In 2016, almost 62% of the world population owned mobile phones. Next year, this number will increase to almost 5 billion people. We can’t imagine our everyday life without smartphones that have different apps that can easily turn into universal gadgets. Most people are accustomed to using only certain functions on their phones and end up ignoring the vast possibilities that they have right at their fingertips. For example, did you know that you can take a selfie using your earphones?
Apart from the usual functions, our gadgets have numerous built-in tricks that can make our lives much easier in all kinds of situations.
Bright Side gathered a list of several ways that you can get the most out of your smartphone.
1. Airplane mode to boost a signal
If you noticed that your cellular connection is quite low, simply switch your phone to airplane mode for 2-3 seconds. It should solve the problem because when you shift back to regular mode, your phone automatically connects to the nearest cell tower which means that a better signal is guaranteed.
2. Good sound on video
To film a video with good sound, cover the speakerphone with your hand and position it toward the source of the sound. This will keep you from recording ambient noises that might ruin the video.
3. Keyboard shortcuts
To type your messages much faster, you can create several keyboard combinations for certain frequently-used phrases. For example, email signatures or email addresses. If you’d like to avoid typing a long email address each time you want to sign into an online account, this little trick will become a real time-saver for you.
4. Take a photo using your earphones
How do you take a selfie and don’t get your hand in the photo? If you have an iPhone, you can use your earphones: plug them in, open the camera, and take pictures by pressing the volume button on the earphones cord. You can also put your phone on something and take a step back to experiment with the angles.
5. Turn off ads
If you use free apps, you’re probably used to annoying ads popping up on your screen from time to time. Switch your smartphone to airplane mode and enjoy playing your favorite games.
6. A smartphone instead of glasses
If you can’t see too well or forgot your glasses at home, your smartphone can help solve the problem. Open the camera app and point it at the necessary object to see it on the screen. For example, price tags in a shop or a number of an approaching bus.
7. Self-made stylus
You don’t have to buy a special stylus to use it for drawing apps. You can use a regular dead battery. Use the side marked with “-” to have a stylus to draw and play.
8. Energy-saving mode
To make the battery charge last longer, you’ve already turned off notifications, regulated the screen’s brightness, turned off the vibration, and stopped using widgets. There’s one more trick: set a black background (for AMOLED displays.) The screen only lights up color pixels; therefore, the more black pixels there are, the longer your battery will last.
9. Quickly find your phone
“Call me, I can’t find my phone!” is how most people start looking for their lost phones. But what would you do if you were alone at home or put your phone on vibrate? Use the Google Device Manager from another device (a laptop, for example) to send a sound signal from your phone. It will ring until you find it even if it is on vibrate. iPhone owners can use a similar function called Find iPhone.
What do you think of these effective ways to get the most out of your smartphone? Share your opinion with us in the comments.
Preview photo credit Depositphotos, Depositphotos
