While a lot of new Android phones are coming up with new gesture motions where you can open the camera in one swish of a hand or place your phone on the DND (do-not-disturb) mode, Motorola phones have a few custom feature that distinguishes them from other phone models. If you are a new user of a Motorola phone, having knowledge of all of these features can be time-saving and helpful.
In this article, we will be unleashing the current motion gestures that come with the latest Android update on your Motorola mobile.
Also read: How to take a screenshot on Moto?
Gestures and custom Moto features
You can find various Moto gestures in your phone itself, their working as well as the option to enable or disable them. It is all up to you and in your hands (literally) to experiment with the gesture controls and see which ones work for you. To access gesture controls on your Motorola phone, follow the instructions given below:
- Head to Settings or go to the Moto app.
- Tap on Gestures & custom features, which might be at the very top of your settings in a grey bubble. If this bubble is not visible, you can scroll further down to System and tap on Gestures to view the currently available gesture controls on your phone.
- When the Moto app opens up, in the top left corner tap on the three horizontal lines to open up a series of options. Tap on Gestures to view the currently available gesture controls on your phone.
Types of gesture controls
The various fun hand-related gestures that unlock certain quirky and custom features in a Motorola phone have been captured below. You can even try out the gestures to help you become accustomed to their motion:
Quick Capture
To open the camera at any time and anywhere, you can rapidly twist your wrist twice. This way you can click a photo or record a video in no time. Make sure that you are holding your phone in your hand while you twist and that your hand is twisting in the same manner as it would when you are twisting a doorknob or turning a screwdriver. Even revving a motorcycle’s handle is a similar example of the motion gesture. You can even try out the
Fast Flashlight
If you have ever chopped anything in your life, then switching on a flashlight in a chop-chop motion will be easy. All you need is two quick consecutive chopping motions to switch on or off the flashlight at any time and anywhere. This motion is similar to a firm handshake or small but fast karate chops. When you are successful, a sudden flood of light will appear from your flash located on the backside of your Moto phone.
Three finger screenshot
You can take a screenshot without pressing the power button and the lower volume button simultaneously. Just place the tips of three fingers on your screen and a screenshot of your current screen will be snapped. Make sure to spread your fingers slightly apart and that all three fingertips should press down upon your screen at the same time.
Lift to Unlock
This can be a helpful and hassle-free feature that bypasses or quickens your security procedure when it comes to unlocking your device. All you have to do after enabling this feature is pick up your phone after locking it and then looking at the screen. Automatically and quickly, your phone will unlock without the hassle of a passcode or a fingerprint detection measure. Unlock your phone instantaneously by relying on face detection. However, if your face detection is enabled, chances are that your phone will unlock without enabling this feature.
Flip for DND
You can block irritating or distracting notifications of calls or messages by placing your phone in a facing downward position. This way you avoid disruptions and block all notifications by putting your phone in a DND or Do Not Disturb mode especially when you are trying to study or finish a project. You will be able to hear any pre-set alarm in this mode.
Pick up to silence
Another useful feature of your Motorola phone is the ability to silence an incoming call if your phone is not already in silent mode. This gesture cuts short the tune of your ringtone when you pick up your phone from a flat surface. To repeat, this feature will only work in the following situation:
- If your phone is placed on a flat surface when it starts ringing.
- If your phone is lying facing up on that flat surface.
You can try out this feature in the Moto app. Place your phone on a tabletop or a flat surface facing up and then watch as Moto makes a demo call to you to demonstrate the process behind this feature. As soon as you physically pick up your phone, the call’s loud ringtone will be silenced.
Swipe to split
If you are fond of multitasking, you can enable this feature to split your screen into two to accommodate viewing two apps simultaneously. You can get started by following the simple instructions given below:
- Swipe your finger back and forth or left to right and back to split your screen into two to view two apps.
- Keep your fingers on your screen until the swiping gesture is completed.
- After your screen has been split into two halves, you can drag the divider between the two apps, up or down to view any one app and end the process of a split-screen.
As soon as you carry out the back-and-forth gesture to split the screen, you will have to choose the app that you want to view on the lower half of your screen.
Bear in mind, that the split screen mode may not work in all apps due to privacy issues. Some apps are unable to function in this mode.
Personalise your Moto phone
You can also choose to personalise your phone by choosing everything, from the colour of the notification and messages to icon shapes and layout. You can find the Personalise option above Gestures in the Moto app. Here you can change the settings every once in a while to refresh your Motorola phone’s old look by changing the fonts, sounds, display size, and system theme to switch from dark to light or remain fixed on either dark or light themes.
You can also pick from a preset theme or make your own by choosing from colour, font, sound, icon shape, and background. You can label your themes as well. You can pick a photo from your gallery that you can use AI on to add visual effects for wallpaper for your home and lock screen.
Display
You can choose to optimise your display settings by tapping on the display option below gestures. You can enable Peek Display to allow interaction with notifications when the screen is off or you can enable Attentive Display that will keep your screen active while you are looking at it and will turn it off when you are not.
Also read: How to take a screenshot on Moto?
