HOA 42: Gboard Tips and Tricks - Google Keyboard's Hidden Features That Make Typing Easier

Everyone has their list of favorite apps. Jason Howell took a look at his app drawer and pulled out some of the apps that he makes sure are installed on every device he tests.

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Typing on smartphones has never been a fun experience. Jason Howell knows that pain well. That's why he's collected some of his favorite type saving tips that make Google's Gboard app even easier to use.

• Quick capitalization.
• Remove a stored auto-correct word.
• Glide Typing.
• Delete with a gesture.
• Space bar cursor control.
• Text editing shortcut.
• Better EMOJI suggestions.
• Personal Dictionary shortcuts.
• Themes cause why not?

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Sponsor:

• LastPass.com/twit

With the recent announcement that Google Photos is changing in 2021 to limit free uploads indefinitely, many smartphone users are now examining alternative options for their memories. Jason Howell walks through the process of downloading all of those photos and videos from Google and moving them to a Plex server that you control.

• Using Google Takeout to download photos and videos.
• Moving and unzipping the media to an external drive.
• Preparing Plex to look at the media library.
• Setting Plex to automatically upload new media.

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Android has come a long way in its pursuit of bringing meaningful accessibility features to those who truly need them. Jason Howell shows off how some of those features are actually useful for everyone and not just a subset of users.

• Live Captions.
• Select to Speak.
• Magnification.
• Interaction Controls.
• Flashlight for events.

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Takeout your Google Play Music library and move It to Plexamp.

With the death of Google Play Music, many people are looking for the best alternative for their cloud music storage. Jason Howell isn't satisfied with the YouTube Music approach so he will walk through the steps required to use Google Takeout to pull down his uploaded music and import it into Plex for use with Plexamp.

• What is Plexamp?
• Exporting the Google Play Music library from Google Takeout.
• Organizing the media dump into a structured format using Apple Music.
• Importing that media into Plex.
• Using Plexamp to access that music.

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Sponsor:

• LastPass.com/twit

Take that old device and give it a job using Action Blocks.

If you have a smart home and an old Android phone or tablet gathering dust, put it to use as a home automation control center! Jason Howell walks through how to use Action Blocks to do just that.

• Preparing the tablet or phone for Action Blocks.
• Crafting the right Assistant commands.
• Using custom images for one-touch widgets.
• Testing the layout and setup.

Action Blocks - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.maui.actionblocks

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

A popular feature of Pixel phones has been Active Edge, a shortcut for Google Assistant that is triggered when the frame of the phone is squeezed firmly. The new Pixel 5 doesn't support that feature anymore, but Jason Howell shows how using an app called SideSqueeze+ can bring back that functionality thanks to the onboard Barometer.

• What is Active Edge?
• Installing SideSqueeze+.
• Allowing special actions using ADB.
• Calibrating the app to work properly.
• Screen Press and Plus section for Galaxy devices.
• Using the Analyzer section.
• Disabling the persistent notification.

SideSqueeze+ - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pocketdevelopers.sidesqueeze

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Sponsor:

• MySudo.com/twit

Galaxy customization continues on an even deeper level.

Samsung Good Lock is customization to deep that there's too much to fit into a single episode. Jason Howell dives into the Family portion of the app to discuss a number of other wholistic ways that Samsung devices can be customized.

• Keys Cafe for keyboard colors and animation.
• Pentastic for S Pen users.
• Wonderland with animated wallpaper actions.
• Themepark is whole device theming.
• Nice Catch monitors app actions behind the scenes.
• One Handed Operation+ makes single handed use easier.
• Edge Lighting+ makes notification a bit splashier.
• Edge Touch creates no-touch zones on the edges of curved displays.
• Sound Assistant takes sound control to the next level.

Samsung's Good Lock - https://galaxystore.samsung.com/detail/com.samsung.android.goodlock

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Sponsor:

• LastPass.com/twit

Deep modular customization of Samsung's Galaxy phones.

Samsung is known for offering expansive customization options to its Galaxy smartphones, but Good Lock takes it to a different level. Jason Howell walks through the first half of this impressive suite of tools that take device tweaking to a new extreme.

• What is Samsung Good Lock?
• Quickstar for quick settings.
• Clockface for controlling lock screen clocks.
• Multistar for multi-window functionality.
• Navstar for redesigning the navigation bar.
• Homeup for customizing and backing up the home screen.
• Notistar for an expanded notification manager.

Samsung's Good Lock - https://galaxystore.samsung.com/detail/com.samsung.android.goodlock

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Almost any Android TV device can be upgraded too!

Google released the new Chromecast with Google TV at its Fall hardware event last week and its the first device to be running the newly revamped Google TV interface that replaces Android TV. However, Googe hasn't pushed Google TV out to any other devices and its uncertain when that might happen. Jason Howell shows how to install the new interface on his Nvidia Shield TV from 2017 and the process should work on most Android TV boxes right now.

• Meet the new Chromecast with Google TV.
• Google TV versus Android TV.
• How to prepare the Nvidia Shield TV.
• Installing Platform Tools for USB debugging.
• Finding the Google Home Launcher.
• Installing the launcher on the Shield TV.
• Using Terminal to prioritize the new launcher.
• A look at the new Google TV experience.
• How to revert back to the way it was.

Google TV Home APK's - https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-tv-home-android-tv/
Installing Android's Platform Tools - http://twit.tv/hoa/10

Command lines used within the Mac Terminal:
./adb push (Google Home Launcher filename) /sdcard/
./adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher 
​./adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.tvlauncher
 

Host: Jason Howell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-android

Sponsor:

• MySudo.com/twit