5 more hidden features to use Android like a boss!
Turn around and look at the hands of the people around you. At least 4 out of 5 of them will be tapping away on an Android device. Since 2007, Google’s open source OS for smartphones has taken the world by storm and most of us use it on at least one of our devices. The open source nature and the plethora of devices available with the OS loaded on it for all price-ranges has ensured that Android is the most used mobile OS across the world.
Though you may be using Android on your phone or tablet daily, chances are that you still don’t know a few features of the OS that would turn you into a power user overnight.
Below, you’ll find 5 more features of Android that you probably didn’t know about till now but you should definitely use. To read the first article in this series about discovering hidden Android features, click here.
Never get lost
We use Google Maps to look for places we want to visit and directions to those places. Usually, we need GPS and a good internet connection to use Google Maps well. This becomes a bit problematic if we are going to areas which don’t have good coverage and this always creates a chance of us getting lost or not being able to find our destination.
Well, Google Maps has you covered here too. Just open the area you want to go to and in the search field, type ‘OK Maps’. Gogle Maps will save that area offline and can be accessed anywhere, even without a cellular connection. The area can also be saved by going into the settings of Google Maps but the ‘OK Maps’ command is more intuitive.
Transfer files between Android devices at blazing speeds
Some time or the other, we all need to transfer files between two devices; to get a movie we want to watch from a smaller device to a bigger one, to get a song that we heard on a friend’s phone from them, etc. For these transfers, we use bluetooth and the geekier of us might use Android Beam. But, the transfers here are held back due to low Bluetooth speeds and the fact that all types of files aren’t supported.
Luckily, Google supports a hidden feature to get you on the file-transfer-expressway. Called WiFiDirect, it lets you create a connection between two devices using WiFi to transfer to your heart’s content. Though none of Google’s apps have this service baked in, there are tons of apps to use it. Superbeam, the best of the lot lets you easily transfer whatever you want, quickly (speeds reach up to 30 Mbps). File transfer will never be the same now!
Screen recording
Need to share what you are doing on your device with someone. What do you do? Press the power and volume buttons to take a screenshot? Well, how about just sending a video of what you are doing on your screen.
Android supports screen recording natively now. Though there are no apps baked into the OS for the same, you can easily download one from the Play Store (the consensus is that Rec is one of the best). Just run the app and record all the happenings on your screen. It is that simple!
Custom messages
We are all busy people. There are times when we aren’t able to receive calls and have to decline them. It always helps to send the caller a message saying that we’d call back and Android supports rejecting a call with a text message.
But, if the preset responses don’t work for you or you’d want to have different messages for different situations, Android’s got your back. Just go to Settings → Phone → Reject with SMS. Here, you’ll be able to set the responses that you want to send.
Stop automatic shortcuts on home screen
One very annoying thing that Android does, for as long as I can remember, is that whenever you download a new app from the Play, it creates a shortcut for it on your home screen. And even if you are not someone who OCDs over everything, that becomes irritating, fast. Especially, when you are setting up a new device, you’d have to delete icons for tens of apps from your home screens.
Well, there is an easy way around that. Just go to the settings inside the Play Store and uncheck the ‘Add icon to home screen’ option. Life just became so much simpler!
Do you have more tips for Android users? Do share them in the comments. In the meantime, stay tuned for more tips to better use all your devices.
