15 Hidden HTC One Features

The HTC One blends a collection of hidden features into HTC Sense 5 which unlock the full potential of the all aluminum Android smartphone.

Some of the best HTC One features are found deep in the settings menu or hidden behind button presses most users might never stumble upon. This HTC One guide will show users how to get more out of their new HTC One without buying new apps or HTC One accessories.

There are no passwords or secret codes to reveal these hidden HTC One features, but these are features that many users wouldn’t find on their own thanks to the quirks of Android and the HTC One menu system. The HTC One features aren’t as tough to find as those on the Galaxy S4, but every HTC One owner should finish this list of hidden HTC One features with at least one new trick.

Check out these essential, but hidden, HTC One features.

Users do not need to root the HTC One or install a custom ROM to access any of these hidden HTC One features, though doing so will open up access to other apps and features.

These HTC One features should work on all HTC One models, including the Verizon HTC One. The features should also work on the HTC One Android 4.2.2 update and many will likely work on the HTC One mini.

Here are 15 HTC One features the Gotta Be Mobile team uncovered while using the HTC One for the past several months.

Turn Off BlinkFeed

The HTC One comes with BlinkFeed, a full screen widget that takes over the main home screen of the HTC One to deliver updates from news and from friends. While some users will enjoy HTC BlinkFeed, others will want to turn off Blinkfeed. HTC doesn’t offer a BlinkFeed off switch with HTC Sense 5, but there is a way to hide it an make the a standard Android screen the main home page. The video below covers the directions to hide BlinkFeed.

With these instructions you can essentially turn off BlinkFeed on the HTC One to get to your apps faster. Tapping the + on that screen can also add a new panel to hold apps and widgets.

Multitask on the HTC One

Users can Multitask on the HTC One to quickly switch apps without exiting tot he home screen and looking for the app they just left. There is no multitasking button on the HTC One like there is on some Android devices, but there is a shortcut to multitask. The 30 second video below shows how to multitask on the HTC One.

To use Multitasking on the HTC One, tap the home button twice in a quick fashion and the screen will show up with your most recent running apps. Tap and hold on an app, then swipe up to kill the app.

Do More with the HTC One Camera

The HTC One comes with an Ultrapixel camera which HTC boasts delivers great low light performance, but that’s not all it does. HTC may not advertise every HTC Once camera feature in a commercial like Samsung, but it does offer a lot of new ways to take photos.

Use HTC Zoe – HTC Zoe is a mode that takes a collection of photos and videos all at once in order to capture the moment better. This is perfect for catching great photos of kids or pets which can flash the perfect smile or look for less than a second. Open the HTC One camera and tap the small camera icon on the left side of the screen. This will turn on HTC Zoe and show it at the bottom of the screen. Now just tap the shutter to take an HTC Zoe.

Burst Mode – When taking photos, the HTC One can take a series of photos in burst mode to make sure you don’t miss any of the action. Tap and hold the shutter button to use this. HTC Zoe must be turned off.

HTC One Action Shot – When you take a burst of photos, save all of the photos to turn it into an action shot that can show movement. After capturing a burst of something or someone in actiontap on the continuous shooting file and tap retouch. Next tap on Sequence Shot and pick five photos that show the motion you want, as shown in the video above.

Slow Motion Video – Take a slow motion video on the HTC One by tapping on the menu icon in the lower left of the camera app. Scroll down to video capture mode and choose Slow motion video. Now press the video shutter button to record in slow motion. Video taken in slow motion can be edited later to mix real time and slow motion for dramatic effect.

Remove Unwanted People – If you are sick of sharing your group photos with people who walk through a perfect shot use HTC Zoe and then tap on Edit, Retouch and Object removal to quickly remove unwanted objects from your photos.

Better HTC One Battery Life

There is no removable HTC One battery, so users will want to make sure they get better HTC One battery life to last through a full day. There are two built-in features to help deliver better HTC One battery life and one free app that can take things further.

The first step is to turn on the HTC One Power Saver mode. Go to Settings -> Power -> Power Saver -> On.

Quick tip to better HTC One battery life.

Users can further control this by changing settings inside the Power Saver option to control what the Power Saver mode controls. Users can also turn on Sleep mode on the Power Settings page to limit data connectivity when the HTC One is not in use for a long time.

For even better battery life users can install the Snapdragon BatteryGuru which learns how you use the HTC One and tailors battery usage to your life.

Find a Lost or Stolen HTC One

HTC doesn’t include any special software to track down a lost or stolen HTC One, but users can install a free app to secure the HTC One and help find it if something goes wrong.

Lookout Mobile is a free Android app that allows users to remotely lock a lost or stolen HTC One. The app can also help users track the specific location of the device and if the battery dies it will send out a last attempt signal flare with the location information.

On top of all of these free features the app scans apps installed on the HTC One to protect users from malware on Android apps.

Use a USB Drive with the HTC One

There is no Micro SD card to add storage to the HTC One, but users can carry movies or big files on a USB drive that can connect to the HTC One for playback. The video below shows this in action. This doesn’t work for Google Play movies or those with DRM.

Simply fill up compatible movie files on a computer and plug the USB drive in with a cheap USB OTG adapter which goes from Micro USB to full size USB and you are good to go. The HTC One does not support the Xbox 360 controller with this adapter like some Android phones.

Control the HTC One Notification LED

Does the HTC One notification LED flash too much? HTC offers a fast way to control what alerts will flash the LED. This is perfect for hiding the annoying, all-the-time blinking LED for Mail or Voice Mail.

Control the HTC One notification LED.

Open Settings -> Tap on Display, gestures & buttons and then tap on Notification flash and choose what you want the LED to flash for.

Supercharge the HTC One Keyboard

The HTC One keyboard is nice, but right out of the box there are some things that need tweaked. If you can’t type without a lot of errors, try re-calibrating the keyboard. This resets the touch points and can deliver a vastly improved typing experience.

Open any app with a keyboard and tap and hold on the settings icon to the left of the space bar. Tap on Calibration Tool and follow the steps to calibrate the keyboard.

All of these other options also take place in the keyboard settings, so stay there. You can turn on next word prediction to have the HTC One offer up what you might type next. Turn on Trace to trace out a word. and check arrow keys to ad arrow keys below the keyboard.

Control Mobile Data

If you don’t have an unlimited data plan, the HTC One can help you avoid nasty data overages thanks to a built-in data monitoring tool.

Go to Settings -> More -> Usage -> Turn on Limit mobile data usage.

From here users can set warnings and set hard limits to stop mobile data when a threshold is crossed. This only applies to this phone, so it won’t monitor a family account completely, but will help the individual user.

Use Google Now on the HTC One

Google Now is a great, and often un-noticed HTC One feature that lets users get personalized information and alerts and control the HTC One with their voice, like Siri on the iPhone.

To use Google Now on the HTC One, hold the home button. If this is the first time you are using it, sign in with your account and enable the feature.

Once it is set up, cards will show personalized info from Gmail, Google Searches and other Google Apps. Users can also say, “Google” and then a task and have Google Now do something for them.

Enable HTC One Smart Ring Mode

HTC offers several ringtone customizations on top of picking a specific ringer. These smart ring modes are handy to turn on.

Enable a smart ringer on the HTC One.

Go to Settings -> Sound -> Quiet ring on pickup and Pocket Mode to turn these on.

The Quiet ring on pickup will, as it implies, lowers the ring volume when the HTC One is picked up. if the HTC One senses it is in a pocket it will ring louder than usual so it is heard.

Make an Amazing Highlight Reel on the HTC One

After you take a lot of photos at an event, including those with HTC Zoe, you can combine them automatically into a great looking slideshow set to music.

Tap on Gallery -> make sure the upper left says Events -> Tap on an Event -> Tap on the moving photo at the top -> Tap on the option buttons in the lower right to pick style and music, then tap share. The sample above shows an HTC Zoe highlight. Users can share to HTC, Facebook, Twitter and other locations.

Use the HTC One as a Remote Control

The HTC One includes a IR port hidden in the power button that lets you control an HDTV, cable box, game system and home theater without putting the phone down. The phone comes with a huge collection of supported devices and can support multiple rooms and houses.

Tap on Apps -> TV and follow the directions on screen to add your devices. The video below shows the HTC One as a remote control.

Users can also tell the phone what shows they like and get a customized lineup of shows they might like to see that are on TV or coming up soon. Tap on a title to automatically change the channel.

Easily Switch from iPhone to HTC One

For users who are switching from the iPhone to the HTC One, HTC offers a switching tool that will help users make the switch and bring their content along. To use this iPhone to HTC One switch tool download the HTC Sync Manager.

Next connect your iPhone to the computer and make a backup that is not encrypted. After that is complete, attach the HTC One to your computer and launch the HTC Sync Manager to move files and data over to the HTC One.

There is also a handy HTC Transfer Tool for switching to the HTC One from another Android phone.

Use Google Now to Control Spotify & Music

Now that you’ve mastered how to use Google Now on the HTC One, here’s a really cool feature that lets you control Spotify, Google Play All Access, YouTube and more from Google Now. Check this out in action in the video below.

]Launch Google Now and say “Google Play Artist Name” to start playing music by a specific band or artist. Users can then pick which service to use. Google will remember andin the future launch that app and start playing the songs.