “Settings” from the list

It didn’t help, and TouchWiz stopped again - you need to look for the reason in one of the pre-installed applications or services.

Clear cache and data

1. Go to "Settings"
2. Find Application Manager
3. Select the All tab
4. Select "Contacts" and then clear the cache.
5. Return to the previous menu and select phone settings;
6. Now click on "Clear cache and clear data"

Selecting the Clear Data option will remove any changes you've made to create custom app settings.

Hard Reset

If this method does not help, then you will have to do a full factory reset so that all user data is completely deleted from the phone. We also recommend checking your OS version for new versions.

Samsung has known about this problem for a long time, and for most versions and shells they have already released fixes that completely solve the problem. Just be sure to create copies, because all information from the phone will be deleted, that is, you will completely lose all contacts stored on the phone. In some cases, a full phone firmware may be required, for example, if your version of Android is no longer supported by the developer.

Android is an open source system. This means that once Google creates it, it also shares it with other software creators, who can do whatever they want with it. An example of this is the TouchWiz user shell, which has been the subject of heated debate for many years now - not all people are its fans. If you want to remove TouchWiz from your phone, we will tell you about several options that will help you with this, whether you are a regular user or an Android expert.

All Samsung smartphones have a proprietary home interface called TouchWiz. Starting with the recalled Galaxy Note 7 model, a new Grace UX interface was introduced. With Samsung devices updating to Android Nougat, this new design has been extended. The interface has undergone some changes, including the name (from TouchWiz to Samsung Experience), as can be seen in the flagship Galaxy S8. However, not all users like this new user interface. If you own a Samsung smartphone, but have not found a common language with its interface, we will help you part with it.

Disabling TouchWiz apps (without root)

The steps below will not completely remove TouchWiz from your device, but they will rid it of various annoying updates that constantly request pre-installed applications and which constantly “eat up” the device’s internal memory. You can get rid of notifications and apps that were pre-installed by Samsung. To start, get rid of the shortcut and widget, but to actually stop the application, go to the Application Manager, find the application you need and click on it.

Once you are logged into the application, follow these steps:

• deselect the “Show notifications” option;
• clear cache;
• delete data;
• Click on the “Disable” icon.

Now the application will only be in sleep mode, plus it will not be updated and will remain at its original size. If you want to turn it back on, open the Application Manager and in the Disabled section you will see all the applications that you disabled previously.

Installing a third-party launcher instead of TouchWiz

This is the most drastic change you can make without rooting your device. If Touchwiz's icons or high-contrast backgrounds aren't your thing, you can always give it a makeover to make your Android user experience more palatable.

Using a third-party launcher, you will be able to change the appearance of your desktop and icons. To do this, go to the Google Play Store and download one of the many launchers available, the most popular of which are Nova, Apex and Google Now.

After you open the launcher you installed for the first time, your smartphone will ask you which launcher you would like to use. Select the one you recently installed and click on the “Always” icon. If for some reason you want to return to TouchWiz again, go to Settings>Default Applications>Home Screen, then select your launcher and click on the Home key.

Uninstalling TouchWiz: installing AOSP ROM and getting root rights

If you wish to completely remove the TouchWiz interface from your device, your only option is to install a new custom firmware (ROM). Doing so will void your device's warranty, causing the Knox counter to reset to zero.

To reflash your Samsung smartphone, you will definitely need a special Odin program. In addition, before flashing, you must install a software called Custom Recovery, and then install a new custom ROM firmware from it. Some of these firmwares include root rights initially, while others may not have such rights.

The most common Custom Recovery option for Samsung is TWRP. To install it, you will need the correct file for your phone model (you can download it from the official TWRP page). To install Recovery using Odin, you will need a file with a .tar extension.

Once Custom Recovery is ready, you can start searching for a ROM without TouchWiz elements. By the way, if you speak a little English, you should take a look at the forum of the site xda-developers.com, where you can find many custom firmware based on pure Android (AOSP). You should also find out how often such firmware is updated, and read the comments of forum users. If you don't know where to start, then Lineage OS may be the right option.

Do you like the TouchWiz interface? If not, what changes have you made to make it better? Tell us about it in the comments.

TouchWiz. In addition, it is subject to periodic freezes and the accumulation of many “junk” files. If the developers periodically eliminate these shortcomings during the release of new versions, then they do not seem to intend to change the design in the near future. However, along with its shortcomings, TouchWiz implements many wonderful and necessary functions that cannot be found either on bare Android or on its other modifications. However, many users are not even aware of the interface's true potential. In this article, we will try to look at the main useful features of the TouchWiz shell from Samsung, which stubbornly continues to move from one device to another from year to year.

Multi-window mode

Owners of Android devices usually use several applications at the same time, which is why multi-window mode was invented. In this mode, applications can be visually presented as windows on the desktop, and it is also possible to divide the active display space between several applications. This approach significantly saves the user’s time and makes managing the smartphone easier and more convenient. Otherwise, you have to switch between several applications many times.

Supports one-handed operation

As modern gadgets become larger, the issue of ease of use becomes more relevant. The developers have implemented a special “one-handed” mode in which all functions become accessible when controlled with one hand. Thus, you can cook dinner, hold the steering wheel of a car, hold on to handrails in public transport and still continue to use the gadget.

Call optimization

In standard mode, you can no longer interrupt the conversation with the subscriber in the background in cases where you need to go to the desktop and use other functions. This feature is further improved in TouchWiz, where there is no need to pull the curtain to return to calling mode. Instead, the subscriber is always located in a small square located on the left side of the desktop, which is undoubtedly much more convenient. In addition, it allows you to answer an incoming call directly from your desktop by swiping on the additional screen.

Sort the location of applications in the list

Typically, the user does not have the ability to move application icons to another location not provided for by the standard sorting settings. However, TouchWiz does not have such a disadvantage. There you can put several applications into folders, display recently downloaded ones, etc.

Ability to hide the application

Along with the above functions, if necessary, you can hide icons from the general application list with just a couple of gestures. This is especially convenient when you need to hide confidential information from prying eyes.

Easy access to switches

To get to the quick settings of Android 5.0, you will need to pull the curtain twice. In TouchWiz, one such gesture is enough. At the top of the top menu there is a scroll menu, where the most necessary gadget switches are located. In addition, the list of these switches can be changed at your discretion.

Closing all applications at once

The standard Android interface does not support closing all running applications at once, while TouchWiz provides this option natively.

History of the calculator

Often those who use a calculator need to double-check their calculations, but this is impossible to do with a regular calculator. It’s a completely different story with the Samsung calculator, which at any time will provide a complete history of previous calculations made on it.

File Manager

For some reason, stock Android lacks a file manager. Sometimes this can be annoying, especially when there is no way to download such an indispensable application from Google Play. That is why TouchWiz already has a convenient, bright and effective application manager.

Instantly change sound settings

In recent versions of Android, support for customizing audio has been effectively improved, however, it cannot be compared with the capabilities of TouchWiz in this regard. The Koreans' proprietary add-on allows you to adjust the sound very quickly using a menu that pops up directly on the desktop.

Energy Saving Settings

Finally, stock Android 5.0 has battery saving settings. In TouchWiz, such features were implemented much earlier, and with each new version, developers improve the effectiveness of this software.

On Samsung devices, there are two modes for using the desktop:

1. "Standard Mode" - Provides a familiar arrangement of applications and widgets on home screens.
2. Simple Mode - Makes your device easier to use with a simplified screen layout and large icons.

I wrote a little about the standard mode here:

But I will try to describe the simple mode in this short post. Maybe someone will like this option of using the shell. My device at the moment is Galaxy S3 duos, Android 4.3. Everything that will be written here is taken using the example of this particular smartphone model from Samsung.

You can switch to simple desktop use mode by following the path:

• Settings\Device\Simple Mode\Set the switch to "ON";

In the simplified home desk mode, there are only three working pages, which are switched with a horizontal gesture. (With special features enabled, this can be done with two fingers).

The first page of the desktop is intended for a certain number of selected contacts. On the device I currently have, I can assign nine contacts for quick access. That is, on the first page of the desktop there is a three by three grid, where in each destination cell it is proposed to “Create a contact”. If you double-tap on a specific cell, then the following window will appear with the following selection:

1. Create a contact;
2. Add an existing contact;

We select one of the actions, I think many of us will choose the second item, a vertical list of all existing contacts will open, where we confirm our choice by double tapping on a specific contact. And we observe that in the cell called “Create Contact” there is now the name of the selected subscriber.

At the bottom of the display there is a "Logs" button. After its activation, the stock “Phone” application is launched:

On the second page of the desktop, stock widgets for the clock, weather and daily schedule planner are collected, which can be easily launched by activating a double tap. If you focus TalkBack on one of the proposed widgets, information related to it will be read. That is, about the current weather, the current time and the given daily schedule. There are also basic application shortcuts such as: Camera, Gallery, Internet, Phone, Contacts and Messages. As I understand here, nothing can be swapped on this desktop page; only a standard selection of the main stock applications is provided.

The third simplified desktop area is intended for selected applications. Following the principle of the first workspace, a three-by-three grid for program shortcuts is also created here. By double tapping the “Add app” cell, a vertical list of all stock and third-party applications will open, where you can assign one of the applications to a specific selected cell for quick access. But for quick access to programs, it is possible to assign only nine applications. Therefore, at the bottom of the display there is a button “Other applications”, by activating which the user will always be able to find in the vertical list offered to him any other application that has been installed or pre-installed on the device.

By activating the touch left function button on the desktop, you can see the following series of items in the menu that opens:

1. "Edit" - Replaces/deletes an assigned contact on the first workspace, or an application shortcut on the third.
2. "Search" - The Google Search application window opens.
3. “Notifications” - The notification panel curtain opens, which we also use TalkBack to call with an angular gesture to the right and down.
4. "Easy settings" - Device settings.

I think that such a simplified version of the desktop will suit that contingent of people who crave something simpler and more accessible. So as not to rack our brains with different optimizations for our dark needs. The settings are minimal, there is nothing superfluous, there is no need to drag anything on the desktops and, as it were, everything you need is already present on them.

That's it, good luck everyone, train.