These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t own a smartphone. That’s why most people think that they know their phones inside out, aware of every function the phone holds. And that’s not true!
Your phone holds many secret functions, and we’re here to tell you all about them. Keep reading to learn about ten things that you didn’t know you could do with your smartphone today.
Test Battery Levels
Picture this – you’re relaxing on your couch after a long day at work, excited to watch a TV show. And as you reach your remote to turn on the TV, your remote control doesn’t work. Is it the remote itself? Is it the batteries? If yes, which battery from the bunch is it?
Grab your phone and find out – turn on your camera app, switch on the front-facing camera, and point your remote control towards your phone’s camera. Press any button on the remote. Look at your camera – if you see a pink or purple light flashing on your remote, that means your batteries are still working. If you see no light, it’s time to head to the nearest convenience store!
Earn Money
For the past few years, you can pay for your purchases with your phone. You can stay relaxed when you realize you don’t have your wallet with you when you’re at the checkout. How would you like to make some money on your phone instead of spending it?
With money-earnings apps like Honeygain, you can make money by sharing your unused internet connection. Researchers use that connection to access public data from websites for data-driven projects, and Honeygain users earn money as a reward. You can cash out through PayPal, which means you can get free PayPal money!
Scan Documents
Not many people nowadays own a printer or a scanner at home. If you’re one of those people but still need to scan a document from time to time, don’t even think about buying a printer!
Most smartphones nowadays carry the function of scanning physical documents into an image or a PDF format. Depending on the brand of your phone, you can either do that in your Notes app or your camera app.
Receive Emergency Alerts
There are some situations where everyone wants to be informed about it ASAP. And your phone’s meant to do just that. Newer smartphones deliver emergency alerts of all kinds, including Amber Alerts for missing children, severe weather notifications, public safety alerts, and more.
Stay informed on any possible emergencies and alerts by going to your phone’s settings and making sure that your emergency alerts are enabled. Stay safe!
Learn Something New
They say that learning keeps the mind young. No, you don’t have to go back to roaming high school hallways or enrolling in university. And it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
If you download an app like Skillshare, you can learn anything without changing from your pajamas. Video editing, law maintenance, cooking, and more – your phone’s a depository of knowledge, so don’t be afraid to use it!
Manage Your Finances
Gone are the days when keeping up with your finances meant reviewing physical copies of your bank statements, armed with a calculator, pen, and paper. If you have a smartphone, you can delegate your finances to it.
With budgeting apps like Mint, information about your purchases goes directly from your bank app to Mint, where the app separates them into categories, with calculations on how much you spent for each category. You can even set budgets for each specific category, so you’ll get notified when you’re about to go over the top on take-out orders!
Borrow Books From the Library
Books are costly these days! And while most reading lovers want to support local publishers, not everyone can afford that. If that’s you, you should get a library card. Did you know that some libraries house online books that you can read on your phone?
Hoopla and Libby are apps that enable you to borrow online books from your local library. Check if your library is partnered with any of those apps, and get to reading!
Look At Something up Close
Many people wear glasses every day. But sometimes, even your glasses won’t cut it when it comes to really small fonts or detailed images. Your grandma probably owns a magnifying glass to get out of this situation, and you probably don’t.
Good news – you don’t need to! To see something up close, you can either use your phone’s camera to zoom into something or download a magnifying glass app that will zoom in for you, allowing you to see things clearly!
Your phones hold many more features than you might think. From scanning documents to earning money from your couch, explore your phone and use its abilities to the fullest.
