The developer options is one of the many great tools of Android devices. In most phones, it is usually hidden from the average user. However, enabling it is very easy. All you have to do is find the phone's build number by clicking on "About Phone". Then, Double click on the build number. You will then get a message that " You are X steps away from becoming a developer. The X decreases with each additional tap. Continue until you get the message " you are now a developer". Then, you will see the developer options in your settings.
A lot of android users use it mainly to turn on their USB debugging. There is more to the Developer options than USB debugging.
Now, Let's discuss what we can do with our developer options.
1. USB debugging
This is the most popular tool of the developer options. It is required when you want your phone to communicate with your PC through the Android Debug Bridge. It is also required when you want to root your phone using certain softwares installed on your computer.
2. Pointer Location
This show the location of the position of the screen last touched. The information is shown in the space for the notification bar.
3. Change Backup Password
If you want to put a password on the backup files of your android device, there is a place for doing that in the developer options. This will prevent your backup from being easily accessible by strangers.
To do this,
Go to developer options
Tap Desktop backup password
Input your present password and the new one.
Then tap on set backup password..
4. Switch runtime between Dalvik and Art
Starting from the 4.4 KitKat version of Android, you can now use either the old Dalvik runtime or the new Art runtime. This can be switched in the developer options.
The Art runtime is said to be faster and battery saving than the Dalvik runtime.
To switch, go to developer options,
Tap on Select runtime,
Then choose between Dalvik and Art runtime and reboot your phone.
5. Show CPU usage
Another option in the developer options is the CPU usage. Toggling the key shows some codes which represent your CPU usage at the top right corner of your phone. This is not really needed as the codes might not make much sense to an average user. But it is easily understood by any Linux geek as it represents the system load average of the device.
6. Enable 4x MSAA for Opengl ES 2.0 Apps (FXAA)
If you own an android device that has high definition graphics, it can be made to be even better.
The FXAA is used to obtain quality graphic in high definition games as this feature is mostly disabled in games to save battery life. The FXAA is used to force the apps to use hd graphics.
To enable this feature, go to developer options
Then toggle the "Enable 4x MSAA" key.
7. Fake your GPS location (Mock Location)
There is also a platform for faking your GPS by making it think your are in another location instead of where you are. However, this option needs an app like this (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps) to work. This can be used to deceive your friends who might be tracking your phone.
To enable this option, go to developer options,
Then, toggle "allow mock locations".
8. Stay awake while charging
Although, I don't see any reason why this is needed as it might slow down charging speed. But, if for any reason, you need your phone screen to be awake while charging, all you need to do is toggle this option.
9. Don't keep activities
Even after closing an app, some few activities are still happening within the system to make sure the app loads faster when loading it next. Toggling this option makes sure no background activities take place after an app has been closed.
10. Set Background process limit
The amount of apps that can be in the background can be set in the developer options. If you wish not to have any app running in background, tick " no background processes". The default is the "standard limit". There are also other options there. You can always explore to learn more.
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