Google Pixel 6 tips and tricks: 13 Android 12 features to try

(Pocket-lint) - Google's latest phones travel with caller software, and this twelvemonth determination are rather a fewer changes. Android 12 brings lots of caller features nether hood, and that means tons of chill caller worldly to discover. 

While there's tons of large changes successful determination to get accustomed to, determination are besides immoderate lesser known abilities and features we've recovered truly utile connected the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. 

Watch our video beneath for a ocular usher connected those features, oregon work connected beneath if you'd similar a written guide. 

1. Make the fingerprint sensor much reliable 

The fingerprint sensor connected the Pixel 6 isn't amazing, truthful if you privation to marque it a spot much reliable, there's a useful instrumentality from backmost successful the days erstwhile iPhone's TouchID sensors weren't excessively blistery either: simply registry the aforesaid digit oregon thumb aggregate times. 

Once you've acceptable up your archetypal fingerprint scan spell to Settings > Security > Fingerprint unlock. Now benignant successful your PIN to get to the settings. Tap 'Add fingerprint' and scan that aforesaid digit oregon thumb again. In our investigating we recovered this made the scanner a batch little apt to fail. 

2. Back pat to instrumentality a screenshot

For years, the default mode to instrumentality a screenshot connected Android has been to property 2 buttons together. It tin beryllium a tad fiddly, depending connected the presumption and layout of the buttons. But you tin alteration a motion to instrumentality a screenshot conscionable by tapping the backmost of your phone. 

Open Settings > System and present prime 'Gestures'. Right astatine the apical you'll spot 'Quick Tap'. Select this enactment and toggle connected the diagnostic connected the adjacent screen. By default its enactment is acceptable to screenshot, truthful present erstwhile you pat doubly connected the backmost of the telephone it'll drawback a screenshot. 

If you'd alternatively person a antithetic relation you tin do, whether it beryllium pausing oregon playing music, launching Google Assistant oregon showing notifications. 

If you find it's excessively casual to activate the double-tap feature, you tin toggle connected the enactment astatine the bottommost of the surface that requires stronger taps successful bid for it to motorboat your chosen feature. 

3. One handed mode

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro person large screens, and truthful you mightiness find immoderate worldly hard to reach. That's wherefore Android 12 present has a one-handed mode that brings worldly down from the apical of the screen. 

Head to Settings > System > Gestures and take 'One-handed mode'. Now toggle it on. Once active, erstwhile you swipe down astatine the bottommost of the screen, it'll bring the idiosyncratic interface little down, allowing you to get to the worldly astatine the apical with your thumb. 

4. Turn disconnected 'At a Glance' 

By default, the Pixel's location surface features thing called 'At a Glance' astatine the top. Most of the clip it shows upwind conditions, but it besides automatically shows important calendar events and question plans coming up from your Gmail account. 

If you privation to power it off, conscionable agelong property the 'At a glance' widget and pat 'Customise'. Now pat 'At a glance' successful the list, and past 'Turn off'. You tin besides alteration oregon disable circumstantial features from showing up successful there. 

5. Allow Home Screen rotation 

If you similar to usage your telephone successful scenery orientation, the Pixel having its location surface rotation diagnostic turned disconnected by default whitethorn beryllium somewhat frustrating, but thankfully you tin alteration it. 

Long property connected your location surface wallpaper and pat 'Home settings'. Now toggle connected the power astatine the bottommost adjacent to 'Allow location surface rotation'. And present whenever you rotate your location surface to landscape, the UI volition crook with you. Just marque definite you alteration the 'Auto-rotate' diagnostic successful your speedy settings shadiness too, to marque definite you don't person to property the small rotating icon connected the surface each time. 

6. Reverse wireless charging

Pixel's reverse wireless charging is called Battery Share, and it'll let you to complaint compatible devices wirelessly connected the backmost of your phone. Just driblet down the speedy settings shadiness and pat the Battery Share option. Turn your telephone implicit and spot your wireless charging compatible merchandise connected the backmost of it. 

Also, if you agelong property the Battery Share icon you'll get to the main Battery Share settings. Here you'll find a slider that allows you to acceptable a bounds for erstwhile to halt charging. Just successful lawsuit charging your favourite buds oregon smartwatch drains your telephone battery. Adjust this slider until that bounds is astatine a comfy level. The default is conscionable 10 per cent. 

7. Quickly get to Google Pay from the Lock Screen

Once you've acceptable up Google Pay for contactless payments, you tin entree it straight from the fastener screen. When your telephone is locked you'll spot a small paper icon astatine the bottommost of the screen, successful the close corner. Tapping it rapidly launches GPay truthful you tin usage it to wage for goods. 

If it's not there, guarantee Google Pay is acceptable up for your chosen card, and present spell to Settings > Display > Lock Screen and marque definite you person the 'Show Wallet' toggle enabled. 

8. Multilingual keyboard

If you talk much than 1 connection and regularly pass successful them, you'll astir apt find it utile to person a bilingual oregon multilingual keyboard. Rather than having to perpetually power betwixt languages. 

Go to Settings > System > Languages > On-screen keyboard and present pat 'Gboard'. Now pat languages and 'add keyboard' and take from 1 of the languages successful the list.

When you commencement to benignant present the installed keyboard volition automatically observe erstwhile you're penning successful 1 oregon the different and tin close and foretell spellings for some without ever having to power manually. 

9. Quickly power disconnected your mic oregon camera access

This one's a truly speedy one, but it's a caller feature. Drop down the settings shadiness and find the camera and mic toggles. Tap connected 1 and it'll instantly artifact your camera and mic truthful nary app connected your telephone tin entree them. 

10. Now Playing history

One of Pixel's astir utile features successful caller years is displaying the sanction and creator of immoderate opus presently playing wherever you are. To activate it caput to Settings > Display > Lock Screen and 'Now Playing' and toggle connected the power if it's not already. 

To presumption the songs that person been tagged recently, scroll down to 'Now Playing History' and you'll spot a database of songs, positive the clip they were tagged. What's more, if you privation to adhd a shortcut to this list, you can. In fact, erstwhile you're successful the database a pop-up appears asking if you privation to. Just pat 'yes'. 

If it's not there, spell to your location screen, agelong property the wallpaper and pat 'widgets' successful the popular up menu. Now take 'Android System Intelligence' and pat and clasp the 'now playing history' shortcut and resistance it to a abstraction connected your location screen. 

11. Turn disconnected your Google Discover page 

To the near of the location surface you'll astir ever find the Google provender page, showing you quality and videos it thinks are applicable to you, but you tin power it off. Just agelong property connected your wallpaper and take 'Home setting'. Now toggle disconnected the 'Swipe to entree the Google app' option. 

12. Show a RAW representation power successful Camera 

If you privation a manual power to take betwixt RAW and JPE, you tin person one. Open your camera, pat the settings cog successful the country and present prime 'more settings'. Now take 'Advanced' and toggle connected the enactment that says 'RAW+JPEG' control.

When you unfastened the camera settings paper that loads implicit the viewfinder/monitor view, you'll present spot an enactment that lets you toggle betwixt RAW+JPEG oregon conscionable shooting JPEG.                        

13. Android 12 easter egg

It's not a caller mentation of Android without an Easter egg, and the way to find it is the aforesaid arsenic always. Open Settings > About Phone and pat 'Android Version'. On the adjacent surface pat 'Android version' aggregate times until it loads an representation of a timepiece widget. 

Now, crook the infinitesimal manus connected the timepiece until the clip gets to 12'o'clock. It'll present load up a spotty Android 12 Easter Egg successful the colours of your phone's theme. 

There is 1 further constituent to the Easter ovum too: Long property your location surface and pat 'Widgets'. Now take 'Android S widget' and resistance and driblet the Paint spot shortcut to your location screen. If you privation to you tin resize the widget to amusement aggregate colour cards. Tap connected it, and they'll load afloat screen, and you tin pat immoderate idiosyncratic paper to stock that colour. It's beauteous pointless, but it's an Easter Egg, it doesn't request to person a point. 

Writing by Cam Bunton. Originally published connected 9 November 2021.