Google’s newest Pixel 9 sequence is a superb vary of smartphones – the corporate’s finest telephones thus far, if their record-breaking gross sales figures are something to go by.
If you happen to occur to be the proprietor of a shiny new member of the Pixel 9 household, there’s each likelihood you’re searching for methods to get essentially the most out of it past the already wonderful out-of-box expertise. In that case, you’ve come to the precise place.
Google has achieved an awesome job of refining its clear and distinctive tackle Android, and the setup strategy of right now’s Pixels is best than it’s ever been. However simply because these telephones include a strong ‘Ideas’ app, there are extra options and features to uncover, particularly because the line was up to date to Android 15.
Beneath you’ll discover a run of 9 ideas and hidden options value making an attempt, and all ought to be accessible to any member of the Pixel 9 sequence (that’s the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Professional, Pixel 9 Professional XL and Pixel 9 Professional Fold). Simply ensure your machine has the most recent OS updates put in, to ensure you’ve entry to all of the options talked about.
Maximise show decision
Google has put a variety of effort into giving its newest Pixels wonderful screens. The ‘Actua’ shows launched with the Pixel 8 and eight Professional sequence had been a pleasant step up from these utilized by older entries within the sequence, whereas the panels used throughout the Pixel 9 line are Google’s finest but.
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Be that as it might, there’s an opportunity you’re not getting essentially the most out of the display in your Pixel 9, since you’re doubtless not viewing issues at full decision.
By default, the Pixel 9 sequence comes with its shows set to ‘Excessive decision’. For instance, the Pixel 9 Professional XL sports activities a decision of 1008 x 2244 (equal to about 362 pixels per inch, primarily based on the telephone’s 6.8-inch show) out-the-box, however that’s with the show set to ‘Excessive decision’. Set the telephone to ‘Full decision’ and also you’re then viewing every little thing at a considerably sharper 1344 x 2992 (roughly 482ppi).
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Show & contact, scroll right down to the underside to search out Display screen decision after which swap from Excessive decision to Full decision.
Circle to Seek for songs
Now Enjoying has been a neat function on Pixel telephones since 2017’s Google Pixel 2, in a position to mechanically recognise music taking part in inside vary of your telephone’s microphones, exhibiting the observe and artist in query on-screen mechanically.
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Whereas Now Enjoying hasn’t gone away, it’s a passive function. Typically you wish to actively ask your telephone to try to establish a tune. Whereas Circle to Search arrived within the first half of 2024, one extension of the function which comes as a part of Android 15 is music recognition.
HOW? Lengthy-press on the underside of your display (when you use gesture-based navigation) or the house button (when you use button navigation) to activate the Circle to Search interface. Subsequent, faucet the musical be aware icon which seems on the backside of the display. Lastly maintain you Pixel close to the sound of the music you’re making an attempt to establish (or hum or sing the music your self) and if all goes to plan, you’ll be introduced with a outcomes card, full with observe data and playback choices.
Observe: In contrast to Now Enjoying, these outcomes aren’t logged in your telephone’s Now Enjoying historical past, as that is classed as a separate music identification function.
App Archiving
One other good addition to Android 15 is App Archiving. Beforehand solely accessible as a beta function, App Archiving enables you to uninstall an app out of your telephone, whereas retaining parts like person information, in order that if you wish to reinstall it at a later date, you are able to do so with out having to re-login or threat shedding app-specific information.
Archiving an app is an effective way to avoid wasting house, with archived apps being at the least 60% smaller than a totally put in software.
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HOW? You possibly can both long-press on an app icon in your machine, choose App information after which faucet Archive or open the Settings app, open the Apps sub-menu, choose a given app after which, as soon as once more, faucet Archive.
Observe: Once you wish to Restore an archived app, merely faucet the app icon (which may have a cloud with a downward arrow within it overlaid on prime) and, supplied you’ve an energetic web connection, the app ought to re-download and as soon as once more behave simply because it did earlier than being archived.
Theft Safety
Accessible with Android 15, Theft Safety is a collection of options to lock your machine down if it’s stolen. Theft Detection Lock secures your machine within the occasion it’s snatched out of your palms and carried away shortly. Offline Gadget Lock will lock your display shortly after your machine detects that it’s with none form of connectivity (mobile, WiFi and so on.).
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As long as you’ve an energetic SIM in your telephone, enabling Distant Lock enables you to lock your machine, simply by inputting your telephone quantity into Google Discover My Gadget. You possibly can unlock it when you’ve your machine in hand once more, as regular.
Like Distant Lock, enabling Discover My Gadget enables you to see the standing and placement of your stolen machine by way of the Discover My Gadget app on one other telephone or by going to the Discover My Gadget internet portal (Distant Lock can be out there from this interface).
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Safety & privateness, faucet on Gadget unlock, choose Theft safety after which toggle on the options you need, as desired.
Personal house
For these occasions while you hand your telephone to others, Personal house provides peace of thoughts by letting you lock apps away in a separate part of your machine’s person expertise, behind its personal password safety.
If you’d like, you possibly can even tie the apps and experiences held inside Personal house to a separate Google account, to make sure no synchronised information seem inside apps or wherever else outdoors of this safe offshoot of your Pixel’s person expertise.
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That is very best when you deal in delicate data, otherwise you hand your telephone off to your baby to observe movies or play video games and don’t need them unintentionally opening up your banking apps and the like.
When locked, notifications from apps inside Personal house don’t seem wherever on-device and you’ve got the choice to both entry the expertise from the underside of your telephone’s apps drawer or cover the shortcut utterly, solely having it present up by trying to find ‘Personal house’ throughout the apps drawer search bar. You may also use the identical password safety you employ to unlock your Pixel or create a separate passcode or sample.
HOW? Open your Pixel’s Settings app, head to Safety & privateness, faucet on Personal house, authenticate your machine along with your sample, PIN or biometrics, faucet the Arrange button within the backside proper, select whether or not to add a separate Google account, select whether or not to add a separate passcode for Personal house, after which faucet Performed. Personal house will then seem on the backside of your app drawer by default.
Observe: If you happen to now not want to use Personal house, you’ll should enter your passcode to take away it. Apps that have to run within the background additionally aren’t effectively suited to the locked-down nature of Personal house.
Save app pairs
Though this performance has been out there on tablets from different producers for years, Android 15 lastly enables you to natively save app pairs in your Pixel telephone’s residence display for straightforward entry. App pairs are two apps set in split-screen (on a telephone in portrait, which means one on prime and one on the underside).
Android has allow you to use a number of apps in split-screen concurrently for some time, however the capability to avoid wasting these pairings (like YouTube and Chrome, for instance) to your private home display, is new to Android 15.
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HOW? Make a split-screen app pairing as you often would, by swiping up and holding (when you use gesture navigation) / tapping the sq. multitasking key on the backside of the display (when you use button navigation) while within the app that you just wish to seem on the prime of the app pair. Then, whereas within the multitasking view, faucet the app icon above the app you at the moment have open and choose Cut up display from the menu that seems. Subsequent, choose the opposite app you wish to full the app pair (it will occupy the decrease half of the display).
When you’ve arrange two apps in split-screen, swap to the multitasking view once more and faucet on the two app icons facet by side close to the highest of the display, then faucet the brand new Save app pair possibility that seems on the menu which pops up. Your newly created app pair will then seem on your private home display, similar to every other app icon.
Observe: If you happen to change the place the cut up line is between the 2 apps (by default every app occupies 50% of the display) after which save the app pair, it can retain the situation of the cut up.
Entry notification historical past
Whether or not you view notifications as a vital evil or simply really feel such as you miss too a lot of them every day, you now have the choice to entry a timeline of the final 24 hours of notifications to hit your telephone. This provides you extra time to circle again round to missed notifications, even when you snoozed or dismissed them within the second.
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HOW? Open the Settings app, faucet on Notifications, and switch the Use notification historical past toggle on. You received’t initially see any notifications within the Notifications historical past because it solely begins logging your machine’s notifications as soon as the function has been enabled.
Observe: As soon as enabled, you possibly can entry notification historical past by both tapping the Historical past button on the backside of the notifications shade or heading again within the Notifications sub-menu throughout the Settings app.
Add MagSafe
Whereas Apple might have cornered the market with its ecosystem of magnetically interchangeable equipment – from energy banks to wallets, automotive mounts and selfie sticks – though the Pixel 9 sequence lacks any built-in magnets of its personal, third-party case makers do provide MagSafe-compatible instances for Google’s hottest smartphones (amongst others).
Naturally, this makes your Pixel 9 a much more versatile machine than it might in any other case be, by way of accent compatibility.
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HOW? Discover a good MagSafe-compatible case. Our cash’s on Mous’ Tremendous Skinny MagSafe Appropriate case sequence (pictured above on the Pixel 9 Professional XL in Scorching Coral) however there are a wealth of choices from respected accent makers, like Case-Mate, Dbrand, Ghostek, Quad Lock, Spigen and UAG to think about too.
Observe: Take a look at our add MagSafe and Qi2 to Android telephones function for extra.
Snappier visuals
If you happen to’re prepared to tinker round behind the scenes there are a wealth of further tweaks that allow you to customise the person expertise in your Pixel even additional. Dive into developer choices and also you’ll discover choices to double the velocity of system animations like opening and shutting apps, which makes the Pixel really feel much more premium and highly effective.
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HOW? It’s worthwhile to allow Developer choices first by opening the Settings app, scrolling down and opening the About telephone part close to the underside. Scroll right down to the underside once more to search out the Construct quantity and faucet it seven times, then enter your PIN or passcode.
As soon as enabled, navigate again out of the About Cellphone part and enter the System part of the Settings app, then scroll right down to the newly unlocked Developer choices menu.
Scroll right down to the Drawing part of the Developer choices menu and set the Animation scale to 0.5x throughout the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator length scale possibility. Now you Pixel ought to really feel twice as snappy as earlier than.
Observe: Be sure to perceive the impact of adjusting settings inside Developer choices earlier than altering them. Disabling Developer choices after making any modifications will restore issues to their default state and require a tool restart (to not be confused with a reset – you received’t lose any information when restarting your Pixel).