Your phone's Quick Settings panel is yours to control — if you have the right tools to do it.
When we talk about Android customization, we tend to focus on the home screen and the ocean of exceptional Android launchers that let you take total control of that environment.
But the beauty of Android is that the opportunity for making your phone work the way you want isn’t limited to any one area of the operating system. Unlike with that (cough, cough) other smartphone platform, you can customize and control practically every part of the Android experience to make it exactly right for you — instead of being forced to blindly follow the path some sweater-vested executive in an ostentatious spaceship office has chosen simply because he thinks it’s “elegant.”
Few Android-appreciating animals realize it, but that Google-given freedom of ours extends even into Android’s Quick Settings panel — that series of one-tap tiles you see when you swipe down twice from the top of your screen. In addition to expanding which specific shortcuts appear in that area, you can completely customize the very way that area of Android looks and works. And in doing so, you can make it especially efficient and functional for your personal style of working.
It’s basically like using a custom launcher — only for your Quick Settings instead of your home screen. And once you know where to look, the possibilities are practically endless.
Here, specifically, are two Quick Settings customization paths well worth exploring.
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Android Quick Settings customization path #1: The simple replacement
The first tool I want to introduce you to is essentially the Nova Launcher of Android Quick Settings customization.
It’s called Power Shade, and just as Nova or any other launcher does on the home screen, it completely replaces your device’s entire default Quick Settings setup with something much more feature-filled and customizable.
Among other things, Power Shade empowers you to:
- Choose exactly what shape and size all of your Quick Settings tiles take — and, consequently, how many of ’em end up being visible at once in that initial swipe-down view
- Fine-tune the color palette, style, and all-around appearance of your Quick Settings panel
- And even change the behavior of the Android swipe-down gesture, so that just a single swipe can open up the entire Quick Settings and notification panel, if you want
JR Raphael, IDG
Power Shade works by taking over the standard Android swipe-down gesture and loading its interface in place of your device’s default. Because of that, the mechanism isn’t flawless — once in a while, you’ll get a quick glimpse of your standard Quick Settings setup behind the Power Shade replacement — but the system has generally worked quite smoothly and consistently for me throughout my tests on a variety of different devices.
JR Raphael, IDG
Power Shade is free to use in its base form, with an optional premium version that activates some advanced options and eliminates some mildly annoying ads throughout its configuration tool. You really don’t need the premium path to enjoy the app, but if you do decide to make the leap, be sure to look for the lifetime license, not the ongoing subscription plan. (The lifetime key is 10 bucks and seems to show up as an option only on occasion. If you wait a bit, you’ll probably get an offer to buy it for $2 at some point, too.)
The app does require some relatively deep system permissions, but they’re all genuinely required for what it needs to do. And its privacy policy is clear about the fact that it doesn’t collect or share any personal data.
Android Quick Settings customization path #2: The total makeover
If Power Shade is the jack-of-all-trades Nova Launcher of Android Quick Settings customization, this next option is the Square Home — a super-specific setup that aims to emulate what other environments offer while also adding in a healthy pinch of extra functionality and control.
It’s called Mi Control Center, and it draws on inspiration from both iOS and the popular Xiaomi MIUI flavor of Android to bring a distinctive and extremely different look ‘n’ feel to that area of the Android interface.
The key to this approach is that swiping down from the left side of the screen opens up your notifications while swiping down from the right reveals an Apple-like “Control Center” (a.k.a. Quick Settings) panel.
JR Raphael, IDG
Just like with Power Shade, though, you can customize and control practically every aspect of the experience — down to the tiniest of details around exactly how the setup looks and works. You can even adjust the precise dividing point for where a swipe triggers notifications vs. the “Control Center,” if you really want to get intricate.
JR Raphael, IDG
Mi Control Center is free to use at its base level, with an optional $10/week (!!) premium subscription to unlock certain advanced features and remove ads throughout the configuration tool. You definitely don’t need that, and I absolutely wouldn’t pay that much for it. If the developer ever offers a more reasonably priced upgrade, it might be worth considering. In the meantime, the free version should be more than enough for most people and purposes.
Like Power Shade, Mi Control Center does require a fair amount of permissions — but, once more, the app wouldn’t be able to operate and do what it needs to do without ’em. And, again, its privacy policy indicates that nothing of any significance is ever stored or shared.
So there ya have it: two potential-packed paths with limitless options for customizing your Android device’s Quick Settings panel and making it your own. Throw in some extra-useful tile additions and then spruce up the status bar above it, and you’ll effectively be carrying a new and drastically improved device — without having spent a single shiny dime.
Keep the customization coming with my Android Notification Power-Pack — six powerful enhancements for the notification panel on any Android device — next!
