I replaced my Pixel's built-in tools with this one sidebar app
Android Police 2026-07-23 15:15:15
Context: The author, Jon Gilbert, a Features Writer for Android Police, replaced the built-in tools on his Google Pixel phone with a third-party app called Sidebar, which brings the Edge Panel experience to any Android phone. He found Sidebar to be highly useful and customizable, with features such as a floating dock, utilities like Media Controller and Timer, and shortcuts like Circle Cut for screenshots. The app has become an integral part of his Android experience, making him feel like he's no longer using a Pixel phone.
Key Facts
- The author, Jon Gilbert, has been covering Android since 2021, focusing on writing features and guides about Android apps and features that directly affect users.
- The third-party app, Sidebar, offers a feature called Side Dock, which is a minimalist version of Edge Panels that can be used on any Android phone, not just Samsung Galaxy devices.
- Side Dock's free version is limited, but the full version is a one-time purchase that offers a range of utilities, including Media Controller, Timer, Compass, Caffeine, and Color Picker shortcuts.
- The author uses Side Dock's Circle Cut shortcut to take and edit screenshots, which he finds to be a smoother process than the built-in screenshot functionality on his Pixel phone.
- The author has replaced several of his Pixel's built-in tools with Side Dock's features, including the clipboard tool, volume and brightness sliders, and speech-to-text functionality, which he finds to be more useful and efficient.