Though
the hardware of smartphones is steadily becoming more capable it can’t
be utilized to its fullest potential without the software to tap it.
This is personal technology’s modern hurdle – the optimization of both
hardware and software to ensure a fast and seamless user experience.
The slowdown
of Android smartphones can be caused by several reasons, and usually
starts becoming noticeable after several months of using them. Here are a
few tips for users that feel their Android smartphones have slowed
since they purchased the devices. In case you don’t understand some of
the processes you can always ask your tech savvy friend or sibling to do
it for you. It’s quite easy if you are averse basic tech concepts.
Clear App Cache
Much-used
apps will build up a cache that can slowdown an Android smartphone, and
users can delete each used apps’ cache regularly to speed up their
devices. Unfortunately, this will have to be a rather regular process,
as apps will start rebuilding their cache from the moment they are
launched. To individually delete each app’s cache, users will need to
visit Settings>Apps, select the relevant app, and then click on the
‘Clear cache’ button….
To
bulk-delete multiple apps’ cache, or to set up scheduled cache-clearing,
users can download a third-party application called ‘App Cache Cleaner’
from the Play Store, which can delete cache for multiple apps, and
allow users to set up intervals for regular cache cleaning. Users can
also delete cache data for all apps via a native Android option, found
at Settings>Storage>Cached data….
Clean Out Built-In Storage
If the
built-in storage of a smartphone is nearly full, the device will slow
down quite dramatically. Between 10 and 20 percent of the total built-in
storage should be available or free to avoid slowdowns. While a simple
solution could be to simply delete all unused apps and clear cache data
to save space, ideally users should be looking at a longer lasting
solution. Most smartphones come with the option to expand built-in
storage via microSD card….
If users’
smartphones feature microSD card storage expandability, they should move
all media to it, such as pictures, music and videos. Apps can also be
moved from internal storage to SD card, by visiting the app’s settings
via Settings>App and navigate to individual apps. Some older versions
of Android don’t support this feature, and users will have to download
an ‘Apps to SD card’ app from the Google Play store….
Update Firmware
While
certain updates can have adverse effects, the general rule of thumb is
that a firmware update for a smartphone will bring improvements of
various types, usually including performance optimisations. Users
experiencing reduced performance on their smartphones should check if
the manufacturer has released a firmware update for them. To do this,
users should visit Settings>System>About>Software Updates and
check if an update is available over-the-air. If not present here, users
can also check for updates there
While most
updates do not require users to back up their smartphones before the
update, it’s recommended that users do so just in case something does go
wrong – it’s better to be safe than sorry….
Remove extra apps, wallpapers, widgets
If users
have a significant number of apps installed, it could slow down their
smartphones. Users need to ask themselves if all the apps they have
installed are being used, and then uninstall unused ones. Some apps
cannot be uninstalled (especially bloatware apps from smartphone
manufacturers), so users will have to settle for disabling them
Live
wallpapers, and an excess of widgets on home screens, can also slow down
smartphones, and if users are experiencing performance issues they
should consider using static wallpapers instead, and removing any
non-vital widgets.
Source: NDTV Gadgets
