Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy Note 8 Always on Display updated with GIF support

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The Always on Display has been a longstanding feature of Samsung phones. It’s a great feature to have, especially with the Super AMOLED displays. You always have the clock and notifications just a glance away. Samsung has slowly added more features to the Always on Display over the years. The latest addition to the AOD for the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy Note 8 allows you to put a little motion on the display.

Previously, it was possible to add photos to the Always on Display. This was an easy way to personalize your phone even when it’s idle. Now, you can take it a step further by adding animated GIFs. The feature was added in version 3.2.26.4 of Always on Display (APK below). All you have to do is download a GIF and you can add it to the AOD from the Gallery app.

The one limitation we ran into is the GIF can’t be too long. You will see a toast message if the animation length doesn’t meet the requirement. Tap the edit button in the Gallery to trim the GIF by removing frames. The other thing to keep in mind is the GIFs don’t actually loop on the Always on Display, so you don’t want to pick one that’s too short either. It’s basically just a short little animation when you turn off the display. Here you can see it in action:

Download the APK below for the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8. Android boot animation GIF can be downloaded from here (you will need to trim it).