The Quick panel is the screen you get when you swipe down from the top of your Galaxy Watch 8. It holds the toggles you reach for most: Airplane mode, Do not disturb, flashlight, brightness and more. Out of the box it's a sensible mix, but a few minutes of editing makes it yours. This guide follows Samsung's own support page. Available screens and settings can vary by provider, software version, phone and watch.
Open the Quick panel
Swipe down from the top of the watch screen. Tap an icon, such as Airplane mode, to turn that feature on or off. Samsung notes the icons glow blue when they're active.
Which icons you see depends on the watch model, whether accessibility modes are on, and whether the watch is connected to a phone. So don't worry if a friend's panel looks a little different.
Edit the Quick panel on the watch
The Galaxy Watch 8 runs Wear OS, so it uses Samsung's Wear OS steps:
- Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick panel.
- Swipe left until you see the Add icon (the plus sign), then tap it to open Edit mode.
- Tap Add (the plus sign) or Delete (the minus sign) to add or remove icons as needed.
That's the fastest route when you're away from your phone.
Edit the Quick panel in the Galaxy Wearable app
On a bigger screen, editing is easier to see at a glance:
- On the connected phone, open the Galaxy Wearable app.
- Tap Quick panel from the app's Home page.
- To add an icon or change the order, touch and hold a feature and drag it to a new location.
- To delete an icon, tap the Delete icon (the minus sign) next to it.
- Tap Save at the bottom of the screen. The changes are applied to your watch.
Samsung's page lists these app steps for recent models; Watch 8 owners will find the same Quick panel entry in Galaxy Wearable. Samsung also notes that on Wear OS models, the older Settings > Advanced > Edit quick panel route isn't available on the watch itself, so use the panel or the app.
Plan a layout that works
The first row is the one you'll see every time you swipe down, so treat it as prime real estate.
- Put daily toggles first. Do not disturb, brightness and flashlight are good candidates.
- Group by situation. Keep workout-related toggles together, and travel ones like Airplane mode together.
- Cut what you never touch. Fewer icons means less scrolling.
- Think about your watch face. If the face already shows battery, you may not need to check it in the panel too.
A sample setup
- Row one: Do not disturb, brightness, flashlight, find my phone.
- Next: Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, sound mode.
- Last: anything you use only once a week.
Try it for a few days, then adjust. The panel is easy to change, so there's no wrong first draft.
Troubleshooting
- No plus icon: keep swiping left in the Quick panel; it sits after your last icon.
- Changes in the app didn't show up: make sure you tapped Save in Galaxy Wearable.
- An icon is missing: availability depends on the model, accessibility settings and phone connection.
- Galaxy Fit or Fit2: Samsung says these steps don't apply to those bands.
Going further with WatchLux
WatchLux is the watch face app I built, and once your Quick panel is tidy, the face is the next thing to make your own. It has over 750 faces on both watchOS and Wear OS, with animated designs for Wear OS 6 and later, including updated Galaxy Watch models. You can browse the styles at customwatchface.com. All artwork is created with generative AI tools.
WatchLux is free to download and preview; subscription unlocks the full catalog and removes ads.
My team specializes in advanced generative AI art and video, and WatchLux and ScreenLux are where we apply it to the watch and the phone.
- Android and Wear OS: WatchLux on Google Play
Source: Samsung Support, "Manage the Quick panel on your Samsung smart watch" (samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10003379)
Sean McCue, Founder, WatchLux and ScreenLux
