Tips that can change the way you use your phone

Our smartphones have become part of us and we sometimes get tired of them and so they become uninteresting to us at those moments. But tech experts say there are some incredible features that can enhance our smartphone user experience. iPhone tips and features

Unlock the trackpad on your iPhone Instead of fussing around with the iOS cursor the traditional way, you can instead use your iPhone keyboard as a trackpad to move the cursor around more easily. To do this, all you have to do is long-press on the spacebar and drag your finger around.

An all-time great iPhone tip: Back Tap to take a screenshot

This was designed as an accessibility feature, but it’s definitely a tip everyone can enjoy. With iOS 14, users can double or triple tap the back of their iPhone and trigger a variety of functions. For instance, you can back tap your iPhone such that you can automatically take a screenshot or activate Siri. Other Back Tap features include muting your device, adjusting the volume, and viewing the Notification Center.

You can take advantage of this feature by going to Settings > Accessibility. Next, scroll down to the “Physical and Motor” heading and select “Touch.” Now scroll some more and select the “Back Tap” option.

You can now choose to activate Back Tap with either a double or triple tap. You can also pick which action you’d like to be triggered when you call the Back Tap feature into action.

Pin a text for quick access

If you want quick and easy texting access to a designated friend or family member, iOS 14 makes it easy. Simply open up Messages, and find the conversation you want to keep pinned at the top. If you long-press on the person’s name, you’ll see an option to pin it. Upon doing so, this conversation will always remain at the top of the Messages app.

Send unknown callers to voicemail

Are phone scammers interrupting your day far too often? Well, you can send any call from an unknown number right to voicemail. To do so, go to Settings > Phone. Now scroll down and toggle on the “Silence Unknown Callers” option.

Keep your iPhone battery healthy

To keep your iPhone battery running in tip-top shape, there’s a setting that can help reduce battery aging. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Once there, toggle on the “Optimized Battery Charging” option. When activated, Apple notes that your iPhone “learns from your daily charging routine so it can wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it.”

For example, if you plug in your iPhone before bed every night, it won’t charge to 100% until around the time when you typically wake up in the morning.

Secret volume control

You don’t need to constantly press the hardware buttons to increase or decrease the volume on your iPhone. Instead, if you press a volume button once, a volume slider will appear on the left-hand side of the display that you can drag up and down as you see fit.

Turn on Low Data mode

If you have a bad cellular connection or if you’re trying to reduce your data usage, you should be aware of this iPhone tip. By going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options, you can toggle on “Low Data Mode.”

As to what Low Data mode does, Apple notes:

• Apps might stop using network data when you’re not actively using them.

• Background App Refresh is turned off.

• The quality of streaming content might be reduced.

• Automatic downloads and backups are turned off.

• Services such as iCloud Photos pause updates.

Take a screenshot of an entire webpage If you want to take a screenshot of an entire webpage, as opposed to just the part viewable on the display, that can be done with iOS 14. Simply take a screenshot as you normally would. You’ll then see a preview of your screenshot in the bottom corner. Tap the preview image once and you’ll see an option that says “Full Page.” Tap that once and the entire webpage will be saved as a photo.

Get an alert when someone mentions your name in a group chat

If you want to stay abreast of when someone in a group chat mentions your name, iOS 14 makes that possible. All you have to do is go to Settings > Messages. Once there, select the “Notify Me” option and you won’t miss someone trying to grab your attention.

Android tips and features

Android is now the most popular computing platform in the world — larger than iOS, of course, but also surpassing Windows and macOS. Google is always making tweaks and coming up with new features for Android, and OEMs like Samsung and OnePlus can add their own stuff on top of that.

Configure your lock screen

Android phones all offer various forms of secure lock screens. Most phones will prompt you to do this during setup now, and you should. The defaults are PIN, pattern, and password. Most devices now offer fingerprint security which will probably be the fastest way to unlock your device. To control your lock screen, head to the system settings, and find the Security menu. Some phones have a separate lock screen menu instead. You will need to have a secure lock screen to use features like Android Pay and factory reset protection.

Disable/uninstall Bloatware

Most phones come with some apps pre-installed that you won’t want to keep around. Luckily, they can be dealt with these days. Some pre-installed bloat can be uninstalled normally by using the Play Store or finding it in the app settings menu. However, anything that’s part of the system image is non-removable. What you can do is disable it by opening the app menu from the main system settings and finding the app in your list. Right at the top will be a “Disable” button that removes it from your app drawer and prevents it from running in the background.

Find your phone

We have all occasionally lost track of a phone. Maybe it was hiding in the couch cushions or sitting on the kitchen counter. Don’t go crazy looking for your phone next time; just use Google’s “Find my device” tool (previously known as Android Device Manager). You can access this via the web on a mobile device or computer. Simply log into your Google account, and choose your missing phone from the drop-down menu. Google reaches out and shows you where it is. You can also ring the phone, even if it’s in silent mode. If worse comes to worst, you can remotely erase the phone to protect your data.

Chat Bubbles

You’re a popular one, aren’t you? Maybe you’re getting so many messages from friends, acquaintances, and well-wishers that it can be hard to keep up. Worry not, because Android supports Chat Bubbles starting in version 11. This feature was slated to come to earlier versions, but it ended up delayed. The gist is you can allow chat apps to pop up small bubbles for each chat thread instead of keeping everything in the notification shade. They’re like Facebook’s chat heads, but it works with almost any app. Most phones need this feature enabled, with you will find under the notification settings. Choose Do Not Disturb Settings Android’s notification settings are a bit confusing right now. Not only do OEMs often change the terminology, but Google itself has revamped it a few times in recent updates. You’ll find the settings for this feature either in your volume popup when you hit the toggle or by going into the system settings for notifications (usually Sound and Notification). It will be called Do Not Disturb on most devices. In this menu, you can choose when DND is toggled on automatically, what is blocked, and if any contacts are allowed to ring through anyway. On Pie devices, Do Not Disturb defaults to hiding your notifications as well. Make sure to change that setting if you still want to see what’s going on in the notification shade.

Digital wellbeing

Maybe you spend too much time on your phone sometimes, but Android has some tools to help you avoid that. The Digital Wellbeing suite (Android 9 and later) shows you what apps you’ve been using, for how long, and offers ways to stop that from happening. The settings menu breaks down apps on a chart, and lets you set a time limit for apps you want to cut back. The chart tracks notifications and unlocks as well. There’s also a “Wind down” mode that slowly fades the screen to grayscale as bedtime approaches.

Make sure your photos back up automatically

There’s nothing worse than losing or breaking a phone only to realize your photos aren’t backed up. You can avoid this by simply opening the Google Photos app and following the prompts to enable autobackup. The default mode is “high quality” and unlimited space. This compresses