When people started calling them smartphones, they probably didn’t know the full extent to which these mobile devices would make our lives easier.
Smartphones have become an almost indispensable tool in the modern era, but you probably didn’t know your Android device could do all of these things! Check it out.
1. Be on time, despite the traffic
If you live in the city, you’ll know that traffic is a lot like what the weather will be like two weeks from now: don’t even try to predict it, you’ll fail. Getting to where you need to be is easy when you have real-time traffic updates at your fingertips, though.
Your Android device will let you know when to leave for work when you turn on Now cards. To turn it on, open the Google app, tap “Now card”, turn on “Show cards” and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup. Travel updates are now automatic, and you can plan when to leave accordingly.
2. Dude, where’s your phone?
Cellphone theft and phones getting lost are harsh realities, but it’s never been easier to locate and lock your device as soon as you notice it’s gone. Enabling these settings will guarantee that you can.
Sign into the Android Device Manager website and select your current mobile device. You should now be able to see the approximate location of your device, erase the data on your phone, lock it, or have it ring for up to five minutes, even when it’s set to silent. Once these settings have been activated, you can even ask Google to “find my phone” if you have misplaced it.
3. No storage left? No problem!
As the camera quality on smartphones has improved, storage capacity on phones has become an issue of concern, as better quality means larger files. Storage in the cloud sorts this out for you.
To get free and unlimited storage for photos and videos on your Android device, open the Google Photos App, open the menu, and tap “Settings”. Then select “Backup & Sync” and your memories are safe and sound, with lots of space to spare.
4. Keep battery trouble at bay
As apps make our lives easier, they put extra strain on the batteries in our devices, and poor battery life is probably among the top concerns for most smartphone users. Not to worry – there is an easy way to extend the battery life of your phone.
Open “Settings” on your device, and tap “Battery”. Open the menu, and tap on “Battery Saver”. Click on the switch to turn it on: the top and bottom parts of your screen will turn the orange to indicate this. To ensure your device does this automatically when the battery reaches a certain percentage of battery, choose “Turn on automatically” and choose the percentage you prefer.
5. There’s a record shop in your pocket
What did people do before you could carry music on demand in your back pocket? Searching for music to set the mood – whatever the mood is – is as easy as searching through one of the various radio stations available on Google Play Music.
Open the Google Play Music app and match your activity or mood to the type of music you’d like to listen to. Choose a radio station, press play, and let your Android be the DJ.
Don’t be fooled by how simple and obvious these 5 things seem. Your Android smartphone is supposed to make your life a little simpler. Use it to its full potential, and it surely will!