With every update, Android introduces a new set of features. Some are clearly picked up as the most important improvements, and they get talked about the most. However, there are also smaller updates that go unnoticed but that improve the day-to-day user experience for an average user.
This article will go over some of those smaller features that users may not even be aware of. These solve real problems, and once they start using them, it’s hard to remember how you managed without them in the first place.
Photo Picker
The photo picker is such a small addition to the user interface that many users didn’t even notice it. It appears as a menu when installing a new app with access to your media. In this menu, a user can choose if the app will have access to all of their media or just to the photo gallery.
Before the introduction of Photo Picker, the default setting was that the app had access to all of your media if it needed media to operate. This was a great privacy concern, and Android finally got around to fixing it.
Flashing Notifications
Your phone’s camera and screen can now flash when you get a notification. This is a useful feature for those who need to check their notifications in a noisy environment and want to be alerted about them. For instance, Bitcoin jackpot sites and other gambling sites often have notifications for every turn, spin, win, and loss. Using flashing notifications instead of noise allows users to stay alert without having their phones go off too often.
To turn the feature on/off, go to Settings -> Display -> Flash notifications -> Toggle on Camera Flash and/or Screen Flash. It’s also possible to choose the color for the screen flash.
Customizing Lockscreen
One of the biggest changes from the previous Android version is only about aesthetics. For users who want to create a certain aesthetic with their phone, this is an important feature that was too often overlooked. Lockscreens are now more customizable than before, allowing users to create a set of screens that fit different purposes.
The lock screens that have come out with the latest operating system version aren’t that special. It’s up to the talented users to develop better ones and take advantage of the new features.
Charging Pill
Another new feature that came out with the latest Android update is a purely aesthetic change, but one that’s very much loved by the users who have noticed it. When you plug in the charger, the shape of the battery indicator changes to a round pill. The color of the pill is dynamic and changes based on your wallpaper.
This may not seem like much, but the small touches create an aesthetic of a phone and its operating system. When designing this small UI feature, someone took the time to make it look nice and smooth, even if many users won’t even notice it.
Manufacture Date
Many missed this change altogether, but it’s a useful addition to the user interface. The users can now check the date or at least the year when their phone was manufactured. This will tell you about the series from which it comes, and it can have repair ramifications.
To look at the date of manufacture, go to Settings > About Phone> Model. You’ll also find the serial number, hardware version, and exact phone model. These options were there before, and the date is a new addition.
Battery Charge Cycles Count
The lifespan of a phone battery is measured in the charge cycle. An average battery has a lifespan of 500 charge cycles. This means that the phone can drain the battery and fully recharge it 500 times before it’s time to get a new one. However, most users don’t use their phones that way, and the battery is seldom drained and rarely charged fully.
The users couldn’t keep track of how many charge cycles they were on after a while. However, a new Android feature deals with this issue by adding this info to the interface. Apps that check your battery health will now display the number of cycles as well.
Separate Volume for Rings and Notification
This hasn’t been an option for a long time, and every time you change the volume on your ringtone, it also changes it for notifications. Many users found this inconvenient because they wanted their phone to stay silent except for the calls or the other way around.
The latest version of Android created separate options. It also changed the look of the mute icon. It’s now a crossed-out speaker and used to be a bell.
Partial Screen Recorder
Partial screen recorder is a system app that does what it sounds like. It allows users to take a screenshot or record the screen but capture only a portion of it. This wasn’t available at first, but it was a widely sought-after feature because it protects users’ privacy and has countless applications.
Despite its simple name and premise, the app does more than that. Mainly, it can capture parts of the screen taken by a particular app, regardless of the portion of the screen it actually uses. It’s perfect for work calls and meetings that require one to stream their work live while keeping the rest of the phone private.
Repair Mode
Repair mode was added during one of the latest updates to the Android 14. It’s available at the top menu, alongside the airplane mode. It does exactly what it seems – puts the phone into a special mode of operation made for repairs.
It gives the user peace of mind while their phone is repaired. While using the phone in this mode, none of your phone’s private and sensitive portions will be available, and the IT team will still be able to access everything they need to make repairs. Some Samsung phones already had this option, and now it’s available to all Android users.
Better Way to Find Your Device
The Find My Device app, which is used to locate missing devices, has undergone many changes recently, and they are suited to the overall system changes. Find My Phone will support an even wider range of devices and allow you to find your phones and accessories using other Android devices in the network.
Some of the bigger devices, such as bikes and tiles, are now equipped with tags that can be used with the app. Apple used to be a leader in this field, and Android has finally started to catch up.
A Changed Quick Access Landscape
The quick-access menu has been redesigned, and Android already pushed it, but it is not available for all users at once. The major changes will come when the devices are in the landscape mode. The new design is a product of much thought and effort, making overall usage more intuitive and easy.
What Google showcased is quite similar to Nothing OS, where when in landscape orientation, the tiles appear to the left and notifications on the right. It gives the menu a slicker look and is easier to follow at a glance.
