Phone Hacks: 25 Unexpected Uses for Your Smartphone | Mobile Phones

™s Measure app leverages augmented reality and teh device’s camera to calculate dimensions, from ceiling heights to room sizes – a handy feature for rapid DIY decisions. Apple also highlights its utility for parents, offering a digital equivalent to customary height charts etched on walls.

Become a Modern-Day Detectorist

While dedicated metal detectors can be costly, manny smartphones contain built-in magnetometers, originally designed to improve GPS accuracy.These same magnetometers power metal detector apps, offering a fun and accessible way to search for small treasures, particularly for entertaining children at the beach. It’s crucial to note these apps won’t match the precision of professional equipment.

Did you know? Your smartphone might already have the tools for a treasure hunt! Many phones include magnetometers that can be repurposed as metal detectors.

Universal Remote Control in Your Pocket

Lost the television remote? Many Android phones feature an infrared blaster capable of mimicking signals from TVs, set-top boxes, and air conditioners. Alternatively, both Android and iOS devices can connect to smart devices via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. A dedicated remote control app transforms your phone into a central hub for your entire entertainment system, though it may also empower mischievous teenagers to change the channel mid-episode.

Digitizing Memories: Bringing Old Photos to Life

Do you have a collection of undeveloped photographic negatives or lost prints? Apps like filmbox, available on both iOS and Android, can convert negatives into digital photos when illuminated from behind. Image-editing apps can then be used to restore faded colors and enhance old, washed-out pictures.

Preserve Your Past: Breathe new life into old photos by digitizing negatives and prints with apps designed for restoration.

Skip the Hold music: A Callback Solution

Facing lengthy hold times with companies? While some offer callback services, your smartphone can provide a similar solution. The Hold Assist feature on iPhones running iOS 26 notifies you when a human voice is detected on the line,allowing you to multitask without missing your turn.

3D Scanning: Capturing the World Around You

Newer iPhones and select Android handsets boast depth sensors,like lidar,capable of mapping environments in 3D. Scanning apps utilize these sensors to create detailed 3D models of objects or rooms, suitable for 3D printing, game design, or simply creating digital copies for insurance or renovation planning.

Offline Navigation: Staying on Course Without a Signal

For outdoor enthusiasts,smartphones can provide crucial navigation assistance even without cellular service. By downloading offline maps beforehand,the phone’s GPS continues to function,tracking routes,elevation,and distance for hiking and cycling,allowing users to retrace their steps or share their adventures.

adventure Ready: don’t let a lack of signal stop your explorations. Download offline maps for reliable navigation in remote areas.

A Digital Stethoscope: Monitoring Your Health

Smartphones, combined with smartwatches, are increasingly becoming valuable health tools. A 2022 trial demonstrated that a smartphone’s microphone can accurately measure heartbeats, mirroring the functionality of a stethoscope, suggesting “mobile technologies are a viable way of recording heart sounds.” A commercial cardiac screening tool app is already available in the US.

Sound Sleep: Harnessing the Power of Ambient Noise

Instead of purchasing a dedicated white noise machine,iPhones offer a built-in solution. The accessibility settings allow users to activate a variety of soothing sounds,including white noise,ocean waves,and crackling fire,to promote restful sleep.

Color Matching: Repainting made Simple

Repainting a room without the original paint can can be challenging. Color-matching apps utilize the phone’s camera to sample shades from walls, cushions, or curtains, suggesting the closest matches from major paint brands and even previewing colors in a photo of your space.

Breaking Down Language Barriers: Live Translation on the go

Traveling abroad and struggling with menus or signs? Live translation apps, such as Google Translate, can instantly translate foreign text by overlaying english translations onto the image, ensuring you avoid any unexpected culinary surprises.

Travel Smarter: Overcome language barriers with live translation apps that instantly translate text in real-time.

Identifying the Natural World: Plant and Animal Recognition

Unsure of the plant growing along your property line or the type of cactus you’ve purchased? AI-powered apps, like Google Lens, can identify plants, animals, and other objects with surprising accuracy, distinguishing between hydrangeas and hosteas with ease.

upgrade Your Video Calls: smartphone as Webcam

Laptop webcams often suffer from low resolution and poor low-light performance. Smartphone cameras, with their superior image quality and automated processing, offer a significant upgrade. iPhones and Macs utilize the Handoff feature, while Android and Windows users can leverage the “Link to Windows” app to seamlessly connect their phone as a webcam.

Measuring Noise Levels: Documenting Disturbances

Dealing with noisy neighbors or construction? A range of decibel-measuring apps provide surprisingly accurate readings, possibly useful for documenting noise complaints and even accepted by some councils as evidence.

Building a Basic Smart Home: NFC Automation

Near-field communication (NFC) stickers, available for as little as £10 for a pack of 50, can act as programmable buttons for automating tasks. Placing a sticker by the door to activate Wi-fi and lights, or on a bedside table to start a sleep playlist, allows users to create simple smart home routines without a dedicated hub.

Leveling Up Your Home Decor: A Built-In Spirit Level

Hanging pictures straight can be frustrating.Many smartphones include a built-in spirit level within the compass or measurement tools, ensuring precise alignment for pictures, shelves, and even wobbly furniture.

Scanning Documents on the Fly: Digitalizing Paperwork

Need to digitize contracts or important documents? Most smartphones now include a scanning function that automatically identifies document corners when hovering the camera, creating a perfectly serviceable scan.

Go Paperless: easily scan and digitize documents on the go with your smartphone’s built-in scanning function.

Animated Memories: Breathing New Life into Old Photos

Family photos stored in shoeboxes don’t have to remain static. Scanning them into apps like Google Photos or Apple Photos automatically groups them by people, places, and dates, creating short “memories” complete with music and transitions, and even adding subtle motion effects.

Monitoring Health: Blood Oxygen Saturation Tracking

Health apps are increasingly utilizing smartphone sensors to estimate blood oxygen saturation, a valuable indicator of potential breathing difficulties or altitude sickness.While not a replacement for clinical monitors, these apps can serve as an early warning system, prompting users to seek medical advice if unusual trends are detected.

Presentation Power: Remote Control and Laser Pointer

ditch the clicker and use your smartphone to control PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides presentations remotely, viewing speaker notes on your handset. Some apps even transform the screen into a virtual laser pointer for highlighting key details.

sharing Your Location: Enhanced Safety and Peace of Mind

Sharing your real-time location with trusted contacts through apps like WhatsApp provides a simple safety net when walking alone, traveling, or meeting someone new, replacing the outdated “text me when you get there” ritual.

Diet Tracking: simplifying Nutrition Management

Nutrition apps simplify food diaries by allowing users to scan barcodes or search databases to log meals, automatically calculating calories and nutrients. Many sync with step counters or smartwatches, providing a extensive view of calorie intake and expenditure.

Podcasting on the go: Recording High-Quality Audio

With a simple plug-in microphone and editing app, smartphones can record surprisingly high-quality audio, enabling users to start a podcast, capture interviews, or create better voice notes.

Voice Control: hands-Free Operation

Automate tasks with voice commands. iPhone users can create custom voice triggers in the accessibility settings,allowing them to perform actions like taking a photo simply by saying “click.”

Streamlined Shopping: Digital Shopping Lists

replace paper shopping lists with dedicated apps like Bring!, AnyList, or Listonic, which allow shared lists, real-time updates, and barcode scanning for efficient grocery shopping.