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Thursday, July 9, 2015

Android M Feature: You Can Delete Screenshots From Their Notification Previews!

Look! A delete button in a screenshot notification preview on stock Android!

I know that OEMs like Samsung built in this option long ago, but in the new Android M Preview 2, Google has added it as well. So, after spamming off screenshots, you can share or delete them.

That is all. 


Be sure to catch up on all of the other new Android M features!

Android M Feature: You Can Delete Screenshots From Their Notification Previews! is a post from: Droid Life



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Android M Feature: The System UI Tuner Now Lets You Shut Off Icons in the Status Bar

Remember the System UI Tuner that showed up in the original Android M Preview? You know, the hidden developer option that would allow you to tweak the settings toggles in the notification shade? It’s back in the Android M Preview 2, only more powerful than ever. 

First off, in order to change these settings, you need to enable the System UI Tuner, which can be done by heading into Developer options and then toggling on “Show SystemUI Tuner.” Once there, back out to the main settings menu and you should see the System UI tuner situated below “About phone.” Ready?

So, we still have the quick settings options where you can drag and drop, rearrange, add/remove tiles. It seems to be a bit more stable this time around as well, so feel free to tweak away.

android m features1 android m features3 android m features2

Where this gets really cool, is in the “Status bar” section. This area allows you to hide or show all of the icons that may show up in your status bar, from WiFi icons to do not disturb and alarm icons to the cellular data signal icon. Seriously, that annoying Bluetooth icon that you wish would go away even though you have Bluetooth enabled, can be turned off! How awesome is that?

Finally, we now have the option to show an embedded battery percentage in the battery icon when the phone isn’t charging. That means that you no longer have to swipe down the notification shade twice to see the battery percentage of your phone.

There is another setting for “Demo mode,” but after enabling it, I couldn’t tell you what it does.

Android M Feature: The System UI Tuner Now Lets You Shut Off Icons in the Status Bar is a post from: Droid Life



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Android M Feature: Google Cleans Up “Storage & USB” Menu, Adds Quicker File Manager Access

In the Android M Preview 1, Google introduced a tweaked Storage manager to simplify the experience from preview Android builds. In the new Android M Preview 2 they went ahead and continued the overhaul, this time going with a very minimal styling that also gives you quicker access to Android’s built-in file manager. They also renamed the setting to “Storage & USB.” 

As you can see in the screenshots below, when accessing the internal storage section, the colors and segmented meter for which types of files are taking up storage are gone. Now, you just have a single bar to show you the total storage being used, along with simple text at the top of the section to clearly tell you the amount of used space and total space.

From there, you have familiar sections for things like Apps, Images, Videos, Audio, and Other. You can tap on each one like you could in previous Android builds, but something about this revamped section seems quicker to access the filer manager. If you tap on Images, you quickly load into a folder containing images. You can do the same for videos or audio as well. For whatever reason, Google removed the Downloads option.

One other new change is the Explore option at the bottom of the list, which brings you into the internal file manager. From there, you can browse all of the files on your internal storage pretty easily.

android m features5 android m features7 android m features6

One thing I found interesting is the fact that its now called “Storage & USB,” but if you tap on it, you are taken immediately to your internal storage manager. My guess is that if you have USB storage attached (or maybe even an SD card inserted), you will be given the choice as to which you would like to access. I’ll see what I can do to confirm this.

More coming!

Android M Feature: Google Cleans Up “Storage & USB” Menu, Adds Quicker File Manager Access is a post from: Droid Life



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Android M Feature: Google Gives Memory It’s Own Setting for Quick Access

In the original Android M preview, Google added in a Memory management setting that was tucked inside the Apps section. In this Memory setting, you could see how much RAM your system or individual apps were using based on 3/6/12-hour increments up to 1 full day. It was a handy feature for those looking at system hogs, but unfortunately, unless you knew to look in Settings>Apps>Advanced>Memory, you probably didn’t know it existed. 

In the new Android M Preview 2 that just dropped, Google has pulled this Memory manager out from the depths of settings hell, and given it a prime spot in the general settings menu. Just under Battery and above Users, you will now see Memory.

They also cleaned up the UI quite a bit, making it much easier on the eyes.

Thanks, Google.

android m features2 android m features3 android m features4

Android M Feature: Google Gives Memory It’s Own Setting for Quick Access is a post from: Droid Life



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Google Includes Google Now on Tap in Android M Preview 2…Sort Of

We didn’t think Google was going to bring out Google Now on Tap until the final preview build of Android M was released, but in this new Preview 2, they appear to be gearing up to let us either test it or are just setting up for that final preview. We say that because we are seeing a setting to enable and then opt-in to Google Now on Tap as I type this. 

In order to access the option, long press on your home screen running the M Preview 2, choose “Settings,” then “Now cards.” From there, you can toggle Now on Tap to “on,” before it will ask you to “Opt In On Tap!” See the screenshots below to see how this whole setup looks.

After that, well, you would think that you would have access to Google Now on Tap, but we aren’t able to get it to work just yet. A long-press on the home button in any screen still shows us the “Cards about the screen you were just viewing aren’t available in this release” message from Preview 1.

We’ll keep playing around with it to see if we can get it to work. It could also be that we need Google to green-light it.

google now on tap1 google now on tap2 google now on tap3

Cheers PC_Tool!

Google Includes Google Now on Tap in Android M Preview 2…Sort Of is a post from: Droid Life



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Download: Android M Preview 2 OTA Updates

Now that the Android M Preview 2 is out, and Google has confirmed that they are sending these out over-the-air (OTA) for those already on Preview 1 who don’t want to flash factory images, we thought we may as well capture the .zip files for those interested. 

We will update the list as we have more.

Download Android M Preview 2 updates:

  • Nexus 5
  • Nexus 6 – [MPZ79M from MPZ44Q, 330MB] – Download Link (Cheers burkett375!)
  • Nexus 9
  • Nexus Player

For instructions to sideload using adb, check here. For instructions on how to grab an OTA file, check here.

Download: Android M Preview 2 OTA Updates is a post from: Droid Life



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Android M Feature: Google Already Tweaked Preview 1’s Odd App Drawer

We are just now diving into the new Android M Preview 2 that was released moments ago, but already, some things are standing out that have been tweaked. Everyone remember the vertically scrolling, alphabet-heavy app drawer that was included in Preview 1? Google already changed it quite significantly. We aren’t sure if they changed it over the criticism others placed upon it, or if that was simply a test of one layout before another test of a newly  tweaked layout began. 

So what changed? Not much, but it does seem more cleaned up. It still scrolls vertically. We also still have the four more recently used apps at the top of it. We even have a search box, so that you can quickly locate apps.

What we don’t have are the odd groupings of apps into alphabetical categories. Instead, we have a much more traditional looking app drawer that is always 4-apps wide. You can still quick scroll by letter if you grab the right edge, but you no longer have those letter indicators throughout the left side.

You can see a comparison of the two above, with the Preview 2 drawer on the left and the original Preview 1 drawer on the right.

What do you think of the small changes?

Screenshot_20150709-123120 Screenshot_20150709-123130

Android M Feature: Google Already Tweaked Preview 1’s Odd App Drawer is a post from: Droid Life



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