Accessing Google’s Secret Easter Eggs on Android 9 and 10
Google Secret Easter Eggs are hidden feature in the Android OS that you access by performing specific steps in the settings menu
Author:Daniel BarrettAug 20, 2022124415 Shares1658868 Views
Google Secret Easter Eggs – There are a ton of little nods in the AndroidOS to consumers and the developer community. One of the longest-running gags is the venerable Android Easter egg.
What is an Android Easter egg?
Put simply, it’s a hidden feature in the Android OS that you access by performing specific steps in the settings menu. There have been many over the years, from interactive images to simple games. If you are a regular user of Android or even a new user, you should know that Google always tucks away a fun Easter egg in each version of its mobile operating system. In fact, the company recently added a text adventure game to Chrome.
Now, some of the secrets are more interesting than others, but it’s always fun to know what they are and how to access them. With Android Pie (version 9.0) the company has included yet another cool hidden gem and here is a look at how to access it.
Before we get started with the list, you can actually experience basically all of the Easter eggs yourself with this Android Easter egg app on the Google Play Store. It has near-perfect recreations from Android 2.3 Gingerbread all the way up through Android 10.
Android Pie Easter Egg
To unveil the trippy “P” animation Easter egg, head to Settings > About Phone > Android Version and on the screen that pops up, fast tap repeatedly on “Android Version”.
After about four or five taps, you will see a hypnotic style P animation appear. You can pinch and zoom the logo, and it will change the color of the animation will change after turning the phone to landscape and back.
Although the earlier ones with games seemed a bit more fun. Unless you have a Pixel running Pie, then you also get the drawing app. Still, whether it’s on your phone or computer, unlocking tech-based Easter eggs that your friends and co-workers are not aware of is always fun.
How to access Android 9’s trippy Easter egg
If you’re still bummed that your device has yet to receive Android 10, don’t worry. While you wait, don’t forget about this version of the operating system’s Easter eggs. To access them, you’ll perform the same trick as before: pull up your Android 10 device’s Settings app, tap on About phone, tap “Android version,” and start tapping on the next instance of “Android version” you see. We’re not quite done. Keep tapping the “P” of this colorful little Android P logo, and you’ll eventually be taken to a simple drawing app that you can use to doodle the day away.
Google Secret Easter Eggs On Android 9.0 Pie
This one was a small departure from the usual methods. Android 9 Pie introduced a second box with an Android Version Number box. It didn’t trip up long-time Easter egg fans, though. In any case, the P logo is surrounded by a colorful background.
You can change the colors with a single tap and move the rings by tapping and swiping. Long pressing the logo (this may take multiple tries) takes you to the second tier of the Easter egg, a simple drawing app. You can change the brush size and color with a dropper tool. There really isn’t much else there. You can draw some stuff and have a bit of fun.
Interestingly, the app fakes pressure sensitivity based on how much surface area you cover since most smartphonesdon’t have pressure-sensitive displays. A neat little trick from Google! Fun fact, the drawing portion of the Easter egg was not available on all devices.
How to access the Android 9.0 Pie Easter egg:
Navigate to Settings > About Phone, and then tap multiple times on the Android Version box. Starting in Android Pie, a box pops up and you must tap on the Android Version box a bunch of times to see the Easter egg. From there, tap and long-press the P logo multiple times until the drawing app appears.
Google Secret Easter Eggs On Android 10
Google, in its infinite capacity for silly, has dropped a fun hidden feature into Android 10 that you should spend a little time exploring. (At the very least, you’ll be a hit at your next party when you pull out your updated phone and show off your secret knowledge.)
Android 10 was a massive departure from previous Android versions. There was no dessert name, although Queens Cake would’ve been the name according to David Burke on an episode of All About Android. The Easter egg also changes to dark mode along with the system-wide dark mode.
To get started, pull up your Android 10 device’s Settings app. Tap on About phone, and look for the “Android version” line. When you find it, tap on it, and then start frantically tapping on the “Android version” listing on the next screen. When the secret loads, you’ll know, because your device’s screen will have changed into an inscription saying, “android 10” Neat, but we’re not done.
Double-tap on each of the elements (Android, 1, and 0) and revolve them to create the old Android Q logo, You’ll know you’ve nailed it if the gray lines on the background start moving from the lower-left corner of your phone’s screen to the upper-right. From there, tap on the word “Android” until you pull up a second puzzle. Congratulations; you’re in Nonogram Land.
Google Secret Easter Eggs
The Picross (a.k.a. Nonogram) puzzle game is something we had to Google Search when we first found it. You basically fill in the boxes (by tapping on them) according to the instructions on the borders. The finished product should be an image A nonogram, for the curious, is a logic puzzle for pictures.
The numbers at the top represent how many squares are filled in within the column. So, “2″ would mean there are…two. Hyphenated series of numbers—like 1-4-2—means that there are groupings of colored squares in the column (one, followed by an unknown number of blanks, followed by four colored squares in succession, then blanks, then a group of two-colored squares, et cetera).
If you see green in a cell within the left-most column, that means you’ve solved the puzzle for that row. Similarly, green in a cell at the very top row means you’ve solved the puzzle for that specific column. These are the ground rules; the puzzles, while a little tricky, all come with one important caveat: They’re all related to Android in some capacity.
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