50 Impressive Smartphone Features That You Probably Didn’t Know About

These days, smartphones are more of a necessity than a luxury. In most places, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t own one. You probably have an iPhone or a similar device in your pocket or in your hand right now! If you use your phone a lot, then you might want to know how to make the most out of it.

In case you didn’t already know, your smartphone vibrates whenever you get a call or text message. Most smartphones have several preset vibration patterns that users can choose from, but users can easily create customized ones as well.

Scanning documents using your phone is a fairly straightforward process that will almost certainly yield satisfactory results. Traditional scanners can be rather troublesome to carry around, so if you need to scan documents in a pinch, use your iPhone instead.

Have you ever wondered if there was a way you could get your phone to display two things on the screen at the same time? Well, here’s some good news – your Android device has a function that allows you to do just that!

More often than not, we store personal information on our phones that we’d rather keep away from prying eyes. If you frequently lend your Android device to other people and you don’t want them to access certain apps, follow these instructions.

Dark Mode has become increasingly popular these days, with more people preferring the muted colors over the blue or bright white screen. Studies have shown that these colors can keep us awake at night. To activate your phone’s low light option, go to Settings → General → Accessibility → Zoom → Show Controller.

If you’ve ever stumbled upon an iPhone that has been left unattended, then you’ve probably tried searching the contacts to figure out who the phone’s owner is. There is, however, an easier way to do this, and all it takes is a press of a button.

The status bar is the small strip at the top of your screen that displays alerts, your phone’s battery level, and other information. Most Android devices have a “System UI Tuner” that allows users to customize the status bar with a few different options.

A smartphone is essentially a computer, albeit a highly specialized one. Computers, being complex pieces of machinery, may sometimes encounter problems and freeze. Thankfully, the designers and makers of smartphones have anticipated that these machines may at times need to be restarted. 

Gadgets are jam-packed with all sorts of information – anything from network operation to SIM card to signal strength, and so on. If you need to know all this and more, all you have to do is to dial *3001#12345#*. 

Perhaps you don’t want to completely ignore your phone, but you’re getting sick of one – or maybe a few – apps that waste so much of your time. Luckily, there’s an easy way for you to control when you can or can’t use certain apps on your Android device.

Picture this: you’re watching a video on your iPhone and you receive a text message, so you pause the video and you open your Messages app to reply. Did you know that you can quickly reply to a message without disrupting your current activity?

Android devices have a certain feature called App Shortcuts, which can take users directly to specific features within certain apps. To access the app shortcut options, all you need to do is to press and hold any app icon.

We usually lock our phones to prevent other people from picking them up and playing around with them. However, having to unlock your phone every time you need to check your messages can be rather annoying.

Most of the hacks on this list seem to require the use of six thumbs to hold down buttons or swipe at the same time. The iPhone’s AssistiveTouch feature, however, allows users to perform complex tasks with a single touch.

Many of us enjoy listening to music or podcasts while in bed to unwind after a long day at work. But what happens once we’ve dozed off? If the audio keeps playing, this will certainly eat into your battery life or data allowance.

Although not that many people would need to use this feature, we bet that some will be relieved to know that it exists. If you want to check the latest exchange rates and convert currency on the fly, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and look for a currency conversion app. 

There are lots of uses for your phone’s calculator app, whether you’re trying to compute the cost of three packs of La Croix or if you need an estimate for the total number of jellybeans in a jar. 

If you’re guilty of sending messages that are either too long or need to be divided into multiple ones, go to your phone’s settings and activate the character count for your text messages.

Using your finger to navigate your device seems simple enough – even kids can do it with minimal supervision. However, some people prefer using a mouse, whether it’s because they’re having trouble tapping on certain items or they play games on their phone a lot.

Having poor eyesight means constantly finding yourself squinting at things like menus or documents. Thankfully, iPhones have a built-in magnifying glass feature. To activate the magnifying glass feature, go to Settings, tap General, followed by Accessibility, then Magnifier.

Android devices are designed to allow you to set your phone down so you can focus on more important tasks. There’s even a “Digital Wellbeing” section in the phone’s settings with a feature called “Focus Mode” that lets you create a list of apps that you can silence.

You’ll normally have to dial an extension number to reach a specific department or person within a company. There are some simple ways to do this, like the company changing the last four digits of the phone number, but this is not always the case.

We all check our phones several times a day. However, there may be times when you need to focus on more important tasks. While it may be tempting to reach for your phone whenever you receive a notification, there is a way to stop yourself from doing so.

Smartphone cameras have improved by leaps and bounds over the years, especially as video calling has become more and more ubiquitous. Did you know that your phone’s camera has a Panorama mode that blends several different photos into one image?

One of Android’s most useful features is also one of its least well-known. Located at the bottom of your phone’s screen is a thin white line that can be used to rapidly switch between apps. This feature comes in handy whenever you need to look at several things at once.

If you frequently listen to music on your iPhone’s Music app but don’t use Apple Music, you have the option to hide Apple Music from your phone. Doing so gets rid of certain tabs resulting in a less-cluttered, refreshed Music app.

The Medical ID feature on your iPhone could potentially save your life in case of an emergency. It gives first responders access to critical information such as emergency contacts, allergies, blood type, and more. Your Medical ID can be found in the bottom left corner when you dial a number.

Using your phone to take videos and post them online has become quite common. Did you know that it’s possible to take videos even when your iPhone is locked? On the lock screen, just tap the Camera icon and drag it halfway up, but don’t let go.

Phones tend to get more sluggish as they get older. This is mainly due to the phone’s random access memory, or RAM. Thankfully, iPhones have a feature that allows users to eliminate unnecessary processing, clearing up the RAM and allowing it to run smoothly.

Live Caption is a feature that was included in the Android 10 update. It’s a total lifesaver for those who can’t hear very well or for those who are in a noisy environment. If you enjoy watching videos on your phone, use this function so you can read along with what’s being said. 

Most of us already know that websites come in two different views: a traditional desktop version and a mobile version. However, not all websites are created equal. Some mobile versions can be rather clumsy, difficult to navigate, or simply unappealing compared to the desktop versions.

Your Android phone’s share menu allows your apps to share data. You can, for instance, share photos from your gallery over to any email app so you can send them to anyone, or you can share the link to a webpage over to any messaging app and send it to your friends.

We receive so many notifications every single day that we either just ignore them or delete them right away. But what do you do if you accidentally delete a notification that you were planning to read?

Smartphones seem to be getting bigger and bigger over time, making it tough for some people to use them with just one hand. However, Android devices allow you to make some adjustments so that it’ll be easier for you to use your phone if you need to free up your other hand.

Typing out long words or phrases over and over again can be frustrating if you’re in a rush. Thankfully, iPhones have a Text Replacement feature that lets you create shortcuts for certain words or phrases that you often use so you can save time when sending a text message.

If you constantly find yourself lending your phone to others, then you’re probably going to want to keep your data secure. Fortunately, Android devices have a Guest Mode feature that you can activate to limit what other people can do on your phone.

Even if your hearing is fine, there may still be times when you might not hear your phone ring or vibrate. This is especially true if you work in a noisy environment or you have loud music playing. 

Most people these days can connect to a Wi-Fi network, but they often require passwords that can be quite long and complicated. The good news is that Android devices have a feature that allows your friends to easily connect to your Wi-Fi network by simply scanning a QR code.

There may be times when you’re watching a video on your phone and you want to share it with other people in the room. Instead of asking them to huddle around your phone, did you know that you can easily mirror or cast your Android phone to your TV in just a few taps?

If you get emailed a document that you need to sign, gone are the days when you’d have to wait until you have access to a printer and scanner. These days, your iPhone lets you sign documents on the go.

Technology has advanced so much that sharing files is very simple, easy, and convenient these days. You can use your smartphone to transfer files directly through Wi-Fi to any device that is compatible, similar to how you’d transfer using Bluetooth. All you need to do is use the feature called Wi-Fi Direct.

The sound on your phone is essential — it’s used for your alarms, ringtones, videos, and so on. Sometimes, these sounds can get annoying and get under your skin. Fortunately, you can fine-tune the volume settings to suit your needs.

We all know that maps have become redundant since smartphones came into existence, but how often do we actually make the most of the GPS services and Google Maps that are at our fingertips? Here’s a pro tip, you can download the maps you need to use without the internet if you’re planning to go beyond phone signals.

Eye problems can happen to anyone and we’re all human — anyone who wears glasses has misplaced them at some point or another. Luckily, our phones can help us see better if we know which settings to adjust.

Your smartphone has many great hidden features and the “Spirit Level” is something few people actually know about. You can use it to ensure that tables or things like picture frames are completely level. Nifty, right?

If you use the Safari browser, you will love this feature. Have you ever accidentally closed tabs while in the middle of browsing and now everything you’ve wanted to know is lost? Well, there is a way to restore tabs you’ve closed.

We’ve all been there: enjoying a cool YouTube video just to have it buffer until your skin starts crawling. Fortunately, there is something known as Wi-Fi Assist that can help improve the performance of your Wi-Fi.

Are you still manually silencing your phone when in meetings or once it’s time to settle down for the night? You don’t have to if you own an Android or iPhone. They have a feature that allows you to create custom rules when it comes to how much your phone ‘disturbs’ you.

There are few things as annoying as a popup ad when you’re having fun playing games on your mobile device. And you can do something about it! That’s right, you don’t have to suffer through those infuriating advertisements.

We all know that it’s important to have a secure lock screen on our Android devices so all our sensitive data can be kept safe against prying eyes. But when you’re at home, it can be nice to not have to enter pins and scan fingerprints to access your phone.