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.
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.
Please check this guide on how to use the new dark mode (dark theme) on Android 10.
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.
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 (you may check this table and this table for the complete list of Android 10 navigation gestures):
Please note, all Android navigation gestures start from the edge of the screen. Inside the individual app, app developers can implement their own gestures.
If you are not a fan of these Apple-style navigation gestures, you can choose to use the 3 navigation buttons as in old Android prior to Android Pie, or two navigation buttons as in Android Pie.
You can change the Android 10 navigation gesture in Settings — System —Gestures — System navigation, as shown in the screenshot below.
You may check this guide on using the Android 10 navigation gestures.
On Android 10, you can turn off all sensors in one tap.
This feature is hidden in the developer options. You need to enable it in the developer options first.
Once enabled it in quick settings developer tiles, you can find the button in quick settings as shown earlier (together with the dark mode button).
From Android 10, Google starts to deliver some critical security and privacy updates to your phone directly through Play services.
You do not need to wait for months for the manufacturer to patch your phone.
Of course, this is limited to critical security and privacy update, not feature update.
Anyway, this is one of the most welcomed new features of Android 10.
Android Pie introduced the Digital Wellbeing to help you maintain a good habit of using the phone effectively.
In Android 10, Google added the focus mode under Digital Wellbeing so that you can pause distracting apps when you need to be focused.
You can input the emergency contact info and medial information so that later such info can be useful and even may save lives in critical moments.
You can access the emergency button in the power menu. Just hold the power button for more than 2 seconds, you will see the Emergency button, below the screenshot button.
The emergency info can also be used in the lock screen.
You may check this guide on using the emergency button and manage emergency info on Android 10.
Privacy becomes a major concern for many phone owners.
In Android 10, Google added a dedicated section for you to check and control your privacy. for example:
Anyway, it is good to see Google is serious about your privacy concerns.
Android 10 lets you to check, assign, and revoke location access for all apps in one centralized location.
For each app, you can assign the location access as:
Please check this guide on how to use location access control to protect your privacy.
Some users are not comfortable to tell guests the WiFi password or special settings in the WiFi network.
Also, for some users, it is not easy to set up a new connection on their device.
Android 10 solves this issue by a QR code. You can share your WiFi network info as a QR code. Another device can just scan the QR code to finish the setup.
Please note, this is a convenience feature, not a security feature. When you share the QR code, your friends will definitely know the password if they dig into the WiFi settings on their devices.
If you want to share your thoughts on new features of Android 10, or if you have any questions on Android 10, please let us know in the comments section below.
For other Android 10 guides, you may check this page.
If you are still on other versions of Android, you may check these guides:
Enjoy Android 10!
This post was last modified on June 21, 2022 9:29 am
Android 14 is the latest version (2023) of the Android operating system, and it comes with a number of new… Read More
Android 13 was released on August 15, 2022, with a plethora of new features and improvements to make your Android… Read More
Extra Dim is a less-known yet very useful new feature in Android 12. It is not included in our top… Read More
Android 12 was officially released on October 4, 2021. But many Android device owners are still waiting for the update… Read More
In Android 12, you can quickly snooze notifications and customize the snoozing period for individual notifications. This Android 12 guide… Read More
Android 12, as the successor of Android 11, was publicly released on October 4, 2021, with many new features and… Read More