10 Cool Android Gestures You Should Be Using
Sep. 20, 20161. Quickly Select 3-Dot Button Menu Without Tapping
Most Android apps including Chrome, Google Drive, Gmail, and more offer a 3-dot menu at the top right which hides extra actions and additional options. One way to access those options is to tap on the 3-dot menu and then tap on the action that you want to select. However, did you know thatyou can just tap and slide your finger to select the option that you want to?Yes, that’s right. You can just press on the button and then slide your finger to select the option that you want to. This is a quick gesture which you might not seem such a big deal but can save you precious seconds every time you interact with the menu.
Chances are, you use Chrome a lot on your Android smartphone and if you indeed do, you might have had problems switching between tabs, especially if you have a large smartphone aka phablet. Well, Chrome for Android packs in a couple of cool gestures to help you switch tabs with ease:
With the Android 10 update, Google has brought gestures not only to the system UI but also to many of its apps. For example, the account switcher on manyGoogle appsno longer sits under the hamburger menu. Instead, you will find it next to the search bar on the top-right corner. And if you want to switch accounts, you can tap on it manually and choose another Google account, but that would be living in the past. You can use this cool new gesture on your Android device to quickly switch your account. Justswipe up or down on your profile iconand you will seamlessly move to the new account. The animations are also very smooth and it gives a satisfying experience. So from now onwards, keep swiping instead of tapping to complete your tasks.
Since buttons are no longer the default navigation system on Android, it has become harder to accessGoogle Assistant. Earlier, you could just tap and hold the home button and the always-obliging Assistant would pop up. But with the gesture navigation system in place, whatshortcutdo you have? Well, after the Android 10 update,you can swipe diagonally from the bottom cornersto trigger Google Assistant. I know it’s not super convenient, but it works and I have used it quite a few times without fail. So next time, when you want to summon Google Assistant, you know what to do.
Yes, iPhones have had one finger zoom for quite some time, but so does Android now. You are on a webpage and want to zoom in? No need to labor two fingers and pinch in.Just double-tap and slide down.You will zoom in and now slide up to zoom out. How awesome is that? And the best part is that it’s not just limited to webpages. You can perform the same gesture on photos and also onGoogle Maps. Basically, you can use this Android gesture on everything that supports the zoom operation. So go ahead and zoom in/out while using your Android device one-handed.
Does it happen that you install tons of apps and your home screen gets cluttered? Well, Android has brought this super useful gesture where you can remove icons from the home screen quickly and in a fun way. Justpress and hold the icon and toss it above as if you are throwing something. Instantly, the icon will be removed from the home screen. How cool is that? The gesture is part of the Stock Android launcher, but many other launchers have implemented it including theOnePlus Launcher. So go ahead and test out this new Android gesture.
Google Keyboard is a prettyfeature rich keyboard appand along with its unique features, the keyboard includes some very cool gestures that you can use to speed up your typing:
Moving the cursor to edit text can be really annoying and most of the times, we tend to miss the exact point. Well, if you are using the Google Keyboard, you can justswipe left and right on the Space barto move the cursor around.
Press-holding the delete key is the usual way to delete text but it’s not the most accurate or streamlined solution when it comes to deleting a few words. Well, Google Keyboard lets youdrag the delete keyto the left to delete complete words.For instance, dragging the delete key to “M” will delete one word, dragging it on “N” will delete two words and so on. When you drag the key, the words that are going to be deleted are highlighted, to give you a better idea.
Capitalizing single letters can be a hectic task if you are writing a long text, as we tend to hit the caps-lock key and then type the letter and then, hit the caps-lock key again to turn it off. Thankfully, Google Keyboard has a cool gesture that fixes this problem. All you need to do isswipe from the caps-lock button to the letter you want to capitalizeand it’ll be done.
If you are typing text that features a lot of numbers and symbols, you will have a tough time, considering you will have to press the symbols button now and again to add numbers or symbols. Not the best user experience, right? Well, Google Keyboard has a solution for this as well. You can justpress hold the symbols key and drag it to a letter that corresponds to a number or symbolin the number & symbols page.
Now thatAndroid Pofficially supports navigation gestures, many smartphone manufacturers have come up with their own custom gesture solution. However, if your phone manufacturer still not supports gesture-based navigation, you can install the app “Fluid Navigation Gestures” which brings the same gestures as the one introduced by Xiaomi in MIUI 10. I find theMIUI 10 gesturesto be one of the best implementation of gestures on Android. Do note that you will need to use ADB to grant necessary permission for it to work. If you have never used ADB before, you canlearn more about it by clicking here. If you want the gesture navigation on your device, this is the best app to do that.
Install:Freewith in-app purchases
So are you ready to try these cool Android gestures. I for one am happy that Android has moved away from buttons and embraced gestures. I like the fluidity and intuitiveness of gestures. Do try these gestures out and let us know how you feel about them. Also, let us know your thoughts on gestures vs buttons debate. The comment section is all yours.
Rupesh is a section editor here and one of the hosts at our YouTube channel. A long time mobile lover and technology aficionado, he loves to indulge in all things technology! In his free time (which is non-existent), he loves watching Westworld, Silicon Valley, and Game of Thrones, obviously.
