"An iOS-like Control Center?
On my Android? What is this?!" - Really...you might be asking.
Calm down, Android loyal, no one from Apple is going to hurt your
phone. All we want to show you is an easy way to obtain a convenient
feature - especially if you own a tall, wide smartphone with a 5-inch
display or more. We're talking about a control panel that you
comfortably pull up with your thumb from below the home screen,
instead of awkwardly reaching (or using a second hand) for the
screen's upper edge to pull down the Notifications menu. This isn't
only a case of ergonomics, though. Android Control Center, also known
as Quick Control Panel on the Google Play Store, is a highly
customizable utility for those of you that want ultimate control with
the flick of a thumb. Here's how to try it out.
On your desktop or Android device, head
over to the XDA Developer Forum, and install the Android Control
Center APK. If you are running Android 4.2.2 and lower, get v14,
otherwise get v18. Note that you can get the app by searching for
Quick Control Panel in the Play Store, but over there, it has free
and paid versions. Note that the paid version is actually the one
available for free from the XDA Forum. How come? Don't worry, there's
nothing illegitimate here - the developer is simply giving the app
away to the community, while encouraging users to support his work by
buying Quick Control Panel from the Play Store. It's only $1.85.
- If your device has hardware keys,
hold your thumb on the Home button and choose Android Control Center
to complete the action. As always, you can assign the toggle to
permanently open ACC, or stick to Google Now.
What is this that stands before you?
It's lean, mean control panel! Let's dig into it. On the lower side,
you have indicators for time, date, and battery life (but we disabled that one). Above them, you
have handy music controls. Here's the first thing of beauty about
this app - when you are playing a game, or browsing, you no longer
have to give up what you're doing just so you can open your music
player to change the song or something else. Simply call up Android
Control Center from your Home button, change or pause the tune, and
come back to what you were doing with the back button. ACC appears as
an overlay over everything you might have open, including the Android
interface, but it's only there if you need it.
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ACC's interface in two shades.
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The upper side has Brightness and
Volume sliders, and above these, you will find a rich shortcuts menu.
The ubiquitous Wi-Fi, GPS, Location mode, and other toggles that you
might find in Android's pulldown Notifications menu are there. Scroll
left and right to browse shortcuts and toggles. Aside from quickly
toggling system functions, ACC lets you assign an infinite
number of app shortcuts in the same line. Simply tap on a slot and
assign the app you want to it. Interestingly, you can also change
each shortcut's icon to whatever you wish. But this happens
elsewhere.
The rest of the menus keep going in the
same spirit. You will be bored out of reading long before we manage
to take you through them all. We'll just clue you in about some
options. If you want the ACC to have an iOS 7-like white appearance,
instead of Android's dark Holo-styling, you should head to Color
Settings and choose the Light color scheme. It looks really good on
stock Android. Some other options that captured our attention are the
crazy-extensive customizations. ACC lets you adjust the swipe
detection region, the quick toggle buttons' appearance, all colors
used in the theme, and so much else it's overwhelming.
If you like what you've read so far and
want to try out the app yourself, download it from the following
links and go to town. Happy customizing!
Courtesy: Phonearena
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