this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2024
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Android

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What are some cool but underrated Android Features on Android that most people don’t know about? those little things that make life easier but don’t get talked about much. I feel like there’s so much hidden stuff in Android that we miss out on.

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[–] oldfart@lemm.ee 4 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

If you use the 3 button navigation, there are options for long press of buttons. "Kill foreground app" as back button long-press action is just indispensable when something goes wrong.

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

Used to use the hell outta that.

[–] ajoebyanyothername@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Is this only in custom ROMs, or is there a way to do it through normal settings?

[–] oldfart@lemm.ee 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

No idea, I haven't used a stock Android system for about 10 years.

Go to Settings and search for "long press action".

Edit: this setting has been available in Developer Settings in earlier Androids, so maybe if the official rom doesn't have the proper setting, you can find it there.

[–] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

These might be Pixel only features, but the few that always get iPhone users envious of my phone are:

Battery sharing - Turning the phone into a wireless charger for other phones, including iPhones.

Now Playing - Display whatever music is playing on the lock screen, and keep a history. Great when you're at a bar and don't want to open up Shazam or want to go back and see all the music your friend was playing in the car.

Ad Guard - Block ads, even in apps.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 hour ago

Battery sharing - Turning the phone into a wireless charger for other phones, including iPhones.

My S10 has it. It's not even an s10+ but a regular S10.

[–] hikaru755@lemmy.world 10 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

If you have a USB C to C cable handy, that's also going to work to charge other devices, loses less power to the transfer, is quicker, and also more convenient since you can keep using both phones. Of course you'll often not have a cable, but if you do it's probably gonna be the better option

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

The real advantage to the battery share feature (ime) is charging shit like my pixel buds while I also charge my phone, using 1 cable

[–] dai@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

Wish it worked for my pixel watch, really dropped the ball there google.

[–] Michal@programming.dev 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Doesn't work on my Pixel 9.charging it disables battery share.

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago

You might need to check the settings for it, I believe you have to set the item on the.... Fuck it I'll go snag a screenshot of my settings app I use this daily

One of these 2 settings might be getting in your way:

You have like 30s to put the device on your phone or it won't charge and you have to unplug/replug your phone

[–] bokherif@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

NewPipe, ReVanced patches, screen rotate with the popup, KineStop, and if you’re adventurous: dual boot different ROMs using A/B.

[–] Byter@lemmy.one 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

KineStop

Clever idea. Thank you!

[–] bokherif@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

iOS already has a built in accessibility option for preventing nausea in a moving vehicle, I think Google is also planning a similar feature in the upcoming Android versions. Until then, KineStop does the job.

[–] BartrandDuGuesclin@lemmy.world 39 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (12 children)

In developers options, turning the animation speeds to .5x

Don't know if that's really an underrated feature, but would like to mention it anyway. Everything feels much faster after that. Pretty much the first thing i do when i have a new phone.

[–] bokherif@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago

Fun fact if you set it to 1.5x on a samsung, it behaves like an iPhone lol.

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 12 hours ago

Same, at 1x it just takes too long for animations to complete.

[–] simple@lemm.ee 9 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I was just about to say this, it's a game changer. Some OEMs (Android variants) even have options in the settings to set animation speed or disable them.

Speaking of, if your older phone is ever laggy or feels unresponsive, disable animations entirely. It made my phone feel brand new with how quickly it goes in and out of apps.

[–] boreengreen@lemm.ee 4 points 10 hours ago

i disabled the animations on my old tablet just now. Very nice!

[–] polle@feddit.org 9 points 16 hours ago

Thanks for reminding, i remember that one if the older android days. Just adjusted it again, its still a really nice mod and speedbump!

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[–] jet@hackertalks.com 25 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (3 children)

Pin a app to the screen, so if you need to let someone use their phone they can't get super nosy.

owner account can have a work profile, separate apps, have two versions of the same app, or just put some apps behind another fingerprint/password (can be different then the main phone unlocks)

Multiple user accounts (totally different accounts, totally different apps) : great if you want to let a kid play games, or let someone search the internet, or if you want to be really clean and keep work apps totally different. Mostly useful on tablets to let multiple people share the tablet.

The ability to run open source apps from fdroid, newpipe is an amazing game changer for anyone who watches youtube. (no ads)

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 4 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

How do I do the multiple account thing

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[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 14 hours ago

You can have a work profile as well as a private space account. I think the latter is a relatively new feature. Really useful if you want your dating apps or NSFW apps not tied to your personal account.

The only drawback is that the private space cannot use background services so you can't get notifications of hot MILFs in your area.

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[–] cron@feddit.org 31 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

Android has support for keyboards. Both USB and Bluetooth keyboards work well and can be used for longer typing.

[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 25 points 18 hours ago (3 children)
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[–] Today@lemmy.world 6 points 14 hours ago

Check out the eye gaze function. Also Action Blocks. They're both cool assistive tech things that can be helpful, but trying them out shows you how difficult and exhausting it would be to have to use them for every task.

[–] Stomata@sh.itjust.works 10 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

Try other app stores like fdroid

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[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (6 children)

Not sure if this counts as "underrated" but Quick Share / Nearby Share. Its just Airdrop but for Android, not much to explain. It's built in to all modern Android versions, and some older devices might also have it if they are new enough to have the "Google Play System Update" option on their phone as a separate update option from the main OS update.

Edit: Actually, its reportedly available for every android phone with Android Version 6.0 or newer.

[–] Atemu@lemmy.ml 0 points 6 hours ago

This is not an Android feature. This is a Google feature and I believe it relies on a round-trip through their servers too.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 2 points 11 hours ago

I've tried it a few times and never gotten it to work. It sees both devices, but the connection times out.

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[–] robocall@lemmy.world 19 points 19 hours ago (6 children)

On the calendar, I can set people's birthdays with a yearly reminder so they think I'm super thoughtful for remembering their birthdays. But the phone notified me.

[–] Carighan@lemmy.world 11 points 18 hours ago

Happens automatically if you put the birthday on the contact, too

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[–] 0x0@programming.dev 11 points 17 hours ago

Other ROMs like Lineage.

[–] Fake4000@lemmy.world 11 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

An application like tasker makes you realise the weird and amazing stuff you can do.

[–] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I've used Tasker a lot years ago, but really wish this was backed into the OS. Everything feels very hacky and janky setting up routines via Tasker. Some apps supported Tasker which was nice, but for ones that didn't, using AutoInput was such a pain. Having official support on the OS level would be so nice. Apple Shortcuts is like the only thing I think iOS does better than Android.

[–] Fake4000@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

I know Samsung phones can do something similar with a built in Modes and Routines feature. They allow you to access things that otherwise would require root from tasker.

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