{"id":49641,"date":"2025-09-29T00:33:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T00:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/49641\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T00:33:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T00:33:08","slug":"i-bought-the-pixel-10-and-changed-these-10-settings-right-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/49641\/","title":{"rendered":"I Bought the Pixel 10 and Changed These 10 Settings Right Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just got my hands on the Pixel 10, and like always, the first thing I did wasn\u2019t opening the camera or downloading apps\u2014it was diving straight into the settings. Google ships the phone with a bunch of useful stuff turned off by default, and flipping a few of those switches right away makes the Pixel 10 feel faster, smoother, and more \u201cmine.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

Show Battery Percentage and Limit Charging to 80%<\/p>\n

The Pixel 10 only shows a tiny battery icon by default, which honestly isn\u2019t very helpful. I don\u2019t want to guess whether I\u2019ve got 60% left or if I\u2019m on the edge at 10%. Showing the percentage inside the icon makes it way easier to tell at a glance.<\/p>\n

While I was in there, I also turned on the option to stop charging at 80%. It\u2019s one of those features that helps the battery stay healthier over time.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, tap \u201cBattery,\u201d and switch on \u201cBattery percentage.\u201d Then tap \u201cBattery health,\u201d go to \u201cCharging optimisation,\u201d and choose \u201cLimit to 80%.\u201d<\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

Turn On 120Hz Refresh Rate<\/p>\n

The 6.3-inch display looks good out of the box, but it\u2019s not running at its full potential. I wanted that buttery-smooth feel you only get with 120Hz, so Smooth Display was one of the first things I switched on.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, select \u201cDisplay and touch,\u201d scroll all the way down, and toggle on \u201cSmooth display.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small tweak, but it makes scrolling and swiping feel so much nicer.<\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

Enable Notification History and Cooldown<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve swiped away an important notification without meaning to. With Notification History on, I don\u2019t have to panic\u2014I can just go back and check everything, even those silent background alerts apps like to send.<\/p>\n

I also turn on Notification Cooldown. It\u2019s perfect for those moments when messages or alerts start coming in like rapid fire. Instead of buzzing like crazy, the phone gradually quiets down for a minute. The best part? Calls, alarms, and priority conversations still come through normally.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, tap \u201cNotifications,\u201d then go to \u201cNotification history\u201d and turn on \u201cUse notification history.\u201d Then scroll down, tap \u201cNotification cooldown,\u201d and turn on \u201cUse notification cooldown.\u201d<\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

Enhance Now Playing for Music Recognition<\/p>\n

Now Playing has always been one of my favorite Pixel features. It just listens in the background and shows the song on your lock screen when music is playing nearby. On the Pixel 10, there\u2019s an enhanced version that uses Google Search for better accuracy\u2014and it even shows album art now.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, tap \u201cDisplay and touch,\u201d then \u201cLock screen,\u201d tap on \u201cNow Playing,\u201d and switch on both \u201cIdentify songs playing nearby\u201d and \u201cEnhance Now Playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of those Pixel features that just works, and it\u2019s way more useful than some of the new AI stuff Google is trying to push (check out our Pixel 10 review<\/a>).<\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

Turn On Adaptive Tone<\/p>\n

Depending on the lighting, screens can look too warm or too cool. Adaptive Tone fixes that by automatically adjusting the colors, so everything looks more natural.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, tap \u201cDisplay and touch,\u201d scroll down, and turn on \u201cAdaptive tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small tweak, but I really feel the difference at night. The warmer tones make the screen much easier on my eyes.<\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

Stop Auto-Adding Icons to the Home Screen<\/p>\n

By default, every app I install throws a new icon onto my home screen. That gets messy fast. I prefer to keep my home screen neat and only pin apps I actually use daily.<\/p>\n

To turn it off, long-press an empty spot on your home screen, tap \u201cHome settings,\u201d and turn off \u201cAdd app icons to home screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now everything goes straight to the app drawer, and my home screen stays clean.<\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

Bring Back Quick Camera Controls<\/p>\n

I miss when the Pixel camera app had sliders for brightness, shadows, and white balance right on the screen. They\u2019re hidden now, but thankfully, you can bring them back.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, open the Camera app, tap the gear icon, then tap the three dots. Scroll to the \u201cFast access\u201d section, and turn on \u201cQuick access controls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once that\u2019s on, you can just tap the viewfinder while taking a photo, and the sliders pop up. It\u2019s not always present like it was before, but it’s way better than digging through menus.<\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

Use AV1 for Video Recording<\/p>\n

Videos take up a ton of storage, and if you are rocking a 128GB Pixel 10, you must be feeling that pinch. Thankfully, the phone supports the AV1 codec, which saves space without hurting quality.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, open the Camera app, tap the gear icon, then the three dots. Scroll down to the \u201cVideo\u201d section, go to \u201cVideo format,\u201d and select \u201cAV1.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only catch is compatibility, but so far, I haven\u2019t run into any issues playing or uploading my videos.<\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

Enable Gestures<\/p>\n

Gestures are what really make the Pixel feel personal. One-handed mode is great when I\u2019m using the phone with just one hand\u2014it pulls everything down so I can reach the top half of the screen. Flip to Shhh is another favorite. I just place the phone face down, and it silences instantly. Then there\u2019s Quick Tap, which I\u2019ve set to launch Gemini with a double-tap on the back. It feels like my own secret shortcut.<\/p>\n

To enable them, go to your settings, tap \u201cSystem,\u201d then \u201cGestures.\u201d From there, toggle on the ones you like. You\u2019ll also find extras like \u201cFlip camera for selfie\u201d and \u201cLift to check phone,\u201d so it\u2019s worth exploring.<\/p>\n

10 <\/p>\n

Increase Touch Sensitivity for Screen Protectors<\/p>\n

I always use a tempered glass screen protector, and sometimes the phone doesn\u2019t pick up light touches as well. Thankfully, there\u2019s a setting to fix that.<\/p>\n

To turn it on, go to your settings, tap \u201cDisplay and touch,\u201d scroll down to \u201cTouch sensitivity,\u201d and turn on \u201cIncreased sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that switched on, taps and swipes feel just as smooth as they did before adding the protector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I just got my hands on the Pixel 10, and like always, the first thing I did wasn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,80],"class_list":["post-49641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}