Android platform has advanced to become an OS that looks great as well as performs equally well. The feature rich operating system is the most widely used mobile platform in the world and that’s not going to change at any point in the soon, with Google releasing massive updates like Nougat that only make it better. Though Android is known to be quick in its actions, there are times when you feel a step is taking more time than it should. In that case, you can use different Android shortcuts or create your very own ones.
[ad type=”banner”]1.Check your Notification History
You can check all your previous notifications with a single tap. To do it, press hold on the home screen and tap on “Widgets“. Scroll down below in the widgets page and add the “Settings” shortcut.
Then, tap on “Notification log” in the list of various settings shortcuts available and a shortcut for Notifications Log will be created on the home screen. Now, you can just tap on the shortcut to see all your notifications.
Note:
You may not find the ‘Settings widget’ among all the widgets on smartphones running custom Android skins. For example, on HTC smartphones running Sense UI, the Settings widget is buried in the “Shortcuts” tab.
2.Launch Camera with Power Button
There are times when you need to capture a photo quickly. However, the Camera app can be tough to launch in various situations. Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later versions easily launch the Camera app from any screen or even when the device is locked by just a double press on the Power/Lock button. You just need to enable the option “Press power button twice for camera” in Settings->Display.
3.Create Shortcuts for Direct Calls, Messages, Navigation and more
Android lets you create shortcuts via the Widgets section to directly call or message a contact with a single tap. You can even set up a shortcut to navigate to a certain place via the Maps Navigate widget. In addition, instant messenger apps like WhatsApp let you create shortcuts for a contact or a group chat, so that you can access them with a tap.
4.Create Shortcuts for Different Actions
Activity Launcher app is used to create shortcuts for almost any action in Android’s native functionality to even a third party app. The app lists down every activity that’s available on Android. You can just press hold on an activity to create a shortcut of it on the home screen. If you can create a shortcut for any deep Settings page, a shortcut to jump directly to Gmail’s compose screen or even a specific Gmail label, launch Google’s easter eggs game etc.
Also, if you have a third party launcher app like Nova or Apex, you can create shortcuts for activities with them natively.
5.Try Google Now
Google’s voice assistant has been developed to help you get things done quickly, which in turn makes it one of the best Android shortcuts. You can use Google Now voice commands to ask a general query, control Android settings, launch apps, send messages, set alarm or reminder, take notes, make calls, navigate to a place, play music and much more. And you can do all of that hands free, thanks to the “Ok Google” hotword. You need to ensure that “Ok Google” detection is active from any screen in Settings->Voice.
Additionally, you can use Google Now on Tap from anywhere to quickly set a reminder, alarm, timer or even navigate to your home or work address. In addition, you can also search for points of interests like restaurants, hotels, gas stations etc. All of that by just pressing the home on-screen button.
6.Search for Apps Quickly
If you are somebody who has a lots of apps installed, it can get tough to locate and launch a particular app quickly. While you can use Google Now to launch an app quickly, you cannot use a voice command at all situations. In that case, you can use Google search to quickly search for installed apps. You can use the Google widget to quickly search and launch apps.
Additionally, you can search for apps in the app drawer search bar in Google Now Launcher. Most other third party launchers also include an app search feature, so you should be able to search for app in most cases.
7.Switch Apps Faster
It’s important to make full use of it by running multiple apps at a time. While these apps should run like a charm, switching between them can be a real pain in the back. Android Nougat lets you switch to the last app by just double tapping on the Recents/Multitasking button.
8.Reply to Messages from Notification Center
While you can reply to SMSes, messages from other apps and emails from the notification center through a pop-up window, inline notifications are much more user friendly. Android Nougat brings inline reply support for all types of messages. If you are not using Nougat and you won’t be using it anytime soon. In that case, you can get this feature via a third-party app named quickReply.
9.Use Gestures
Rather than releasing a certain app or activity through a tap, you can use a cool gesture shortcut from the home screen. Apps like Nova Launcher and Apex Launcher bring the gestures option and you can enable gestures for several functions, shortcuts, apps and activities. If you don’t want a launcher app, you can try out the All in one gestures app, which not only lets you enable gestures for apps and actions, it also lets you add gestures for the navigation buttons, making things way more fast.
10.Take Screenshot Quickly
Android shortcut is taking screen captures quickly. While you can always use the Power/Lock + Volume Down combo, it’s not the solution for every situation. Another simple shortcut is to use Google Now on Tap. To take a screenshot, you can simply trigger Now on Tap by press holding the home button and then, hitting the share icon on the bottom left to upload the screenshot to Photos.
