Can you imagine your life without a smartphone? Can you even remember your life without one? They have become an essential part of our everyday lives, and we use them for everything from work and video conferencing to entertainment and video editing and anything you can think of in between.
As the technology develops rapidly and the phones become ever more affordable, it’s no surprise that tech-types are coming up with fresh, innovative ways to use our mobile devices, some that improve on existing applications, and some that may surprise you.
Let’s look at some of the amazing things you can do on your smartphone today!
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1. Hunt for treasure
If you fancy searching for buried treasure, you can use your iPhone as a metal detector. The Metal Detector app can be downloaded for free, and uses your phone’s built-in magnetometer to detect metal on X Y Z axes. Your phone can’t detect everything metal, only those things which are magnetic, but it’s still pretty impressive. You simply point your camera towards the ground and turn up the dial to increase the intensity. For Android users, there is an app of the same name available. From bottle tops to Saxon coins, you’ll be amazed at what you can find with your phone.
2. Control your car
Smart technology is everywhere, useful, intuitive, and affordable. And now you can control your car via the Viper SmartStart app. As well as being able to heat up or cool down your car – depending on the weather – before you head down to the parking lot you can also control it in different ways – locking doors, opening the trunk, managing your security system, and even switching the car on! You’ll need the full system to do this, and it costs – $70 to $240 per year, depending on the service plan. You’ll also need a module installed in your car, which costs around $300.
3. Measure your heart rate
Phones are great for keeping fit, with health tracker apps that measure daily steps, help with diet, and remind you to take your medication. But did you know you can actually measure your heart rate with your phone? The Instant Heart Rate app uses your phone’s camera and flash to read your pulse by detecting color changes when you place your finger over the camera. The app collects data and creates charts for you to monitor, and you can create tags for different times of the day/activities.
4. Have a flutter
Online sports betting has grown into a massive industry over the past ten years, but now new technology – such as that from www.gig.com – offers punters a seamless betting experience, with a single wallet, registration, and loyalty system. Payments are safer than ever and the array of sports and types of bets are much wider than they were a few years ago, and it is all present on the internet. This also means you don’t even have to download the app, but you can just load a sportsbookie online and start betting.
5. Keep you safe
Walking home alone at night can be a little unsettling. The bSafe app, for Android and iOS, is a great way to let your friends and family know you’re alright. You can have it send alerts to contacts when you’re setting off, and send an alert if you don’t reach your destination in the scheduled time frame. You can also program the phone to call itself, so you can be on the line (but still aware) when you’re walking – being on a call puts off many would-be muggers.
6. Measure height and distance
No need to estimate how high or far away things are anymore – a nifty little app for both iOS and Android called EasyMeasure will tell you all the surveying information you need to know. The app is free, but for $2.99 it is completely ad-free. You’ll need to calibrate your phone before you can start using it – the app contains full setup instructions.
7. Night vision
You can use your smartphone as a thermal imaging camera to see in the dark! You’ll need a thermal camera attachment such as Seek Thermal Compact or Compact XR, which attaches to your smartphone via lightning port for Apple or micro USB port for Android. These attachments contain a 206 x 156 thermal sensor that can detect temperatures between -40 degrees and 626 degrees Fahrenheit at a range up to 1,000 feet.
8. Level up
Smartphones are making many things obsolete – music players, cameras, wallets, and now spirit levels! iHandy Level is available for free on both iOS and Android, and can help you lay flooring, hang pictures or mount light fixtures. It has digital read-outs, but also the classic spirit level bubble for authentic leveling.
9. Breathalyse
Keep yourself and others on the road safe by using the BACtrack smartphone breathalyser, a tiny device that connects with an app on your phone. Simply breathe into it, and it’ll let you know your blood alcohol content and whether it’s safe or not to get behind the wheel.
So, just 9 of the most amazing things you can do on your smartphone – there are plenty more things to discover. Remember, you can make calls on it as well.
