This year we saw some of the most innovative technology since the smartphone became a part of our everyday lives. Between the Apple and Android, it’s tough to say who came out with the biggest updates. Today we are going to focus on one of the most popular new Androids, the Samsung Galaxy S6. When it was released earlier this year, we fell in love with some of its cool upgrades and features. Below we have compiled a few cool hacks, apps and shortcuts to give you the ultimate Android experience.

First we will start off with some apps that will make your everyday life a breeze. It’s getting close to New Years, and if getting your life together is your resolution, pick up an app called “Evernote” in the Google Play store and get your life organized. This app will sync up with all your calendars in your phone, so that everything runs together flawlessly between your smartphone and your desktop. This app allows you to come up with a meeting idea, set a time and then invite people. You can also track your projects from start to finish, and keep track of your goals as you meet them. Evernote is a free app, and has paid options if you want to expand out what you would like to do. This is a great app for work, but you can use it for your everyday life too.

One of our new favorite Android features is the screenshot. Back in the day, this was the Android user’s biggest complaint: the inability to screenshot pictures and text conversations. This is one area that the iPhone dominated; iPhone users have had this ability for years. Now it’s just as easy for Android users, just press the power and volume button down at the same time, and voila: you have a screenshot. You can also download a screenshot app like “Shootme” which takes a screenshot with a just a few shakes of your phone. Easy as pie.

If you are tired of carrying around a garage door opener, there’s an app for that. Snap up the “Garageio” app in the Google Play store, and pretty soon you can open and close your garage door from just about anywhere. This app is great if you are the forgetful type that leaves the house and then spends the rest of the day wondering if you left the garage open. Now you can just check your Garageio app, and it will let you know if the door is open or closed, no matter where you are.

Although the Samsung Galaxy S6 already comes with a sweet 16-megapixel camera, there are some apps that you can download to make your pictures even better. Our favorite is “Camera 360 Ultimate,” which is available in the Google Play store. This app features over 200 filters and tools that allow you to fix your picture flaws and imperfections.

If you are over having to download apps from the Play Store, or sick of having the same apps as everyone else, you always have the option of hacking your own phone.
In the iPhone world this is referred to as “jail-breaking,” and in the Android world this is referred to as “rooting.” Once you have rooted your Android device you will have what is referred to as “superuser” permissions that will allow you complete control over the access to your phone and the applications that you want to use. When you root your phone, you can install some root-only apps that aren’t available in any app store. One reason that Apple is so against jailbreaking is that would mean that you have access to other types of apps that aren’t available for purchase on their app store; therefore they are not receiving the app royalties. Android is an open-source platform, and Google is much more liberal when it comes to their consumers hacking their own phones. Some problems with rooting your phone include not only voiding your warranty but also running into a shady root program that has backdoor loopholes, which allow other hackers into your phone. So you have to be careful which root apps you can trust. On the upside, if you choose to root your phone, you can choose to break free of your phone’s operating system altogether.

While some users were turned off by the Galaxy S6’s similarity to the iPhone6. It didn’t help that they also released the Galaxy S6 Edge, very similar to the iPhone6s and iPhone6s Plus. The physical appearances are not where the similarities end however. Samsung was quick on the heels of Apple’s mobile payment system when they came out with Samsung Pay earlier this year. This means that Samsung users now also have the option of paying quickly at the register by swiping your phone instead of your card. This is not an option that has caught on quite yet, despite how convenient it may be. Do yourself a favor and try it out at one of the thousands of retailers that are participating with Samsung pay. It’s quick to download, and will end up saving you time and hassle. If this catches on, you may not need to carry your credit cards on you anymore.

We are keeping our ear to the ground, as it is anticipated that Samsung will release the Galaxy S7 this January, which is a few months before their typical March release date.