Table of contents:
- Table of Contents
- Activate Attentive Display to keep the screen on when you look at it
- Turn on the flashlight by shaking the mobile
- Accelerate system animations and make your Motorola mobile faster
- Capture the screen by turning your wrist
- Activate native Android gestures
- And Motorola's dark mode
- Use the fingerprint sensor to open notifications
- Install True Caller to block spam calls
- And IFTTT to create automated smart routines
- Activate the backup so you don't lose any data
- Install Fingerprint Gestures to add gestures to the fingerprint sensor
You have just received your brand new Motorola and you don't know how to take advantage of it. Although the company has a layer of customization quite similar to what Android Stock offers, some of Motorola's phones have exclusive options that allow us to take full advantage of the device without installing third-party applications. Do you want to get the most out of your mobile phone? Take a look at this list of things you can - and should - do if you have a Motorola phone.
Since we will make use of the Motorola layer's own options, the functions that we will see below are compatible with any device of the brand. Moto G7, G7 Plus, G7 Power, Moto G6, G6 Plus, Moto G8 Plus, G6 Play, Moto E5, E6, E6 Plus, Moto Z, Z2 etc.
Table of Contents
Activate Attentive screen to keep the screen on when you look at it
Turn on the flashlight by shaking the mobile
Accelerate the system animations and make your Motorola mobile faster
Capture the screen by rotating the wrist
Activate the native Android gestures
AND Motorola's dark mode
Use the sensor Fingerprint to open notifications
Install True Caller to block spam calls
and IFTTT to create automated smart routines
Activate backup so you don't lose any data
Install Fingerprint Gestures to add fingerprint sensor gestures
Activate Attentive Display to keep the screen on when you look at it
One of Motorola's most useful features. Accessible from the Moto application installed by default on all mobile phones of the brand, we will go to the Attentive Screen section and activate the homonymous option after accepting permits.
Once we have activated it, the proximity sensor along with the camera will remain attentive to keep the screen on when we look at it.
Turn on the flashlight by shaking the mobile
Within the Moto application we can find a multitude of functionalities for our Mo torola mobiles. Quick flashlight is one of the most useful. We will only have to access the Moto Actions section and activate the option with the same name.
To activate the intern once we have activated the option in question, simply shake the mobile from top to bottom. The flash light will automatically turn on even if the screen is on. To turn off the flashlight we will have to follow the opposite process.
Accelerate system animations and make your Motorola mobile faster
Do you notice your Motorola mobile slower than normal? Speeding up animations can be a good way to improve device performance. To do this, we will have to previously activate the development options, which are accessible through the Settings application; specifically in System / About phone.
Next we will click seven times in a row on the Compilation number section until the options are activated by default. To access these, just go back to System and click on Development Options. Finally we will go to the Design section, where we will find the following options:
- Window animation scale
- Animated scale transitions
- Animation duration scale
Ideally, set a figure that is 0.5x. If we want to deactivate the animations, we will select Animation deactivated.
Capture the screen by turning your wrist
Motorola's Moto app is a Swiss Army knife. Proof of this is this curious function that allows us to capture the phone screen by making a simple gesture of the wrist turning the phone on itself.
To activate the option in question we will have to go back to the Moto Actions section, and more specifically to Quick Capture. Taking a screenshot is as simple as turning the wrist with the device twice, as can be seen in the animation of the application.
Activate native Android gestures
We will not deny it: Android gestures are not intuitive. Less is nothing. If we want to activate the native gestures of the system we will have to go to the Moto application. Within the Moto Actions section we will go to Navigation with a button and activate the homonymous function.
After this, the native Android gestures will replace the touch buttons of the system. To interact with the device we will have to proceed as follows:
- Go to Home: click on the touch bar.
- Go back: slide on the touch bar to the left.
- Go to Recent applications: swipe up on the touch bar and hold your finger.
- Quick switch between applications: swipe on the touch bar to the right.
- Activate Google Assistant: hold your finger on the touch bar.
However, if we want to return to the traditional Android buttons, we will have to deactivate the option that we have just activated in Moto Actions.
And Motorola's dark mode
Until the arrival of Android 10 officially on Motorola phones, Android's dark mode is limited to a few applications and system menus. If we want to activate this mode we will only have to go to Screen within the Settings application. Next we will click on Advanced and finally on Device Themes and Dark.
Then the system will enable the native dark mode of Android 9 Pie, which is compatible with a few applications (Gmail, Instagram…) and menus (notification bar, quick settings…).
Use the fingerprint sensor to open notifications
If our Motorola mobile phone has a fingerprint sensor, we can make use of one of the most useful functions of Android. This function would allow us to lower the notification bar and the notifications themselves through gestures on the sensor without having to resort to the screen. How?
Within the System section in Settings we will go to Gestures and finally to the option to slide through the fingerprint sensor to open notifications. The gesture in question is accessible from the lock screen, from the Android Desktop and even from the applications themselves.
Install True Caller to block spam calls
Better safe than sorry, and what better way to do it than by installing an application to block spam calls. While it is true that the Motorola layer allows us to block phone numbers, using a dedicated application will not allow us to block any number or list of numbers that we have previously registered, it will also identify calls that the community has marked as spam.
There are many applications of this type, but the one that we recommend from tuexpertomovil.com is True Caller. In addition to having a call recording function, the application has a Community window with which we can report spam numbers so that they are automatically blocked through the identification and blocking options.
And IFTTT to create automated smart routines
The name of the application is not more revealing. In fact, the tool itself does not have any functionality. IFTTT is a library whose functionality depends entirely on external modules that we can install completely free of charge through the application itself. What can we do with these modules? Everything you can imagine.
Publish a photograph on Instagram and have it automatically published on Twitter, Facebook and any other social network that we indicate, activate the WiFi network when we are near our apartment, play a YouTube Premium or Spotify playlist when we get in the car, turn on the lights in the room when we enter the house, activate the heating when we are 5 minutes from our house and much more. The number of recipes available in the application can be counted in the thousands.
Activate the backup so you don't lose any data
Do not procrastinate. The Android backup not only allows us to synchronize application data, but also contacts, calls, SMS, device settings and even WiFi passwords. Best of all, this copy does not take up physical space on our Google Drive account, so we can synchronize as many devices as we want.
The utility of backups, beyond acting as a cushion in case of loss or theft of the device, is simple: we can configure a new device with the same applications, WiFi networks, accounts and passwords in a couple of minutes. Activating this option is as simple as going to System in Settings; specifically up to Backup.
Once we have activated the option in question, the phone will begin to synchronize all the system data with the Google servers.
Install Fingerprint Gestures to add gestures to the fingerprint sensor
We have previously talked about giving the fingerprint sensor the ability to interact with notifications. But what if we want to give it a bigger range of functions?
Fingerprint Gestures is the answer. It is an application that allows us to add any function to the fingerprint sensor of our Motorola mobile through personalized gestures. One touch, two touches, one quick touch…
Within the application we can configure the actions to be carried out (Back, Recent applications, Home…) or the applications or functions to activate (Flashlight, WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail…). Some options, yes, are limited to the Pro version and rooted mobiles. In order for it to work properly, however, we will need to grant it accessibility permissions. It is also recommended to configure the sensor delay so that gestures are accelerated.
