Android Users: These Simple Tricks Can Give Your Device a Speed Boost

Whether or not you simply bought a model new Android for the vacations, or you have got one which’s getting lengthy within the tooth, you in all probability need to maintain it operating easily for so long as doable. Meaning your machine will want a bit TLC within the type of routine upkeep and checkups. 

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To begin, it is best to give the exterior of your phone a good clean, because you’re probably placing it near your face on daily basis. Mud, filth and gunk can shortly accumulate within the charging ports and audio system, and it is not solely unhealthy to your hygiene — it could actually additionally shorten your telephone’s lifespan.

However crucial repairs work is beneath the hood, and it contains altering telephone settings you could by no means have touched earlier than.

An funding of only a few minutes can flip your Android phone into one thing that appears and feels new — a minimum of till you are capable of improve. Learn on to seek out 5 easy suggestions for decluttering, reorganizing and customizing your Android telephone to maintain it in tip-top form.

And in the event you’re all for getting a totally new machine, try the best Android phones for this year.

15 Years of Android: Evaluating the Latest Android Telephone to the First

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Delete your entire forgotten apps

Take a couple of minutes to undergo your property display or app drawer and delete any and all apps you not use. Not solely do these apps take up valuable storage, however they probably have entry to the private data or permissions you accepted when the app was first launched. 

The way you go about deleting an app can range based mostly on who makes your machine, however I covered all the bases in this post. Give it a learn in the event you do not see an uninstall possibility after long-pressing on the app’s icon. 

The Google Play Store on a phone screen

You too can uninstall apps utilizing the Play Retailer. 

Jason Cipriani/CNET

Remove outdated information to unencumber storage

After eradicating any outdated apps, unencumber extra storage by going by way of the information saved in your Android telephone. It’s miles too simple to overlook about the entire information you’ve got randomly downloaded — just like the takeout menu of the brand new place down the street or a GIF a good friend despatched. And people information add up. The quickest and best solution to handle your telephone’s storage is to make use of the Information app that comes preinstalled. 

Really, some telephones use a variation of that very same app. On Samsung, for instance, it is known as My Information. On the Pixel lineup, it is simply Information. On the OnePlus 10 Pro, it is File Supervisor — you get the purpose. 

I like to recommend opening the app drawer in your telephone and reaching for “information.” Odds are that can reveal no matter your phone-maker calls the app. 

Begin with checking the Downloads folder, the place you possibly can both delete the information you not need or transfer them someplace like Google Drive.

Most file apps can even reveal any massive information which can be saved in your machine. For example, the OnePlus 10 Professional’s File Supervisor app has a devoted part within the app for information which can be taking over plenty of house.

Files app on a Pixel 3 and My Files on a Galaxy S10 Plus.

Left: Information app on a Pixel 3. Proper: My Information on a Galaxy S10 Plus. 

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Tweak house display settings for a brand new look

The most effective components of Android is how a lot you possibly can customise all the look of your telephone. From putting in app icon packs to utterly changing the launcher your telephone makes use of, there are many choices to personalize your telephone. 

When you can undoubtedly bounce into tweaking launchers and putting in app icons, begin by digging into the house display settings your telephone already supplies. I do that now and again and it is stunning how refined tweaks to facets like app structure could make it really feel like a completely new telephone. 

Lengthy-press on a clean space of your property display, then choose Residence settings (or some variation of that). That can open the choices to your house display, the place you possibly can customise varied settings. 

Settings like the dimensions of the app grid. It could seem to be a small change to go from a grid of 4×5 apps to 5×5, however that further column could make an enormous distinction (the identical might be stated about shrinking the grid). 

That is additionally the place you may discover settings for issues like swiping down on the house display to view notifications as a substitute of getting to swipe from the highest of the display. 

Undergo the respective settings your telephone has and experiment with your property display setup. 

Home screen on a phone

Your choices for designing your property display are countless.

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Optimize your machine settings

Talking of settings, now is an efficient time to undergo and alter any settings which have been annoying you. I’ve a roundup of settings you may need to change and customise on any Android telephone to get essentially the most out of it. 

For instance, turning on darkish mode not solely makes the app look higher, nevertheless it saves battery life. And sure, I even present you how one can cease app icons from robotically showing on your property display. 

The back of a phone

Machine settings are simply ignored, however they’re essential to get your machine excellent. 

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Customise your privateness choices

Earlier than you are taking a break, do your self and your Android telephone one final favor — double-check your privateness settings.

Open the Settings app then faucet Privateness > Permissions Supervisor. Undergo every class to see which apps presently have entry to which treasure trove of your private knowledge. Discover an app you do not need to have entry to your location? Flip it off. The identical goes for contacts, calendar or digital camera. 

It would not take lengthy to undergo every part, and even when it did, it is properly definitely worth the effort. 

Permissions Manager screen

Use the Permissions Supervisor to manage which apps have entry to your knowledge. 

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

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