The new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL from Google are two amazing smartphones. If this is the first device you've purchased in a long time, there are a lot of new software features which you may not know how to use. To take the mystery out of the phone, we've put together a list of the 10 most important things every Pixel 4 owner should do with their phone to get the best experience possible from the device.
Feel free to leave us a comment if you have any other Pixel 4 recommendations that you'd like to share with us or our readers.
Set up Face Unlock
Google's new secure Face Unlock feature is the only form of biometric security on the Pixel 4 since they decided not to include a fingerprint sensor on the phone. During the phone's initial setup process, you'll be prompted to activate the feature and scan your face, but if you decided to skip over this feature initially, you can always turn it on later.
- Open Settings > Security Face Unlock
- Enter your patter, PIN or unlock code
- Tap Set up face unlock > Next > Start to begin the face scanning process
- Center your face on the screen and look around until all the sections are completed
Turn on Motion Sense
Google's new Motion Sense feature uses a radar sensor on the front of the phone to track your movement and perform specific tasks. The technology will sense when you're approaching the phone so that the screen will light up as you're reaching for it or you can change the song you're listening to simply by swiping your hand over the phone.
- Go to Settings > System > Motions Sense and switch the Motion Sense toggle on
- Select which Motion Sense features you want on or off
Force the display's 90 Hz refresh rate
The Pixel 4 comes with an adaptive refresh rate that kicks in from time to time when the display brightness is set close to its max or when you're scrolling in an application. While the variable refresh rate is great for conserving battery, you can force the 90 Hz refresh rate if you enable Developer options on the Pixel 4. First, go to Settings > About Phone and scroll to the very bottom. Tap Build Number seven times. When prompted, enter your lock pin, pattern or password and Developer options will then be enabled on the phone.
Navigate back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer options > Force 90 Hz refresh rate and switch the toggle on.
Switch back to 3-button navigation
With Android 10 on the Pixel 4, Google is trying to force people to use its new gesture navigation system. The new gestures work just fine, but if you don't have the patience to mess around with them for a few days until you get the hang of them, you can simply switch them off and revert back to the original 3-button navigation system we've all been accustomed to for years.
- Open Settings > System > Gestures > System navigation
- Tap 3-button navigation
Enable the Pixel's magical 'Now Playing' feature
Have you ever heard a song while in a store and wondered what the title or artist was? In the past, you'd often need to install an app like Shazaam to figure it out, but the Pixel 4 can do it automagically with its Now Playing feature. The phone will automatically pick up on music that's playing around you and store the name of the track and artist in a list for easy reference.
To turn the feature on, go to Settings > Sound > Now Playing and switch the Show songs on lock screen to the on position. From this screen, you'll also be able to access the Now Playing History which will have a timestamp of the songs that the phone identified. If you'd like, there's also an option to add a shortcut to the list form the Homescreen if it's something you'll be accessing on a regular basis.
Turn on Google Photos backups to save storage
One of the biggest disappointments of the pixel 4 is that the phone doesn't include unlimited original resolution storage of your photos and videos in Google Photos. That being said we still recommend turning on the backup feature in Google Photos since the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL models only come with 64GB or 128GB of storage space. Once you install all your apps and start taking pictures and recording videos, the storage on your phone will quickly vanish. The Google Photos backup feature will ensure that your memories are always backed up to the cloud while also automatically removing the photos and images from the phone if the device needs more space.
Save power by switching on Dark theme
It's no secret that Google's Pixel 4 phones aren't the best when it comes to battery life. Fortunately, Android 10 has finally delivered the official release of Dark theme which will switch all the UI elements to a dark gray or black which helps preserve a lot of battery power. Since this is a system setting, third-party applications which include an automatic dark theme mode will make the switch as well so that you won't be switching back and forth between apps with white and dark backgrounds.
You can enable the new feature by going to Settings > Display and tapping the Dark theme toggle.
Customize the phone with your own sense of style
Android has always been extremely customizable, but the Pixel 4 is the first device from Google to include a Style customizer which allows you to choose different fonts, icon shapes, highlight colors and more. When you long-press on an empty space on the home screen, tap Style & wallpapers and you'll see a new Style option at the bottom of the screen. Here you'll be able to select between several style presets or build a custom style of your own which will walk you through the various font, system icons, highlight colors and app icon shapes you want to apply. The selection isn't extensive, but we're hoping Google will be adding more in the future.
Stop saying "OK, Google" and squeeze your phone instead
One of our favorite features on the Pixel 4 is one that's been licensed from HTC. When the Active Edge feature is turned on, you can squeeze the phone to activate the Google Assistant instead of pulling it up form the search bar on the screen or saying the "OK, Google" phrase for everyone around you to hear. The Active Edge feature can be turned on in the Pixel 4's Settings under System > Gestures > Active Edge. Here you'll be able to adjust the squeeze sensitivity (you may need to tweak this if you switch cases or decide not to use a case at all), allow the feature to work when the screen is off or use Active Edge to silence calls or alarms.
Protect your Pixel 4 with a case
Despite the fact that the Pixel 4 is one of our favorite-looking smartphones of 2019, we do recommend picking up a case for it. The soft-touch glass on the back of the phone was created using the same process as we saw on last year's Pixel 3. This means it will crack if you drop it on the ground and it's susceptible so micro-scratches from sand and dust. The white and orange variants of the phone do a better job of hiding those scratches, but it's still best to be safe.
If you still want to show off the Pixel 4's color, clear cases like the ERS Metal Kickstand case are a great option. The best place to shop for Pixel 4 cases is on Amazon where you'll find over a hundred different case options for your phone.
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