We have seen many major changes in Android over the last decade. However, for the first time in a long time, Android 12 feels like an entirely new smartphone experience.
This is because Android 12 is the first version of Android in years to introduce drastic changes to the appearance of the software. The new Material You design standard represents a gigantic evolution of the look of Android and what a device running the operating system uses.
Overall, this development is good. But with all the progression there are certain quirks that don't always match your daily desires.
For a lot of people, one of those things is Android 12's tweaked approach to quick settings: you know, that quick access tile panel you can get to by swiping down from the top of the screen, the home screen. your device. This was certainly the case for one of my Android Intelligence Platinum members, who recently contacted me at my Platinum support desk desperately asking for a creative solution to help them customize their phone's quick settings and undo the "improvements" introduced by Android. 12 .
Well here's the good news, and the same thing I told you: like most things on Android, the power to decide how you want your device to perform ultimately resides in your hands. (New concept, right?) And if Android 12 Quick Settings isn't right for you, let me tell you:
Let me explain.
The conundrum of Android 12's quick settings
As you probably know, being the smart and exceptionally good-looking lizard that it is, Android's Quick Settings area actually comes in two different guises. There's the full Quick Settings panel, which you'll find by swiping down twice from the top of the screen (or swiping down once with two fingers side by side). And then there's the partial view of the quick settings, shown above your notifications when you swipe down just once from the top of your strangely bold screen.
In previous versions of Android, this partial view allowed you to see and interact with six beautiful shortcuts, regardless of the Quick Settings tiles that were in the first six positions in this area:
JR In Android 12, however, the tiles increased. And therefore, you can only see four shortcuts in the same space.
JR Is pure? Well, certainly. But from a purely functional point of view, it's hard to deny that having quick access to just four items instead of six in the same space is a bit of a regression.
Now you can adapt very well to change and not be bothered by it after a while. But if you really don't feel like the larger, less dense Quick Settings setting that Android 12 featured, there is a very effective way to remove it.
The hack revolves around an incredibly useful app called Shadow of power. It's a well-designed tool that allows you to replace the entire default quick settings area of your device with your own highly customized alternative, much like a custom Android launcher, just for quick settings instead of your on screen. welcome.
And indeed, going back to the pre-Android-12 version, the smaller quick setup style couldn't be much easier. If you launch Power Shade and leave it with your settings out of the box, it'll give you a shiny new Quick Settings panel that looks a lot like old-fashioned Google, almost exactly what you're used to from Android 11 and earlier:
JR Supernatural, right? And this is where things get especially nifty: if you want, from there you can adjust and tweak just about any pixel imaginable in the Power Shade interface to make it look and work the way you want.
I mean, this app has options for everything:
JR Damn, you can even expand the panel beyond those six standard first swipe shortcuts and show even more tiles in that initial single swipe view!
JR Not too ugly, I say. So yeah: Aside from the frustrations Android 12 brings, it could bring some small improvements in both visual appeal and efficiency, in ways you wouldn't even expect.
Speaking of customization, a useful trick that I highly suggest is to take advantage of the additional Power Shade Quick Settings gesture. This makes it easier to access your phone's Quick Settings panel without having to do that yoga routine with your smartphone's ever-embarrassing hand, and helps solve the occasional default Android Quick Settings panel issue behind it. replacement. sometimes with this arrangement).
All you need to do to activate this feature is:
Once that's done, you can simply slide your thumb down along the side edge of the screen, to whatever exact location you've chosen within that same settings area, to activate your new Quick Settings panel. Without having to go all the way to the top. from your screen.
Capisque? Capisque. Now before we stop and go back to our respective snack mix consuming processes, let me mention a few important asterisks:
- First, most of the Power Shade basics will work for free. There is an optional premium update if you want to unlock all the advanced options in the app, but that's not necessary at all for the basic stuff we're talking about today.
- Second, keep in mind that if you go for a third-party setting like this, you'll have to ditch the fancy-looking Android 12 Material You theme in your Quick Settings area, the way this part of the interface automatically adjusts your color to match your wallpaper sometime. An app like Power Shade could potentially integrate with this system and act as the default system-level setting, but that won't happen at the moment.
- And finally, by its nature, an app like this requires a fair amount of permissions to function - nothing to worry about, but a level of access that you may or may not feel comfortable granting. When you first set up Power Shade, you will be prompted to allow it to access as an Android accessibility service and to give you the ability to read your notifications. The app couldn't do what it does without both being available, and its privacy policy makes it perfectly clear that it's never collected, stored, or anything like that. Power Shade has also been around for a long time and has overwhelmingly positive ratings on the Play Store. Still, it deserves a mention that these permissions are there and it's up to you to evaluate them.
And with that, my goodness: your Android phone's Quick Settings is now exactly how you like it; recent design changes are hell. Of course, it's nice to be in control of your own mobile technology experience, isn't it?
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