Android lock screens are a thing few people really care about. Sure, you can have a widget here and there, or a shortcut you an important app, but the screen, which is basically the first thing you see when you wake the phone up to do anything, is a prime piece of real-estate you’d be smart to utilize more.
As an Android user since roughly the days of Cupcake, I’ve gone through a lot of lock screens. By far the most useful of them all, however, is my current favorite, Cover. Cover is a location-aware (via Wi-Fi network and/or GPS), learning lock screen that makes the apps you want accessible right from the word “on.”
When you wake your device up, Cover has, on the left side of the screen, a number of app icons that you can tap, then slide, to launch straight into that app. You can also swipe slowly to just peek at what’s going with the app and let go to return the phone to the locked state.
If, for example, hit the Gmail icon, and swipe the phone to unlock it, you head straight into Gmail once the unlock gesture is completed. Drag the icon to the right, and you’ll get to see the Gmail app, along with everything that’s currently going on with it, without actually unlocking the device– handy for just taking a look at your last few emails, or checking if you’ve just received a new message.
Cover learns your most used apps and puts them on top of the list, but you can give some apps more or less weight when cover decides what to prioritize. It comes with a very pleasant set of default wallpapers, though custom wallpapers for each of your locations can also be set.
It’s free on the Google Play store, and if you value making the most of every little thing you can do to make the most of your device, you’ll hit this link HERE.