ARTICLE

5 Things You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do

October 21, 2022 - 3 minute read

Remember when mobile phones were for making calls, sending texts and playing Snake? Then phones got smart. Now these mini-computers in our pockets are waking us up, playing our favourite songs, telling us where to go, snapping selfies and running our smart homes. New research reveals Australians spend an average of 5.5 hours daily looking at our smartphones. That’s a third of our waking hours! And yet, we’re willing to bet there are still some smartphone features and tricks you’ve never heard of, let alone used. So whether you’re married to your iPhone or a diehard Android fan, we’ve compiled a list of the surprising things your smartphone can do, so you can make the most of what you’ve got, and impress your friends!

What Is A Smartphone?

“Essentially a mobile phone that can access the internet, smartphones put the sum of the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, along with all our friends, family, entertainment and tools to make our lives easier,” says John Wong, The Good Guys Buyer ‒ Mobiles and Plans.

Think you know everything there is to know about yours? Read on to find out…

#1 Get Supercharged!

Leaving home in half an hour and realised your smartphone battery is at a pitiful 5%? We’ve all been there! For a quick-fire charge, switch your phone to airplane mode before plugging it in. This will stop it wasting energy searching for cellular and Wi-Fi signals so it refuels faster. Game changer!

Shop Smartphones With Bulk Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

#2 Teach It New Tricks

Your smartphone’s voice assistant is pretty clever, but Siri (for iOS users) and Google (for Android) don’t always nail it, sometimes with frustrating results. For example, you can forget asking Siri to dial your best friend Samara if she hasn’t mastered the pronunciation of her name. Luckily, there’s a fix for that.

For iPhone, activate Siri and tell her to pronounce the word or name she regularly mispronounces. Then (politely!) let her know: “You're pronouncing [that word] wrong.” Say it correctly, confirm that Siri can too, then save it. Voila!

Android users can teach their voice assistant, too. Look under Assistant settings and navigate through to Your People to add nicknames or perfect pronunciation.

#3 Switch Up Your Screen

We all love smartphones for their portability, but when you want to show off snaps from your once-in-a-lifetime global jaunt, gathering around the small screen can be a buzzkill. Never fear, because you can cast to your big-screen TV from your phone. Swipe down diagonally on your iPhone’s home screen and select Screen Mirroring. If you’ve got an Apple TV, just stand close to it and type in your AirPlay passcode. Now everything you see on your phone is on your TV.

Working with Android? No worries. You can do the same thing if you have a Chromecast-enabled device.

Shop Smartphones With Top-Notch Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Apple iPhone 13

OPPO A16s

#4 Precision In Your Pocket

The beauty of a mobile phone that’s connected to the Internet is you can download neat apps to transform it into any number of handy tools. Here’s a few particularly nifty (and free!) ones to try:

Bubble Level: Turns your phone into a spirit level so you can hang pictures perfectly the first time.
EasyMeasure: Precisely measures the width, height and distance from objects shown through your camera. Ideal for when you can’t find the tape measure!
Instant Heart Rate: Uses your smartphone camera (Android) or home button (iPhone) to measure your heart rate, helping you stay fit and healthy.

#5 Fall Asleep And Stay Asleep

Do you rely on your smartphone to play sweet melodies or atmospheric music to lull you to sleep at night? Then you know how annoying it is to wake in the wee hours, roused by the same noise that had sent you to the land of nod. If you’ve got an iPhone, there’s a quick fix for that! Simply go into your Clock, set a countdown timer and choose Stop Playing as the option for When Timer Ends. This will stop your music when the countdown hits zero. This is a sleep-saving trick for any parents who play white noise in a bub’s room. Sleep tight!

Shop Smartphones With The Best Speakers

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4

OPPO Find X5 Pro

Need help to get more out of your smartphone? Or maybe it’s time to upgrade to smarter mobile tech? Come see us in-store or online for expert advice, the best range and the best prices.