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How to use navigation gestures in Android 10?

A definite guide for Android 10 navigation gestures

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How to use navigation gestures in Android 10?Android 10 brings a new (and improved) set of navigation gestures for you to use the phone more effectively and intuitively.

In addition to using the traditional 3 navigation buttons, and the 2-button navigation gestures as in Android Pie, you can now use gestures only without using any buttons in Android 10.

This Android 10 guide explains the new features of the Android 10 navigation gestures, how to enable them and how to use them.

What’s new in Android 10 navigation gestures?

Previously in Android Pie (Android 9), navigation buttons (3 or 2) are found at the bottom of the screen. Now in Android 10, navigation gestures can fully replace the navigation buttons.

This means that if navigation gestures are enabled, the Home, Back, and Recents (Overview) buttons located at the bottom of the screen, seen below, will be gone.

Android 10 Home screen

How to enable navigation gesture in Android 10?

If you upgraded the phone to Android 10, very likely, the original navigation buttons will likely be used by default.

In this case, you need to follow the following steps to enable the Android 10 navigation gestures.

Step 1: Open Settings

To access Settings, as shown below, tap on the Settings icon in the Apps screen (App drawer), or Home screen, or through the quick settings panel.

Accessing Settings through application Android 10 Quick Settings Panel

Step 2: Access System settings

In Settings, scroll down and tap on System, as shown below.

Android 10 Settings

Step 3: Access Gestures settings

In the System settings page, tap on Gestures, as seen below.

Android 10 System settings page

Step 4: Access System navigation page

In the System settings page, tap on System navigation, as shown below.

Android 10 Gesture settings

Step 5: Enable Gesture navigation

In the System navigation page, there will be the option to change the phone’s system navigation. Tap on Gesture navigation to enable it.

Android 10 System Navigation page

Additionally, you can change the sensitivity of the back gesture by tapping on the settings icon as seen below.

This adjusts how sensitive the phone will respond to gestures along the screen edge and hence prevent any accidental gestures along the screen edge.

Android 10 Gesture navigation Android 10 navigation gesture

How to use Navigation Gestures in Android 10?

Here are the 10 operations you need to master when switching to the new navigation gestures.

1. Returning to Home Screen (Home Screen) — Swipe upwards

To exit from an application and return to the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, as shown below.

This has the same function as tapping the Home button in the previous version of Android (0r if you switch back to navigation buttons).… Read the rest

How to Use Location Access Control in Android 10?

You can easily control your privacy through Android 10 location access control

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Use Location Access Control in Android 10Location access control is a new Android 10 feature that protects your privacy.

This Android 10 guide explains how the location access control in Android 10 protects your data, how to enter location access settings from location settings of from permission manager, and how to use location control on Android 10.

What does location access control in Android 10 do?

The location access control in Android 10 is an extension of the privacy controls in Android 10.

Previously in Android Pie (Android 9), app location access can only be changed from the application setting.  Users have to change the location access permission of each application one by one.

In Android 10, the Location Access control allows users to check, assign, and revoke location access for all apps in one centralised location.

This makes it easier for users to customise which apps can have access to the phone location.

Additionally, with the Android 10 location access control, it ensures external apps cannot easily view information about the phone’s location, and therefore enhances the privacy of the users.

How to enter the location access control page?

Firstly, you need to access Settings, as shown below, by tapping on the Settings icon in the Apps screen (App drawer), or Home screen.

Alternatively, you can access settings through the quick settings panel.

Accessing Settings through application Android 10 Quick Settings Panel

There are 2 ways to go to the location access settings page from the Settings page:

  • From the Location settings page
  • Through the Permission Manager

Method 1: Location settings page

In Settings, scroll down and tap on Location, as seen below, to access the location settings page.

Android 10 Settings

In the Location settings page, tap on App permissions, as shown below.

This will bring you to the location permissions page.

Android 10 Location settings Android 10 Location Access page

As shown above, in the location access control page, you can manage the location access (read on).

Method 2:  through Permission manager

In Settings, tap on Apps & notification.

Android 10 Settings

In the Apps & notification settings page, tap on Advanced to expand the list, as shown below.

Android 10 Apps manager Android 10 Apps manager

As shown above, tap on the Permission Manager to access permission managers of Android 10.

In Permission Manager page, tap on Location, as shown below.

This will bring you to the same location access control page.

Android 10 Permission manager Android 10 Location Access page

How to use location access control?

The location access age allows users to see which apps can view the phone’s location as well as apps that may require permission to use the phone location.… Read the rest

How to use Android 10 dark mode (dark theme)?

You can use the system-wide dark theme on Android 10 to save battery and protect your eyes

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Android 10 dark modeAndroid 10 dark mode can be regarded as one of the best Android 10 new features.

The dark mode is not an unfamiliar feature for Android phones. It was introduced previously in Android Pie (Android 9).

This Android 10 guide explains the new features of the dark mode, shows you how to enable and use the dark theme in three different ways, and answers some questions you may have on this feature.

What is new in Android 10 dark mode?

Similar to the dark theme in Android Pie (Android 9), dark mode in Android 10 brings about the following benefits:

  • Improves visibility for users with low vision or are sensitive to bright lights.
  • Less eyestrain when using phones in low light environments.
  • Longer battery life as there is decreased power usage.

However, in Android Pie (Android 9),  the dark mode was not applied system-wide.

For example, in Android Pie (Android 9), the Settings menu remains white even if dark mode is enabled.

Now in Android 10, it can be applied to both the Android system UI as well as supported applications. This means that once dark mode is enabled, the entire Android system UI, as well as supported applications, will automatically switch to the dark theme according to the application’s settings.

How to enable and use Android 10 dark mode?

There are 3 ways to enable dark mode in Android 10:

Method 1:  through Settings

The first method to enable dark mode in Android 10 phones is through the Settings menu.

Step 1: Open Settings

To access Settings, as shown below,  tap on the Settings icon in the Apps screen (App drawer), or Home screen,  or through the quick settings panel.

Accessing Settings through apps screen Android 10 Quick Settings Panel

Step 2: Access Display settings

In Settings, scroll and tap on Display, as shown below.

Display Settings panel

Step 3: Enable the dark mode

In the Display Settings page,  you can find the option for the dark theme.

Tapping on it will turn on dark mode for the phone as well as all supported applications.

If the phone is already in the dark mode, tapping it will turn off dark mode.

Enabling Android 10 dark mode

Method 2:  Use Quick settings panel

Another way to enable dark mode in Android 10  is through the quick settings panel.

To access the quick menu panel, pull down the status bar twice.

Once in the quick settings panel, tap on the icon named dark theme to turn dark mode on, as shown below.… Read the rest

How to use the screenshot shortcut to take a screenshot on Android Pie?

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How to use the screenshot shortcut to take a screenshot on Android Pie?Android Pie (Android 9) added a new screenshot shortcut so that it is very easy to take screenshots in smartphones with Android Pie.

This Android Pie guide explains where to find the screenshot shortcut in Android Pie and how to use it to take a screenshot in Android Pie.

Why you may need the screenshot shortcut?

In all Android phones, the default method of taking a screenshot is pressing and holding the power button and volume down button simultaneously.

Using this button combination to take screenshots works on all Android phones and tablets. regardless of the version of Android.  Even on Amazon Fire tablets, you can take a screenshot with the power button and volume down button although Amazon tried very hard to de-Google in the Fire OS (which is based on Android).

The method is simple and easy if you “master” it.

The tricky part is that you need to press and hold the two buttons “simultaneously“. It means

  • If you hold the power button too early, you get the power menu (power button options).
  • If you hold the volume down button too early, you get the volume settings.

For many users who take screenshots only occasionally,  it is hard to control the timing.

So, a shortcut for taking screenshots is one of the most popular features in some Android phones.

Now, Google finally introduced the screenshot shortcut to take a screenshot on Android Pie.

Both new users and experienced users will find it very useful. Even your grandma can easily take a screenshot with the screenshot shortcut.

Where is the screenshot shortcut in Android Pie?

After hearing about this new Android Pie feature, Some Android Pie users tried to find the screenshot shortcut in the quick settings.

Of course, they cannot find it.

The screenshot shortcut is in power menu (aka power button options).

You can hold the power button for about 2 seconds to get the power menu /power button options as shown below.

Where is the screenshot shortcut in Android Pie

By default, the shortcut to screenshot is enabled in the power button options. Stock Android does not offer a standard method to hide/unhide it.

However, some Android manufactures may customize this feature and let you enable or disable the button.

How to use the screenshot shortcut to take a screenshot on Android Pie?

To take a screenshot, you just need to call out the power button options, then tap Screenshot as shown above to take a screenshot for the screen (without the power button options).… Read the rest

How to play Android Oreo Easter egg game?

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Since Android Gingerbread, Google always hides an Easter egg in each major version of Android.

In Android Lollipop and Marshmallow, the Easter egg is the flappy bird-like game: dodging lollipops or flying bugdroid (to dodge Marshmallows).

The Easter egg in Android Nougat is even more interesting. The cat-catching game (Android Neko) is somewhat addictive for some users.

Android Oreo is not an exception. It also comes with an Easter egg.

What is Android Oreo Easter Egg?

Android Oreo’s Easter Egg features an octopus (because it is Android O).

It is a simple game: you can watch the octopus moving in the sea. Of course, you can drag it to move faster and change its path.

How to access the Android Oreo Easter egg game?

Google did not change the way to access Easter egg in Android Oreo.

If you are new to Android Easter egg, you may follow these steps to access the Android Oreo Easter egg game.

Step 1: Access phone settings

You can access phone settings via quick settings panel or settings app in the Home screen or Apps screen.

For example, as shown below, you can tap the settings icon (gear) in the quick settings panel to access phone settings.

Oreo easter game

Step 2: Access Android version

In settings, scroll all the way down until you find system (or about phone in some Android phones).

Then as shown below, tap on System.

Oreo easter game Oreo easter game

In System page, tap on About phone.

Oreo easter game

In the About phone page, you can find the Android version.

For example, as shown below, this Pixel XL is running Android 8.1.0.

Please note, some Android vendors may arrange the Android version in other locations.

Oreo easter game

Step 3: unhide Android Oreo Easter egg

You can unhide the Android Oreo Easter egg by tapping rapidly on Android version for more than 5 times.

An Android Oreo icon should appear as shown below.

 

Oreo easter game

Step 4: Play Android Oreo Easter egg game

Tap on the Android Oreo icon rapidly a few times and hold it to launch the game.

There are also a few other ways to launch the game as well.

The Android Oreo Easter egg- an octopus,  would appear.

You can drag the octopus by its head around the screen to move it.

Oreo easter game

To exit the game, simply press the back icon on the navigation bar.

Oreo easter game

Do you know how to unhide Android Oreo Easter egg?

… Read the rest

How to use and manage notification channels in Android Oreo?

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Notification channels (notification categories) in Android Oreo give you granular control of notifications.

You can manage individual channels of notifications from all apps to meet your needs.  You can use notification categories (channels) together with notification dots and notification snooze to get total control of notifications in your Android Oreo phones.

This Android Oreo guide explains what notification channels are, 3 ways to access notification categories and how to manage notification channels in Android Oreo phones.

What are notification channels?

When an app pushes notifications, you may want to only allow a certain type of notifications, for example, important notifications related to certain activities, to appear in the notification panel.

Prior to Android Oreo 8.0, you can enable or disable notifications for individual apps.  You can also silence notification for individual apps.

But you cannot selectively disable or enable some notifications of an app.

In Android Ore0, developers can group notifications of their apps into different notification channels (aka notification categories). You, as a user, can disable or enable individual notification channel (notification category) based on your preferences. For example, you can allow notifications from a specific notification channel to bypass do not disturb.

In a nutshell, notification channels offer granular control of notifications of individual apps. You can manage the notifications of each channel as well as of individual app.

Notification channels are enabled by individual app developers for their apps.  Apps developed for older versions of Android (API level less than 27) will not have notification channels even if your phone was updated to Android Oreo.

How to access notification channels in Android Oreo?

There are at least 3 ways to access the notification channels for individual apps:

Accessing notification channel through the Quick Settings panel or settings app

Step 1: Access the Settings menu

You can tap the settings app icon in the Home screen or Apps screen to enter phone settings.

Alternatively, you can open the quick settings panel by pulling the status bar downwards (swiping down from the status bar).

Then in the quick settings panel, tap the settings icon as shown below to access phone settings.

How to access notification channel?

Step 2: Check apps and their notification channels (notification categories)

In the Settings page, tap Apps & notifications as shown below.

How to access notification channel?

In apps and notifications page, tap on notifications then tap on app notifications.

How to access notification channel? How to access notification channel?

To see various notification channels for each app,  tap on the app.… Read the rest

What’s new in Android Oreo 8.1: Android Oreo 8.1 vs Android Oreo 8.0

New features and enhancements introduced in Android Oreo 8.1

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Android Oreo 8.1 vs Android Oreo 8.0There are two versions of Android Oreo: Android Oreo 8.1 vs Android Oreo 8.0.

Google released Android Ore0 8.1 in December 5, 2017,  in less than 4 months after the release of Android Oreo (8.0).

There are a couple of new features and enhancements (as well as bug fixes) in Android Oreo 8.1, compared to Android Oreo 8.0.

This Android Oreo guide will show you the new features in Android Oreo 8.1. For new features in Android Oreo 8.0, please check this post.

Android Ore0 8.1 new features: #1. Neural Networks API

With Android Oreo 8.1 update, Android API level climbs to 27 with considerable changes for developers, especially in machine learning.

Neural network processing, which provided a much faster computation than with general-use CPU alone, is one of the most prominent features in Android Ore0 8.1.

Neural Networks API provides a base layer of functionality for higher-level machine learning frameworks. It can be called by machine learning libraries, frameworks, or relevant tools so that developers can train their models off-device and deploy them on Android devices.

With Android Neural Networks API, apps can run computationally intensive operations on mobile phones and to support on-device inferencing including classifying images, predicting user’s behaviour and selecting appropriate responses to search query.

Because inferencing is on-device, all your data are kept on the phone. So, it is unnecessary to worry about the privacy issues.

Android Ore0 8.1 new features: #2. Android Oreo (Go edition)

Android Go is a smaller and lightweight version of Android targeted for more entry-level smartphones.  It will complement Android One, which targets for middle range devices with pure Android experiences.

Android Oreo (Go edition) is the first release of Android Go. Some Android Go devices will be available in the market in 2018.

Compared to stock Android, Android Go is optimized for smartphones with lower specs:

  • Memory optimizations: memory usage is improved to ensure that apps can still run efficiently on devices with 1GB or less RAM.
  • Optimised Google Apps:  Google apps are redesigned for lighter updates and optimised to ensure they use less memory, storage space and mobile data. This allows them to create more space and at the same time improving the phone’s performance.
  • Google Play: All apps will still be available on devices running on Android Go.  But Google Play in Android Go would highlight apps that are specifically optimised for Android Go.

We will review some Android Go phones once they are available.… Read the rest