Double tapping the home button was the fastest way to launch the camera on the Galaxy S6 and S7. But with the Galaxy S8 eschewing the home button, Samsung had to come up with a new way to quickly launch the camera, and the company turned to the power button. Pressing on the power button twice in quick succession opens the camera by default on the Galaxy S8 and S8+, but that option isn't available on all units.
In the process of setting up my S8+, I noticed that the quick launch shortcut didn't work as advertized. I pressed the power button twice to no avail, and digging into the settings to manually toggle the feature made me realize that the option isn't available on my unit. I'm using the Indian variant of the S8+ (SM-G955FD) with build number G955FXXU1AQDD.
The issue doesn't seem isolated to my device, as other Indian models of the S8 and S8+ don't have the option listed either. With the feature unavailable, there's no way to quickly launch the camera on the phone. With the phone set to go on sale next week in the country, it is possible Samsung may roll out a software update to bring the quick launch functionality to the phones. If not, the bxActions app offers an elegant workaround. The app remaps the Bixby button, allowing you to launch the camera with a quick tap.
Is the quick launch option missing on your S8 or S8+? Let us know in the comments below.
