18 advanced strategies for Android 11
A fresh Android version is intriguing, exciting, and – let’s not pretend – sometimes just a little perplexing. Nowadays especially, it’s all too typical to visit a shiny brand new update arrive on your phone, turn to see what refreshing treats come in store eagerly, and then end up scratching your mind as you battle to see what’s various and how you ought to be benefiting from whatever was sent to your device.
There is no denying it: Android’s evolution is continuing to grow significantly more subtle through the years. Whereas early Android improvements represented huge leaps and near-continuous reinventions of the operating-system forward, newer Android rollouts have a tendency to revolve around refinement and little but significant touches mainly. It’s a practical shift at this stage in the platform’s growth, but it often helps it be hard to know if you are experiencing everything Google’s latest software program provides.
And Android 11 is not any exception certainly. The latest Android launch is chock-full of essential additions, but most of them are under the hood rather than immediately obvious. And also those that are at first glance require a teensy little bit of tweaking to be taken to their full potential.
Whether you merely got Android 11 or experienced it since its formal discharge last September recently, the tips on this site can help you unlock all the software’s practical worth. The magic’s currently all there and waiting around; it’s just your decision to get it out and embrace it.
If you’re at non-Google-phone owners still waiting around for the program to reach you, keep hold of this guide for future years – to check out my individual story on bringing Android-11-like features onto any phone today for a few clever methods to give yourself comparable elements for the time being.
(Remember that the features and methods described here are all highly relevant to Google’s authentic Android 11 software, that is present upon Pixel phones, Google android One devices, and specific other products. Some Google android phone-makers modify the operating-system and also occasionally omit functions for no apparent cause – so if you are using a device it doesn’t stick to Google’s default Android set up, some of the components mentioned here could be various or in several cases completely absent on your own phone.)
Privacy protection
- The most consequential addition in Android 11, from the business perspective especially, is the elevated group of tools the software offers you for privacy protection – so don’t allow that head to waste!
The first & most important thing you will want to take advantage of may be the software’s more nuanced controls for camera, location, and microphone permissions. By Android 11, it is possible to grant apps usage of those certain specific areas on a limited, single-session basis – which means the permissions will expire and also have to end up being requested anew once you exit the app and get to something else.
But, critically, any kind of apps which were on your mobile phone prior to the Android 11 improve will already have long lasting permissions granted – so it is up to you to return and reassess ’em since needed.
To do so, start the Privacy portion of your system configurations and tap “Permission supervisor.” One at a time, look through the classes for “Camera,” “Place,” and “Microphone.” In the event that you see any accepted permissions that you’d like to have managed on a case-by-case schedule, tap the related app’s line and alter its setting to “Request every time.”
- The other Android 11 privacy feature that will require your action may be the software’s capability to automatically revoke sensitive permissions from apps that you have not opened or otherwise found in a matter of months. Oddly, that capacity isn’t always on automagically – so go to the Apps (or Apps & Notifications) portion of your system configurations, tap the relative collection to see all your apps, if needed, and tap the title of any app where you would like that behavior that occurs.
Next, you will want to tap “Permissions” to check out a line labeled “Get rid of permissions if app isn’t used.” Activate the toggle close to it, and rest easy understanding that the doorways to your sensitive details will automatically near if the app involved ever gets forgotten.
Next-levels notifications
- Notifications get yourself a nice update with a fresh dedicated “Conversations” section inside Android 11, and you will take control of how it operates exactly. Anytime a note is obtained by you in a app that facilitates the feature, just press and contain the notification to reveal a fresh option that’ll fixed it as important conversation – which in turn causes its notification to seem near the top of the “Conversations” area, with the sender’s user profile photo as its standalone icon in your position bar region, and optionally despite having an expandable bubble you may use to help keep the conversation easily available regardless of what else you’re carrying out.
4. It is possible to turn any suitable messaging thread right into a bubble, as well, whether or not it’s arranged as a priority-level conversation. Just try the Apps (or Apps & Notifications) portion of your system configurations and find the brand new “Conversations” option, after that tap the relative line corresponding to the conversation you need to bring in to the bubble interface.
That’ll draw up a settings display screen which you can choose to possess the conversation constantly appear within that persistent bubble, of its status regardless.
- That same conversation-particular settings screen retains another option worthy of remembering: the choice to pull a particular messaging thread from the “Conversations” section altogether in order that it appears as a normal, less emphasized notification.
- Ever end up wishing you could provide a notification you inadvertently swiped away back again? Android 11 gets the solution using its new Notification Background feature. Ensure that you allow it by entering the Apps (or Apps & Notifications) portion of your system settings, after that tapping “Notifications” accompanied by “Notification background.” Flip the toggle near the top of the screen in to the on placement, and once you have a minumum of one notification present, you will see a new “History” choice that’ll take one to a listing of all dismissed alerts from days gone by a day.
JR Raphael/IDG
Shortcuts and time-savers
- Google android 11’s most useful new feature, easily am asked by you, may be the connected-device command middle it brings in to the system energy menu – the display that comes up once you press and keep your phone’s physical strength button. Some device-makers, sadly, made a decision to pull this function out of the operating-system before sending it with their clients (hi, Samsung!), but it’s certainly a shining highlight of the most recent Android software.
As long as you’re utilizing a phone where that element hasn’t been removed, press and hold that empowered energy button for another or so freshly, and you’ll see your brand-new companion pop right up before you – filled with controls for any intelligent lights, cameras, thermostats, or other such products which are set up within your environment and linked to your Google account.JR Raphael/IDG
8. You’d in no way know it from searching, however the tiles within that brand-new power button menus can perform more than just become mere on-off toggles. For just about any tiles where extra options are available, you can even long-press to draw up advanced opportunities in a straightforward overlay screen.
- helpful as possible
- As, that connected-device command center will get a little cluttered. If, like me, you discover the on-by-default existence of gigantic pictures showing your Google-Pay-connected bank cards in that region to be of small practical value, go to the operational system section of your system settings, tap “Gestures,” and tap “Power menu” accompanied by “Cards & passes.” (If your phone’s menu construction doesn’t complement that, try searching one’s body settings for strength menu to access a comparable location.)
Change the toggle on the screen that makes the off place up, and that Pay-related component of the charged energy menu will undoubtedly be gone for good.
- In add-on to eliminating unnecessary components from Google android 11’s power menu, you can include in new connected-device handles and change the purchase of the prevailing controls to place your most regularly accessed items into specifically easy-to-reach areas. Tap the three-dot menus icon within the energy menu and select either “Add settings” or “Edit handles” to benefit from either possibility.
- You need not stop with connected gadgets, either. With a few momemts of advanced construction, you can include practically anything in to the Android 11 strength menu – an always-obtainable shortcut to launch Android’s split-screen functionality, a simple on-screen switch for capturing a screenshot of any application, or perhaps a one-tap order for composing a particular prewritten “many thanks” email or text to follow a gathering, for a couple interesting examples.
All you need is really a powerful Android app called Tasker and about 5 minutes of crafty construction to create it happen – even though the original setup process is really a teensy bit complicated, I’ve got an easy-to-follow guide that’ll get you through it step-by-step.
- Another easily ignored Android 11 goodie may be the software’s addition – or re-addition, to be more accurate – of the capability to pin products to the very best of the machine share menus and keep your mostly used targets at the very top.
The share menus, in the event the name doesn’t immediately sound familiar, may be the thing that arises once you share something in one app to some other – like once you highlight text within an email and tap “Share.” Some Google android apps use their very own custom menus for that function right now, rather vexingly, but whenever you’re viewing the typical system share menu, it is possible to manage it by pushing and holding any normal icon within its checklist and then deciding on the “Pin” option that arises.
You can pin around four share targets there, and they’re going to always come in that place in alphabetical order.
Advanced audio, video, and visual choices
- While some Google android device-makers have added display screen recording systems to their software for a long time now, Google android 11 marks the 1st time this type of function has been included in the actual core operating-system. If you’re utilizing a cell phone with Google’s edition of Android, it is possible to reveal the brand new system-level Display screen Recorder by swiping down two times from the top of one’s screen to open up the Quick Configurations panel, after that tapping the tiny pencil icon in its lower-left part to edit its contents.
Scroll down and soon you see a good icon labeled “Display Record,” likely toward underneath of the list. Push and keep it and drag it up right into a placement within the panel’s energetic area.
Back out of this editing tool and appearance back at your Fast Settings menu to get and use your recently uncovered tool.
- You’d probably never think about it, but additionally to giving you a good way to record demo perform and videos troubleshooting on your own phone, Android’s Screen Recorder can enable you to record a continuing call – be it a regular telephone call or one made over a network (with or without video) via an app. Simply activate that same Display screen Record function whenever a call will be underway, after that tap the “Record sound” line and modification the setting from “Mic” to “Device sound and microphone.”
Just be certain you’re alert to any laws surrounding that process in your town before you begin. Some continuing says require only 1 person to consent to any recordings getting made throughout a call, while others need everyone on a contact to give consent. Guidelines vary aswell internationally.
- One of Android’s best hidden functions is its capability to pop an participating in video or perhaps a Google Maps routing into a little floating window once you move from the associated app. By Android 11, that function gets even more helpful with the totally invisible capability to resize the window of such picture-in-picture box.
You have one set up once, simply drag your finger inside or out there diagonally on some of its corners to create it bigger or even smaller. Who knew?!
- Speaking of press, Android 11 introduces a smart new consolidated media gamer that puts settings for just about any audio or movie playing from your own phone into a individual, streamlined space over your notification panel – rather than getting each app create its independent set of handles that exists as the notification. Sometimes, though, that new participant sticks well previous its welcome around, long after you have finished interacting with this content.
Well, take notice: It is possible to press and contain the player to locate a tucked-away substitute for dismiss it and deliver it a-packin’. For those who have multiple players as soon as going at, it is possible to swipe to the proper or still left on the ball player interface to go between ’em and long-press on the ball player while any supply is displaying to dismiss it.
17. If you discover the Android 11 mass media player starts sticking too much time in most cases around, try looking your phone’s settings for media. Unless your device’s producer has removed the choice, you should look for a setting called “Mass media player in Quick Configurations” (or something along those outlines). Pull it upward and shift the toggle connected with it to the away from position. That’ll tell Google android that you don’t want to buy to keep the ball player around “for a long period” even with you’ve finished listening.
- Last however, not least, when you are looking at your phone inside dim lighting frequently, perform yourself a favor and benefit from Google android 11’s new Darkish Theme scheduling capability. Try the Display portion of your system configurations to get the “Dark Theme” choice, tap its line – the specific text then, not the toggle close to it – and you will see the freshly added “Schedule” feature. It is possible to set the Darkish Theme to come on / off immediately at sunrise and sunset, respectively, or it is possible to create your personal schedule if you’d like to maintain a different group of nighttime hours.
The other option, needless to say, would be to turn your flippin’ phone and go to sleep already – but that off, once we all know, is simpler said than done often.