Samsung has revamped its Always-On Display with the ability to show GIFs on the screen when your Galaxy series handset is not active. The new GIF support is available for the Always-On Display version 3.2.26.4, while GIFs are initially working on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8. We can expect its presence on the Galaxy S9 family in the coming future, though.
Always-On Display has been a part of the Galaxy family since February 2016 - with the arrival of the Galaxy S7 range. But up until now, it was allowing users mainly show a clock or a still image on the display when the handset is idle, apart from notifications. Samsung is now seemingly in plans to upgrade the experience with GIF support. You can either select one of the preloaded GIFs or add one of your favourites via the Gallery.
There is a limitation on the length of the GIF. You, therefore, need to tap the edit button in the Gallery and trim the GIF to make it compatible with your device. The selected GIF on the device will also not be played in an endless loop. This means that the GIF will play only once when you turn the display off. Having said that, as folks at Android Police note, that you can double tap the screen in idle mode to play the GIF another time. All these tweaks are designed to make GIF support battery efficient.
To get GIF support on your Samsung device, make sure that you are using the latest Always-On Display app. The new addition also requires your handset to run Android Oreo. Moreover, you can visit APK Mirror to download the updated Always-On Display APK.
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