The simplest features are often the best, and my favorite new iPhone feature in iOS 17 isn’t the most advanced, but it’s one I use every day: To wait for. It’s such an obvious benefit that I’m shocked we had to wait until the 17th generation of iOS to get this simple screensaver clock. I’m also shocked that there hasn’t been an Android equivalent on every new Galaxy and Pixel since the iPhone 15. Luckily, StandBy Mode Pro, an app available on the Google Play Store, fills the void very well. ‘a very Android way. .
I love StandBy Mode Pro because it makes my phone useful when I’m not using it. This gives me a desk clock at work, a cute bedside clock at night, and a travel clock in between. I get a digital photo frame when I’m in the office and a constant weather report when I’m at home and the dog bothers me to go out.
If you have Android, I recommend downloading this app immediately and even paying the small fee for the ad-free version. In classic Android fashion, it takes a simple feature that iPhone fans love, but ultimately makes it customizable, giving you many more options and features than you’ll find on the iPhone.
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This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
Before we get into the Android app, let’s explain how StandBy works on iPhone. When you charge an iPhone, whether wired or wireless and also place it on its side in landscape orientation, the iPhone goes into sleep mode. The screen dims and you get two square widgets, side by side. You can use any widget you want, and of course, clock and calendar are just the most obvious options.
On Android, StandBy Mode Pro works the same way. You get square widgets side by side and you can choose from any widget on the phone. This gives Android an early advantage. Widgets are relatively new to iOS and iPhone, but Android has had widgets since early versions of the operating system.
Just like StandBy on iPhone but with more Android
On the iPhone, StandBy mode is fully automated and the StandBy Mode Pro app for Android, like Android, gives you different levels of control so it can activate automatically or simply in certain charging situations . StandBy Mode Pro will activate when your phone is charging and you can configure the app to only start when your phone is charging wirelessly.
The app is also smart enough to turn off sleep mode when you turn your phone to portrait orientation. You can activate the app like any normal app, just tap the app icon, but it’s smart enough to add a button on your lock screen if you want to go straight to sleep.
Basically, StandBy Mode Pro gives you all the best features of iPhone StandBy Mode, with even more customization options, just the way Android fans love it.
On the iPhone, StandBy will turn red at night so as not to ruin your night vision. With StandBy Mode Pro on Android, you can not only turn the clock red, you can also adjust the brightness for night mode, and even adjust the redness saturation in case it looks too red for your liking.
The app has been updated quite regularly and has over half a million downloads. So we hope it won’t be abandoned any time soon. There’s even a Labs section in Settings for features that are still in the works.
If you don’t feel like setting up widgets, a few full-screen modes are also available, just like with StandBy on the iPhone. If you swipe left, you can make StandBy Mode Pro a digital photo frame for your Android phone. You can also dedicate the full screen to simply checking the weather or playing audio from your favorite media player app.
And the app keeps getting better
Since I started using StandBy Mode Pro a few months ago, the developer, Zetabit Tecnologia, has added a fun little Lo-Fi Vibe mode, which features a relaxing screen of an animated person petting a cat while Lo-Fi hip-hop beats play. . You can alternatively play relaxing instrumental music while watching an endless loop of jellyfish swimming.
Sure, the developer is being somewhat brazen by simply taking the same name as Apple’s feature, but where is StandBy mode on my favorite Android phones? StandBy Mode Pro keeps me on standby on all my non-iPhone devices, with plenty of customization options and even the experimentation that makes Android cooler than iOS.