This week Google finally released The highly anticipated Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player. One of the many new features is the complete customization of the notification pop-up bar, including removing icons or adding a percentage number to the battery meter. Below we will explain how to enable the system UI tuner in Marshmallow.
We’ve seen a lot of things Google is testing with the Android M developer preview over the summer. There was a dark and light color theme for the settings menu that changed with the time of day, a multi-window mode, and even the option to completely customize the notification bar. Most of these are gone, but a few remain, and here we’ll explain how to do it.
If you have not yet received the Android 6.0 update on your Nexus device, the above how-to guide will explain how to get the update manually. After that, users may want to tinker with the settings and customize a few of the new hidden features.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow introduces many new features, controls, options and animations. Overall it is very similar to Android 5.1 Lollipop, but the whole experience has been completely refined and overhauled. So far everything is fast and fluid with our hands-on time, but other results may vary.
One of our favorite things in the developer preview is Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which is out of stock for now, rolling out as an update for users this week, and it’s something called the “System UI Tuner.”
This allows us to add a battery percentage number inside the battery meter in the notification bar, remove unnecessary icons from the notification bar, and even rearrange and customize the quick settings in the popup bar. Swipe down with two fingers and you can easily access some of the most used settings, all of which can be changed with the System UI Tuner. Let’s enable it and change some settings.
Instructions
Like accessing the hidden developer settings menu in Android, the System UI Tuner controls are hidden but very easy to enable.
On any Android 6.0 Marshmallow device, pull down the notification bar and press and hold the gear-shaped settings button. It will spin for one second (hold for 2-4 seconds) and release. A small popup will appear informing you that you have enabled the System UI Tuner as shown below.
Now all users have to do is enter the settings by tapping the same gear-shaped settings button and scrolling to the bottom of the settings page. At the bottom is a new option called “System UI Tuner” and there are lots of little tweaks that can be made here.
First, you can go to “Quick Settings” and customize or rearrange what icons and settings are in the quick settings pop-up bar. I rearrange it as I want and leave it alone. Then there’s the clock, battery, SIM slot (or missing SIM) WiFi, 4G LTE symbols and the status bar showing all sorts of icons. You can completely remove any icon you want from the status bar. A little neat and a nice touch. This is also helpful for developers who want to use screenshots for a list of apps in the Play Store.
However, as shown above, the 3rd option in our new System UI Tuner settings menu is a slider to easily turn the battery percentage count in the status bar icon on or off. Unless you remove it, you will now see a number as your battery is running out for a more accurate reading. This has been available on Samsung and other devices for a while, but is now a stealth option on stock Android.
Finally, System UI Tuner allows for a “demo mode” we mentioned above. Basically removing all icons, allowing for a clean-looking screenshot to show an app, what’s on your screen, or anything else for that matter.
This new system UI tuner is nothing crazy, but it’s just one of many minor changes in Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Our favorite new feature is Google Now on Tap, which we showed off in our hands-on video, and you’ll want to stay tuned for more hands-on content, how-tos, and more in the near future.
