Android is the world’s leading mobile platform, and it’s stacked with massive tools and configuration options. You probably are using the bigger chunk of these tools and options, but there are some others that are hidden from plain sight. These are actually features that you can use to make your android phone work better for you. Take a look...
1. Use Android Device Manager to remotely secure your device
It’s a matter of fact that most people aren’t using
Android Device Manager to remotely secure their smartphone. This is one of those important tools that can bring a lot of useful functionality to your device, including things like malware scanning and account sync. You’ll be able to ring, track, lock or wipe data on your smartphone in the case you lose it.
2. Screen recording
Sometimes ago, you had to root your Android phone to be able to make use of the platform’s advanced features. But Android has slowly improved over time. From Lollipop 5.0, screen recording is supported. You just need to install the right app to take advantage of it. In fact, a section of Android devices running Android Lollipop or higher have screen recording pre-installed by the manufacturer.Screen recording gives you an MP4 video file of whatever’s happening on your screen. There are many reasons you might want to do this. Take a look at some of the best
screen recording apps available in the marketplace today.
3. Configure system animations
Your android smartphone is probably already fast enough, but you can make things even better with this little tweak. Navigate to system settings, then
About>Software Information>More>Build number. Tap on the build number at least 7 times until you get a confirmation that you’re now a developer. This brings the
Developer Options menu in the main settings list. Navigate to the Developer Options and scroll down to
Drawing, then
Window animation scale,
Transition animation scale, and finally
Animator duration scale. These animations cover up lags as the system catches up. By default, they are set to 1x. But you really don’t need slow settings on a fast phone. So set it to 0.5x to get a snappier experience.
4. Leverage Smart Lock
Of course, there’s no understating the importance of securing your phone. But if you’re the one handling it, there’s no point having to deal with a complicated screen lock each time you get it out of your pocket. This feature displays an easy swipe screen lock whenever it’s safe to do that. But how does it just know? It uses options such as
Trusted Face, on-body detection, Trusted Devices, and
Trusted Location. At the very minimum, all Android handsets have Trusted Location and Trusted Devices. Just like Android Device Manager, Smart Lock is delivered to Android handsets through Play Services. However, some manufacturers hide smart lock a number of levels deep in privacy settings or advanced security. You need to look it up and configure Google Play Services as a ‘trust agent’ in order to take advantage of Smart Lock.
5. Transfer files more easily with Wi-Fi Direct
File transfer is becoming increasingly easier on Android. For instance, you just need to hold two
NFC-enabled handsets together to transfer files using Android Beam. This technique takes advantage of a Bluetooth connection, so while it’s convenient, transfer speeds can be a bit limited. That’s where
Wi-Fi Direct comes in. This is a protocol that creates a top-speed connection handsets using Wi-Fi. There are several apps on Google Play that can help you make use of this important file transfer feature. A good example is
SuperBeam.These simple tricks can go a long way towards making your Android smartphone are useful. Simply take a few minutes to set them up and let us know whether you note a difference.
