How to Do a System-Wide Search on a Samsung Galaxy Phone

The iPhone has a handy feature called “Spotlight” that helps you search for anything on your phone. Samsung Galaxy phones have a similar feature that you may not know about. We’ll show you how to use it.

The idea behind “Spotlight” and Samsung’s system-wide search feature is to be able to find a variety of things on your device all from one place. That includes apps, contacts, settings, folders, and more. It’s an easy way to find something without jumping through apps and menus.

RELATED: How to Use Spotlight Search on Your iPhone or iPad

Samsung makes it super easy to perform a system-wide search from anywhere. Simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold for a second to bring up the recent apps. If you’re using three-button navigation, tap the recent apps button.

You’ll see a search bar at the top of the screen above the recent apps. Type what you’re looking for in this bar.

Results will start appearing underneath. Keep typing until you find what you’re looking for. The results are divided into sections. for apps, settings, shortcuts, searches, and more. Scroll down for more results.

That’s really all there is to it. You can access this search bar any time by opening the recent apps screen. It’s always there to help you find something quickly. Android doesn’t have this feature built-in, but it’s nice that Samsung has added it to Galaxy devices.