The Android operating system has many useful settings to make the user experience easier. You can change any aspect of the device's behavior and even the appearance of the software shell. However, an ordinary user does not even know about the existence of a number of settings - they, as a rule, are open only to developers.
Activating hidden Android options
Some users are intimidated by the name "developer settings". And it is completely in vain, because a number of options of this kind can be useful to any person. The difference is that such functions are usually not displayed in the standard settings.
Enter Android Settings and open the About Phone section. At the bottom, find the line "Build number". Quickly tap this element seven times. You should eventually receive a notification that you have become a developer. The corresponding section will appear in the settings menu. Welcome to the developer club.
# 1. How to enable storage on external drives
Make sure you have access to developer settings. In the appropriate section, select the item that allows you to save data to external drives. Activate this option. You are now allowed to use this function regardless of manifest values.
Sometimes software developers deliberately disable the ability to install on an SD card in applications. By moving the switch to the operating position, you authorize it to do so. Now the desire of other developers is not a decree for you.
It should be remembered that developers usually have good reasons for prohibiting installation on an external drive. The point is that individual programs are rigidly tied to place. They will not function if installed in the wrong place. Therefore, use the function you have activated with great care.
No. 2. Activating multi-window mode
Some versions of Android provide support for displaying multiple applications on the screen at once. The two apps may well be running in split screen mode. For example, a user can split the screen to explore a Web page on the left side while composing a message on the social network on the right.
When the user enters multi-window mode, the operating system notifies the configuration change. If the user resizes the window, these changes are applied by the system at runtime as needed. Sometimes the application does not have time to render new areas on the screen with high quality. Then the problem area is temporarily filled with the default color.
In multi-window mode, the application can be paused, leaving it visible to the user. After suspension, the application may be able to continue to perform certain operations.
How do I make multi-window available? In the section for developers, activate the option "Resize in multi-window mode". The manifest values are also ignored. Multi-window mode is an advantage of the most recent versions of Android from Google. For such a function to work properly, both the operating system and the support in the applications themselves are required. But not all developers have taken care of this. Enabling the above option will give you the ability to apply the selected mode to any application.
It should be remembered that certain applications when working in multi-window mode may not display quite correctly. For example, the player may pause if you switch to a different program.
You should also know that in the Android 7 operating system from Google, the multi-window mode is open to the user. But in earlier versions of the operating system, support for opening multiple windows at the same time was usually only available to developers.
No. 3. Do not turn off the screen of the device when charging
When the smartphone screen turns off, it is called sleep mode. It usually fires 30 seconds after the end of the last action. For some, this is quite enough. But if you are reading from a screen, half a minute may not be enough. Or, for example, you have to cook a new dish according to a recipe found on the Internet. You will not begin to press the screen every time so that it does not go into sleep mode. Another useful option comes to the rescue.
In the section for developers, move the checkbox next to the line "Do not turn off the screen". Typically, a regular smartphone turns off the screen when the device is idle. This is good for saving battery power. But in some cases, such a function will really be superfluous. For example, when you want to use your smartphone as a desk clock or when traveling in a car as a navigation device. By activating the described option, you will allow the smartphone to be in working condition while it is connected to the charger.
No. 4. Speed up system animations
In the corresponding section of the settings, which is now available to you, activate the positions:
- "Animation of windows";
- "Animation of transitions";
- Animation duration.
This useful set of options will dramatically speed up the visual experience of Android. Some manufacturers, in pursuit of external effects, load the system with bright and beautiful animations, so Android starts to work slower.
Developers add animations to smooth transitions between menus and apps. But this can create an undesirable effect: the power of devices is increasing all the time, all applications open very quickly, but the animation is lagging. Sometimes it even becomes completely unnecessary, inappropriate. Graphic sophistication doesn't impress users today.
Now you have the opportunity to independently set the display time of animation elements, or simply disable them. Some users note that after that the system starts working much faster.
No. 5. Switch to black and white mode
This option is relevant for those devices with "android" in which an AMOLED screen is used. On it, the number of colors is important to save battery power. By activating the "Simulate anomaly" option in the developer's settings, which is inaccessible to mere mortals, you can turn on the monochrome mode and stretch out for some more time on the remaining battery charge. The simulation will result in a screen in black, white, and grayscale.
There is another reason for going to monochrome. Researchers have found that in this mode, the user spends much less time on the smartphone. Since everything on the screen is displayed in black and white, the attractiveness of videos and pictures on social networks decreases. The user gets used to spending less time looking at images. In normal mode, applications installed on a smartphone use the full spectrum of colors in order to attract the user's attention and make him spend more time alone with the device.
In iPhone settings, select "General". Go step by step:
- "Universal access";
- "Display adaptation";
- "Light Filters".
Now select "Grayscale" from the menu that appears. Check the box next to the "Light Filters" item. Now, when you triple click on the Home button, you can switch from color to black and white mode.
Smartphone developers are planning to release applications that allow you to work in monochrome with maximum convenience:
- switch from one mode to another by timer;
- leave only some applications colored;
- pause applications.
