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    10 handy hidden Android features you probably forget to use

    With each new Android model comes a flurry of fancy contemporary options. Some of them instantly remodel the way in which we work, whereas others simply quietly fade away with out making a lot noise.And then there are the options that fall someplace in between — options that appear helpful, possibly even pique our curiosity after we first hear about ’em, however then get misplaced within the shuffle and forgotten as time wears on. Especially when mentioned options are out of sight and in no way apparent, they’re all too simple to miss and abandon.Well, as we look forward to the launch of yet one more new Android model — Android 12, anticipated to be introduced any second now (and already leaking out like loopy) — take into account this your pleasant reminder: These hidden Android options, added into the working system at varied factors over the previous a number of years, are nonetheless there and nonetheless extremely useful. Take a second to rediscover ’em and remind your self what you’ve got been lacking.Hidden Android function #1: Fast app-switchingOne of essentially the most helpful options to come back into Android in ages can also be one of many least well-known and discoverable. I’m talkin’ concerning the Alt-Tab-like quick app-switching operate that was first launched means again in 2016’s Android 7 and stays one in every of my favourite Android shortcuts to today (together with, in fact, all these superior Gboard shortcuts we talked about final week!).You might be forgiven should you forgot about it — or possibly by no means even knew about it within the first place — as a result of, actually, there’s completely nothing that’d clue you into its existence. And it is developed a good quantity through the years, too, which makes the percentages of shedding monitor of it even better.So this is the way it works: First, should you’re utilizing Android’s present gesture system — with no on-screen navigation buttons and only a skinny little line on the backside of your display screen — flick your finger towards the suitable anyplace alongside that bottom-of-screen space. That’ll snap you again to your most just lately used app quicker than you may say “frugal Google bugle filled with tasty kugel” (which, to be truthful, is not one thing you may say particularly quick). From there, you may click on flick once more towards the suitable to return one other step in your app-using historical past or flick to the left to snap again within the different course.You may do much less of a flick and extra of an arching swipe — transferring your finger upward, ever so barely, as you slide towards the left or the suitable on the underside of the display screen — if you wish to get a greater have a look at the apps within the checklist earlier than making the swap.JR The farther you swipe and the upper you go, the extra apps you may see — all within the order of while you final used ’em.JR If you are still utilizing Android’s older three-button navigation system, worry not, for you are able to do this, too — a part of it, anyway: Just double-tap the Overview key (the square-shaped icon subsequent to Back and Home) anytime to shortly zap between your two most just lately used processes.Hidden Android function #2: App shortcutsSpeaking of app-related shortcuts, Android has an extremely useful system referred to as — relatively fittingly — App Shortcuts. They’re fully hidden out of sight, although, they usually’re consequently all too simple to disregard on accident.But Goog almighty, can they ever be helpful. You can consider App Shortcuts as direct hyperlinks to particular features inside apps in your telephone — methods you may get to particular person actions or areas inside an app with out having to undergo the standard means of opening it up, looking round via its menus, and tapping a number of instructions to get the place you need to go.To look via your App Shortcut choices, press and maintain your finger down on any app’s icon — both on your private home display screen or in your app drawer — for a couple of second. The choices differ from one app to the following, however you are certain to search out some implausible treasures. For occasion:With Google’s Messages app, long-pressing the app’s icon permits you to bounce instantly into quite a lot of just lately used message threads.
    With Google Docs, you may hop straight into a brand new doc or to the service’s search operate with out having to first open the app and poke round.
    With Google Drive, you may get direct hyperlinks for looking, importing a brand new file, and even scanning a bodily doc along with your telephone’s digital camera.
    And with Google Calendar, you may create a brand new occasion, a brand new process, or a brand new Assistant-linked reminder proper from that hidden long-press menu.
    The checklist goes on from there, so take the time to faucet round and discover what the apps you employ have to supply. And while you discover a shortcut that appears particularly helpful for the way in which you’re employed, bear in mind this additional invisible trick: You can pull any shortcut out of an app’s long-press menu and put it instantly on your private home display screen for even simpler one-tap entry. Just press and maintain the shortcut you need after which drag it into any open area on your private home display screen.JR Who knew?!Hidden Android function #3: Live CaptionGoogle’s Android 10 launch launched an surprising gem into the working system — one thing that has the potential to be far more helpful than you’d count on at first look. It’s referred to as Live Caption, and it is technically an accessibility function for people who’ve a tough time listening to.The profit in that situation is clear, however Live Caption may turn out to be useful for virtually anybody on a day-to-day foundation — as a result of what it successfully does is let you see what a video or podcast is saying with out having to have any audible sound enjoying out of your gadget. I’ll typically flip it on briefly after I need to “listen in” to some method of multimedia whereas I haven’t got headphones useful and am in a state of affairs the place blaring sound out from my telephone’s audio system would not precisely be optimum.In such moments, all I’ve gotta do is faucet slightly field that exhibits up beneath the amount controls at any time when any type of media is enjoying on my gadget — and holy moly, wouldya have a look at that?JR Just like magic, each phrase being uttered within the video or audio clip exhibits up on my display screen so I can learn it while having the precise sound turned all the way in which down.And you realize what? Let’s take this hidden-feature idea a step additional, ‘trigger there are literally two extra easy-to-miss prospects inside this method. Once you’ve got received Live Caption activated and also you’re seeing captions in your display screen, you may double-tap the caption field to make it larger — or press and maintain your finger onto the field to maneuver it round anyplace in your display screen. Whee!If you are utilizing a telephone with Android 10 or greater and you are not seeing that Live Caption possibility as a part of your quantity controls, head into your system settings and seek for Live Caption there. You’ll in all probability want to search out the related part and flip a toggle into the on place inside it to activate the function — and, relying in your gadget (hello, Samsung folks!), you may additionally must activate a second toggle in that very same space to verify the Live Caption possibility really exhibits up as a part of your quantity panel.On Samsung telephones, you may additionally must develop your quantity panel (by tapping the little down-facing arrow inside it) to search out the Live Caption possibility — and the choice will present up as a toggle as an alternative of the easier field icon that we have been speaking about right here.No matter what kind of telephone you are utilizing, although, bear in mind: The Live Caption possibility will solely present up and work when some method of sound is being performed.Hidden Android function #4: Share menu pinningThis subsequent tucked-away deal with was first added into Android means again within the 2016 Nougat period however then taken away for some time and solely introduced again with final yr’s Android 11 launch. (Goodness gracious, Google, you are making me dizzy.)It’s the flexibility to customise the order of apps in your telephone’s system-level Share menu — which implies can then hold your individual most continuously used sharing locations on the high of the checklist for simple ongoing entry. Yippee!The function is sadly sophisticated by the truth that plenty of apps, together with a lot of Google’s personal utilities, now use customized share interfaces as an alternative of counting on the system commonplace (grumble, grumble, grumble). But for any app that is really doing issues in a wise means and utilizing the usual Android share menu, take notice: So lengthy as your telephone is working Android 11, you may press and maintain your finger to any merchandise in that sharing checklist to pin it to the highest. And it will then keep in that place for all future sharing, anytime the usual system menu is used.To see for your self, go spotlight some textual content inside an electronic mail in Gmail and choose “Share” from the menu that comes up. Then press and maintain that excellent little fingie of yours down onto any app you see within the checklist of sharing choices — and, ta-da:JR You’ll see the command to pin it. You can pin as much as 4 completely different sharing targets, if you need, they usually’ll all seem in alphabetical order in a particular row on the high of that menu.Hidden Android function #5: App pinningAn oft-overlooked function launched all the way in which again in 2014’s Android 5 launch (mmm, Lollipop…) is slightly somethin’ referred to as app pinning. It permits you to lock one particular app or course of to your display screen after which requires you to unlock your gadget earlier than the rest might be accessed.The concept is definitely fairly smart: Say you are passing your telephone off to a pal, a co-worker, or some method of rabid jungle hen — possibly to allow them to see a doc, have a look at one thing on a web site, or peck out a fast name whereas their very own tiny bird-phone is not useful. Take two seconds to pin no matter app is related to that objective to your display screen, and you’ll relaxation simple understanding the remainder of your stuff will stay safe and inaccessible till the telephone’s again in your fingers.To use the function, first search your system settings for App pinning — or, should you’re utilizing a Samsung telephone (the place issues are all the time arbitrarily renamed for no obvious cause), search as an alternative for the far much less logical Pin home windows time period.However you get there, when you’re on the suitable settings display screen, be sure that the primary toggle for the function is activated — and ensure the toggle subsequent to “Ask for unlock pattern before unpinning” (or “Use lock screen type to unpin,” with Samsung) can also be within the on place.Then simply open up any app you need — and should you’re utilizing Android’s gesture system, swipe up from the underside of your display screen to get to Android’s Overview interface. Tap the icon on the high of the cardboard on your present app, and lookie what we’ve got there: a snazzy new Pin possibility!JR Tap that unhealthy boy, and faucet it good. That app will then be locked in place, and to get to the rest, you may first must swipe your finger up from the underside of the display screen and maintain it in place for a number of seconds — after which present no matter method of unlocking authentication (PIN, sample, password, appendage, 14 drops of blood out of your pinky toe, and so on) is suitable to proceed.If you are still utilizing Android’s previous three-button nav system, you may as an alternative press the square-shaped Overview button to get to the Overview interface, and you may press and maintain the Back and Overview buttons collectively while you’re able to unpin.Hidden Android function #6: Guest ModeIf you actually need to hold your gadget protected against meddling whereas it is in another person’s fingers and/or claws, take a minute to reacquaint your self with Android’s intelligent and sensible Guest Mode. It’s mainly like an incognito mode on your total telephone: You simply flip a swap, say “Wowser bowser, hubba bubba” for good measure, after which watch your telephone shift itself right into a blank-slate state — the place your individual private apps, accounts, and information are all securely tucked away and also you get an out-of-the-box-like expertise, with solely the fundamental preinstalled system apps obtainable.JR No one can get to any of your stuff with out first signing again in as you (and placing in your most popular technique of authentication), and nothing performed in that setting ever has any affect in your commonplace smartphone setup. It’s a fairly highly effective type of privateness safety, would not ya say?It is not, sadly, obtainable for the Samsung homeowners amongst us, as Samsung has for no obvious cause opted to take away this commonplace working system ingredient from its software program — however for everybody else, comply with these three fast steps:Open up the System part of your telephone’s settings.
    Tap “Advanced” adopted by “Multiple users.”
    On the display screen that comes up, be sure that the toggle on the high is about into the on place.
    And then, everytime you need to faucet into your shiny new Guest Mode possibility, swipe down twice from the highest of your display screen to open your Quick Settings, faucet your consumer profile image (which might be only a generic particular person icon within the lower-right nook of the panel), after which faucet the “Add guest” possibility on the display screen that comes up.When you are able to exit out of Guest Mode and get again to regular, simply open up the Quick Settings panel once more, faucet that consumer profile image once more, and choose “Remove guest” from the menu that comes up. That’ll erase and reset every little thing that was performed in that short-term profile and take you again to your individual commonplace setting (as soon as you’ve got put in your PIN, sample, or passcode or used your most popular appendage to show that you just’re really you).Hidden Android function #7: Do Not Disturb guidelinesYou aren’t nonetheless manually silencing your telephone at evening or while you’re in conferences, are you? Android’s received a local means to do this for you robotically — if you realize the place it’s and bear in mind to set it up.Dig round within the Sound part of your system settings (or the Notifications part, on Samsung gadgets). See the road that claims “Do Not Disturb”? Tap it — the precise line that claims “Do Not Disturb” and never the toggle subsequent to it, if there may be one — after which search for the “Schedules” possibility (or for “Turn on as scheduled,” with Samsung).There, you may activate and create all types of customized computerized guidelines for a way your telephone ought to behave throughout completely different occasions and situations. Be certain to search for the plus signal or the “Add more” choice to discover the varied prospects. With Pixel telephones, as an illustration, along with the fundamental time-based guidelines, you may create guidelines that flip Do Not Disturb on robotically while you’re driving and even when particular varieties of calendar occasions are energetic.Set ’em up, activate ’em as wanted, after which relaxation simple understanding your pleasant cellular companion’s all the time received your again.Hidden Android function #8: App pausingMaybe you do not need to silence your total telephone however simply want a break from a selected app’s interruptions — a sure messaging service, maybe, or possibly even your electronic mail. Well, Android has a little-known system that may allow you to pause any particular app on demand and silence it and solely it till additional discover.This one’s solely obtainable in Google’s personal model of Android, so should you’ve received a Pixel telephone or Android One gadget, press and maintain your finger onto any app’s icon on your private home display screen or in your app drawer and search for the hourglass icon and/or the “Pause app” possibility.JR Tap that factor — faucet it with abandon, garsh dern it! — and you may see the app’s icon change right into a grayed-out, monochrome coloration. The app will then keep fully quiet till you faucet it once more to unpause it.JR Ahh…the sound of silence.Hidden Android function #9: Focus ModeYou can take the app pausing idea even additional with Android’s built-in Focus Mode — one thing that’s obtainable on most gadgets working fairly present Android variations, no matter who made ’em or how a lot meddling mentioned firm did with the software program.To test it out, search for a Digital Wellbeing part in your telephone’s system settings, then search for a “Focus Mode” possibility inside that space. The particular implementation will differ from one device-maker to the following, however in a technique or one other, you’ll create a listing of apps that you just often need to silence — after which optionally set a recurring schedule for when these apps, particularly, can be pressured to close their digital yaps and cease notifying you.JR You may simply choose to activate Focus Mode on demand while you need it — which primarily turns it right into a universally obtainable multi-app model of the App Pausing idea.To activate Focus Mode manually, search for the Focus Mode tile inside your Quick Settings panel — and should you do not see it there, faucet the pencil-shaped icon within the lower-left nook (or the three-dot icon within the upper-right nook after which choose “Button order,” with Samsung) to edit the panel and add it into the combo.Hidden Android function #10: Notification snoozingMan, I like snoozing. And not simply the under-the-desk siesta selection, both (although a hearty kudos should you’re really in a position to handle that).Nope — I’m an enormous fan of Android’s built-in skill to snooze your notifications and have ’em come again to demand your consideration later within the day, similar to you may with emails in Gmail. The system is not as totally featured and versatile as I’d like, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly helpful.So the following time you see a notification that you do not need to take care of straight away but additionally do not need to depart lingering in your notification panel to be forgotten, do that: Swipe the notification ever so barely to the left or to the suitable — not far sufficient to dismiss it however simply sufficient to disclose a few rigorously tucked away icons at its edges.JR See ’em? Tap the snooze icon — an alarm clock with a “Z” inside it in Google’s personal model of Android or a bell in Samsung’s model of the software program — and you’ll ship the notification away and have it return anew in 15 minutes, half an hour, one hour, or two hours.In Google’s model of Android, all notification snoozing will get set to at least one hour by default. But you may faucet the little down-facing arrow within the snoozing affirmation to see the total set of choices and alter it to no matter period of time you need.JR As an added bonus, you may then inform everybody you realize that snoozing is a vital a part of your productiveness technique. And in the event that they have a look at you such as you’re loopy, properly, by golly, you may simply cackle knowingly as you gallop away with glee.Want much more Googley information (with or with out gleeful galloping)? Sign up for my weekly e-newsletter to get next-level ideas and perception delivered on to your inbox.

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