One of the best features of iOS for iPhone is the Control Center, which allows you to quickly change the settings of your mobile phone with on / off switches . This convenient feature has always been present in Android phones and smartphones since ever. Without installing applications, for each model of Android smartphone or tablet you use, there are different types of ON / OFF buttons to quickly activate and deactivate the various functions such as Wifi, GPS, BluTooth and other things. If you want something more, there are also external applications to activate button bars or control widgets.
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1) Android has its ON / OFF control bar even if on some models it is hidden by the manufacturer.
If you are using an Android 7 or higher device you can quickly access the common Android settings by pulling the top bar down with your finger. On the screen, pull down starting from the upper right corner or by pulling down the notification bar at the top and then pressing the button at the top right that has the shape of a little man. In this menu you can activate or deactivate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, data connection and GPS with a touch. You can also press and hold on the Wifi or GPS to access the related settings, you can activate or deactivate the automatic rotation of the screen and change the brightness and audio profiles.
To customize the control menu and install it on other versions of Android, you can install one of these applications:
.1) Quick Settings is the app to add buttons and switches to the system notification area and customize it as you wish. With this application you can customize the control menu and choose custom buttons also to launch applications or to enter the Android configuration menus. You can activate or deactivate (ON / OFF) switches such as Airplane, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Data, GPS, Synchronize, Rotation, Torch, Ringtones, NFC, Task Killer, Screen always on. Currently, the app supports over fifty different quick settings options.
.2) Power Shade is a small but simple app to customize the notification bar with different colors and layout options. You can reply to messages directly from the notification itself and group all the notifications of a single app into a single package.
.3) Bottom Quick Settings allows you to access the switches on the Android notification bar by swiping from the bottom of the screen.
Bottom Quick Settings is perfect for one-handed use on large smartphones. In addition to the quick activation switches, the app also allows you to control all the notifications and customize the default Android quick settings panel using colors.
2) On Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy the main interface is called TouchWiz .
With a Samsung device, just pull down the notification area to see the bar with the icons at the top that serve to quickly activate or deactivate (ON / OFF) the most common settings that must remain within reach.
On other Android mobile models you can install an external app such as Notification Toggle which offers a control bar similar to the TouchWiz of Samsung devices and allows you to customize and control which switches to appear in the notification area. Buttons can be added to turn Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and everything else on or off, even the flashlight and music. Notification Toggle is free and requires Android 2.1 or higher.
3) Custom Quick Settings allows you to create customized links in the notification area, add quick buttons to access the main settings of the mobile phone or even the most used applications.
4) ON / OFF widget
Android supports widgets on the main screen and you can put a button on the screen with switches to turn on or off the main functions of the phone or tablet. Without installing other applications, then touch the screen, press and hold and then add a new widget by choosing what is called Energy Saving Control already integrated. This has 5 buttons to enable or disable Bluetooth, Wifi, sync, GPS and to change the brightness of the screen. The " Toggle " widget can be moved anywhere on the home screen. Unfortunately there is no way to change the buttons of this widget which is quite limited and missing some important switches like the hotspot and the Airplane mode. You can find better widgets with the main switches in the Google Play store and we will see some of the best ones below.
Among the best applications to install a widget or set of switches in order to quickly change Android settings and controls, whatever the brand of the mobile phone or tablet are:
.1)
Custom Switches is a new app dedicated to those who appreciate Android's material design, which allows you to color the buttons that act as the energy switches of the default widget as you want. In addition to the standard buttons, you can also add as many switches as you want.
.2) Quick Settings is the best free app to have a widget to use on the main screen of the Android phone, also because without any advertising. This application works very well with a good level of customization of buttons and colors.
Quick Settings is perfect for Android 7, Android 8 and 9 phones.
.3) Beautiful Widgets is a multifunctional application to improve the screen, add widgets with the clock, the weather and also the controls and switches of Android. The application is among the best ever even if it is paid.
.4) Power Widgets are separate applications, each with a different function. If you don't care about having an entire set of controls but just want a specific button then this is fine. There are buttons to put on the screen as a Widget to activate and deactivate: ringtone, bluetooth, wifi, gps, screen brightness .
.5) Elixir Widgets offers a nice set of switches all included with the possibility of adding different and customized ones.
.6) Assistive Touch for Android, the mobile button with fast access to switches and phone functions.
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