There are a lot of gimmicky features in Android devices. Not that I am surprised or something but I am a bit worried by the increasing number of half baked softwares we are getting in our droids. LG G2 custom User Interface, come on LG can do much better. Google has been doing it all right. They take their time to add a feature to their devices but when they do, it is worth the wait. It is like they are there on the sidelines taking notes as OEMs embarrass themselves with half baked features. Google will always unleash a simple add on feature that will not cause your device to slug or drain your battery. A feature like Daydream. Rarely do tech sites talk about it.
Just like many awesome features that get washed away under the bridge every a version of Android is released Daydream went unnoticed and rarely would you hear anyone discussing it whether at work or in social media. When I first used it in public I was met with stares and curious glances. At first I thought people were amazed by the size of my S4 but I was like “hell no! There is a billboard with an S4 right across the street.” Then I noticed my ‘screensaver’ and I was like “ooh it is Daydream”.
What is Daydream in Android?
Do you remember the screensavers on your old PC? The flash animated pipes and 3D text. Basically Daydream is a modern and more useful version of this. This feature was introduced by Google in the 4.2 upgrade of Jelly Bean. Tech heads will call it a “pseudo-screensaver” because it is not a screensaver, as PC users know it, neither is it a new feature, that Android users haven’t heard of.
“Daydream lets your Android device display useful and delightful information when idle or docked. Show off your photo albums, get the latest news from Google Currents, and more.” – Google Inc.
Where is Daydream in My Android?
I know now you are already interested to know how to activate it. First you will need to be running Android 4.2 or above (Not necessarily because peeps are hacking into Android). Next go to Settings from your menu then Display and Lookup and guess what? There is Daydream. From there you can toggle Daydream on/off and you are good to enjoy this new feature.
You have a variety of options on what you want to appear on your Daydream. You will get a full list of all the softwares that take advantage of Daydream. Google has made sure they have their own app on this list. Google’s Current app can be added to Daydream and configured to show the latest feeds from your subscription list. You will no longer have the rather boring colors as your screensaver when docked or charging.
Android can promise you that you will never get a shortage of apps. Apart from Google’s Current app, you can try Flipboard which functions the same like Current only that it is faster to setup. You can also make your Daydream more fancy by using The Beautiful Widget app of Dashclock, my favorite. You can have almost everything as your Daydream depending on the app you are using. I promise in the next few weeks we will have social media apps tapping to your Daydream
Go to Google Play Store and search for more Daydream apps. Here is a list to get you started; Website Daydream, ClockPlus DayDream, ClockTower 3D, Weather DayDream Screensaver, Lucid – Daydream Screensaver, Daydream Quotes.
