Customizing Your Samsung Smart TV: Adding and Reordering Apps
Engadget's guide explains how owners of Samsung smart TVs can add streaming apps beyond the preloaded set and rearrange their home screens.
Engadget has published a how-to guide on managing apps on Samsung smart TVs. According to Engadget, the sets come with popular streaming services already installed, but owners may want to add others and reorganize what appears on the screen.
The guide covers how to bring in apps that are not part of the default setup and how to move them around so that the services people use most are easier to reach. Engadget presents the piece as practical advice for setting up a television, not as a report on a new product or policy.
The report does not describe changes to Samsung's software, pricing, or agreements with streaming companies. Engadget's summary also does not say which models or software versions the steps apply to, so readers with older or newer sets should check the on-screen options against the guide.
The article is aimed at owners who want a home screen that matches their viewing habits. Reordering and adding apps is a routine part of setting up a connected TV, and the guide treats it as a basic skill for anyone who wants to get more out of the hardware they already own.
Background
Modern smart TVs are, in effect, small computers built into displays. They run an operating system that manages apps, settings, inputs and a home screen, and they connect to an app store where owners can download additional software. Samsung's smart TVs have run on its own platform, known as Tizen, for years, and its home screen is designed to surface a row of apps, often with some placed there before the buyer ever turns the set on.
Preinstalled apps are common across the television industry. Manufacturers frequently agree to include certain streaming services on their sets, and those agreements can shape which apps appear first. For buyers, this means a new television may arrive with a layout that reflects business arrangements as much as personal preference.
Customizing the home screen is a long-standing feature of consumer electronics. Smartphones, tablets, game consoles and streaming sticks all let users choose which apps appear and in what order. On televisions, the stakes can feel higher because the screen is shared by a household, and a cluttered menu can make it harder to find what the family wants to watch.
Adding an app typically involves signing in to an account, accepting the service's terms and granting certain permissions. Those steps matter because each app can have its own approach to data collection, advertising and content availability. Users often have settings that control some of this, though the exact options vary by brand, model and software version.
Television menus also change over time. Software updates can alter how the home screen looks or how apps are sorted, so the steps that worked on one day may look different after an update. Readers who run into differences should treat any guide as a starting point and confirm the current options on their own set.
Why it matters
A television's home screen may seem like a small detail, but it shapes how a household actually uses the device. If the apps people open every day are buried, viewing becomes slower and more frustrating, and some families end up relying on a single device or a phone just to find a show. Being able to reorganize the layout gives owners a simple way to make the set work for them.
The guide also highlights a quieter question about who controls the screen. Preloaded apps reflect decisions made before the buyer arrives, and the order in which they appear can influence what gets watched. When owners move apps around or add their own choices, they take back some of that control, even if only in a modest way.
Privacy and security add another layer. Every app added to a television can request access to account information, viewing data or device features, depending on how it is built and configured. Owners who take time to review their choices and remove services they no longer use can reduce the number of companies with access to their household's viewing habits.
For the broader technology market, the topic is a reminder that connected devices are increasingly platforms rather than fixed tools. Their software, app lineups and settings can change after purchase, which affects both everyday convenience and the long-term relationship between buyers and manufacturers.
What to watch
Readers should watch whether future software updates change how apps are added, sorted or removed on Samsung televisions. Changes like these can make older guides outdated and can affect how easily owners personalize their sets.
It will also be worth noticing how Samsung and streaming companies position their apps on the home screen. Placement is valuable, and any shift in how preloaded or featured apps are presented could change which services households see first.
Privacy controls are another area to follow. Owners may want to check whether new permissions or data options appear as apps update, and whether settings for limiting tracking or advertising stay easy to find.
Finally, watch for regional differences. App availability and menu options can vary by country and by model, so buyers should confirm that the steps they find online match what appears on their own televisions.
Viewpoints
Commentary from our columns: three angles on this story.
The User what changes for people who use it
Most of us do not think about a television's home screen until it starts to annoy us. Every time someone in the house opens the set to find a favorite show, they scroll past apps they never use and hunt for the one they do. That small daily friction adds up, and it is a big part of why a guide like Engadget's has an audience. Being able to move a service to the front, or to add one that did not come on the set, changes how the screen works for a whole household. Parents can place the kids' apps where they are easy to reach. Older relatives can keep to a short list they recognize. None of this is glamorous, but a television that fits the way a family really watches is worth a few minutes of setup. The best approach is to spend that time once, arranging the apps you open each week, and tuck the rest away where they will not get in the way.
The Rulebook privacy, safety and regulation
A television home screen looks harmless, but it sits where entertainment, accounts and personal data meet. When you add an app, you are usually accepting terms, granting permissions and often linking an account. Preinstalled apps raise a related question: which services were given a place on the set, and how much say did the owner have in that choice? Customizing the layout is a reasonable thing to do, and nothing here suggests anything improper. Still, it is a good moment to review what each app can access, whether it asks for information about viewing habits, and which privacy options the set allows you to change. Removing or hiding services you no longer use is also a simple way to reduce the number of companies with access to what your household watches. These habits are cheap, and they matter more as televisions become more connected to the rest of the home.
The Ledger the business angle
Home screens are valuable real estate, and anyone in the streaming business understands that. Position on a television menu can decide which service gets opened first on a Friday night, so platform owners and streaming companies pay close attention to placement. A guide that shows owners how to rearrange their apps is, in a small way, a reminder that the order of the screen is itself a commercial decision. When a viewer moves a service to the front, that viewer is choosing for themselves, even though the company that made the television may have hoped to shape those choices through preloads or featured slots. The tension is not new, but it is worth noticing. For viewers, the practical lesson is that the layout is theirs to change. For the industry, the open question is whether the home screen stays a neutral tool or becomes one more place where partnerships and advertising quietly influence what people watch.