Android 101: how you can manage your homescreen

If you’ve had an Android telephone for any size of time, it’s straightforward to get used to residing with, nicely, chaos. If you’re something like me, you’re continually including new apps, deciding they’re okay however not nice, including one other, and so forth. Then, a number of months later, as you’re scrolling by way of your app drawer, you’re shocked to see a number of apps that you simply forgot about and maybe don’t even bear in mind what they’re used for.

In a really brief time, it could possibly turn into a large number. And when you’re actually an app fanatic, it could possibly begin taking on more room than you may spare.

There are primarily two steps to creating sense of all of these Android apps: discover a strategy to manage them (and there are a selection of how, relying on what you’re comfy with) and periodically take away the entire additional apps that you simply’ve gathered and now not use. Here are a number of ideas that can assist you do each. If you’re new to Android, this may occasionally make it easier to keep organized from day one; when you’re an skilled person, you may choose up a number of ideas.

As you undergo these solutions, needless to say not all Android interfaces are the identical. This how-to was created utilizing a Pixel 3 XL working Android 12 beta, so your interface could also be barely totally different, relying on the mannequin of your telephone and which Android model you’re working.

At essentially the most fundamental (and anybody who’s had an Android telephone for greater than per week or two can skip down a bit), you may simply use the app drawer, which is accessed both by swiping up from the underside of the telephone or (when you’ve saved the navigation buttons on the backside of the display screen) by urgent on the apps icon on the backside middle of your show. Place the apps you employ essentially the most on a number of of your homescreens by long-pressing and dragging them out of the app drawer.

The app drawer is (fortunately) organized in alphabetical order, along with your last-used apps on prime. Swipe as much as undergo the apps or sort the title of the app within the search bar on the prime.

However, when you begin accumulating apps, you could need to save a while by making a extra structured system.

Fill the favorites tray

You can shortly entry your most-used apps by placing them within the Favorites Tray, the underside row of apps that’s simply above the search area and is all the time accessible, irrespective of which homescreen you’ve swiped to.

The tray is already stuffed with apps? No downside.

• Long-press on an app you now not have to hold within the favorites tray. Move it to a different place on the homepage, or transfer it up till you see the Remove and Uninstall selections at prime of the display screen. Choose one and transfer the app there.
• Long-press on an app from the homescreen or from the app drawer, and transfer it into the tray.

Create folders in your homescreen

A great way to prepare your apps is to make use of folders. For instance, you may put all your music and podcast apps right into a folder referred to as “Listen,” or all of your social media apps right into a folder referred to as “Social.” It’s easy to create a folder.

• Put the primary two apps you need to embody in your homescreen.
• Long-press one and transfer it on prime of one other. This will create a brand new folder.
• Give the folder a reputation: faucet on the folder, faucet on the title just under the apps (if Android hasn’t equipped a reputation, it is going to in all probability say “Edit Name”), and kind in your new title.
• You can add extra apps to the folder by long-pressing on different apps and transferring them into the folder.
• Remove an app from a folder by reversing that course of: long-press on the app and transfer it from the folder to the homepage. If you solely had two apps within the folder, the folder will disappear.

Sometimes once I set up a brand new app, I’ll know instantly that it’s not for me, and I uninstall it then and there. More typically, sadly, I’ll check out an app, resolve that I’ll need to use it someday sooner or later, and I go away it there. Where it sits. For months. Or years.

Once you begin accumulating apps, it’s extremely straightforward to overlook concerning the ones that you simply now not want. But permitting outdated apps to stay in your telephone might not be as innocent because it appears. Not solely are they taking on helpful space for storing, however they might be unnecessarily gathering information (assuming you gave them the permission to). And in the event that they’re working within the background, they may very well be draining your battery.

As a outcome, it doesn’t harm to take a look at what apps you haven’t used lately and take away them out of your telephone. There are a number of methods to do that.

Use the app drawer

Yes, that is the apparent one, however it must be mentioned. Spend somewhat time cleansing out your app drawer: open it up, and see what’s in there. You could also be shocked by what you’ve forgotten and what you could now not want. Anything you don’t want, swipe as much as uninstall.

Visit the Play Store

It’s not so simple as going to your App Drawer or as environment friendly as Files by Google, however when you occur to be within the Play Store and need to eliminate a number of pointless apps so as to set up some new ones, there’s a means.

• Once within the Play Store, faucet in your private icon within the higher proper nook and select “Manage apps & devices.”
• If you need to see which apps must be up to date, search for “Updates available” and faucet on “See details.” You also can simply faucet on “Update all” if that’s what you need to do.
• Otherwise, faucet on the “Manage” tab on the prime of the display screen.
• You’ll see an inventory of your put in apps. You can click on on the itemizing to see what the most recent replace did, or if you wish to uninstall any, faucet the examine field on the fitting of every entry after which on the trash-can icon that has appeared on prime.
• If you need to see an inventory of your uninstalled apps, faucet on the “Installed” label on the prime of the display screen and choose “Not installed.” This may be helpful when you unintentionally delete an app after which later assume, “I shouldn’t have done that,” otherwise you immediately bear in mind an app that you simply’d like to make use of once more. Use the examine field to the fitting of every entry to reinstall any app. (If the app has been faraway from the Play Store, it gained’t be on this record.)

• Tap on the parallel traces to the fitting and also you’ll be capable to type in response to title, most used, least used, lately up to date, or dimension. This may be very helpful when you’re working out of area and need to work out which apps to eliminate.
• Other tabs within the “Manage” part contains “Updates available” and “Games.”

Try Files by Google

Files by Google is a surprisingly helpful app that, amongst different issues, helps you eliminate unneeded information which can be taking on area. If you resolve to put in Files, that is how you need to use it to eliminate unused apps.

• If it’s not already chosen, faucet on the “Clean” icon on the underside of the display screen.
• Scroll down till you discover the part labeled “Delete unused apps.” Tap on “Select apps.”
• You can see how a lot area every app is taking on and the date it was final used. By tapping on the parallel traces on the higher proper, you may type the record by oldest > latest, latest > oldest, largest > smallest, smallest > largest, or alphabetically.
• Tap on the circle on the fitting of every app to pick any you need to uninstall, after which faucet on the underside “Uninstall” button.

Use one other app

There are quite a lot of Android apps accessible within the Play Store in addition to Files by Google that may assist. To start with, there are different file managers that may make it simpler to trace and administer the contents of your telephone, similar to File Manager Plus and File Manager: free and easily. (There are, the truth is, a number of apps referred to as “File Manager” within the Play Store.)

Some create overlays that can assist you manage your homescreen. Jina, for instance, helps you to create a sidebar that pulls out from the facet of your display screen and provides you a compact record view of all of your apps. Taskbar places a configurable Windows-like begin menu in your show.

If you need much more management over your Android atmosphere, there are launchers similar to Nova that can help you extra completely customise your app drawer and homescreen with icons, animations, and totally different layouts.

Update August twenty fifth, 2021, 4:35PM ET: This article was initially revealed on March sixth, 2019 and has been up to date to mirror modifications in Android and its apps.