Telecharger.com has selected for you the best free applications to take advantage of certain functions of Android O without updating.
A few weeks before the launch of Android O, the list of terminals that will be able to benefit from this new update is still limited. The manufacturers are slowly announcing the models that will be able to take advantage of this update and for the time being, Android O developer previews are only compatible with the Nexus 5X, 6P and Player, and the Pixels , Pixel C and Pixel XL. In order not to stay on the sidelines, know that it is quite possible to take advantage of certain features of the new mobile OS from Google on your device before the hour. Telecharger.com has selected free applications for you to obtain functions that are identical or close to what Google should offer in Android O.
Enjoy the Pixel Launcher interface of Android O
By unveiling Android O, the Mountain View firm took the opportunity to offer a facelift to Pixel Launcher, its application launcher. Now, a long press on an app icon lets you display a tooltip where you can create a widget, access app information, and even view app-specific notifications. The appearance of application icons is also modified with the arrival of adaptive icons that offer developers the possibility of integrating several icon formats, including rounds, for their applications. The user can according to his tastes, choose to display classic square icons or circular pixel icons, directly from the launcher settings.
The community of hackers was quick to look into the issue to try to benefit as many people as possible today. Among the work undertaken, two projects have emerged and are, at present, still under development: Launcher3 and Lawnchair (which is a fork of the first).
Fully functional and requiring no root, they allow, after installing a simple APK file, to take advantage of the new features integrated into Android O’s Pixel Launcher on any Android 5 and above device. Note however that the Notifications Dots function which allows you to quickly consult the notifications received by an application from the tooltip accessible by a long press on the icon of the app is only functional on Lawnchair.
Finally, if Action Launcher does not allow you to enjoy the Pixel Launcher experience, the launcher still offers you the possibility of taking advantage of Notifications Dots in beta 2 of version 26.
Download Launcher3 for Android (APK) (Free)
Download Lawnchair for Android (APK) (Free)
Download Action Launcher for Android (APK) (Free)
Improve the notification system
Under Android O, the management of notifications should be simplified with the inauguration of the notification channels. In the update of its mobile OS, Google proposes to create categories of notifications in which can be grouped notifications meeting specific criteria. For example, you can centralize all alerts on a particular subject from several different sources. You can group together all notifications related to social networks and instant messengers, news, emails, etc. The choice in the notification settings is much more refined and offers multiple possibilities. For the rest, Android O integrates Notifications Dots as we mentioned above, but also allows certain notifications to be temporarily silenced, or even to use a snooze so that they are reminded to you later.
Unless you can take advantage of notification channels as precise as in Android O, you can always group together all those that interest you thanks to the Notification Manager NotifyBox. The app keeps a complete history of notifications sent by authorized apps and even offers you a quick overview by pulling down the notifications bar.
In another style, Notification Hub centralizes all notifications received on the device in one place, in what looks like a unified inbox. The app keeps the history of all notifications received according to the apps allowed in the settings. Classified according to their priority or arrival time, the most important notifications can be reminded to you later thanks to a snooze function.
Offering similar functions, Notibox goes even further by letting you choose the length of time you keep your alert history.
Download Notification Manager NotifyBox for Android (Free)
Download Notification Hub for Android (Free)
Download Notibox for Android (Free)
Personalize the lock screen
The new version of Android promises users the ability to customize the lock screen by adding shortcuts. While it is now possible to quickly launch the camera or activate Google Assistant on your device, in the near future you will be able to add the apps you use the most to it.
For now, you can still turn to ZUI Locker, an ultra-customizable lock screen capable of displaying your notifications and adding shortcuts to your favorite apps. From the locked screen, these shortcuts can be accessed by swiping your finger up to display the app control panel. Within the latter, you will also find buttons to control certain parameters of your device (Wi-Fi, airplane mode, brightness adjustment, etc.).
To go further Next Lock Screen, a lock screen offered by Microsoft, offers to lock your screen with a code, but also to display the notifications received. Your favorite apps can also be pinned there to open them faster. You can also view the weather forecast, view upcoming calendar appointments, or control the music played by your media player.
Download ZUI Locker for Android (Free)
Download Next Lock Screen for Android (Free)
Improve copy and paste
Android O’s copy-paste also gets a boost. In the next version of Google’s mobile OS, text selection becomes smart and gives you several options for action. Thanks to the integration of Deep Learning, Android O is able to recognize the selected text and, depending on the format, to offer you a specific action: an address can be opened in Google Maps, an email will launch the drafting of a new one. message on Gmail and a phone number can open the dialer to make a call immediately.
For now, you can count on Clipboad Actions to multiply the copy-paste capabilities of your version of Android. The application is presented as an intelligent clipboard manager in which actions are integrated. Highlight some text and copy it to see Clipboard Actions give you multiple action choices. The utility is able to create an appointment in your calendar, launch a query in Google, search for an address in Google Maps, start a translation and even pronounce the copied content.
In addition, you can focus on the Open Source Clip Stack project. This clipboard manager keeps the history of all copied content, even after restarting the device. By having a complete backup of all copied content available, Clip Stack allows you to consult and reuse important content at any time.
Finally, Easy Copy offers an all-in-one solution since, in addition to keeping a history of your clipboard, the application displays each time you copy content, a dedicated menu in which you will find the possible actions. You can then translate on the fly, search for an address, make a call, etc. The copied contents are saved and can be added to your favorites when you need to reuse them frequently, for example.
Download Clipboard Actions for Android (Free)
Download Clip Stack for Android (Free)
Download Easy Copy for Android (Free)