Though it’s a fairly new upgrade, it got us excited. So, here are some of the new ColorOS 6.7 features that you should check.
Full Screen Navigation Gestures
One of the first ColorOS 6.7 features that you should check out is the navigation gestures. These intuitive gestures not only let you navigate your phone in ease but also help reclaim precious screen real estate at the bottom that is otherwise hogged by the virtual buttons. Now, you can play around with the two types – Swipe Gestures from Both Sides and Swipe up Gestures. In the former, all you need to do is swipe inward from both the edges of the screen to go back a page, while going to the home page is as simple as swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Plus, switching to the last opened app is as simple as swiping inwards from the bottom and hold (until you see the app icon). Yeah, getting used to these navigation gestures may be a bit of a task initially, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. What’s more, you can also enable a Guide Bar at the bottom of the screen. To enable this, head over to Settings > Convenience Aid > Navigation keys.
Hello, Dark Mode
Another cool addition to ColorOS 6.7 is the system-wide Dark Mode. Once enabled, almost every system app is painted black, whether it’s Settings or the Notification panel. And you needn’t dive inside the display settings to enable it. Just slide open the quick settings menu and tap on the Dark Mode icon. Simple, see. Apart from painting the screen black, it also bundles a handful of nifty features. For one, it easily adapts to ambient light conditions, and it comes in handy more often than you realize.
Revisit Smart Assistant and Quick Settings
By now, you must have seen the sleek user interface with this new version of ColorOS. This upgrade is evident in the menus such as Quick Settings and Smart Assistant apart from the primary Settings. The icons have been toned down and the font size has also been reduced, thereby lending an overall polished look. All you need to do is open the Quick Settings menu and you’ll be greeted with square icons. And the default green accent color adds to the looks. Also, did you notice the new design of the notification panel? In the newer version of ColorOS, all the notifications (in the notification panel) collapse on their own when you open the Quick Settings menu. Last but not least, the Volume Bar and the Smart Side Bar are sleeker versions of their former self. Gone are their thick looks and are instead replaced by a single column. As we mentioned above, these changes lend a polished look and at the same time, let you access frequently used functions and tools with ease.
Refined Tune the App Permissions
Another helpful integration for the privacy-minded users is the new Permissions Management module. This new feature lets you see which apps have permission for the phone’s services. And it doesn’t end there. It even gives you the control of denying specific app permissions. For example, you can see which apps have access to the camera, microphone or call logs. If you recollect, the older version just gave you a birds-eye view of the permission settings. To see all the permissions, head over to Settings > Privacy > App Permissions and tap on one of the permissions. Next, toggle the switch next to the apps. Other than that, you can also check out the detailed app permissions via the Subordinate Permissions button at the bottom And that’s not the end of the story. You’ll be able to select the time when an app has access to a specific permission. For instance, if you want the SMS app to access location only when it is inactive use, you can now do so.
MAC Address Randomization
Another privacy feature that you can take a look at is MAC Address Randomization. As suggestive of its name, it gives a random MAC address when your phone connects to a Wi-Fi network. It’s not a default setting and you’d need to enable it first. To do so, open your phone’s Wi-Fi settings and tap on the network you are currently connected to. Next, tap Privacy and select Random MAC Address. Do note that you’ll need to make the changes on a network basis. Now, why is this helpful? For starters, your phone (or your desktop) can easily be tracked on Wi-Fi networks through the MAC address which is a unique identifier. And this feature is likely to prevent that from happening.
Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls
Digital Wellbeing, initially only available on Google Pixel devices, is now available on almost all phones. This feature lets you understand how to spend time on your phone and to see which apps are hogging your time. This includes the number of unlocks you do and the number of notifications that you receive daily. This feature has been integrated seamlessly in ColorOS 6.7. Now, you can play around with features like Wind Down and Dashboard to help you manage your time better on your phone. While the former switches your phone’s display to greyscale when enabled, the latter lets you set timers for specific apps. So, if you think you spend too much time scrolling through your social media apps, you know what to do. The settings for this can be found under Settings > Digital Wellbeing & Parental control > Dashboard. Speaking of parental controls, ColorOS now provides easy access to Google’s Family Link app. This is particularly useful if the phone in question is used by a minor. Using it, you’ll be able to supervise the phone remotely and at the same time keep a tab on the screen usage time. Plus, you can also set restrictions for app downloads, among others. With the Internet increasingly becoming a darker place by the day, the Family Link integration proves to be a boon for parents. All you need to do is tap on the Set up parental controls button and the app will walk you through the rest.
Get the Most out of Your Phone
So, these were some of the new features that were released as part of ColorOS 6.7. Now, all you need to do is dive deep into the settings and tweak the settings as per your convenience.
