10 Best Android Developer Options You Should Try

Have you ever tried Developer Options on your Android phone? There’s a special menu hidden in Android’s settings to help you test and make some system-level changes’. When used correctly, you can get the most out of your Android phone by using the handy features of Developer Options for everyday use.

By default, developer options are locked in Android because they are advanced settings designed only for developers to test apps. Therefore, changing them without knowledge can affect the performance of your phone.

With that in mind, let’s first see how you can unlock developer options on your phone.

Note: These steps may differ slightly depending on your phone manufacturer and current Android version.

How to Enable or Disable Developer Options on Android

To enable Developer options on your Android go to the Settings menu, scroll down and tap on ‘About phone’. This window will have a Build number. Tap on it seven times. After that, you will see a message that says ‘You are now a developer’. If you used a password to lock your phone, you may need to enter your password before that.

To access the Developer Options, go back to the Settings menu and go to System. Expand its Advanced menu and you will see a new Developer options menu. If you want to disable it, tap the slider to turn it off.

1. Show Taps and Pointer Position

When you enable Show Taps, it will show a small circle on the screen wherever a tap is registered. This can be particularly useful when recording your screen to create some sort of tutorial to show the exact location of the touches.

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For more detailed touch data, you can enable Pointer position option to see touch input and path and detailed coordinates at the top.

2. Tweak Animation Scale

Google loves animations. And your current Android phone is full of them. Of course, these animations affect a phone’s performance and battery operation.

With developer options enabled, you can set the default animation playback speed. You can choose to increase or decrease the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale as you wish.

Pro Tip: If you are using an old phone that is running slow, disabling these animations will make you feel faster.

3. Disable Absolute Audio

This option is turned off by default so that both your phone and the connected Bluetooth device control the same volume. If your connected Bluetooth device is facing audio problems such as unacceptably loud volume or lack of control, you can fix the problem by selecting ‘Disable absolute volume’.

4. Enable Dark Mode for Each App

If you’re using Android 10 and higher, you already have a system-wide dark mode option on your phone. But when it comes to apps, some still don’t have a dark mode option. You can use the ‘Force-override dark’ option to enable dark modes in these apps as well. This won’t work flawlessly for every app, but it will help if you hate using the light mode.

5. Limit Background Process

This setting allows you to keep the number of apps running in the background between zero and four. For example, if you keep it at zero, all your phone’s resources will be diverted to whatever you’re doing right now. This can be especially helpful when playing a graphically demanding game on your Android phone. However, while this sounds great, limiting the background process also means you can’t quickly switch between apps.

6. Boost Gaming Performance

If you are a gamer who wants to use your high-end phone at maximum performance settings, you should use the ‘Force 4x MSAA’ option. When enabled, it gives you smoother gameplay and better graphics in some games and apps. But higher performance means it will also drain the battery quickly.

7. USB Debugging

USB Debugging is the most used option on this list for several reasons. When enabled, this option allows devices connected via USB to collect information and send commands to your phone. Additionally, this option can be used to enable root access, data recovery, installing APKs and more.

8. Fake GPS Location

Want to install an application that is not available in your country? This is easy to do by spoofing your location with an app like fake GPS location. Once the app is installed, go to developer options and select Debug app to create mock locations.

9. Split Screen for Each App

Instagram, ESPN, etc. Many popular apps do not support split screen mode yet. Instead of waiting for this feature to arrive, you can enable ‘Force events to be resizable’ to instantly place your favorite apps on a split screen.

10. Stay Awake While Charging

Stay awake prevents your screen from going to sleep when the device is plugged in. This is useful when your screen requires frequent attention. Whether you want to keep an eye on Bitcoin prices or watch the live score of a match while you work, the Stay Alert feature is always with you.

Note: Using the stay awake feature will slow down your phone’s charging speed.

More Power to You

Whether you want to root your phone, improve game performance, or spoof GPS location, Android developer options can help you do it all. This level of customization is what makes Android fun to use the operating system.

If you had fun with this developer options menu, check out other Android tips and tricks that are worth trying.