They were gesture-based operating systems that did not really take off due to poor timing or simply poor hardware. However, they are still remembered for the instinct they brought to the table. Now mobile platforms, Android and iOS, incorporate gestures, we just know the basic ones like squeeze to zoom or different swipe gestures.

Native Android Gestures

1.Switch Tabs in Chrome

If you can use Chrome a ton on your Android smartphone and if you really do, you may have had issues exchanging between tabs, particularly if you have a large smartphone otherwise known as phablet. Well, Chrome for Android packs in a few cool gestures to help you switch tabs easily.

• Swipe left or right on the address barto switch between open tabs in Chrome.

• Swipe down from the address barto open the tab switcher in Chrome. Here, you can move to a different tab, add a new tab or close tabs.

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2.Trigger Split Screen Mode

As you may have guessed, this gesture is kept for Android 7.0 Nougat users. While you can simply press hold the multitasking/recent apps button to begin the split-screen mode, Google has included another cool gesture to trigger this feature. To enable this gesture, you will initially need to enable System UI Tuner. You can do this by press holding the Settings cog in the Quick Settings for 5 seconds and when you release the press hold, you will get a toast message saying, “Congrats! System UI Tuner has been added to Settings”.

Then, you can head to Settings and scroll down to the end to find the “System UI Tuner” option. Here, head to “Other” and enable “Enable split-screen swipe-up gesture”. Once done, you will be able to trigger split-screen multi-window mode by just swiping up from the recent apps navigation button.

3.Open Quick Settings Directly

Quick Settings are the different shortcuts and switches available from the notification shade. Now you can get to Quick Settings by swiping twice from the top and while it’s really simple, not everybody admires the additional gesture. However, there is another simple gesture that gives you a chance to bring down the Quick Settings directly. You can use two fingers to swipe down from the status bar and you will see the Quick Settings instead of the notifications.

Google Keyboard Gestures

Google Keyboard is a pretty feature rich keyboard app and along with its unique features, the keyboard includes some very cool gestures that you can use to speed up your typing.

4.Move Cursor Easily

Moving the cursor to edit text can be actually irritating and most of the times, we tend to miss the exact point. In case you are using the Google Keyboard, you can just swipe left and right on the Space bar to move the cursor around.

5.Delete Complete Words

Press holding the delete key is the usual way to delete text but it’s not the most accurate or efficient solution when it comes to deleting a few words. Google Keyboard lets you drag the delete key to the left to delete complete words. For instance, dragging the delete key to “M” will delete one word, dragging it on “N” will delete two words and so on. When you drag the key, the words that are going to be deleted are highlighted, to give you a better idea.

6.Capitalize Individual Letters

Capitalizing single letters can be a hectic task if you are writing a long content, as we tend to hit the caps-lock key and then type the letter and then, hit the caps-lock key again to turn it off. Google Keyboard has a cool gesture that fixes this issue. You should simply swipe from the caps-lock button to the letter you want to capitalize and it’ll be finished.

7.Remove Specific Suggestions

Google Keyboard’s word suggestions can be very helpful when you want to type quickly however it can likewise be quite irritating when you haven’t used it for long. So, if you are writing something and you see a suggestion that does not make any sense, you can trash it. It’s simple, just press hold the suggestion and drag it to the trash icon above.

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8.Type numbers or symbols quickly

If you are typing a text that features a ton of numbers and symbols, you will have a tough time, considering you will have to press the symbols button now and again to add numbers or symbols. Not the best user experience, right? Well, Google Keyboard has a solution for this too. You can simply press hold the symbols key and drag it to a letter that corresponds to a number or symbol in the number & symbols page.

Third Party Gesture Apps

9.All in One Gestures: Add Custom Gestures

If you want to totally control your Android smartphone with gestures then the Gestures app (Free) is the best choice. Once you have set up the app, you will be able to create custom gestures for all the corners and edges of your smartphone’s display.

All you want to do is turn on the “Enable” toggle and then, tick the gestures you want to use, after which a menu will open that will let you select the action you want. You can select between different actions like Home, Back, Recent Apps, Screen Off, Power Menu, Status Bar, Kill App, Screenshot etc. or select an app, shortcut or activity to release. Once done, you will see a shade at the corners or edges that you have enabled gestures on, signifying that you can use them to launch your action.

10.Apex Launcher: Homescreen Gestures

If you need home screen gestures for different actions, you can try out a launcher app with gesture support. Apex Launcher (Free) fits the bill here, as it brings some gesture options in its free version. After you have installed and set Apex Launcher as the default launcher, you can head to “Apex Settings“. Here, go to “Behavior Settings” and scroll down to the Gestures section, where you can set up gestures for pinch in, swipe up, swipe down, double tap, long press.

You can select from actions like show app drawer or previews, go to default screen, show notifications, lock desktop etc. or launch an app. In case you’d like more gestures like two finger swipes, you should get the Apex Launcher Pro ($3.99).

Also, you can even get Nova Launcher Prime ($4.99), which offers the same home screen gestures like Apex but offers rotate and double finger gestures as well.

Bonus: Hands-free Air Gestures

You can simply control Android smartphones hands-free thanks to Google Now, there are some apps that bring hands-free air gestures. Initially, there’s KinScreen (Free, $0.99 for full version), which gives you a chance to turn on your device’s display by just waving over the proximity sensor. You can even make sure the screen does not timeout by just waving over the proximity sensor. The app likewise brings a host of other options like the ability to check working of your device’s proximity sensor, turn on screen or keep screen on when motion is detected. All of these features are configurable but only in the full version of the app.

You can also check out the Wave control app (Free), which lets you control music, calls and other apps through air gestures. We had a hit-miss experience with the app and the full-page advertisements (in the free version) along with a bloated UI surely don’t make up for a great experience. In addition, most of its features are locked in its paid version ($2.99).