Google has recently released new Pixel 7 Series smartphones in India and they both run on the latest Android 13 out-of-the-box. With the new Android 13 operating system, there are a handful of tips, tricks, quick shortcuts, and features on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Here they are, the top Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro tips and tricks as well as handy shortcuts and gestures that we found.
1) Take Screenshots using the Quick Tap gesture
The Google Pixel 7 Pro has Quick Tap gestures and with that, you can do things more easily on the phone. There are 5 things you can do with Quick Tap gestures on Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7, one of which is to take screenshots with it.
Taking Screenshots using the Quick Tap gestures is easy, you just need to flip the phone and double tap the back of the phone and your phone will take screenshots. To take screenshots using the Quick Tap gesture, follow these steps.
- Step 1: Go to Settings -> System -> Gestures and tap on the Quick Tap to start actions.
- Step 2: Now choose the option Take screenshot to set the gesture to take screenshots.
2) Quickly open the camera with a shortcut
There are a bunch of quick shortcuts and features one of which is to allow you to quickly open the camera in Google Pixel 7 Pro as well as Pixel 7. You can simply press the power button twice at any time and on any screen since this shortcut is already turned on by default. You can head straight to the settings to turn on the shortcut if it’s not working. Here’s how you can enable it.
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your Pixel 7 Pro or Pixel 7 smartphone.
- Step 2: Swipe to the bottom and find System. Tap on System as shown.
- Step 3: Now, tap on the Gestures.
- Step 4: Then, tap on the option Quickly open camera and turn on the slider.
Now you can use the shortcut to quickly open the camera in Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Just double-press the power button and you can use the camera instantly.
3) Flip to Selfie camera with this gesture
Another camera shortcut that you can use on the phone is to flip to the selfie camera. Google Pixel 7 series packs one of the best cameras, we got a stunning camera experience on the Google Pixel 7 Pro and during our review, we found this amazing camera shortcut that lets you quickly flip the camera for selfie mode.
It’s easy to flip to the selfie camera and vice versa using the given button in the camera app, but you can use this gesture to quickly flip cameras (front to back and so) and you don’t even need to press any buttons to touch the screen.
The gesture works by simply twisting your Pixel phone horizontally or vertically to flip the cameras, this means to switch in and out of selfie mode in Google camera, you have to double-twist the phone while in the camera app.
Although this option is turned on by default, you can get into the Android 13 Settings on your Pixel device and turn it either Off or On as per your needs. You can head straight to the settings to turn on the shortcut if it’s already disabled or isn’t working. Follow these simple steps.
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your Pixel 7 Pro or Pixel 7 smartphone.
- Step 2: Swipe to the bottom and find System. Tap on System as shown.
- Step 3: Now, tap on the Gestures.
- Step 4: Then, tap on the option Flip camera for selfie and turn on the slider.
4) Toggle Flashlight with a gesture
How do you open the flashlight on your phone? Most Android users we know use a notification panel shortcut to toggle the flashlight. But do you think turning on the flashlight on the phone is quick for you? This handy Quick Tap gesture will simply amaze you with a super quick double-tap on the back to turn on the flashlight. The new Pixel 7 Pro is capable of that it’s too easy.
- Step 1: Head to Settings -> System -> Gestures.
- Step 2: Tap on the Toggle flashlight to set it for the Quick Tap gesture.
Now double-tap on the back of the phone to start the flashlight. Easy Peasy, isn’t it?
5) View battery percentage in the status bar
Many users face this problem of not showing the battery percentage in the top corner of the status bar, but it’s quite simple for you if you are familiar with the Android operating system. If you want to show the battery percentage in the status bar of your Pixel device, these are the quick steps you need to follow.
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your Pixel device.
- Step 2: Tap on the Battery from the list as shown.
- Step 3: Now, tap on the slider that says Battery percentage.
By turning this slider to On, the smartphone will show the battery percentage in the status bar. You can disable the percentage with the same steps above, just turn Off the slider. This is the easiest method you can follow to view the battery percentage on Pixel 7 series devices.
6) Change screen resolution
The Pixel 7 Pro has one of the greatest displays in its class, it comes with a large 6.7-inch 2K+ LTPO AMOLED curved screen which gives you remarkable quality, it’s among the brightest displays with high contrast ratio. You have two options for the display, either use the QuadHD+ resolution or the lower FullHD+ resolution to extend the battery life, even though the Pixel 7 Pro offers an incredible battery life. Here’s how to change screen resolution in Google Pixel 7 Pro.
Usually, the phone is set to a default resolution, but what if you want to select a fixed screen resolution either QuadHD+ for high-quality or FullHD+ for even better battery backup? As you see in your Pixel device display settings, it’s a no-brainer, you just change the resolution just like that. Here’s how you can do it, take a look at these quick steps.
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your Pixel device.
- Step 2: Tap on the Display from the list as shown.
- Step 3: Now, tap on the Screen resolution just above the Smooth Display.
- Step 4: Under the Screen resolution, you have two options, either choose High resolution or Full resolution. The High resolution is FullHD+ (1080p) while the Full resolution is QHD+ or 2K+ (1440p).
You can choose the High resolution if you want to save or extend the battery life, if you want a crisp and high-quality display, choose the Full resolution at a cost of battery life. Depending on your choice, the battery can be either extended or consumed more, the higher the screen resolution, the more battery power is used on the phone.
The next tip will add more hours to your phone’s battery, it’s changing the refresh rate of the display, the lesser the refresh rate, the more you can get the most out of the battery in addition to the lower resolution.
7) Change screen refresh rate
The Pixel 7 Pro offers a 120 Hz refresh rate but you can fall back to the standard 60 Hz for whatever reasons, say for example to save battery life. You can anytime change the refresh rate from 120 Hz to 60 Hz and 60 Hz to 120 Hz in Google Pixel 7 Pro, here’s how.
The 120 Hz refresh rate is enabled on the smartphone by default and it automatically switches the refresh rate to 60 Hz and to 120 Hz whenever needed for some content. But you can set a fixed refresh rate to 60 Hz, here’s how you can do it.
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your Pixel device.
- Step 2: Tap on the Display from the list as shown.
- Step 3: Swipe to the bottom and find the option Smooth Display and tap on it. You can disable the slider or enable depending on your needs.
A lower screen refresh rate and lower resolution will help extend the battery life of the phone. You can use the battery saver as well to save more battery and use the phone longer.
8) Play/Pause Music with this gesture
For music lovers, this gesture can be handy because you don’t have to unlock the phone and press the play/pause button. Simply double-tap on the phone’s back, this is another Quick Tap gesture that you can use.
To play or pause the music using the gesture, follow these steps.
- Step 1: Head to Settings -> System -> Gestures.
- Step 2: Tap on the Play or pause media to set it for the gesture action.
Now use the double-tap gesture to play/pause music.
9) Launch Apps with a double-tap gesture
You can easily launch apps using the Quick Tap gestures, if you have your favorite app that you want to launch without tapping on the app icon on the touch screen, this gesture shortcut is for you. First of all, enable the gesture in Settings of your Pixel phone:
- Go to Settings -> System -> Gestures, and tap on the Open app. On the right side, tap on the Settings gear icon and set the app you want to launch using this gesture.
Now double-tap on the backside of the phone to launch the app.
10) Show Recent Apps with a gesture
Similarly, this gesture can be used for other things as well. If you don’t want to press the recent apps button or use the navigation gesture to show recent apps, just double-tap on the back of the phone and you can easily access the recent apps menu.
- To do that, head to Settings -> System -> Gestures and tap on the Quick Tap to start actions.
- Now choose the option Show recent apps to set the gesture to open the recent apps menu whenever you double-tap the phone’s backside.
The Google Pixel 7 Series smartphones already run on Android 13 and these are some of the top tips, tricks, quick shortcuts, and features that we know. The new Google Pixels are wonderful, the Pixel 7 Pro is a more powerful variant in the series while the Pixel 7 is a more compact variant, we got the Pixel 7 Pro which we have fully reviewed, check it out here.
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