Note: Beginning on August 1st, 2022, Discord users can expect to see improvements to the Discord Android application, including:
- Feature consistency across platforms through a centralized and streamlined app development process across Android, iOS and desktop
- Faster app update release cycles when a new feature is introduced or a pesky bug is fixed thanks to a more consolidated process
Over the next few weeks, the Android app will begin to transition to the React Native framework to enhance the user experience. To use the new version of the Discord app:
- Go to the Google Play Store to manually update your Discord app.
- Otherwise, if auto-update is enabled on your Android device, the app should automatically update.
You can read more about this change in our blog post.
The old Discord Android application will officially sunset on September 1st, 2022, so make sure you've updated your Android app from the Google Play Store before then!
Discord has now partnered with Samsung to bring Samsung Galaxy users some really really really awesome features!
Current Integration Requirements:
Device Type - Galaxy 8 and above +
Android Version - Android P and above +
Discord App Versions - Discord Android 9.4.5 and above +
All Samsung Galaxy users that meet the integration requirements (mentioned above) now have access to 2 brand new features within Discord:
- Mobile Voice Overlay
- Mobile Game Status / Game Detection
If you use the Samsung Game Launcher, you also get a nifty Discord Friends Activity Feed natively integrated directly within the Game Launcher app!
Mobile Game Status
By linking your Discord account with your Samsung account, you can enable Mobile Game Detection and automatically have your status set to the game you're playing on mobile for the first time ever! This was a feature that was previously only available for PC and Xbox users on Discord.
How to link:
To link your account, update to the latest Samsung OS, and go to the Game Launcher app. The app icon looks like this:
Click on the Discord logo in the top right corner of the app and you should now see a "Sign in/sign up" page for the Discord Samsung integration.
If you already have a Discord account, simply click on "Sign In", and it will begin the account linking process.
You might encounter this screen below! If you do, make sure to click on "Open with Discord" !
Once the linking is completed, you will now see your Activity Feed. Here you can see friends that are currently playing games or in voice channels and also see games that your friends have recently played.
But the best part is...
....now when you're playing a game on your Samsung phone, you'll see your Discord status update to "Playing ________ Game"
If you don't want to show this anymore, you can turn this off any anytime within "Settings > Game Activity"
How do I unlink my account?
To unlink your account, simply go to "Settings > Authorized Apps" and delete the Samsung Game Launcher app.
Mobile Voice Overlay
Samsung Galaxy users now get to use our brand new DISCORD MOBILE VOICE OVERLAY (CHAT HEADS, BUBBLES, HOWEVER YOU CALL EM). Once enabled, whenever you're in an active voice call or channel on Discord, an overlay bubble will show up on your phone.
Tapping that bubble will expand to show what you see below!
Well, almost exactly what you see here if you have the same name and you have the same friends with the same avatars and you're playing the same game.
You will be able to see who's talking, who's in the call, and access shortcuts (speaker, mute, hang up) while using other apps—no need to switch back to Discord as this overlay will persist on your phone.
Don't want to see the bubble? You can drag it out at any time! Just touch the bubble and you should see an "X" at the bottom of your screen, then simply move the bubble to the "X" and it'll go away.
Note: Moving the bubble onto the "X" DOES NOT hang up the call. You will need to hang up explicitly by tapping on the hangup button within the expanded overlay or within Discord.
How to enable mobile voice overlay
Make sure you are on Discord Android Version 9.4.5. You can enable the Mobile Voice Overlay by going into Settings -> Voice & Video -> and you should see a "Enable Mobile Voice Overlay" toggle.
When you enable the toggle, you'll be taken to the Android System permissions to allow Discord to "draw on top". This permission is required to allow you to see the overlay while using other apps!
