Best Hacks of Lollipop 5.0

Android Lollipop tips and tricks: 9 ways to make it awesome

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Check out these Android 5.0 Lollipop tips and tricks. / 

1. Enable Developer Options

Lollipop's Developer Options enable you to tweak the system for improved performance and access various diagnostics, but they're hidden by default. To enable them, go intoSettings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times. This will unlock Settings> Developer Options, where you can fiddle with settings to make your phone even more personal.

2. Streamline your lock screen security

Android 5.0 Lollipop comes with a variety of lock screen security options, from the classic pattern, PIN or password, to the more funky Lollipop options like Trusted Faces, Trusted Devices or Trusted Places. Whatever lock screen method you choose, setting it up should be one of the first things you do with any phone.

If you choose the Trusted Faces option, you don't even have to bother with the hassle of entering a PIN, you can unlock your screen just by showing it your face. Marvellous. 

Smart Lock lets you set Trusted Devices, which can be Bluetooth or NFC equipped.

Smart Lock also gives you a Trusted Face option. And it works. / © ANDROIDPIT

3. Put Chrome tabs back in Chrome

This isn't a huge problem — and maybe you like having your Chrome for Android tabs spread across your recent apps stack rather than in the browser — but for me, it's an irritating default setting.

Fortunately, all you need to do to get your Chrome tabs back to their rightful place is to go to Chrome settings and disable Merge tabs and apps. Your Chrome tabs will now be accessible via the traditional button on the URL bar in the Chrome browser.

On the left, you can see various Chrome tabs mixed between other apps. 

• Everything you need to know about Android 5.0 Lollipop

4. Play the hidden game

Go to Settings > About Phone and tap Android Version four times. You should see a lollipop; tap and hold it and you can play the Flappy Bird-esque Easter egg game featuring the Android mascot. 

5. Block non-essential notifications

Priority interruptions are a key part of Android 5.0 Lollipop. The function allows you to determine who your most important contacts are, and silence notifications from everyone but them. Once you get your priorities in order you can enjoy peace and quiet unless your mom's dog runs away or your girlfriend is texting you.

Decide what your priorities are and when you want to be interrupted by them. © ANDROIDPIT

6. Control your phone with voice power

Want to launch a program? Just drag up theHome button until it displays the Google logo then say, "OK Google, launch Photos" — or whatever app you want to launch. Easy!

7. Ditch that dead Email app

For some odd reason, Google decided to keep the now useless Email app in Android Lollipop. When you launch it for the first time, you'll get a splash screen that tells you Gmail is now handling Email services, and you can check the box to launch Gmail instead.

But why do that and have a hollow app sitting in your app drawer? Go to Settings > Apps > Alltab, find Email and disable that useless waste of space. Your emails will still be handled by Gmail but you won't have the dead app icon cluttering up your precious app drawer. 

Great! An app that does nothing. So get rid of Email on Lollipop.

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8. Stop people accessing your stuff

You hand your phone to a pal to show them something funny on Twitter, and before you know it they're looking at your stuff and posting on your Facebook profile. You can stop that by using pinned mode. Go to Settings> Security and turn on Screen Pinning.

Now, when you tap the multi-tasking button you'll see a pin; tap that to pin the screen and nobody can get out of that screen until they tap and hold the back button and multi-tasking button simultaneously. You can PIN-protect that if you wish, or get your phone to automatically lock itself when exiting the pinned screen.

9. Make your battery go further

As soon as you have Android 5.0 Lollipop on your phone, go to Settings > Battery and hit the action overflow button at the top right. HitBattery Saver and enable that bad boy. Pick your default battery life point (5 percent or 15 percent) and learn to live with the odd orange status and navigation bars to take advantage of the awesome battery saving potential of Battery Saver.

Head to Settings and Battery, where you'll find Battery Saver as an option. © ANDROIDPIT

You can choose the point at which Battery Saver kicks in.

What other Android 5.0 Lollipop tips and tricks do you know about? Tell us in the comments below.