OPPO has launched the A7 in the midrange segment and it features a gorgeous reflective glass design, a waterdrop notch display, dual cameras at the back, and a large 4,230 mAh battery. The OPPO A7 runs on ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo loaded with features. Here, you will find the 10 top tips and tricks and hidden features of the OPPO A7 below. Check them out.
1) Run Dual Apps
Running two apps of the same kind (such as WhatsApp) makes things easy for you, you don’t have to keep a separate phone for it. The Clone Apps will add a duplicate app on the Homescreen and from there you can access dual apps.
This is a built-in feature, no need to install any third party apps. To clone the apps, head to the Settings -> Clone Apps and check whether which apps support this function.
Note: ‘Clone Apps’ only supports selected apps.
When Clone Apps is turned on, a new copy of the app will be generated on the homescreen. Both, the clone app as well as the original app can be run simultaneously without affecting each other.
2) Take 3-Finger Screenshots
Here’s a new way to take screenshots, if you haven’t tried it yet, instead of pressing the volume down key and power key together to take a screenshot, swipe your three fingers on the screen downwards. The OPPO A7 also takes three finger screenshots, the ColorOS is loaded with features, you will find the 3-Finger Screenshot setting under Settings -> Smart & Convenient -> Gesture & Motion and 3-Finger Screenshot.
3) Display Battery Percentage In Status Bar
By default the OPPO A7 does not show the battery percentage in the status bar, with this simple trick, you can add the remaining percentage of the battery. Go to the Settings -> Battery and select the slider named ‘Show battery percentage on status bar‘.
4) Show Real-Time Network Speed
You can also add network speed indicator in the status bar for monitoring real-time internet speeds. Check your internet or Wi-Fi speed on the status bar in real-time by adding a network speed shortcut, go to Settings -> Notification & Status Bar, and tap on the slider named Real Time Network Speed.
5) Navigate With Gestures
The OPPO A7 comes with navigation gestures, the ColorOS 5.2 includes a new system navigation that works with gestures, forget the old button navigation, try the new gesture-based navigation on your OPPO A7. Enable the navigation gestures under the Settings -> Smart & Convenient -> Navigation Keys.
Note: Enabling gesture navigation will remove the navigation buttons at the bottom.
The gesture navigation has now become a native feature on Android starting from the Android 9.0 Pie. Once the phone receives the Pie update, the new Android navigation should be added as well.
How do Navigation Gestures work?
You have for types of gestures that you can choose from. The default one works like this; at the bottom, swipe up from either side to go back, swipe from the center to go to Home screen, and swipe up from the center and hold it for 1-second opens recent apps.
6) Capture Screen Activity
Ever thought to record screen activity on the phone, the OPPO A7 allows you to record the screen with a push of a button. Capture the screen you want to record and save a clip of your phone activity or for any other task you do on the phone.
To record screen on OPPO A7, swipe from the top to open the notification panel and tap the icon saying ‘Start Screen Recording‘.
7) Floating Assistive Ball
Aside from the navigation gestures, the ColorOS has another addition for the system navigation, you can also control the phone with a floating ball, go back, go to Home screen or open the recent apps menu with it.
The floating Assistive Ball has a quick access to the basic navigation and can be dragged anywhere throughout the screen. It also comes with a couple of handy shortcuts via its tap menu. The Tap Menu can be found under Assistive Ball settings, it gives you options like screenshot shortcut, and lock the screen.
Turn on the Assistive Ball in the Settings -> Smart & Convenient -> Assistive Ball.
8) Use The Screen-Off Gestures
Other than the navigation gestures, the Screen-off Gestures are sometimes handy and it saves you from unlocking the phone for simple tasks like launch the camera app, turning on the flashlight, and controlling the music. The Screen-off Gestures include the following,
- Double tap to turn screen on
- Draw O to start camera
- Draw V to open torch light
- Music Control: Draw || to pause/play a track, draw < or > to switch the track
The Screen-off Gestures can be enabled in the Settings -> Smart & Convenient -> Gesture & Motion -> Screen-off Gestures.
9) Night Mode
If you aren’t aware of this, the Blue spectrums of the light are bad for your eyes, OPPO A7 offers a Night mode for those who are reading the screen or surfing the web during the night. The Night mode will filter out the Blue light from the screen, swipe the notification panel and tap on the Night mode icon.
10) Enable USB OTG For Pendrives/USB Drives
Just like the other OPPO smartphones, the OPPO A7 gives you the option to run USB drives or USB-enabled devices such as keyboards and mice. You just need an OTG adapter and you are ready to connect USB devices.
Go to the Settings -> Additional Settings and switch on the OTG connection.
Also check out the unboxing and hands-on video of the OPPO A7 on our YouTube channel.
