Published on November 23, 2021, 08:09
Take the time to adjust and adjust the settings to get the most out of your phone.
It's time to tidy up your Android phone's home screen. Organize your apps, declutter your storage, and do those customizations you've been wanting to do since you bought it. With Android 12 now available for Pixel phones, there are more aesthetic and feature tweaks you can make. But if you have a Samsung or other Android phone, there are still quick and easy chores you can do to give your phone a nice tune.
Start by cleaning the outside of your phone without destroying the screen. Then you can delve into the software side of things. We've also covered how to declutter and renovate the iPhone, but it's time to focus on Android phones. Within minutes, you can make your phone feel like new again — or at least make yourself think it is — while waiting for an upgrade. I'll show you five ways to declutter, rearrange, and personalize your Android phone below.
You can also uninstall from the Play Store.
Remove one-time-use apps
Take a few minutes to go through your home screen or app drawer and remove any apps you no longer use. On the same subject: Tesla Model 3: advice and maintenance advice after 120,000 km. Not only do these apps take up valuable storage space, but they potentially have access to personal information or permissions that you approved when launching the app.
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The procedure for deleting an app may vary depending on your device manufacturer, but I've covered all the basics in this article. Read it if you don't see an uninstall option after long-pressing the app icon.
Left: The Files app on a Pixel 3. Right: My Files on a Galaxy S10 Plus.
Free up even more storage space on your device
After deleting old apps, free up space by reviewing saved files on your Android phone. It's all too easy to forget all the files you've randomly downloaded, like the takeout menu from the new restaurant down the street or a GIF sent by a friend. This may interest you: iPhone 13: out of stock? Apple might not have enough chips to make the new iPhones. And these files accumulate. The fastest and easiest way to manage your phone's storage is to use the Files app that comes preinstalled.
Related to this article:Tesla Model 3 Is The New "Ultimate Flex" For Gen Z Car BuyersIn fact, some phones use a variation of this same app. On Samsung, for example, it is called My Files. On the Pixel line ($200 at Walmart), it's just Files. On the OnePlus 9, it's File Manager… you know the genre.
I recommend that you open your phone's app drawer and search for "files". Chances are this will reveal what your phone manufacturer calls the app.
Start by checking the Downloads folder, where you can either delete files you no longer want or move them to a place like Google Drive.
Most file apps also reveal all large files saved on your device. For example, the OnePlus 9 Pro's File Manager app has a dedicated section for files that take up a lot of space.
Make your home screen look and work the way you want.
Dig into the home screen settings
One of the best features of Android is the ability to customize the look of your phone. From installing app icon packs to completely replacing the launcher your phone uses, there are plenty of options for customizing your phone.
While you can certainly get into changing launchers and installing app icons, start by digging into the home screen settings that your phone already offers. I do this from time to time and it's surprising how subtle tweaks to things like the layout of apps can make a brand new phone feel.
Long-press an empty area of your home screen, then select Home settings (or a variant of it). This will open your home screen options, where you can customize various settings.
Read more: Best Android 12 features and some hidden Android 12 features we found.
Settings like app grid size. It might seem like a small change to go from a 4x5 to a 5x5 grid of apps, but that extra column can make a big difference (the same can be said about reducing the grid).
This is also where you'll find settings to, for example, swipe the home screen down to show notifications instead of from the top of the screen.
Go through your phone's respective settings and experiment with setting up your home screen.
Device settings are often overlooked, but they are so important to make your device perfect.
Related to this article: Buying guide & advice: buying a used Tesla Model S, good deal or not?Check your device settings
Speaking of settings, now is a great time to tweak the ones that bother you. I offer you a summary of the settings to change and customize on any Android phone to get the most out of it.
For example, enabling dark mode not only improves the look of the app, but also saves battery life. And yes, I even show you how to prevent app icons from automatically appearing on your home screen.
Check which applications have access to which permissions.
Review your privacy options
Before you take a break, do yourself and your Android phone one last favor: double-check your privacy settings.
Open the Settings app, then tap Privacy > Permissions manager. Review each category to see which apps currently have access to which treasure of your personal data. Found an app that you don't want access to your location? Disable it. The same goes for Contacts, Calendar or Camera.
You don't have to go through every section, and even if you did, it's worth the effort.
Once you've finished tuning your Android phone, check out these hidden features you'll love. There is also a document scanner which makes it easy to make digital copies of administrative documents. Finally, take a look at all the reasons to consider buying a Pixel phone.