Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Android is a treasure trove of features — Pixels even more so. The deeper you dig, the more you find. Our own Mishaal Rahman can probably vouch for that, considering he manages to unearth more features than Google even advertises. And that says a lot about a platform most of us rely on daily, on our primary devices, our phones.
After spending years immersed in the bright and colorful world of Android, I’ve naturally developed a few personal favorites; features that remain underrated despite being incredibly useful. Sure, Mishaal may know about all of them, but I’d bet many of us forget they even exist after discovering them once via an obscure Reddit comment.
These features — some exclusive to Pixel, others available across Android — have become part of my daily routine.
App pinning
Joe Maring / Android Authority
This one’s basic but wildly underrated. When I hand my phone to someone, say to pick up a contact or scan a QR code at a movie theatre, I pin the app by selecting the Pin option from the Overview screen (you must first enable app pinning in your phone’s Security and privacy settings). That way, they can’t swipe into another app, whether accidentally or intentionally.
I can’t stop friends and family from mindlessly swiping through my gallery when I show them a single photo, but I can stop them from going over to Messages or Keep. It’s especially useful when my little niece or nephew borrows my phone to play games, and I don’t want them to delete random notes or rearrange apps.
Split-screen multitasking
Joe Maring / Android Authority
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