11 Android 13 settings you should change immediately
Many of thebest features of Android 13are enabled by default, but some are hidden away in menus, waiting to be activated. These new features and changes can affect your daily life, so we recommend changing these Android 13 settings.
We show you how to access and change these new features. Android phones with Android 13 installed have these features, so if you’ve updated one of thebest Samsung phonesto One UI 5, you can find and change these new settings.
Change your app language settings
While many popular apps work fine in any language, some are optimized for certain languages, resulting in inaccurate translations. To the joy of multilingual Android users, per-app language options solve this problem. This feature allows you to fine-tune your language settings by allowing individual apps to run in a different language from the rest of your phone.
To enable this setting, go to theApp Infopage of an app and tapLanguage.
Only apps with the necessary resource files include this feature. The app developer is responsible for providing this file, so it may be some time before your favorite app supports per-app language settings.
Use button navigation to enable Google Assistant
Android shifted toward gesture navigation as the default instead of the three-button navigation bar. However, if you prefer the old setup, Android 13 now lets you activate Google Assistant by long pressing theHomebutton.
Here’s how to enable this setting:
Disable the lock screen’s double-line clock
Android 12 changed the lock screen’s clock to an enormous double-line display when there were no notifications to display, obscuring your lock screen. Android 13 introduced a setting to tuck it nicely in the upper-left corner of your screen. It’s the same size and location as if you had a notification on your screen.
Control smart home devices without unlocking your phone
Android 13 removes the need to unlock your phone to use your smart home devices. When your phone is locked, you can tap theGoogle Homeicon in the lower-left corner of your screen to access your devices.
It’s off by default, so go to yourSettingsmenu to enable it.
Just like per-app language settings, this feature requires app support to function. It may be some time before your smart home app supports this feature.
Enable Dark mode at bedtime
Android’s Dark theme could previously be scheduled to turn on at a custom time or at sunset, and Android 13 adds functionality to schedule it for a custom bedtime as set in theDigital Wellbeing app.
Update your vibration intensity
Depending on your phone, its vibration setting may be too loud or too quiet. In Android 13, you can change the vibration intensity for notifications, alarms, and media.
Enable the QR code Quick Settings tile
Scanning a QR code can be done through your camera app, but a new quick setting tile allows you to open a scanner with a swipe and a tap. This scanner is also faster than the camera app. This dedicated scanner is so fast you may miss the scanner UI.
If you’ve added a Quick Setting tile before, follow the same steps to add the QR Code scanner tile. For those unfamiliar with adding Quick Settings tiles, here’s how to add them:
Enable the flashlight with the Quick Tap gesture
Quick Tap gesture lets you take a screenshot, access Google Assistant, play and pause media, check recent apps, or open a specific app on your Android phone. With Android 13, you can enable or disable your phone’s flashlight by tapping twice on the back.
If you frequently enable a flashlight with a double-tap gesture, enable theRequire stronger tapsoption from the same menu.
Check the flashlight status on the Glance widget
If you enable the torch on your phone and forget to turn it off, it may drain your phone’s battery in no time. There’s an option to check the torch status from the At a Glance widget. Here’s what you need to do.
Enable one-handed mode Quick Setting tile
You can now enable or disable one-handed mode from the quick toggles menu. Your phone’s one-handed mode is just a swipe away from the homescreen.
You can enable one-handed mode and swipe down on the gesture bar at the bottom to check it in action.
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