{"id":78045,"date":"2025-07-20T13:09:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T13:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78045\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T13:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T13:09:10","slug":"5-underrated-android-features-i-use-all-the-time-and-you-should-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78045\/","title":{"rendered":"5 underrated Android features I use all the time, and you should too"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"text<\/p>\n

Andy Walker \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Features like split-screen mode, Quick Share, and various battery optimizations are more or less common knowledge amongst Android users. But Google\u2019s OS has so many features, it\u2019s easy for some to fly under the radar \u2014 especially since they can be buried deep within the settings.<\/p>\n

A lot of the features I use regularly aren\u2019t talked about as much as they should be, partly due to the fact not everyone is aware that they even exist. I want to change that by sharing five underrated Android features I think deserve more attention.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve added instructions on how to use them and where to find them, but keep in mind that some may not be available on all devices, while others may be located in a different folder due to the differences in Android versions and skins.<\/p>\n

App pinning<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all been there: You want to show someone an album with your vacation photos, an interesting app you just discovered, or have them try the latest game you downloaded, but you\u2019re worried that they will start going through your phone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The idea of a friend or a family member going through my messages and search history makes me feel uncomfortable, to say the least, which is why I use App pinning in cases like these.<\/p>\n

App pinning basically \u201cpins\u201d the app to the screen, meaning the person holding the phone can\u2019t close it or open a new one. If they tried, they would have to unlock the phone with a fingerprint or a PIN, which is something only I can do since it\u2019s my phone. Problem solved.<\/p>\n

To enable App Pinning, head to Settings > Security & Privacy > More security & Privacy > App pinning<\/strong>. To pin an app, bring up the multitask screen, tap on the icon of the app you want to pin at the top of its preview, and then select the Pin option.<\/p>\n

Share Wi-Fi via a QR Code<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Robert Triggs \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

One of the most frequent questions I get asked by people visiting me at home is, \u201cWhat\u2019s your Wi-Fi password?\u201d It\u2019s a bit sad if you think about it, since I believe I\u2019m more interesting than anything that happens on one\u2019s screen, but that\u2019s just the reality I have to deal with, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

My Wi-Fi password is long, so typing it in can be time-consuming.<\/p>\n

The problem here is that my Wi-Fi password is long and complicated, as it should be for security reasons. I don\u2019t know it by heart, and typing it in can be time-consuming anyway, so I just share it via a QR code.<\/p>\n

I just head to Settings > Network & internet > Internet<\/strong> and then tap on my Wi-Fi network. After that, I select the Share option, which brings up a QR code my guest can scan to instantly connect to my Wi-Fi network. So simple, yet so efficient. It\u2019s how technology should be.<\/p>\n

Notification history<\/p>\n

\"samsung<\/p>\n

Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I get a lot of notifications on a daily basis. And what happens is that sooner or later, I swipe some of them out of view, not knowing whether I received an important message or if a random app sent me a notification I couldn\u2019t care less about. So, how to solve this conundrum?<\/p>\n

This is where Notification history comes in. The name says it all \u2014 it basically shows me a history of all my notifications. So, if I swipe one or five out of view by mistake, I can still check them thanks to this feature.<\/p>\n

To access Notification history, pull down the notification panel and tap on the \u201cNo notifications\u201d text (or sometimes the small History button). If you don\u2019t see your history, you\u2019ll first have to enable it with the toggle that shows up at the top.<\/p>\n

Document scanner<\/p>\n

\"pixel<\/p>\n

Rita El Khoury \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The days when I needed to plug in my all-in-one printer, wait for it to boot up, and then scan a document I needed to send someone are long gone. Not only was that process time-consuming on its own, but if you\u2019ve ever worked with printers\/scanners, you know there are tons of issues all the time that extend the process \u2014 at least that\u2019s been my experience.<\/p>\n

The tool automatically detects the edges of the document and then uploads it to my Drive.<\/p>\n

Now, whenever I need to scan a document, I place it on a table, open my camera app, and wait for the \u201cScan document\u201d option to show up. The tool then automatically detects the edges of the document, takes a picture, and converts it to a PDF that\u2019s then uploaded to my Google Drive.<\/p>\n

However, this is a feature that may not be available on all phones. I have a Pixel, which is obviously well integrated with Google Drive. Samsung phones<\/a> also have this feature, but they usually upload the document to Samsung Notes. You\u2019ll find the feature on many other popular brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi, but not on all of them. Give it a try and let me know if you have it in the comments.<\/p>\n

Smart text selection<\/p>\n

\"text<\/p>\n

Andy Walker \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Everyone knows how to select text on an Android phone. You just press and hold on it and then drag your finger to the part you want to select. It\u2019s easy. But while most people just use this to copy text, Android\u2019s smart text selection can do much more than that.<\/p>\n

For example, when I see a phone number on the website, I select the number, and the option to call it shows up right away. So there\u2019s no need to open the Phone app and type it in manually. The same goes for addresses: I just select the address, and an option to view it in Google Maps shows up instantly.<\/p>\n

Then there are dates: selecting a date brings up an option to create an event in Google Calendar, which saves me a ton of time. It\u2019s a brilliant feature, one not many people know about.<\/p>\n

How many of these features are you familiar with?<\/p>\n

47 votes<\/p>\n

None<\/p>\n

2%<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

6%<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

11%<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

15%<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

15%<\/p>\n

All of them<\/p>\n

51%<\/p>\n

There you have it \u2014 my five most-used underrated Android features. However, there are plenty of others on offer in Android. I really want to hear which ones you use, so share them with me in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Walker \/ Android Authority Features like split-screen mode, Quick Share, and various battery optimizations are more or…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":78046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2718,611,10740,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-78045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android","9":"tag-mobile","10":"tag-smartphones","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114885726269609130","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}