Google’s latest Pixel 9 assortment is a superb differ of smartphones – the company’s biggest telephones to date, if their record-breaking product sales figures are one thing to go by.
When you occur to happen to be the proprietor of a shiny new member of the Pixel 9 family, there’s every chance you’re in the hunt for strategies to get in all probability essentially the most out of it previous the already great out-of-box experience. In that case, you’ve come to the becoming place.
Google has accomplished a unbelievable job of refining its clear and distinctive deal with Android, and the setup technique of instantly’s Pixels is finest than it’s ever been. Nonetheless just because these telephones embody a sturdy ‘Strategies’ app, there are additional choices and capabilities to uncover, notably given that line was updated to Android 15.
Beneath you’ll uncover a run of 9 concepts and hidden choices worth attempting, and all must be accessible to any member of the Pixel 9 assortment (that’s the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Skilled, Pixel 9 Skilled XL and Pixel 9 Skilled Fold). Merely make sure your system has the latest OS updates put in, to make sure you might have entry to all the choices talked about.
Maximise present choice
Google has put a great deal of effort into giving its latest Pixels great screens. The ‘Actua’ reveals launched with the Pixel 8 and eight Skilled assortment have been a pleasing step up from these utilized by older entries throughout the assortment, whereas the panels used all through the Pixel 9 line are Google’s biggest however.
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Be that because it might, there’s a possibility you’re not getting in all probability essentially the most out of the show display screen in your Pixel 9, because you’re in all probability not viewing points at full choice.
By default, the Pixel 9 assortment comes with its reveals set to ‘Extreme choice’. For example, the Pixel 9 Skilled XL sports activities actions a choice of 1008 x 2244 (equal to about 362 pixels per inch, primarily based totally on the cellphone’s 6.8-inch present) out-the-box, nonetheless that’s with the present set to ‘Extreme choice’. Set the cellphone to ‘Full choice’ and in addition you’re then viewing each half at a significantly sharper 1344 x 2992 (roughly 482ppi).
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Present & contact, scroll all the best way all the way down to the underside to look out Show choice after which swap from Extreme choice to Full choice.
Circle to Look for songs
Now Having fun with has been a neat attribute on Pixel telephones since 2017’s Google Pixel 2, able to routinely recognise music having fun with inside differ of your cellphone’s microphones, displaying the observe and artist in question on-screen routinely.
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Whereas Now Having fun with hasn’t gone away, it’s a passive attribute. Sometimes you want to actively ask your cellphone to try to determine a tune. Whereas Circle to Search arrived throughout the first half of 2024, one extension of the attribute which comes as part of Android 15 is observe recognition.
HOW? Prolonged-press on the underside of your show display screen (while you use gesture-based navigation) or the home button (while you use button navigation) to activate the Circle to Search interface. Subsequent, faucet the musical bear in mind icon which appears on the bottom of the show display screen. Lastly keep you Pixel near the sound of the music you’re attempting to determine (or hum or sing the observe your self) and if all goes to plan, you’ll be supplied with a outcomes card, full with observe knowledge and playback selections.
Observe: Not like Now Having fun with, these outcomes aren’t logged in your cellphone’s Now Having fun with historic previous, as that’s classed as a separate music identification attribute.
App Archiving
One different good addition to Android 15 is App Archiving. Beforehand solely accessible as a beta attribute, App Archiving lets you uninstall an app out of your cellphone, whereas retaining elements like client info, so that for those who want to reinstall it at a later date, you’ll be able to achieve this with out having to re-login or menace shedding app-specific info.
Archiving an app is an effective technique to save numerous space, with archived apps being at least 60% smaller than a totally put in utility.
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HOW? Chances are you’ll each long-press on an app icon in your system, select App knowledge after which faucet Archive or open the Settings app, open the Apps sub-menu, select a given app after which, as quickly as as soon as extra, faucet Archive.
Observe: When you want to Restore an archived app, merely faucet the app icon (which may have a cloud with a downward arrow inside it overlaid on excessive) and, supplied you might have an brisk internet connection, the app should re-download and as quickly as as soon as extra behave just because it did sooner than being archived.
Theft Security
On the market with Android 15, Theft Security is a set of choices to lock your system down if it’s stolen. Theft Detection Lock secures your system throughout the event it’s snatched out of your arms and carried away quickly. Offline Gadget Lock will lock your show display screen shortly after your system detects that it’s with none type of connectivity (cell, WiFi and so forth.).
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So long as you might have an brisk SIM in your cellphone, enabling Distant Lock lets you lock your system, just by inputting your cellphone amount into Google Uncover My Gadget. Chances are you’ll unlock it when you might have your system in hand as soon as extra, as common.
Like Distant Lock, enabling Uncover My Gadget lets you see the standing and placement of your stolen system by means of the Uncover My Gadget app on one different cellphone or by going to the Uncover My Gadget internet portal (Distant Lock will be accessible from this interface).
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Security & privateness, faucet on Gadget unlock, select Theft security after which toggle on the choices you want, as desired.
Personal space
For these events when you hand your cellphone to others, Personal space gives peace of ideas by letting you lock apps away in a separate a part of your system’s client experience, behind its private password security.
If you would like, you can even tie the apps and experiences held inside Personal space to a separate Google account, to verify no synchronised info appear inside apps or wherever else exterior of this secure offshoot of your Pixel’s client experience.
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That’s finest while you deal in delicate knowledge, in any other case you hand your cellphone off to your child to look at films or play video video games and don’t want them by probability opening up your banking apps and the like.
When locked, notifications from apps inside Personal space don’t appear wherever on-device and you have the selection to each entry the experience from the underside of your cellphone’s apps drawer or cowl the shortcut totally, solely having it current up by searching for ‘Personal space’ contained in the apps drawer search bar. It is also doable to make use of the similar password security you make the most of to unlock your Pixel or create a separate passcode or pattern.
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Security & privateness, faucet on Personal space, authenticate your system alongside together with your pattern, PIN or biometrics, faucet the Organize button throughout the bottom correct, choose whether or not or to not add a separate Google account, choose whether or not or to not add a separate passcode for Personal space, after which faucet Achieved. Personal space will then appear on the bottom of your app drawer by default.
Observe: When you occur to not wish to use Personal space, you’ll should enter your passcode to remove it. Apps that should run throughout the background moreover aren’t correctly suited to the locked-down nature of Personal space.
Save app pairs
Although this efficiency has been accessible on tablets from completely different producers for years, Android 15 lastly lets you natively save app pairs in your Pixel cellphone’s dwelling show display screen for easy entry. App pairs are two apps set in split-screen (on a cellphone in portrait, which implies one on excessive and one on the underside).
Android has assist you to use plenty of apps in split-screen concurrently for a while, nonetheless the potential to save lots of numerous these pairings (like YouTube and Chrome, as an illustration) to your home show display screen, is new to Android 15.
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HOW? Make a split-screen app pairing as you usually would, by swiping up and holding (while you use gesture navigation) / tapping the sq. multitasking key on the bottom of the show display screen (while you use button navigation) whereas throughout the app that you simply simply want to appear on the excessive of the app pair. Then, whereas throughout the multitasking view, faucet the app icon above the app you for the time being have open and select Break up show display screen from the menu that appears. Subsequent, select the other app you want to full the app pair (it would occupy the lower half of the show display screen).
If you’ve prepare two apps in split-screen, swap to the multitasking view as soon as extra and tap on the two app icons side by side near the very best of the show display screen, then faucet the model new Save app pair alternative that appears on the menu which pops up. Your newly created app pair will then appear on your home show display screen, just like one other app icon.
Observe: When you occur to alter the place the lower up line is between the two apps (by default each app occupies 50% of the show display screen) after which save the app pair, it is going to retain the state of affairs of the lower up.
Entry notification historic previous
Whether or not or not you view notifications as a necessary evil or just actually really feel similar to you miss too quite a lot of them every day, you now have the selection to entry a timeline of the ultimate 24 hours of notifications to hit your cellphone. This affords you additional time to circle once more spherical to missed notifications, even while you snoozed or dismissed them throughout the second.
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HOW? Open the Settings app, faucet on Notifications, and swap the Use notification historic previous toggle on. You gained’t initially see any notifications throughout the Notifications historic previous as a result of it solely begins logging your system’s notifications as quickly because the attribute has been enabled.
Observe: As quickly as enabled, you can entry notification historic previous by each tapping the Historic previous button on the bottom of the notifications shade or heading once more throughout the Notifications sub-menu contained in the Settings app.
Add MagSafe
Whereas Apple might have cornered the market with its ecosystem of magnetically interchangeable gear – from power banks to wallets, automotive mounts and selfie sticks – although the Pixel 9 assortment lacks any built-in magnets of its private, third-party case makers do provide MagSafe-compatible circumstances for Google’s hottest smartphones (amongst others).
Naturally, this makes your Pixel 9 a way more versatile system than it might in some other case be, by means of accent compatibility.
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HOW? Uncover a very good MagSafe-compatible case. Our money’s on Mous’ Large Skinny MagSafe Appropriate case assortment (pictured above on the Pixel 9 Skilled XL in Scorching Coral) nonetheless there are a wealth of selections from revered accent makers, like Case-Mate, Dbrand, Ghostek, Quad Lock, Spigen and UAG to consider too.
Observe: Check out our Strategies so as to add MagSafe and Qi2 to Android telephones attribute for additional.
Snappier visuals
When you occur to’re ready to tinker spherical behind the scenes there are a wealth of additional tweaks that assist you to customise the buyer experience in your Pixel even further. Dive into developer selections and in addition you’ll uncover selections to double the rate of system animations like opening and shutting apps, which makes the Pixel actually really feel rather more premium and extremely efficient.
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HOW? That you will need to enable Developer selections first by opening the Settings app, scrolling down and opening the About cellphone half near the underside. Scroll all the best way all the way down to the underside as soon as extra to look out the Assemble amount and faucet it seven times, then enter your PIN or passcode.
As quickly as enabled, navigate once more out of the About Cellphone half and enter the System a part of the Settings app, then scroll all the best way all the way down to the newly unlocked Developer selections menu.
Scroll all the best way all the way down to the Drawing a part of the Developer selections menu and set the Animation scale to 0.5x all through the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator size scale alternative. Now you Pixel ought to essentially really feel twice as snappy as sooner than.
Observe: Be sure you understand the influence of adjusting settings inside Developer selections sooner than altering them. Disabling Developer selections after making any changes will restore points to their default state and require a device restart (to not be confused with a reset – you gained’t lose any info when restarting your Pixel).