Samsung’s Separate App Sound: A Must-Have Feature for Android
▼ Summary
– Samsung phones have a little-known feature called “Separate App Sound” that allows you to play audio from specific apps through a different audio source than the rest of your phone.
– To enable it, you go to Settings > Sounds and vibrations > Separate app sound, then select the apps and choose a phone speaker or Bluetooth device for their audio.
– This feature is useful for scenarios like playing music on a Bluetooth speaker while keeping notifications private on the phone speaker.
– It can also prevent social media audio from interrupting music played through a car’s Bluetooth system during a drive.
– The feature debuted in 2017 with the Galaxy S8 and is unique to Samsung, as other Android brands do not offer it.
Samsung smartphones are renowned for their extensive feature sets, often including powerful tools that many users never discover. One such hidden gem is Separate App Sound, an incredibly useful audio management feature that lets you direct sound from specific apps to different outputs. This allows for a level of audio control that can significantly enhance your daily phone use, whether you’re juggling media, calls, or notifications.
Essentially, this tool does precisely what its name suggests. It enables you to choose exactly where the audio from individual applications is played. Imagine streaming a podcast to your wireless headphones while your phone’s speaker handles all your alert tones and ringtones. Separate App Sound makes this kind of sophisticated audio routing possible, turning your device into a multi-channel sound system.
Finding and activating the feature is straightforward, though it’s tucked away in the settings menu. To set it up, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your Samsung device.
- Navigate to Sounds and vibration.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the menu and select Separate app sound.
- Tap the toggle to Turn on now.
- A pop-up will appear; tap Select.
- Choose the applications you wish to assign a unique audio path.
- Finally, decide whether the sound from those apps should play through your phone’s speaker or a paired Bluetooth device.
After configuration, you might see a notification about your primary audio output changing. This is normal. For instance, if you set YouTube to play through Bluetooth earbuds that were already your main audio device, your phone speaker may become the default for everything else. Your selected apps will then adhere to the rules you just created, playing only through the designated output.
While not a new innovation, it first appeared on the Galaxy S8 back in 2017, this capability remains one of Samsung’s best-kept secrets. It’s a feature rarely highlighted, yet it offers practical solutions for common audio frustrations.
So, when is this level of control actually beneficial? The use cases are more common than you might think. Consider hosting a gathering where music from your phone fills the room via a Bluetooth speaker. Without this feature, every incoming call or notification would blast through the speaker, interrupting the ambiance. With Separate App Sound, you can ensure only the music app uses the speaker, keeping alerts private on your phone.
It’s also perfect for shared car rides. If a passenger’s phone is connected to the car stereo for music, videos from social media apps can suddenly hijack the audio. This feature prevents that interruption by confining social media sounds to the phone itself. Similarly, during a work call on wireless earbuds, you can route all other app noises to the phone speaker, preventing distractions from emails or messages during your conversation.
The versatility of this tool addresses numerous everyday scenarios, providing a seamless and personalized audio experience. It’s a standout function that, surprisingly, other Android manufacturers have yet to replicate effectively. For Samsung users, it’s a powerful feature waiting to be unlocked, offering a simple way to take full command of your device’s audio landscape.
(Source: Android Authority)
