7 smart adjustments to make Android 11 more efficient

It’s here! After months of testing and more than a little teasing, Google officially took the wraps off its beefy Android 11 update on Tuesday. The software is already rolling out to Google’s own Pixel phones, as you’d expect, and should be making its way to more devices before long. (Well, sometime this century, anyway.)

You’ve probably heard plenty about Android 11’s most important additions and even its hidden gems by now — and if not, by golly, the ever-so-subtly included links in the first part of this sentence will get you caught up in no time. (Funny how that works, isn’t it?) Now, though, it’s time to turn our attention to some purely practical matters and think through specific steps you should take in order to make the most of what Android 11 has to offer.

Why? Well, lemme tell ya why, you curious little chinchilla: With this update in particular, some of Google’s most interesting and useful new elements require a teensy bit of fine-tuning in order to be fully effective — and as the serious business-minded user you so clearly are, you obviously don’t want to dilly-dally in making those adjustments. The good news, though, is that it doesn’t take long to get your phone fully optimized and ready. It’s just up to you to do it.

So consider this your road map to making the most of Android 11 and making your newly upgraded phone as efficient as possible — for enterprise use, for personal use, and for any other earthly purpose your humble electronic companion might serve.

Android 11 adjustment no. 1: Enable notification memory

One of my favorite Android 11 features and something I’ve been longing to see for ages is a new native Notification History section. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect: Anytime you swipe a notification away by accident (and what clumsy-fingered doofus among us hasn’t done that?!), you can quickly hop over to a history page and pull it back from the ether. Handy, no?

There’s just one catch: For some reason, Android 11’s Notification History option isn’t enabled automatically by default. So unless you take the time to turn it on, it’s not gonna be there when you need it.

Thankfully, that tiny little problem couldn’t be easier to rectify: Just open up the Apps & Notification section of your system settings, tap “Notifications,” then tap “Notification History.” (If you’re using a phone where the settings are presented differently, with this or any subsequent instructions in this story, try searching your settings area instead. That’ll get you to the same place.)

Now, see the toggle at the top of that screen?