Android Magazine Issue 54 - 2015 UK.pdf

Feature
» 101 hacks to upgrade your Android
71 Customise your
device’s softkeys
Become a power user
18
Choose your new graphics
If you’re not a fan of stock softkeys, you can
replace them with a range of different graphics.
Download ZipThemer, and then ensure you
have a custom ROM handy.
Upload your softkey graphics
Choose some new softkey graphics you like
from http://goo.gl/rri06v and then download
them to your device. Launch ZipThemer and
then tap on ‘+Theme.’
BuildyourROM
Navigate to the new graphics you just
downloaded and tap to
select. Tap on Build
It.
After a few moments, you’llhaveaflashable
ROM that contains your custom softkeys.
72
Pop-up
73
Powerful
74
PinTasking
75
Disa
videos
There’s no need to
pause your movie just
because you need to
replytoanemail.Watch
videos in a separate
floating window, with the
Awesome Pop-up Video
Xposed module.
Optimise a device’s battery life
76
GO Battery
Saver
Thisappprovidesmodes
that you can switch
betweentoextendyour
battery life in different
ways. You can also
create custom modes
and significantly extend
your remaining charge,
by tapping the main
Optimize button.
77
Auto-hibernate apps
Prevent apps from misbehaving in the
background; Greenify lets you hibernate apps
across your device, using a Hibernate Now home
screen shortcut. It also has an App Analyzer
feature that flags up potential misbehaving apps.
78 Preventbatterydrain
Wakelocks drain your battery by
preventing your device from going into a deep
sleep. The Amplify Xposed module enables you to
limit how often your device can wake up, and how
long it stays awake for.
79 Instantdeepsleepmode
Sendyourdeviceintodeepsleepmodeas
soonasyou turn the screen off. The Deep Sleep
Battery Saver app has with five pre-defined profiles
that should cover most of your battery-saving needs.
80
clipboard
Copy multiple pieces
of text at once, using
the Native Clip Board
Xposed module. When
it’s time to paste, open
Native Clip Board and
choose from all your
currently-copied text.
Control your network
The Smart Network Xposed module saves
batteryby changing your device’s network state
when your screen is off, including disabling Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth, and switching your network mode to 2G.
This app enables
youtopintasks,
documents and apps
so that you can access
them quickly from
any screen. To enable
PinTasking, launch it,
select Swipe Pad and
thentapInUse.
81
Consider underclocking
CPU Tuner lets you tweak your device’s
power consumption, including saving power by
lowering your device’s clock speed. When used
incorrectly, this app can cause some problems,
so make sure you know what you’re doing!
82
Adjust brightness
Use BrightTime to automatically adjust
your screen’s brightness based on the time of
day. This saves battery by ensuring your screen
is never brighter than it needs to be. Grab
BrightTime from http://goo.gl/iA0F1y.
83
Preserve battery
Battery Doctor provides stats about how
long your battery will last if you perform different
tasks, identifies battery-hogging apps, and lets
you create profiles.
84
See remaining battery
Do you feel the stock battery icon doesn’t
give a clear indication of how much battery you
have left? Add a percentage to your battery icon,
by installing the Battery Percent Enabler app.
85
Get a shutdown
countdown
Manage all
your online and SMS
conversations from one
location. Install Disa,
open its Settings and
start adding services
by tapping Add Service
and choosing from the
supported apps.
Your device is down to 1%, but how much time
do you have before it actually shuts down? The
Battery Shutdown Manager Xposed module
displays a countdown to your device completely
running out of battery.
86
Analyse your
battery use
Is your battery disappearing faster than
you’d like? BetterBatteryStats zeros in on
misbehaving apps and analyses how your
device uses battery.