Key Takeaways
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 now has a larger cover display for better functionality, such as viewing notifications and interacting with widgets.
- You can enable additional options on the cover display by going to Settings, Advanced Features, and enabling the Apps Widget.
- Install Samsung’s Good Lock app to run unsupported apps on the cover display. Use the MultiStar module to add any app to the cover screen for quicker access.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s biggest upgrade over Samsung’s previous foldable phones is a significantly larger cover display. Unfortunately, out of the box, you can’t run Android apps on the cover display. This workaround will let you add shortcuts and launch any app on the Z Flip 5’s cover display.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 ships with a few pre-installed widgets on the cover display that cover essential use cases like viewing the calendar, notifications, and more. However, diving into the settings will allow you to enable a few additional options.
To start, open the Settings app and scroll down to Advanced Features.
Now, tap on Labs and scroll down to enable the Apps Widget, which gives you access to YouTube, Netflix, Google Maps, WhatsApp, and Google Messages.
You can choose to enable all or a select few out of these.
How to Run Any App on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Cover Display
While the built-in option opens up the app selection a fair bit, there might still be some unsupported apps that you want to run on the cover display. You will need to install Samsung’s Good Lock app to accomplish this. The app offers a range of customization options that can extend the functionality of your Samsung phone. Some potential use cases include running the Twitter or Reddit apps on the cover display, which scale down very well to the cover screen and offer easy readability when you have a few minutes to spare. Similarly, you might want to install a weather app that gives you more granular information, like AQI data.
Here’s how to use Good Lock to add any app to your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover screen.
Head to the Galaxy Apps store on your Samsung phone. Search for the Good Lock app and install it.
Open the Good Lock app, swipe up along the bottom edge, and install the MultiStar module.
Go back to Good Lock, open MultiStar, and tap the option “I ♡ Galaxy Foldable.”
Now tap the Launcher Widget option, and select the apps you want accessible on the cover display. Enable the launcher widget.
You’ll observe that a new Good Lock widget has been added to the home screen with all the applications you selected. Tap any icon to launch the app and use it on the cover screen.
The user experience can vary depending on the kind of application you use. While most apps and games scale just fine to fit the smaller screen, you might run into a few that don’t. For example, the Instagram app makes viewing a single image within the frame hard. If you prefer watching Instagram Reels instead, the vertical video gets further scaled down making it impossible to make out any detail in the content. Regardless, adding all your favorite apps to the cover display for quicker access is well worth the effort.