Most of us don’t take advantage of dozens of handy features on our smartphones simply because we don’t know about them. Here are five phone features you may want to try.
Take photos while shooting video
IPhones and most Androids allow you to snap a photo while you’re recording video, so you don’t have to switch between modes to get stills while shooting live footage of a speaker, event, or performance. While taking video on an iPhone, look for the round button next to the video recording icon. For Android phones, find the camera icon to the side of the video-recording controls.
Text an audio message
Sure, you could call a person to chat or leave a voice message, but maybe you don’t have time for a conversation, or you know the person doesn’t check voicemail. Audio texts come in especially handy if you have a lot to say or when explaining something complex. Use your phone’s voice assistant to send an audio clip via text. You can also tap the sound-waves icon on your texting screen on your iPhone, or go to your Android’s text screen and tap the plus symbol and then the microphone icon.
Make your flashlight brighter
If you need more light while walking in the dark or reading a menu, you may be able to turn your flashlight to a higher setting. On an iPhone, hold your finger down on the flashlight icon to reveal four brightness settings plus off. For Androids, go to Settings and hold your finger on the flashlight icon to select from five levels of brightness.
Grab the whole scrolling screen
If you want to save or send an image of a webpage that goes below your visible screen, take the screenshot and select “Full Page” at the top (iPhone) or “Capture more” at the bottom (many Androids; make sure to drag the bottom of the box to the end of the page). You will get a PDF of the entire page that you can save, email, or text to someone.
Instantly convert measurements
Wondering about the length of a couch listed at 2.3 meters? In many iPhone and Android apps, you can highlight a measurement and tap it to get an instant conversion. You also can ask most smartphone voice assistants for a conversion to find out the couch is 7.55 feet (or 7 feet, 6.6 inches).