If you follow me online, you probably know me as aniPhoneuser, given how often I write about Apple. I do attempt to keep current with Android, though, and I’ve actually owned severalAndroid phonesover the years – even now, I have aOnePlus phoneas a backup and test device. If I had my way, iOS would be open-source, just like Android.
Both platforms have their quirks, so it’s important to tweak settings before you can really get going. Here’s what I’d recommend doing whenever you pick up a new Android phone – putting aside any brand-specific options you might need to change.
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1Developer Options to open up advanced settings
Not strictly necessary, but…
As a tech journalist, I’m often exploring features that push the boundaries of a phone. As a regular user, you don’t have to, but some Android features – including one on this list – simply won’t work if you don’t switch on Developer Options. Thankfully, it’s not a complex task.
On most Android devices, the process should look like this:
Once that’s done, you can go toSettings > System > Developer Optionsat any time, but don’t change anything you haven’t read up on. Google is serious about the mode being intended for app developers. A few settings could potentially cripple your device if you’re not prepared.
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2Night Light and Dark Theme
Save your sleep, vision, and battery life
For whatever reason, most if not all smartphones still default to themes that are not only eye-searing at night, but drain your sleep and battery levels. Bright lights are more likely to keep you awake, of course. To explain the battery issue, most flagship phones now use some sort of OLED screen. OLED panels can shut off individual pixels to achieve true black, so the darker onscreen images are, the less power they consume.
To enable Android’s Dark Theme:
If sleep is your overriding concern, you’ll also want to turn on Night Light. Much like Night Shift on iPhones, this skews your screen away from blue light, in theory, making it easier to sleep. Medical questions aside, I find warm light comforting before I hit the hay.
To use Night Light:
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3The Snooze button for notifications
Get focused without losing track
You’d think this would be accessible by default, but if you want to temporarily snooze push notifications to improve your focus, you’re out of luck (as you can see) unless you manually enable the Snooze button.
You’re typically meant to use Do Not Disturb, but forgetting to disable that can sow chaos, especially if a partner or boss is trying to reach you. The Snooze button lets you handle things on a brief, per-app basis, say if you don’t want Chrome bothering you during work, but still want Messages to get through.
Use this guide:
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4Faster phone animations
Function over form
Newer phones tend to be pretty snappy regardless, but you may improve the responsiveness of any device by speeding up OS animations. They’re mostly cosmetic, so there’s little harm in shortening them to get back to navigating Android.
Be sure to enable Developer Options first.
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5Passcode unlock without hitting OK
Fixing a small but repeated inconvenience
One thing iOS gets right is automatically unlocking your iPhone whenever you enter the right passcode, whereas Android normally makes you hit “OK” before continuing. That sounds minor, especially since you’ll typically be using fingerprint or facial recognition, but it’s an unnecessary hurdle unless you’re worried about someone brute-forcing entry.
Follow these steps:
The option won’t work if you choose a shorter PIN, presumably because that’s too easy to guess or brute-force.
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