Android 9

Top 10 new features of Android 10

Android 10 is the first Android release without a desert name. But this does not prevent Google from adding many new features of Android 10.

This Android 10 guide explains the top 10 new features you can enjoy on your Android phones with Android 10 update. These new features include the dark mode, Live Caption, new navigation gestures, all sensors off, critical update from Google directly, focus mode, emergency button, privacy control, location access controls, and WiFi sharing.

Dark mode: the best Android 10 new feature

The dark mode is not new.

In Android Pie (Android 9), Google added the dark mode (dark theme). But it is only system-wide.

For example, the Settings page in Android Pie is still always white even you enable the dark mode on the phone.

As a new feature of Android 10, Dark mode is now system-wide, and Google leaves no stone unturned.

All system pages, including the Settings page, will use the dark theme once you enable the dark mode on Android 10.

You can enable/disable dark mode from Settings — Display — Display– Dark theme on Android 10.

By default, Google also added a quick setting button for the dark mode as shown below.

Live Caption

The Live Caption can automagically caption any videos, podcasts, and audio messages with one tap.

Internet connection is not needed. Everything will be done locally on the phone.

So, many users think the Live Caption is one of the most practical new features in Android 10.

But this feature is not available in Android 10 now. Google said it would be released later, very likely with the release of Pixel 4.

Pixel phones will first get this feature through a firmware update. Other Android phones will get this feature early next year through Google’s udpate.

New Navigation Gestures on Android 10

Android 10 now allows you to eliminate the navigation buttons.

In Android Pie, you still have the Home and Back buttons when using the navigation gestures as explained in detail in this guide.

In Android 10, Home, Back, and Recents (Overview) buttons are all gone if you choose to use the new navigation gestures.

Probably navigation gesture is one of the most controversial new features of Android 10.

Anyway, if you choose to use “full” navigation gestures on Android 10, you need to know these Android 10 navigation gestures:

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to Home screen.

… Read the rest

How to use Android Pie dark mode (dark theme)?

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Android Pie dark mode (dark theme) helps you alleviate eyestrain and save battery.

As a new feature of Android Pie, the dark theme may be affected by the night mode settings in the developer options. But this very likely will be resolved in Android Q.

This Android Pie guide shows you how to enable and use the dark theme on Android Pie phones, how to enable dark theme (dark mode) for individual apps, and explains the relationship between dark theme (device theme) and the night mode in Android Pie developer options.

Why Android Pie dark mode (dark theme) matters?

The default white (light) theme in stock Android looks cool during presentations.

But the white theme can be troublesome for you when you want to check messages in the darkness.

The dark mode (dark theme) is one of the most requested Android features. And Google partially delivered it in Android Pie.

You can expect at least the following 2 benefits from the dark mode:

Less eyestrain. Most (not all) users will feel more comfortable when using the dark mode.
Longer battery life. For OLED screens (as in all Pixel phones), the battery saving can be substantial because “black” pixels in the OLED panel use extremely low power and the “white” pixels drinks the most battery juice. Even for an LCD screen, the reduced brightness in the dark mode saves battery noticeably in most scenarios.

Of course, some Android users may prefer the cleanness of the default white theme.

How to enable and use Android Pie dark mode (dark theme)?

You may follow these steps to enable Android Pie dark mode on your phone.

Step 1: Open Settings

You can open phone settings by tapping the Settings icon on the home screen (or the apps screen).

You can also tap the edit icon in quick settings to access phone settings.

Step 2: Navigate to Display Settings

As shown in the screenshot below, in the Settings page, tap Display.

In the Display page, as shown above, tap Advanced.

Step 3: Change the device theme to dark

In the expanded Display settings page, tap Device theme to change the device theme.

In the popout, as shown above, you can choose the device theme as:

Automatic (based on wallpaper).
Light.
Dark.

The default in most Android phones is Automatic. The phone will try to figure out whether it uses the light or dark theme based on the wallpaper used.… Read the rest

How to use the Android Pie navigation gestures?

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Android Pie (Android 9) introduced a set of new navigation gestures to replace the navigation buttons. Of course, there are many new features in Android Pie as explained in this guide.

If you just switched to Android from iPhone, you will get used to these Android Pie navigation gestures very quickly. But if you prefer the three navigation buttons, you need some time to adjust.

This Android Pie guide explains how to enable Android Pie navigation gestures, how to disable them, how to use them, and answer some questions you may have on Android Pie gestures.

Background of Android Pie navigation gestures

In Android OS, the navigation buttons had been an essential part. Since Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS, Android 4.0), on-screen navigation buttons (software based navigation button) has been introduced to replace the hardware capacitive buttons.

Although Google wanted to kill the hardware buttons in Android (FYI, all Google released phones including Nexus and Pixel phones only use on-screen navigation buttons), Android manufacturers, especially Samsung, are slow to move in this direction. For example, Samsung only started to remove the hardware buttons in Galaxy S8 and S8+ in 2017.

For new smartphone users and old people, the navigation buttons (hardware or on-screen) are very useful and intuitive.

But for experienced users and younger generations, gestures can be more productive.

In Android 9, Google decided to add navigation gestures to partially replace the on-screen navigation buttons.

Of course, the Android Pie navigation gesture is not a complete replacement to the old navigation buttons because:

Android Pie navigation gestures still need the home button. The back button will also appear automatically whenever necessary.
Android manufacturers can always customize the gestures, or even disable them and use the old 3 navigation buttons.

In the future Android releases (e.g., Android Q), very likely, Google will strengthen and navigation gestures. In fact, in Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the old navigation buttons were disabled, and owners have to use the Android Pie navigation gestures.

What are the Android Pie navigation gestures?

Android Pie navigation gestures are all based on the home button. Here is the list of supported gestures:

Swipe upwards from the home button to see recent apps. This is equivalent to tapping the Recent/overview button in the old 3-button system.
Swipe right from the home button to switch to the previous app. In the old 3-button system, you need to get this in two steps: tap the Recent/Overview button, then tap the icon in the overview screen.

… Read the rest

Top 20 new features of Android Pie (Android 9)

by simon 1 Comment

You will enjoy many new features of Android Pie (Android 9) once your phone is updated to Android Pie, or you get a new phone shipped with Android Pie.

Although Android manufacturers may customize or cripple some of the new features of Android Pie (9) in their devices, you will still enjoy a similar Android Pie experiences.

This Android Pie guide explains the top 20 new features of Android Pie (Android 9) most users will enjoy.

What is Android Pie (Android 9)?

Android Pie, aka Android P or Android 9, is the 9th major update of Android OS. It was officially released to the public on August 6, 2018.

As the successor of Android Oreo, many new features of Android Pie are expected in both of the user interface (UI) and the underhood.

Since the release of Android Icecream Sandwich (Android 4.0) in 2011, Google has released one major update of Android each year: Android Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) in 2012, Android KitKat (Android 4.4) in 2013, Android Lollipop (Android 5) in 2014, Android Marshmallow (Android 6) in 2015, Android Nougat (Android 7) in 2016 and Android Oreo (Android 8) in 2017.

On the release date, only Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL received the Android Pie (Android 9) update. Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are the first phones shipped with Android Pie.

Most Android vendors started to roll out Android Pie update for their flagship phones from October 2018.

Why do you care about the new features of Android Pie (Android 9)

For most end-users, user interface (UI) is one of the most important features.

Android Pie will not disappoint you. There are tons of UI improvements. Of course, unless you are using a Google Pixel phone or an Android One phone, the manufacturers may tweak these new UI features a bit.

This page highlights the top 20 new features of Android Pie that most Android users will be happy to enjoy.

For app developers, there are also many new features of Android Pie. For example, Android Pie now supports the Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time (RTT). So you can take advantage of indoor positioning in your apps.

Anyway, updating your phone to Android Pie will rejuvenate your Oreo phone, which may look boring and work slower day-by-day.

#1 of the top 20 new features of Android Pie: new navigational gestures

Navigation buttons (Home, Back and Recents/Overview) have been a standard feature in Android for a long time.… Read the rest

Android 9

How to use Android Pie dark mode (dark theme)?

Why Android Pie dark mode (dark theme) matters?