Got yourself a new Android device? There are quite a few things that you will learn as you start using the phone or tablet more. However, below are four tips, that you should know even before you start playing around with the device as they will greatly help improve your overall user experience.
Recent Apps
Unlike Windows Phone and iOS, Android has true multi-tasking, which allows apps to run in the background until they finish their prescribed task. This creates a problem that until and unless the user completely exits that app, it continues to run in the background occupying precious resources. You can use the Recents Apps list in Android to close such apps.
Sadly, since most Android devices come with a menu button instead of a Recents App one, most users have no idea how to access this list to close the apps present in the memory. If your Android device comes with a physical menu key, then you will need to double press on the home button or long press to bring up the Recents App list. You can then swipe away the apps to remove them from memory.
Swipe away notifications
The notification panel of Android is one of the key strengths of the OS. It not only displays notifications from all apps but also allows you to interact with them or dismiss them.
If your Android device is running Jelly Bean or higher, you can dismiss individual notifications by swiping them to the left or right. You can also try to expand them by dragging them down using a single finger gesture, which will either reveal more information or some action buttons so that you can interact directly with the app without actually opening it.
Lock screen Widgets
Widgets are a great way in Android to have all your important information available right on your home screen. Widgets, however, are not limited only to your home screen. You can also use them on your lock screen as well.
Simply swipe to the right from the lock screen and tap the + sign to add widgets to your lock screen. Keep in mind that you can have multiple lock screen pages but every page is limited to one widget.
Turn on Google Now
Google Now is easily one the best features to come out of Google’s headquarters in the last decade. It acts like your digital personal assistant and can automatically pull important data from your emails or location and show it just when you need it.
Booked a flight ticket? Google Now will automatically show your flight status, the weather of the destination you are travelling to and automatically remind you when is the best time to leave for the airport so that you don’t miss your flight. It can also keep you up to date on the latest breaking news, football and cricket scores, allow you to track your packages, remind you of your friends birthdays and much more.
Surprisingly though, Google Now is not activated by default on any Android device and neither are users prompted to enable it during the setup wizard. Turning the feature on is pretty simple and only requires users to tap on the Google Search widget on their home screen once. They will then get a Google Now wizard at the end of which they can enable the feature. If you use multiple Google IDs on your Android device, make sure to sign in with your primary one.
Missed any tip that every Android beginner should know about? Drop in a comment and let us know!
