Our phones can be our closest companions. They follow us everywhere, even to the toilet. We start and end our days with our phones by our side.
It is a never-ending cycle! From scrolling through social media to streaming music and watching movies, there’s an endless list of things our devices do for us.
However, despite how much we try to squeeze out of our devices, many functions or abilities are still lost to us.
To help you make more of your Andriod phone, here’s a list of hidden yet valuable things your phone can do.
A pedometer, also known as a step counter, is a device that counts each step you take by detecting the motion of your hips or hands. Android phones are equipped with an internal pedometer, but you need to activate some apps to make use of it.)
For most Android users, Google Fit is the go-to app for tracking daily fitness activities, as it helps you stay on top of your routine. Think heart points, daily steps, and a bedtime schedule; Google Fit is an efficient health monitor. This app also works with other fitness apps to collate this data for unified use. Some of these apps include:
- Strava (for runners and cyclists)
- MyFitnessPal (for tracking food and calorie intake)
- Sleep As Android (a sleep tracking app) and
- Withings (syncs data gotten from scales and health devices).
Find it on Google Playstore.
For most Android phones, this feature is provided by Google Wallet. Announced on 11 May 2022, Google Wallet is a seamless way to make payments and add boarding passes, coupons, and payment cards via Google Pay.)
To use this, open the app and hold your phone over the payment terminal or card reader until the payment is processed and the screen displays ‘Done’. But before payment can be made, you will need to connect your debit and credit cards to your wallet. You can also connect tickets, car keys, and loyalty cards.
Find it on Google Playstore.
3. Tape Measure)
Do you need to measure the length or breadth of something and do not have a measuring tape handy? Your phone can do that for you.
To do this on your Android, you will need an AR (augmented reality) app installed on your phone. A popular and reliable app for this is the AR Ruler App: Tape Measure Cam. To use, open the app and point your phone towards the object you want to measure. It can measure distance, angle, volume, path, perimeter, and area.
Find it on Google Playstore.
High-end Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra already have a feature called Quick Measure in their camera apps that makes this process seamless.
From restaurants using them to display their menus to events using them for entry, and even on brochures or magazines for additional information, QR (quick response) codes are used everywhere as an easy way to access a website. You can read these codes with your phone’s camera.)
Open your camera app and point it at the code, ensuring the code fits within your camera’s view. When the reading is done, an icon or web address should appear beside the code. Tap to view on your phone’s default browser. You do not need an external app if your phone has the Android 9 operating system or above.
(For phones below Android 9) Find it on Google Playstore.
You have lost your favourite ring, or it’s a needle you dropped; your phone can make this search easier. Install a metal detector app on your phone and use the magnetometer built into your phone. These apps will produce sounds or vibrate when you approach a metal object.
Find it on Google Playstore.
If you ever find yourself in a foreign place and don’t understand the language spoken there, your phone can come to your rescue. Most Android phones have Google Translate built-in.
You can either type what you need to be translated into the app or tap the microphone button to record. Google Translate is arguably the best app for this, as it now supports over 245 languages for translation.
Find it on Google Playstore.
7. Battery Tester for Remote Controls
Your Android phone can serve as a battery tester for remote controls. These apps test if your batteries are still healthy.
To do this, open your camera app and point your remote control at your camera. Press and hold any button on the remote, and if you see a pink-purple light from the tip of your remote, then your battery is fine. If the light is dim or doesn’t appear at all, then your batteries need to be changed.
Phones are here to make life easier for us, and we should use them to the fullest. A little poking around can present a treasure trove of hidden features our phones can do.
