I like using Edge Panels on Samsung Galaxy devices. Having a few shortcuts always under my thumb is a useful ability, and I miss it when I switch back to my Google Pixel phone.
However, a third-party app, appropriately called Sidebar, brings the Edge Panel experience to any Android phone.
Side Dock is a minimalist version of Edge Panels that I’ve adopted much quicker than Samsung’s tool. While the free version is too limited for regular use, the full version is one of the easiest purchases I’ve ever made.
Side Dock is packed with an impressive amount of functionality
Everything is useful
Side Dock not only lets you access apps from the floating dock, but it also comes with a host of impressively built utilities, including:
- Clipboard
- Compass
- Circle Cut
- Audio Flow
- Color Picker
- Caffeine
- Media Controller
- Brightness
- Timer
Some of these, like Media Controller and Timer, are obvious but are built to have ultra-specific use cases. For example, tapping the Timer shortcut instantly starts a preset timer.
I make coffee every morning, and I leave it to brew for three minutes. I therefore set Side Dock’s timer to three minutes, then start it with two taps. Perfect.
Media Controller only has three buttons (play/pause, skip forward, and skip backward), but often that’s all I need.
I’m not sure if I need a dedicated compass shortcut, but the Caffeine shortcut that forces always-on for my screen is brilliant.
The Color Picker shortcut’s ability to instantly save any color as a hex code is a tool I thought I wouldn’t use, but now use regularly. Necessary? No. Useful? Definitely.
Where Side Dock has really excelled is in how it’s replaced many of my Pixel’s utilities.
Simple shortcuts to useful utilities
Solving problems I didn’t know I had
Taking and editing a screenshot on my Pixel phone is a straightforward process.
I take a screenshot by pressing my phone’s power and volume down buttons simultaneously, tap the preview, make my edits, and save the image.
But what about cutting out the middleman?
If I want to screenshot something small, say an app icon, I turn to Side Dock’s Circle Cut shortcut.
I double-tap to open the shortcut, circle the area of the screen I want, confirm my selection, then save it.
If I want, I can make further edits, but the process is much smoother than the built-in screenshot functionality for my Pixel phone.
Side Dock’s Clipboard shortcut has also supplanted my Pixel’s clipboard tool. Two taps are all it takes to see my history, which auto-deletes elements older than three months.
I’ve also replaced my Pixel’s volume and brightness sliders with Side Dock’s versions. The volume slider change isn’t strictly necessary, but I prefer its minimalist effect to the native UI.
But if there’s one tool that truly excels, and feels like it should be a native Pixel feature, it’s Audio Flow.
Audio Flow is the speech-to-text tool I always wanted
I’m suddenly using a digital clipboard again
I occasionally use Gboard’s speech-to-text tool. It’s accessible and accurate, and until I started using Side Dock, it was all I thought I needed.
But Audio Flow is more than a speech-to-text shortcut. It’s great at doing it, but where it also excels is as a reminder.
When a text field isn’t highlighted, Audio Flow saves your speech as a text note to the clipboard. If I need to make a quick note or reminder, I can tap Audio Flow, say my piece, then move on.
My clipboard has therefore become my go-to app for making notes, which feels utterly bizarre to say.
If it’s an important note, I move it to Bundled Notes, but 99% of my reminders are short-term and don’t need to stick around forever.
Side Dock’s UI is the icing on the cake
A perfect fit for any launcher
I like keeping my Android experience simple. I don’t like awkward widgets and tools cluttering up the screen, so I was wary about how Side Dock would feel.
While Side Dock is clearly intended for Nothing phones first (it was first announced on Nothing’s community forums), its sleek black-and-white UI fits neatly alongside the Pixel Launcher.
I’ve tried it with my new favorite launcher, Comfer, too, and in both cases it felt like it was meant to be there.
Everything about Side Dock is meant to be as unobtrusive and as useful as possible, unlike Samsung’s Edge Panels, which always felt overkill to me.
I’m impressed that Side Dock has managed to replace so many Pixel features
I recently discussed how Comfer Launcher has finally dragged me away from Pixel Launcher thanks to its brilliant gesture support. Paired with Side Dock, I feel like I’m no longer using a Pixel phone.
And I love it.
Side Dock is the best shortcut app I’ve ever used. I also recommend it even if you’re not willing to upgrade, as the free version lets you add multiple app shortcuts on top of the clipboard (useful!) and the compass (not so useful).
