Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
This year’s Motorola lineup consists of three different Moto G series phones — the Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, and Moto G6 Play. While each smartphone brings its own unique qualities to the table, all three devices also share similar features. Regardless of which variation of the Moto G6 you have, we’ve got some handy tips and tricks for you.
How to use the fingerprint scanner to navigate
The fingerprint scanner on the Moto G6 sits on the front of the device at the bottom of the screen. While you can use it for security, you can also use it to navigate your device. To go home, tap the sensor quickly, to go back simply swipe from right to left on the sensor, to open recent apps swipe from left to right, and to lock the screen you have to touch and hold the sensor until you feel a short buzz. You can also launch assistant by touching and holding the sensor until you hear a long buzz. To access this feature, go to the Moto app, tap on Moto Actions and toggle on One button nav.
How to use Face Unlock
With the Moto G6 series, you can use Face Unlock to unlock your phone by looking at it. To set up the feature, go to Settings > Security & Location > Face Unlock. You have to make sure your screen lock setting is set up first which you can do by tapping on the Screen lock section. After that is complete, tap on Face Unlock to begin the process — simply align your face using the front-facing camera and wait for it to capture your facial features. This will automatically toggle on the Bypass lock screen setting which allows the phone to unlock when you press the power key once your face is matched.
But those using the Moto G6 Play are out of luck when it comes to Face Unlock. The feature is only available for the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus.
How to use Moto Key
With Moto Key, you can securely log into apps and websites with just your fingerprint — rather than having to type in your passwords each time. To access the Moto Key go to the Moto app and tap Moto Key. You have to set up your fingerprint first but afterward, you will be brought to a window that asks you to sign in to your Lenovo account as an extra form of security. You will then be able to choose from a variety of apps to assign your fingerprint to such as Facebook, Twitter, and more. You can also add Windows devices like a PC or tablet if it’s compatible.
How to shrink the screen
For one-handed use (which might be useful on the Moto G6 Plus given its size), you can shrink the screen. The option is located in the Moto app which you can find by going to Moto Actions > Swipe to shrink screen. After you toggle the feature on, simply swiping down to the left or right will shrink the screen to its respective corner allowing you to easily access different apps.
Moto Actions also provides you with a variety of different features to make using your phone easier all with simple gestures. When you go the Moto app, tap on Moto Actions and you’ll be brought to a list of different ones you can toggle on. There is Quick Screenshot — allowing you to touch and hold on the screen with three of your fingertips to capture it, along with Pick up to stop ringing which turns incoming calls to vibrate when you lift your device, among others.
How to customize your display
There are a variety of different ways you can customize the display on your Moto G6. To make changes to your display go to Settings > Display and you will be brought to a list of different options. You can toggle on adaptive brightness (to optimize the brightness level for available light), change the font and display size, and more. You can also choose how colors appear on the display in the Color Mode section — which allows you to adjust the color temperature between warm, neutral, and cool, as well as pick between standard and vibrant color to display your content in.
With Moto Display, which you can access by going to the Moto app, you can toggle on features like Night Display to reduce blue light exposure before you go to sleep and Attentive Display so that the screen stays on when you’re looking at it. There is also Moto Display which shows notifications that fade in and out while the screen is off — other settings under this feature include the ability to block notifications from specific apps, adjusting the level of detail to show when it comes to notifications. You can also toggle on Quick Reply which allows you to reply to texts without unlocking the device.
How to adjust the camera settings
With the Moto G6, there are a few ways to adjust your camera settings which you can access by opening the camera app, swiping to the left, and tapping on Settings located at the top of the screen. From there, you can choose to toggle on Quick Capture — which allows you to open or switch between cameras by twisting your wrist twice.
There is also Tap anywhere to capture, where you can take a photo by tapping anywhere on the screen within the camera app (for multiple shots, tap and hold). You can change the focus and exposure as well by dragging the bracket to set the focus and automatically adjust exposure.
How to use split screen
Baked into Android 8.0 Oreo, the split-screen feature on the Moto G6 allows you to have two apps open on the screen at once. Simply open an app and then press and hold either the recent apps or the multitasking button. The app that was already open will then only take up half the screen and the other app will be placed at the bottom of the screen. To exit split-screen mode, tap and hold the recent apps button again or drag the resize bar up or down.
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