Do you know what your smartphone can do for you? Most people do not even bother to find out how these smart gadgets can indeed change their world. And guess what?
They’re called smartphones for a cause. Even if you only plan on using a few applications, you can actually do some dazzling things with your phone and you don’t even need the latest model.
So you can happily pick up an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy 4 from your favourite dealer and there you go.
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
To keep you busy during your lunch break or on a dull journey home on the tube, here are 15 really great things you had no idea your phone could do.
1. Block annoying numbers
Regret giving your number out to that bloke you met in the pizza shop on Friday? Wish everyone would stop telling you that you have some PPI to claim? Well, luckily for you, you can simply block them and enjoy those lazy afternoons without someone trying to sell you something.If you’ve got an Android, it depends on which phone you have. For the most part, you can tap the number and press block. If that fails, you can just download apps like ‘Truecaller‘ and ‘Mr. Number‘ and they’ll sort you out nicely.
If you’ve got an iPhone, simply go on your recent callers list, press the ‘I’next to the number and just press ‘block this caller’, easy!
2. Share apps, music and everything with a tap of a phone
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
3. Charge your phone faster
You’re going out soon but your phone is about to die and you really can’t be late, so what do you do? Whether you have an iPhone or an Android, simply turn Airplane Mode on and plug that baby in! Your phone charges almost twice as fast in Airplane mode, meaning by the time you’re ready to go out, it’ll be fully charged and you can bombard your Twitter with loads of selfies!4. Make your screen darker
There is nothing more annoying than your partner shining a bright phone screen in your face while you’re trying to sleep. In fact, a bright screen before bed actually can ruin your night’s sleep. You’ve tried turning the screen brightness down, but it’s still too bright!
All you need to do is download the ‘Twilight‘ app from the Google Play store and you can not only stop annoying your better half, but you’ll have a better night’s sleep because of it!
Sorry iPhone users, your way is pretty long but worth it… Go on your iPhone’s General > Accessibility > Zoom, and toggle Zoom on. Then press Full Screen Zoom and drag the slider all the way down and select the Low Light Filter. Then go back to Accessibility and scroll down to Accessibility Shortcut and press Zoom. Now when you triple tap your home button, your phone will switch from your low light mode to normal brightness!
5. Keep your phone alive for longer
So you’re on a long trip and have got little use for your 4G but you’re waiting for a really important call… how do you keep your phone from dying? Well, you can prolong your battery life by following these simple steps: Bluetooth, GPS (Settings > Location > switch to Off and sync for apps (Settings > ‘Accounts‘ select which apps to stop syncing (Twitter, Facebook, and Spotify will drain it quickly)).Then go to Settings > Battery to see which apps are using most juice. Now all you have to do is tap the app ‘Force Stop’
6. Maps offline
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
7. Swipe left for a spirit level
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
8. Close apps faster
Remember all those fancy apps will drain your battery pretty quickly, but it really is a right effort to close all of them one at a time. Well, you need not worry anymore, you simply have go to Advanced Preferences in Recent Apps Cleaner, then select Add HomeScreen Shortcut. Next, add the Clean Recent Apps widget, and you can easily clear all your recent apps with a simple tap!On iPhone, it’s even simpler! Just double tap the home button and then use four fingers to swipe up, this way, you’ll close multiple apps at once.
9. Shake to delete
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
10. Stop your kid spending LOADS of money on apps
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
11. Find your phone
We’ve all been there, frantically trying to find your phone as you’re getting ready for work. Well, all you have to do is download Android Device Manager from the Play Store then just go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager on your browser to find out exactly where your phone is.iPhone has a similar system but it does work better if you have another Apple product – simply download the Find My iPhone app. You will need to ensure you have some 3G left otherwise it might be a bit harder to find.
12. Prioritise callers
You’ve read the horror stories of kids using their parents’ phones to play CandyCrush and ending up spending a load of money and leaving their bank statement thicker than War and Peace. Fear not, just go to Menu > Settings > User Controls and then Set or Change PIN. Then add a PINthen re-enter it and press the box for ‘Use PIN for Purchases‘. That’ll stop them costing you LOADS. It’s actually a little more straightforward for iPhone users, just go to Settings > General > Restrictions, Enable Restrictions, and scroll down to disable In-App Purchases.11. Find your phone
We’ve all been there, frantically trying to find your phone as you’re getting ready for work. Well, all you have to do is download Android Device Manager from the Play Store then just go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager on your browser to find out exactly where your phone is.iPhone has a similar system but it does work better if you have another Apple product – simply download the Find My iPhone app. You will need to ensure you have some 3G left otherwise it might be a bit harder to find.
12. Prioritise callers
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
Waiting for an important text and you keep having to check your phone because your mum keeps texting you about your dad’s new slippers? Well, on Android, you can change the priority levels of your contacts. Just press any volume button > settings button, then customise which callers can contact you via calls or texts.
On iPhone, you don’t need an app! All you need to do is set a timer, and press When Timer Ends, then scroll down to Stop Playing.
Usually, your password is just a four digit passcode and if someone spots it, they’ll have access to all your cat pictures. Did you know you can change it to a lettered password? Making it much harder for anyone to figure it out, all you need to do is go to Settings > Lock screen and tap Screen Lock then change the level of security you want!
It’s just as easy on iPhone, go to Settings > Passcode, then swipe off the Simple Passcode option and there you go!
13. Turn off music automatically
It is pretty nice being able to listen to music before you go to bed, but you’re probably going to fall asleep with it playing and that is going to drain your battery. All you need to do is download Sleep Timer from the Google Play store and enjoy some guilty pleasures from your music collection.On iPhone, you don’t need an app! All you need to do is set a timer, and press When Timer Ends, then scroll down to Stop Playing.
14. Make your password super safe
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| 15 Brilliant Things You Didn’t Know Your Phone Could Do |
It’s just as easy on iPhone, go to Settings > Passcode, then swipe off the Simple Passcode option and there you go!
