Android O Preview Adds Lockscreen Shortcut Customization

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Lockscreen shortcuts can be pretty useful — some OEMs allow you to customize the standard two shortcuts in the bottom corners of the lockscreen, while others allow you to set a dock of apps at across the bottom for app launching.

On Android O, Google draws inspiration from the former for its own implementation. Under the System UI tuner, you will now find a lockscreen shortcut customization menu, that allows you to pick two different shortcuts other than the default camera and dialer. The list is extensive, as shown in the gallery below, launching right into various (mostly Google) activities and actions. You can also toggle whether accessing a quick action through the shortcut requires manually unlocking the phone, for both security on one end, and speed on the other.

Google seems to be adding some nice customization options on Android O, some of which are not found on the official list of advertised features. One such example we really appreciate is navigation bar customization, a sought-after feature to truly get the most out of software keys. We are just scratching the surface, but so far we like what we see.

It hasn’t been very long since Android O came out, but we are already unveiling awesome features coming to the next version of Android. For more coverage on all things Android O, stay tuned to XDA.