Although Android 5 Lollipop has been out for a while, that doesn't mean that there aren't a few features users might not have explored. It's easy to marvel at Google's "Material Design" and the efficiency & power it offers with Android L. Sometimes we might get lost in the day-to-day uses of our device and never get the opportunity to check out any of the newest features and functions.
Let's rectify that, shall we? This will be the first part in a small series which will share several different tips & tricks of Android Lollipop that some of you might have overlooked or simply not heard about. In this first outing, we will share 5 handy tips & tricks to help you maximize your time with Google's latest mobile OS.
1. Lockscreen Shortcuts - Most of us know about this, but just for the few folks out there who might have overlooked it, there are a couple of handy shortcuts on the lockscreen of Android Lollipop. One shortcut is the Dialer app and the other is the Camera app. Both are at the bottom of the lock screen on the right and lef respectively. To activate them, you simply need to swipe upward from the icon. Simple and handy!
2. Full Charge ETA - Here's another handy feature found right on the Lollipop lockscreen. There is now an
indicator which will try to estimate the amount of time you have left until before your battery is fully charged when plugged in. It doesn't immediately pop-up because the firmware needs a few minutes to offer up the guesstimate, but it's handy nonetheless.
3. Find businesses numbers easily in the dialer - Here's one that many folks might have glazed over or never even knew was baked into Lollipop. The dialer can actually let you search up phone numbers of publicly-listed businesses. It won't always have the number of the company or retailer you are searching for, but it hits it a majority of the time. You just need to search out a business by typing its name in the dialer. What's you find the number, it will even auto-dial it when you tap on it. Super handy!
4. Access Google Now Cards from lockscreen - here's another handy lockscreen add-on in Lollipop. You can easily access your Google Now cards even without unlocking your phone. To do this, you just need to swipe down starting on top of your existing notifications. This will pop-up your cards for you to choose.
5. Quickly and easily check your data usage - This tip obviously doesn't apply for those who have unlimited data plans, but for everyone else, Lollipop makes it quick and easy to check out how much data you have used so far this month. You just need to bring down your notification panel and you will be able to check out a summary of your data consumption by hitting the cellular icon
That's all for this edition of the Android Lollipop Tips & Tricks, but keep checking in with us. Next week we will have part 2 in the series. There are still quite a few for us to go over, and you never know when you might learn something you didn't even know your phone could do.
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