8 Android Gestures You May Not Know About

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to flip through tabs in Chrome, work with photos more conveniently and fix typos without any problems.

All features listed below have been tested on Android 9.0 Pie. In other versions of the OS or third-party skins, some gestures may work differently or not work at all.

1. Double swipe down from the border of the screen - full extension of the settings panel

A standard swipe down from the top of the screen only shows notifications. To pop out the entire top panel and access quick system settings, you need to do another swipe. But you can replace these two gestures with one - exactly the same, but performed with two fingers. This double swipe pulls out the entire panel.

2. Long press on the notification - quick access to the program settings

If one of the programs starts constantly sending notifications, there is a strong desire to reduce their number or simply turn it off. To do this, you have to open the application and delve into it in search of the desired settings. But you can just press the notification and hold your finger for a few seconds - a button will appear for quick access to the desired settings.

3. Horizontal swipes along the address bar - flipping through tabs in Chrome

To switch between Chrome tabs, you must first click on the number with the number of tabs, and then select the desired one. But there is an alternative way with which it is convenient to move to adjacent tabs. It is enough to make swipes to the right or to the left, sliding your finger along the address bar.

4. Long press the shutdown button - go to safe mode

If the device starts to slow down, and rebooting does not help, it is appropriate to test its operation in safe mode. In this state, the device is not affected by third-party programs, so the problems caused by them are easier to fix. To enter Safe Mode, hold down the Power key and hold until the Power Off button appears on the display. Then hold the touch on it - in a second you will see an offer to switch to safe mode.

5. Pinch and long press on Google Photos - easy picture management

Gestures in Google Photos make smartphone use much easier. For example, you can quickly change the display format of pictures by pinching, without even going into the additional menu. It is enough to pinch and spread two fingers over the list of photos, and the application will switch the view: normal, by day, by month, by year.

Plus, you can quickly select multiple images. To do this, hold your touch on one of the desired pictures and, without lifting your finger from the screen, slide them over the rest.

6. Double tap on the map and vertical swipes - change the scale in Google Maps

Scaling the map with the traditional pinch gesture is not very convenient on the go, when you hold your smartphone with one hand. The developers took this nuance into account and added an alternative method. To resize the map with one finger, quickly double-tap it and, without lifting your finger, slide it up or down. The scale will change.

7. Triple taps and swipes - scaling the interface and images

If you want to quickly examine a small fragment of a photo or read a tiny font of a site where standard scaling does not work, you can use a hidden gesture. To do this, you need to press three times on the screen and, without lifting your finger, swipe in different directions. But the method will work if you first activate the "Gestures to zoom" option in the "Accessibility" section in the smartphone settings.

8. Horizontal swipes along the space bar - cursor control in the Google keyboard

When a typo creeps into the typed text, you have to hit the right place between the small letters with your finger to correct it. This is, to put it mildly, not very simple. Fortunately, you can control the cursor in a much more convenient way. Just slide your finger over the space bar and the cursor will move along the text.