9 Android Beginner Tips and Tricks

Android Oreo added many improvements and options to the operating system, from behind-the-scenes security and performance enhancements, to giving you better ways to manage notifications and messages. Here are some of the new things you can do right now with your Android device running Oreo.

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Get more from your phone with these Android Oreo tips and tricks.

Android Tips and Tricks

1 Shortcut to Common Tasks

One of our favourite Android Oreo tips and tricks, you can touch and hold an app icon on the home screen or in the app drawer to display shortcuts to common or recommended tasks within the app (supported apps only). An example of this is the Chrome app icon, which lets you open a new or incognito tab.

2 Keyboard Toolbar

The new keyboard in Oreo for Samsung Galaxy features a very handy toolbar, giving you quick access to a lot of typing options such as emoji’s, stickers, GIFs and voice typing. Tap the button on the far-left to switch between the toolbar and predictive text options.

3 New Edge Lighting Effects

Oreo adds new Edge lighting effects including a multi-colour effect, a glow effect that makes the edges glow, and a glitter effect, all of which are customisable. You can also move the Edge Tools handle by touching and holding it, then dragging it around the screen.

4 Dual Messenger

You can now install a second copy of a messaging app so you can use two accounts at the same time. For apps that verify accounts using phone numbers, you’ll need a different phone number for each account. Head to Settings > Advanced > Dual Messenger to set up.

5 Notification Categories

Oreo has enabled developers to add notification categories to their apps. The YouTube app is a good example of this, splitting notifications in to Download notifications, General notifications and Account-based notifications. You can control each type individually.

6 Notification Snoozing

Oreo is determined to help you love notifications again! You can now snooze individual notifications directly from the notifications panel. When you get a notification, drag it to the left or right to reveal new icons. Tap the alarm-style icon to see the snooze options.

7 Hide Albums in Gallery

You can now quickly and easily hide some of the albums in the Gallery app. Albums are automatically created by apps you install or by adding images from different sources (camera, download, etc.) Open Gallery, tap the menu button and you will see the option to hide albums.

8 Custom Folder Colours

It might not sound like a massive change, but the ability to make your home screen folders different colours really helps to organise things, especially if you have a lot of apps or other shortcuts on your device. Create a folder in the normal way, and then tap the colour icon to choose.

9 Lock Screen Enhancements

There are a couple of changes to the Lock Screen in Oreo. Firstly, accent colours will automatically be taken from the wallpaper you have set. You can now also change transparency levels of the lock screen notifications (Settings > Lock Screen > Notifications).