New Android Phone? Change These 4 Settings Right Away

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When you get a new Android phone and boot it up for the first time, the operating system has to prepare your experience. This mainly consists of connecting to the network, downloading system updates, and customizing your user settings. Luckily, one of the new features added to Android phones in 2026 was a streamlined, much-improved device setup process. It can still take a little while, but even when it’s done, you may want to do a little tinkering yourself before you dive in. There are a variety of options you’ll want to adjust, new apps you might want to install or remove, or changes you’ll want to make. For example, on an older Android phone that feels slow, there’s a hidden setting you can change to make it seem snappier and faster. You may even want to do that on a new device.

It goes beyond that, of course. Maybe you’ll want to remove pre-installed apps and bloatware before you start grabbing your own from the Play Store? Perhaps you’ll want to change the device’s look and feel with a launcher, new themes, or new wallpapers. The beauty of Android is its full customization support, and that holds whether you have a Google Pixel device, a Samsung device, a Motorola device, or another brand entirely. Whatever the case, before jumping into the new OS and phone experience, there are some settings or configurations you should consider changing as soon as possible.