BlackBerry’s new flagship Android phone, the DTEK60, has finally arrived bringing with it another dose of secure Android to the market. Here are a few tips and tricks to make the most of the software experience on the BlackBerry DTEK60.
Advanced interactions
BlackBerry has included a number of gestures so you can quickly toggle certain features and functions on and off. ‘Flip to Mute’ lets you silence the phone during an incoming call by turning the device over, placing it face down. To activate or deactivate it, head to the ‘Sounds & notifications’ section in the settings menu and look for the ‘Flip to Mute’ toggle.
You can quick launch the camera with a double-tap of the power key, even when the phone is locked. To enable this feature, head to the ‘Display’ section of the settings menu and toggle on the ‘press power button twice for camera’ option.
The ‘Display’ sub menu also plays host to the ‘Tap to wake’ feature, letting you wake the DTEK60 with a swift double-tap on the cover glass whilst the screen is off.
Customising the productivity tab
Not unlike the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the DTEK60 has an ever-present pull out tab that you can summon by swiping in from the edge of the display to quickly check on upcoming calendar entries, recent messages, interactions with favourite contacts and outstanding tasks.
The productivity tab is, in fact, open to a little customisation too. By swiping the tab out, you’ll spot a cog icon in the top right of the subsequent screen. Tapping that icon lets you choose which side of the screen the tab resides, its height along the edge of your home screen and its transparency. From the ‘Display’ section of the settings menu, you can also completely disable it by flipping the appropriate toggle.
Screen pinning
Screen pinning is a great feature if you’re handing your device to another person to show them something and you don’t want them swiping around beyond the app currently on-screen.
To enable this feature, head to the ‘Security’ section of the settings menu and then look for the ‘Screen pinning’ option under the ‘Advanced’ section of the subsequent screen. Once switched on, you’ll notice teal pin icons on all of your apps when in multitasking view. Tapping on the pin, locks the chosen app on screen, disabling the Android navigation buttons.
To unlock an app, simply long-press the back button and multitasking button (also known as the overview button) at the bottom of the screen.
Customising swipe shortcuts
By default swiping up on the home button gives you access to device search, the dialler and the BlackBerry Hub in a single action, but you can actually customise which apps or shortcuts are accessible with this feature by heading to the ‘Swipe shortcuts’ section of settings menu. Tapping on any one of the three icons lets you reconfigure its function to open another app or shortcut.
We’re adding more tips and tricks to this feature all the time, so stay tuned for more.
Read next: BlackBerry DTEK60 unboxing & hands-on review
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