Today, we tend to keep the same smartphone longer. And this is partly encouraged by some manufacturers, in the name of ecology. For example, if you buy a Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro from Google, you can use it until 2027, while enjoying security updates.
However, the older your smartphone gets, the more likely you are to see it slow down. But fortunately, there are some tricks on Android to improve the user experience.
First step, go to developer options
In addition to the settings accessible to the general public, Android has hidden features that are reserved for developers. However, unlocking these hidden features is quite easy. And some of these features might help you enjoy a smoother experience.
Here’s how to unlock Developer Options on Android:
- Go to settings
- Look for the “About Device” part and tap on it
- In the “About device” section
- Tap “Version”
- And press 7 times that “Version number”
- The system may ask you to enter your code, do it
And that’s it, you have activated developer mode, which allows you to access new options to modify the way your smartphone works. Knowing that manufacturers modify the interface of Android, the way to access developer mode may vary from one brand to another (I did it on a OnePlus smartphone).
The main thing is to find the “Version number”, then press it 7 times.
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Disable effects for more fluidity
Once you have enabled developer mode on your smartphone, all you have to do is access these (previously hidden) options. To access it, go back to Settings, then “System” or “System Settings”, depending on the brand, and press “Developer options”.
Among these developer options, there is one that allows you to eliminate smartphone animations. And according to our colleagues from 01net, this saves a few milliseconds which will give you an impression of fluidity on your device.
To try, scroll down until you find the plotted label. Under this heading, you will find the option “Transition animation scale”.
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The default is x1, but you can change this to “Animation Off”. Then you can reproduce the operation on the “Transition animation scale” and “Animator duration scale” options.
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Use your smartphone to see if the changes work for you. If you don’t like it, you can go back to the developer options to restore the default values (x1).
Otherwise, 01net specifies that modifying these parameters would not have much effect on Samsung devices, due to specificities of the software overlay of this manufacturer.
A radical solution: limit apps in the background!
You should think twice before using this trick, as it may prevent background apps from working. However, according to Zdnet, this can also have a positive impact on performance.
If you want to try, the modification is also done in the options for developers. In this settings tab, scroll down to “Background process limit”. Then press it.
The default is “Standard Limit”. But you can set your smartphone to accept only a specific number of background processes or even not accept any.
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As with animations, if you are not satisfied, you can revert to the default at any time.
Free up space
Before you open Developer Options, you can also start by freeing up some space. Indeed, your smartphone can slow down when the storage is almost full.
Start by uninstalling the apps you don’t use. And if you haven’t already, you can also delete photos or videos that have already been backed up to the cloud by Google Photos.
Here’s how to free up space with Google Photos:
- Open the Google Photos app
- Tap your profile picture, top right
- Tap “Free up space” and follow the instructions
