I found a Samsung feature that finally solved my biggest phone-sharing problem

Published Jul 25, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT I've been using a Samsung Galaxy as my primary phone since 2021, and at no point did I think I could share my phone with another person without interrupting whatever I was doing on my handset. Then again, I rarely needed to hand over my Samsung handset to someone else other than a phone service technician. So, the first time I shared it with one of my cousins, it felt like I had broken an unspoken rule. It felt oddly uncomfortable at first, but I was more pleasantly surprised to see how we both enjoyed the same phone at once without interrupting each other. It wouldn't have been possible on an iPhone or, for that matter, on any Android device other than a Samsung Galaxy. I realized this only after finding one of the most underrated features in One UI. I didn't think two people could enjoy the same Galaxy phone at once until I found this One UI feature on my Samsung Galaxy phone: Separate app sound. Separate app sound is built for moments when two people need the same phone simultaneously One more reason not to switch away from Galaxy I was listening to Spotify's AI DJ when my cousin, who is only 10 years old, asked me to give him my phone to play games. Although I'm against kids using phones, I couldn't turn down his request. On any other phone, it would've meant quitting whatever I was doing at that point. But that's not the case with the Samsung Galaxy phone, as it can entertain both users at once. My cousin played games on my phone while I continued enjoying listening to Spotify in my earbuds, which were connected to the same handset. This isn't the default setup on a Galaxy phone. You need to turn on the Separate app sound feature in the One UI settings on your Galaxy phone for the features to work. However, the Separate app sound capability requires more effort than just enabling a toggle. In addition to switching it on, you must select the apps you want to play on a different audio device. Since I was listening to Spotify, I selected Spotify after turning on the Separate app sound functionality. You can select multiple apps, and they will play audio on the device you chose. It also lets you choose the audio device you want to use for the apps you selected. I tweaked this setting and set it to Bluetooth device, ensuring I keep listening to my favorite music on my earbuds. My phone was finally ready to let my cousin enjoy his gaming session with audio, while also ensuring I could listen to uninterrupted music on my earbuds connected to the same handset. The Separate app sound feature feels almost unreal But it raised my expectations I never heard anything like this before switching to Galaxy, let alone experience it. It worked so well that I keep looking for excuses to use it, and this is the only one in One UI that makes me feel this way. However, this has also raised my expectations, and now I want more. I would love to be able to connect two earbuds to my Galaxy handset, with each pair playing audio from a different app. I wouldn't have been able to think about this if my Galaxy couldn't offer the Separate app sound capability. But now that it's available, allowing two people to listen to music from two different apps sounds like the logical next step. Currently, the Separate app sound only allows you to play audio on a pair of earbuds, while another app uses the phone speaker for audio output. My cousin's gaming session plays audio through my phone's speaker, but I don't have to listen to it. Instead, I open Spotify, connect my noise-canceling earbuds to my Galaxy, and play my favorite music. Separate app sound is easy to turn on You don't need to dig deep into Settings You don't need to dig deep into settings to find this feature. All you do is open Settings in One UI, type "Separate app sound" in the search box, and tap the option. The next step is to enable the Turn on now toggle. Below it, you'll find the ability to select apps and the Audio device you want to use for the apps you selected. I usually keep it disabled when I don't need it. This is the kind of feature that makes Galaxy phones smarter than their rivals Not everyone will need this feature, and even if they need it, it's not the kind of functionality you need every day. However, what I like about it is that the Separate app sound has enough appeal to make you want to use it more often. Not many features on Galaxy phones have the same level of "wow" factor to make you feel that, and this is where it wins. The Separate app sound is a well-thought-out feature, one that can make a handset stand out from the rest. I'm glad that it's my Galaxy phone that has it, not another Android phone that I don't own.