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    7 ways Android phones make iPhone users jealous: Multi-tasking and more

    Android telephones can do so much that iPhones cannot. 
    Sarah Tew/CNET
    The debate between Android and iPhone followers over which platform is best is one I by no means see coming to an finish. Both sides of the argument have their share of speaking factors, starting from safety and encryption for iPhone customers to customization and Google Assistant prowess on the Android aspect. And for essentially the most half, they’re all legitimate arguments. Right now, I need to spotlight a few of Android’s strengths that the iPhone simply would not have but, from having the ability to set default apps and utilizing a couple of app at a time to having the ability to substitute utterly customise the look of your telephone.Here are my favourite issues your Android telephone can do that folks with iPhones can solely dream of.

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    Use the apps you need, not the apps Google needs you to make use ofThe potential to set Gmail because the default electronic mail app on an iPhone is one thing iOS customers have been asking Apple so as to add for years. Even although Apple added the choice to delete its personal apps from iOS, you continue to cannot set a default app. It’s tragic, actually.Finding the setting for default apps can take a bit digging, however no less than it is there. 
    Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
    For instance, Android enables you to set Firefox or Opera as your default browser, or set Google’s Messages app as your textual content messaging app of option to benefit from RCS, Google’s just lately launched chat function that acts so much like Apple’s iMessage. Android customers, after all, have been capable of set default apps from the very starting. It is not exhausting to see which apps have been labeled as default and, if you wish to, change that default app. Start by opening the Settings app and go to Apps & notifications > Default apps. Google Assistant is all the time prepared for you. 
    Jason Cipriani/CNET
    Google Assistant for the winiPhone customers have Siri, however Android offers you Google Assistant. Google’s digital voice sidekick is a way more subtle device than Apple’s Siri for a slew of causes, however a very powerful one is that it builds off Google’s spectacular database. Google Assistant has an confirmed potential to know frequent requests for companies and names, and it will get requests proper extra typically than improper. It additionally returns prime quality responses, drawing from Google Search, a device that Siri would not have entry to.Google Assistant additionally tightly integrates with the telephone’s different features, to let you know when it is time to depart on your subsequent assembly and nudge you that visitors is additional heavy happening the way in which house. If you’ve gotten any Google Home or Nest Home good audio system, or different suitable gadgets, you too can use Assistant in your telephone to regulate stuff round your own home like lights, retailers or your thermostat — even from afar.And it is constructed proper into your Android gadget. “OK, Google” and “Hey, Google” are the 2 wake phrases. If you need assistance realizing what to ask, you’ll be able to ask Google Assistant for a listing of instructions: “OK, Google, What can you do?” iPhone homeowners also can set up the Google app to make use of Assistant, however it’s not inbuilt and it isn’t the default private assistant. Split Screen is straightforward to make use of on an Android telephone, and will increase the flexibility of a telephone. 
    Jason Cipriani/CNET
    Use two apps directly by means of split-screen modeEven although iPadOS 13 helps utilizing a number of apps on the identical time, iOS 13 and the iPhone don’t. Android customers, nevertheless, have had the power to make use of split-screen apps since 2016 with the discharge of Android 7.0 Nougat.Using two apps is useful for those who’re attempting to search for a contact’s telephone quantity to ship to somebody on Facebook Messenger, or if you must reference in data in a doc when composing an electronic mail. It’s unclear why Apple hasn’t added this function to the iPhone but, however maybe it has one thing to do with the scale of home windows on the iPhone’s smaller show, in comparison with the iPad ($323 at Walmart). The easiest method to make use of split-screen mode is to open the multitasking view and faucet on the app’s icon on the high of its multitasking card — it is the identical icon you employ to launch the app out of your homescreen. Select Split display screen from the record of choices, then choose the second app you need to have open on the identical time. (These steps would possibly differ relying on which Android telephone you employ. For instance, Samsung telephones have their very own pores and skin.)You can modify the scale of every app by dragging the small deal with between the 2 apps to develop or lower how a lot house an app takes up on the split-screen.Move icons round to rearrange them, or delete them and solely use the app drawer. 
    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Customize your homescreen simply the way you prefer itApple’s strategy to the homescreen is to position all put in apps in a inflexible grid throughout a number of pages. Most Android gadgets take a two-pronged strategy by providing you with a homescreen and an app drawer. The homescreen would not comply with a grid structure, permitting you to position apps anyplace you need. Both platforms allow you to make folders containing teams of apps.The advantage of Android’s strategy is that you would be able to utterly customise the homescreen by arranging app icons in any sample of your selecting, and Android helps widgets of various sizes. Right now, Apple’s Today view is the one place you may discover a widget.The manner your Android telephone’s homescreen appears to be like is due to its launcher. But you are not caught with what comes preinstalled. 
    Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET
    You can use launchers to totally customise your telephoneLaunchers are the epitome of Android customization. These apps allow you to utterly change the way you work together with the homescreen, the app drawer and even the app icons in your telephone. Using a launcher in your Android telephone means that you can customise virtually each facet of how your telephone appears to be like and behaves, making your telephone much more private than it already is. Launchers like Nova Launcher, Microsoft’s Launcher, Apex Launcher or Action Launcher, all add their very own twists and options to your Android telephone. For instance, one other standard Android launcher, Evie, emphasizes utilizing a search bar to rapidly discover and open apps, or the rest in your Android telephone for that matter. It’s minimalism at its best. I like to recommend taking a while to analysis the assorted launchers, strive a few them, and actually customise the feel and appear of your telephone. Just be forewarned: The deeper you dive into the world of launchers, the extra time and vitality you are going to spend on tweaking your setup.It’s exhausting to think about a world the place Apple ever lets one thing like this occur for the iPhone.The Wallpapers app is a should for any Android person. 
    Jason Cipriani/CNET
    Never get tired of auto-changing wallpapersIf taking the time to seek out and customise a launcher appears like lots of work, however there’s one other strategy to make your Android telephone continually really feel contemporary, and it is one more factor your iPhone pals cannot do — use Google’s Wallpapers app. The Wallpapers app refreshes the wallpaper in your homescreen and lock display screen day by day, with out you having to do a factor. There are a number of totally different classes of wallpaper kinds to select from. Pick your favourite, and let the app deal with the remainder. Personally, I like to make use of the geometric shapes class. The wallpapers are distinctive and colourful. Watch a video and browse Twitter on the identical time? Go on, I’m listening. 
    Jason Cipriani/CNET
    Watch a video and textual content on the identical time If you have ever began navigating in Google Maps, solely to depart the app and reply a textual content message, you absolutely have seen a small Google Maps window stay seen in a nook of the display screen. Android gained a system-wide picture-in-picture mode for extra than simply video apps with the discharge of Android Oreo in 2017.In addition to Google Maps and video apps, you too can use picture-in-picture for video calls with supported apps. My favourite use of picture-in-picture is to start streaming a YouTube video after which depart the app to browse Reddit or reply to a textual content message or electronic mail whereas the YouTube video retains enjoying in a nook of the display screen. When I need to return to watching the video full-screen, I simply faucet on the small thumbnail to maximise it. iPhones haven’t any type of picture-in-picture mode. What you see on the display screen is what you get, and nothing extra.If you are prepared to modify to Android, or want to get extra from the Android telephone you already personal, try our record of the very best Android telephones of 2020. If you are new to Android, ensure that to vary these settings straight away. Then after that, we’ve some useful tricks to get you began with Android 10. 
    Originally printed earlier this week. 

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