5 settings I modify on a brand new Android cellphone immediately

For those who comply with me on-line, you in all probability know me as an iPhone consumer, given how typically I write about Apple. I do attempt to preserve present with Android, although, and I’ve truly owned a number of Android phones through the years — even now, I’ve a OnePlus phone as a backup and check system. If I had my approach, iOS can be open-source, identical to Android.

Each platforms have their quirks, so it is vital to tweak settings earlier than you possibly can actually get going. This is what I might advocate doing everytime you choose up a brand new Android cellphone — placing apart any brand-specific choices you may want to vary.

1 Developer Choices to open up superior settings

Not strictly mandatory, however…

As a tech journalist, I am typically exploring options that push the boundaries of a cellphone. As an everyday consumer, you do not have to, however some Android options — together with one on this checklist — merely will not work in case you do not change on Developer Choices. Fortunately, it is not a fancy process.

On most Android gadgets, the method ought to appear like this:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Faucet About Telephone.
3. Discover Construct Quantity, and faucet on it seven occasions. You may see a pop-up message when Developer Choices are enabled.

As soon as that is carried out, you possibly can go to Settings > System > Developer Choices at any time, however do not change something you have not learn up on. Google is severe in regards to the mode being supposed for app builders. Just a few settings may probably cripple your system in case you’re not ready.

Associated

Is hybrid AI the smartphone wave of the future? Samsung and Apple think so

Possibly a one-size-fits-all strategy is not one of the best for voice assistants.

2 Night time Gentle and Darkish Theme

Save your sleep, imaginative and prescient, and battery life

For no matter purpose, most if not all smartphones nonetheless default to themes that aren’t solely eye-searing at night time, however drain your sleep and battery ranges. Shiny lights usually tend to preserve you awake, in fact. To clarify the battery situation, most flagship telephones now use some form of OLED display screen. OLED panels can shut off particular person pixels to attain true black, so the darker onscreen photographs are, the much less energy they devour.

To allow Android’s Darkish Theme:

1. Go to Settings > Show > Darkish theme.
2. If you’d like Darkish Theme on completely, flip the toggle.
3. Alternately, faucet Schedule, then select Activates at customized time, Activates from sundown to dawn, or Activates at bedtime. For the final one, you may have to allow Bedtime mode on a cellphone with Android 13 or later.

If sleep is your overriding concern, you may additionally wish to activate Night time Gentle. Very similar to Night time Shift on iPhones, this skews your display screen away from blue mild, in idea, making it simpler to sleep. Medical questions apart, I discover heat mild comforting earlier than I hit the hay.

To make use of Night time Gentle:

1. Go to Settings > Show > Night time Gentle.
2. For those who do not wish to allow Night time Gentle manually each night, choose Schedule.
3. Select Activates at customized time or Activates from sundown to dawn. I desire the previous, since I do not need Night time Gentle affecting the look of my apps earlier than I am about to crawl into mattress.

Associated

The phone that no one bought: the Pixel 8a deserved better

Price range and mid-tier telephones ought to obtain far more consideration than they’re getting.

3 The Snooze button for notifications

Get centered with out shedding observe

Google / Pocket-lint

You’d assume this might be accessible by default, however if you wish to briefly snooze push notifications to enhance your focus, you are out of luck (as you possibly can see) until you manually allow the Snooze button.

You are usually meant to make use of Do Not Disturb, however forgetting to disable that may sow chaos, particularly if a accomplice or boss is making an attempt to succeed in you. The Snooze button allows you to deal with issues on a quick, per-app foundation, say if you don’t need Chrome bothering you throughout work, however nonetheless need Messages to get via.

Use this information:

1. Go to Settings > Notifications > Superior settings.
2. Toggle Present snooze button or Enable notification snoozing.
3. Whenever you get a push notification, faucet Down arrow > Snooze to mute an app for various lengths, normally between quarter-hour and two hours.

Associated

How to customize notification settings on Apple Watch Series 10

Customise and tailor which app notifications pop up in your Apple Watch Collection 10.

4 Sooner cellphone animations

Operate over kind

Newer telephones are usually fairly snappy regardless, however you possibly can enhance the responsiveness of any system by rushing up OS animations. They’re principally beauty, so there’s little hurt in shortening them to get again to navigating Android.

1. Go to Settings > Developer choices.
2. Below Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator period scale, tweak settings. Select .5x to extend pace.
3. You can too select Animation off, however this is perhaps visually jarring.

Associated

6 Kindle tips and tricks you probably don’t know about

Your e-reader has useful options you won’t have even touched but.

5 Passcode unlock with out hitting OK

Fixing a small however repeated inconvenience

One factor iOS will get proper is robotically unlocking your iPhone everytime you enter the suitable passcode, whereas Android usually makes you hit “OK” earlier than persevering with. That sounds minor, particularly since you may usually be utilizing fingerprint or facial recognition, nevertheless it’s an pointless hurdle until you are nervous about somebody brute-forcing entry.

Comply with these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Lock display screen > Display screen lock kind.
2. Choose PIN.
3. Select a six-digit PIN (passcode) you possibly can bear in mind, with Affirm PIN with out tapping OK chosen.

The choice will not work in case you select a shorter PIN, presumably as a result of that is too simple to guess or brute-force.

Associated

Thin is in, but will ultra-slim phones come at too steep a cost?

Does slimness even matter a lot in 2025?