Customize Quick Setting Tiles on Android Nougat with ShortCutter

Android Nougat may not have been as big on visual changes from the previous Android version as Lollipop was but it did bring with it a multitude of both visible and behind-the-scene changes and one of the major features other than split-screen is the ability to modify quick settings tiles. Shortcutter is an app based around Android Nougat’s quick settings tiles. It offers users a number of additional tiles which are not already present on a standard Nougat-powered device.

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Modifying quick settings tiles has been an inbuilt feature on many custom ROMS for quite a while and it is one of those things not a lot of people feel the need for, but it’s always nice to have, especially for some power users.

By default, however, there are not many tiles to choose from on stock Android compared to the plethora of options on custom ROMs. Hence the need for third-party apps. Google introduced the TileService API with Android nougat allowing developers to take advantage of Android’s quick tiles. Shortcutter (v1.2.3) by Leedroid is one such app among a lot of others. Right off the bat, when you open the application for the first time, it will ask you for the required permissions and guide you to the respective screens for you to allow them.

Moving ahead, you will be greeted by the app’s introductory splash screen. Pressing the floating blue button on the bottom right corner takes you into the app where you can then disable the splash screen. The app offers a number of quick tiles, to begin with as well as one custom app tile and one custom URL tile.

Below are listed all the tiles offered by the free version of Shortcutter:

• Auto Sync Tile
• Next Alarm Tile (with quick access to alarms)
• Screen Timeout Tile
• Ring Mode Tile: Ring/Silent/Vibrate
• Screen Wake Tile: Keep screen awake indefinitely
• Camera Launch Tile
• Haptic Feedback Tile
• SystemUI Tuner Tile (in case you haven’t enabled it already)
• Custom App Tile (lets you open an app of your choice from quick settings)
• Custom URL Tile (lets you open an URL of your choice from quick settings)

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In addition, if you happen to have a rooted device you have access to the following tiles:

• Reboot Tile
• Reboot Recovery Tile
• Wi-Fi Calling Tile (HTC)
• Network Mode Tile
• Location Mode Tile: Toggle Off, Device Only, Battery Saving & High Accuracy
• Heads Up Notifications Tile
• ADB Tile
• Ambient Display Tile

As the app’s splash screen says, there is not much to do in the app apart from a few options such as choosing which app to open when you tap on the custom tile or which URL to open when you tap on the custom URL tile.

While choosing an app for the custom app tile, a list of all the installed apps are displayed. Keep in mind though that this list includes also the system apps. There will be names you may never have seen in your app drawer and that’s okay. Just don’t expect these apps to pop up when you tap your custom tile even if you did select them from the list.

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System apps are present on every Android device and not all of them are meant for users. Depending on the OEM of your device can be less or more in number. These do not have an interface to interact with because they’re not meant for it. Ignore them. In the screenshot above (center) you can see a bunch of apps, you should be looking at apps like Chrome, Clock, and Contacts to choose from if you’re not aware of the others.

Conclusion

Shortcutter has a small install base but users do seem quite content with the app considering its Play Store ratings of 4.9/5. The developer even promises daily updates to the app. We tested Shortcutter version 1.2.3 and the app does what it says quite flawlessly. If you do end up liking it, there is even a paid version which removes ads and allows you to set up to 4 custom app tiles and 4 custom URL tiles as well.

[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leedroid.shortcutter”/]