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How to give any Android phone the Google Pixel Experience
How to make any Android phone smoother, faster, and more customizable
Google offers one of the best Android smartphone experiences, mainly because of its software features. Pixel owners get the best of the best in terms of user experience, thanks to the Google Pixel launcher and regular feature drops. But there's good news for the non-Pixel owners among us: whether you own a gorgeous flagship or just a solid Android budget phone, you can get a similar experience with a few tweaks. This guide will walk you through the steps to make your phone nearly Pixel perfect.
How to change app icons on Android
Customize your Android phone's home screen by changing the app icons
Changing your app icons on Android is easy, but it isn't intuitive. You'll usually delve into third-party apps and launchers to maximize your Android phone's potential for customization. We show you how to change your app icons on every Android device. These steps also work on all the top Android tablets, so if you own a phone and tablet from two manufacturers, you can make them look the same. Tidy up your apps after customizing your icons to make your phone look stylish and organized.
How to create a custom view in Google Calendar
Filter the visual noise and view only days important to you on Google's Calendar
At a glance, Google Calendar is a lot to take in, especially when you fill its grids with events. You can switch between the monthly, weekly, and daily views with your favorite keyboard shortcuts. But if you have a specific range, you can customize the layout to match your workflow.
How to set up One UI 5 homescreen on Samsung Galaxy phones
One UI 5 takes the homescreen customization to the next level
Samsung has officially released One UI 5 software based on Android 13 to the top Samsung Galaxy phones. Apart from Android 13 add-ons like per-app language settings, and deeper Material You integration, Samsung added several lock screen and homescreen customization tricks to take your Galaxy experience to the next level. Here are the best tips to set up One UI 5 home screen.
Dynamic Island clone for Android already has over 1 million installs
dynamicSpot is the hot new modding app in town
It's almost inevitable: Apple introduces its next iPhone, and smartphone fans find their new obsession. This year, it was all about the Dynamic Island. Instead of replacing the bathtub notch with hole-punch cutouts for the front camera, like you'd see on most Android phones, Apple went with this new software-fueled solution for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. And almost immediately, the Android developer community started creating their own apps that mimicked the Dynamic Island effect on Android phones. We took a look at one of those, dynamicSpot, soon after it launched, and now it's already shaping up to be one of the more popular Android implementations.
One UI 4 added a feature that was strangely absent from Samsung's Android skin for a long time — icon pack support. Sure, you could download and use custom icons from the Galaxy Store, but most downloads only covered a few major apps, so it wasn't worth the trouble. With One UI 4 finally allowing you to get more fully-featured icon packs from the Play Store, let's take a look at the process of applying them to some of the best Android phones out there.
Material You is one a centerpiece of Android 12 on the Pixel phones, and that makes your choice of wallpaper more important than ever. Google offers a wide selection of backgrounds on Pixel phones, and the options have expanded today. Pixel owners will find three new images, courtesy of Daren Thomas Magee of Real Fun Wow.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition brings back the magic of Moto Maker in 2021
Customize your phone with up to 49 possible combinations
For all our complaining about smartphone manufacturers keeping the fun colors to entry-level phones — I’m looking at you, Google — gadgets feel a lot more fun than they did a decade ago. Sure, you can still opt for a slab of black glass and metal, but with blues, greens, yellows, and more available for purchase, why not add some radiance back into your life. With Samsung’s latest addition to the Galaxy Z lineup, it’s taking things one step further — complete color customization for its latest foldable.
Android 12 is dropping manual font and icon customization in favor of Material You
It's dynamic themes from here on out
The wait for Android 12 grows shorter by the day, and thanks to monthly beta updates, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect this fall. Google's introducing a whole new look with Material You, complete with automatic customization options based on your wallpaper. Unfortunately, it seems like some of the tools available in Android 11 won't be making the jump to the latest version.
You can finally set a custom Material You accent color in Android 12, but your choices are limited
Beta 3 also includes a redesigned wallpaper picker
Google is delivering its first significant visual redesign in years with Android 12, and along with it comes a theme engine capable of customizing your smartphone in just a few simple steps. Material You pulls its slate of color choices from your wallpaper to customize icons, menus, and more. With Android 12 Beta 3, you can finally choose a custom set of accent colors, though some might still find the possibilities just a little too limiting.
Your OnePlus phone will soon get some stylish new looks to choose from
A theme store will arrive in "the next major OS update"
OnePlus phones offer a bit of customization in their OxygenOS software. But according to a post on the manufacturer's forum, they're about to get a whole lot more. OnePlus has announced that a theme store will be added in the next major Oxygen OS update, mirroring similar features in Samsung's Galaxy custom software.
Pixel phones might get customizable lock screen clocks in Android 12
A feature that first surfaced in an Android 10 developer preview
Pixel phones have become pretty customizable thanks to the Pixel Themes app first introduced with Android 10, but there's one part of the Pixel skin that you can't tweak too much — the lock screen. The Android 10 beta suggested that we might get some custom clocks at some point, but when the OS went stable, no traces of alternative clocks were left. That might change with Android 12. It looks like Google will include Pixel-exclusive lock screen clocks.
Energy Ring supports Galaxy S21, Pixel 5, older devices in a new universal app
Future bright for S21+, not so much for phones from Redmi and others
IJP, maker of a few popular Android battery meter replacements, has merged Energy Ring support for different devices from separate apps into a universal app and has announced further support for the Galaxy S21 and Pixel 5 along with other developments in the pipeline.
Good Lock modules Theme Park and Wonderland get new features in One UI 3 update
The new theme editor is a much welcome change
Theme Park has been a stand-out Good Lock module since it arrived last year, allowing users to create their own themes for One UI. However, the need to select colors by way of an existing wallpaper has always been a sticking point, as was the lack of finer control of what gets themed and what doesn't. As Samsung continues its 2021 revamp of Good Lock, those two issues are finally being rectified, and we're even getting some new features alongside them, too.
Tasker v5.11.6 beta lays groundwork for Tasky, an easier-to-use version for newbs
Profile and task variables are being tested
Tasker has long been one of the best apps for Android customization, but with so many options and possibilities available, it can seem a bit overwhelming for newcomers. The latest beta release of the app, version 5.11.6, lays the groundwork for a simpler interface called Tasky that promises to deliver the power of Tasker without any advanced technical knowledge required.
Samsung just fixed landscape mode on three of its coolest customization apps
Multistar, Notistar, and Navstar add support for horizontal orientations
Android is known for being the more customizable of the two mainstream mobile operating systems out there, and Samsung's flavor of Android has never been shy about letting its users make a device their own. New updates to three of Samsung's Good Lock plug-ins will make them play nicer when devices rotate to landscape orientation.
Microsoft Launcher v6 brings landscape mode and updated Feed design to the masses (APK Download)
Every user should see this in the next couple of weeks
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The Microsoft Launcher can give you more control over your home screen and help bridge the gap between a smartphone and computer, provide it runs Windows. Microsoft Launcher's "Feed" plugs you into numerous Microsoft apps and services you might already use on your computer, and it's getting a makeover. The new update also adds landscape support and various bug fixes. This update first appeared in the preview app, and now it's available in the main Play Store listing as a beta.
Samsung Good Lock updates bring new features to One Hand Operation +
Other modules receive some general fixes
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Good Lock is one of my favorite parts of One UI, which is why I've droned on about it so many times. In short, Good Lock houses several modules that allow you to tweak your Samsung software experience, offering a degree of control that rival custom ROMs. Several of those modules just received new updates today, most of which are small bug fixes. However, One Hand Operation + got a more significant update, bringing some new features, as well.
Gmail on the web gets its biggest settings overhaul in years
Revamped quick settings menu puts popular options within easy reach
Gmail’s desktop interface has got a whole bunch of customization options — some from its early days and others that were introduced as part of the more recent Material facelift. But it has never been easy to find them in the complex maze that is Gmail's main settings. Thankfully, Google is fixing that somewhat with a new quick settings menu that's more accessible and brings all those scattered features together in one place.
Samsung is running a promotion over the next two months back in its home market of South Korea. A new in-person "event" will let customers mix and match different colors for earbuds and charging cases when buying the company's latest Galaxy Buds+. So if you want a red right earbud and blue for the left, you can get them together — all in a subdued black charging case, if you like. The only color that's missing is the green of my mad, US-based envy.