Mobile Phones Android 90 90 people found this article helpful The Best Android Shortcuts You Should Be Using Launch your camera, send a text, and find answers in just seconds by Molly McLaughlin Writer, Editor Molly K. McLaughlin has been a technology writer since 2004. Her work has appeared on many tech sites across the web including PCMag, Dealnews, Wirecutter and many others. our editorial process Twitter LinkedIn Molly McLaughlin Updated on February 22, 2020 The Ultimate Guide to Keyboard Shortcuts The Ultimate Guide to Keyboard Shortcuts Introduction Windows Timesavers The Best Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Better Productivity How to Use the Shortcut Alt + Underline Shortcut to Create New Folders Essential Shortcuts for iTunes Mac, iOS & iPad Quick Tricks The Best Mac Shortcuts Keyboard Shortcuts for Finder Mac Startup Keyboard Shortcuts 18 Shortcuts for Apple's iOS Shortcuts App iPad Keyboard Tips and Smart Keyboard Shortcuts Android & iPhone Shortcuts The Best Android Shortcuts You Should Be Using Create and Use iPhone X Shortcuts Email Shortcuts The 30 Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts for 2020 How to Use Yahoo Mail Keyboard Shortcuts The Complete Apple Mail Shortcut List Shortcuts in iOS Mail Delete Shortcut Keys for Popular Email Programs How to Use Outlook.com Keyboard Shortcuts Create Text Snippets With Shortcuts in Mac OS X Mail Online & Browser Shortcuts Top 36 Shortcuts for Edge and IE 11 Keyboard Shortcuts: Google Chrome for Windows Create Web Page Shortcuts in Chrome for Windows Control Safari Windows With Keyboard Shortcuts Shortcuts for Safari Toolbars Shortcuts for Safari on OS X & Sierra Excel Shortcuts The 23 Best Excel Shortcuts Shortcut Excel's Fill Down Command Shortcut the Current Date/Time Formatting Numbers Adding Worksheets Shortcut to Saving Your Work Creating a Chart MAX Function Shortcut More Office Shortcuts Top 10 Microsoft Word Shortcuts The 5 Best Hidden Word Shortcuts Add Shortcut Keys to AutoText Entries Uppercase Shortcut Key How to Reset Keyboard Shortcuts in Word Shortcut to Speed Up PowerPoint Presentations Other Useful Shortcuts The Best Google Docs Shortcuts 18 Shortcuts for Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon Changing Linux Mint Cinnamon Shortcuts Fedora GNOME Keyboard Shortcuts Maya Keyboard Shortcuts Create or Reassign Keyboard Shortcuts in MS Office Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Photoshop CC Time-Saving Fill Tool Shortcuts in Photoshop The 5 Most Useful GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts How to Use the GIMP Keyboard Shortcut Editor Shortcuts to Type a Tilde Mark Bloomicon / Shutterstock.com Tweet Share Email Android devices are highly customizable and feature-packed, but some of the best time-saving shortcuts in Android are hidden. Here's how to find these features to take quick pictures, send texts, and make calls without fumbling through a list of apps. You'll also find tips to make your Android experience efficient with Google Assistant and voice commands. The directions below should apply no matter who made your Android phone: Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. Launch Your Camera When you only have a split second to launch your smartphone's camera and capture a photo, there's a shortcut that will quickly open the camera. On many Android smartphones, double-tap the Power or Home button. This shortcut should work on most newer Android devices. To launch the camera on many Motorola smartphones, enable gestures on the phone, then twist your wrist. Lifewire If your smartphone runs Android Marshmallow or later, launch the camera from the lock screen. Tap, hold, and swipe the camera icon and snap a photo without unlocking the phone. When the camera app is closed, the phone displays the lock screen. No one sees your private information or compromises your device. Unlock your Device When you're comfortable at home or work or anywhere you don't feel the need for a lockdown, use Google Smart Lock. With Smart Lock, the device can be unlocked when it's in a trusted place, it's paired with a trusted device such as a smartwatch, or it recognizes your voice. You can also use this feature to save passwords. Time Savers and Gestures Android has several gesture-control options that vary by device and operating system. On stock Android, which includes all Pixel and Nexus devices and many third-party flagship smartphones, use one finger to swipe down to see notifications, then swipe down a second time to view quick settings such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airplane Mode. If your phone runs Android Nougat (7.0) or later, quickly toggle between two apps using the Overview button that's next to the Home and Back buttons. Press the Overview button once to display your open apps. Double-tap the Overview button to display the previous app you used; this makes it easy to switch back and forth between two apps. If you need more multitasking power, press and hold the Overview button to use split-screen mode. Lifewire Android 9.0 Pie introduces a setting that removes the Overview button in favor of a swipe-up gesture that displays all open apps. You can also swipe up twice to open the app drawer. Phones with Android 7.1 or later display app shortcuts in the same way that a right-click on a PC displays a menu of choices. Press and hold an app that supports this function to display a list of shortcuts. For example, the Gmail app shows a list of accounts that are connected to your device, a compose button, and a widget menu. Devices that run Marshmallow and later have a search function in the app drawer. On earlier versions of Android, double-tap the drawer icon to launch app search. The drawer icon is at the bottom of the screen, above the home button. To refresh a website, social media page, or other content, pull down on the screen. There's also a gesture to find information about any app such as the amount of storage and data it uses, app notification settings, and permissions. Go to the application drawer, tap and hold an app icon, then tap the App Info button to open the settings page for the app. Phone Calls and Messaging Widgets add a shortcuts feature to Android. For example, use the built-in widgets to create app widgets and contact widgets for your favorite people. To create a widget, press and hold the Home screen, then choose Widgets. You'll find widgets that automate routine and frequent tasks: The Contacts widget automatically dials a call to a selected contact.The Chrome widget places a resizeable window on the screen that contains a list of your Chrome bookmarks.The Gmail app shows a selected folder of Gmail email messages in a resizeable window. Android's also has accessibility features. To set up these options, go to the phone dialer settings and select Answering and ending calls. Then, press the Power button to disconnect a call and press the Home button to answer a call. Google Assistant Voice Commands Most new Android smartphones support Google Assistant. To enable the Google Assistant OK Google command on any screen, open the Google search app, select Settings, then choose Voice. In the Voice screen, select OK Google and turn on Google Assistant. You have the option to use Google Assistant when the screen is on and when the phone is locked. Use Google Assistant to search for information on the web and answer your questions. Use voice commands to send a text message to a friend, set up a reminder or an appointment, make a phone call, or find directions on Google Maps. Voice commands are convenient when you need a hands-free solution while you're driving, but it's also handy when you don't feel like typing. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! 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