5 Cool Things Your Smartphone Can Do

Smartphones have evolved at a rapid speed over the years. In fact, a budget smartphone today is more powerful than a full-fledged top of the line desktop computer from the 90's era. Moreover, the smartphone has replaced several commonly used devices from the past, such as the camera, calculator, alarm clock, music player and so on. Furthermore, smartphone operating systems have also become smarter, utilizing the best and latest software technologies and best available hardware to perform many different functions.

While the camera still stands out in terms of the most sought after tool, the smartphone is no longer limited to just taking photos and videos. When choosing a smartphone, the common acknowledgments are the stunning megapixel cameras, the overarching battery weightage, latest sensors, but often, neglecting software. In reality, the software has been a differentiator not only contributing to the nice photoshoots but also helping out more in your day-to-day life, making it easier, more accessible, and fun with your smartphone.

Here are five unique things you can do with your phone in hand.

1. Scan QR Codes – QR codes are two-dimensional matrix barcode, which can include various types of information ranging from a website address, social media profile to a payment link. With the ongoing COVID situation and the ease of using them, the usage of QR codes is set to grow exponentially. To scan a QR code, you can use your smartphone camera as a reader, and there are various apps available that let you avail of this functionality. A few smartphone OS, including ColorOS from OPPO, MiUi, Samsung OneUI, OxygenOS by OnePlus and Vivo FunTouch, identified this trend early-on and have built-in QR code scanner into the camera app. Just open the camera, point it at a QR code, and it will be identified and scanned automatically.

2. Scan and store those important document – Your smartphone camera can also work great as a handheld document scanner. There are some great apps such as Microsoft Office Lens and Adobe Scan that let you scan multiple documents and that too, with colour correction and a choice of saving them in various formats. The feature is also present by default in the camera UI of MiUi, Funtouch by Vivo, and ColorOS. However, ColorOS 7 from OPPO has gone a step ahead. ColorOS 7.1 has a SuperText feature in its camera that allows users not just to scan a document but even extract text from it for editing – this is very handy in today's work from home situation.

3. Explore Virtual 3D Objects – Augmented Reality (AR) is another feature that has slowly caught the fancy of smartphone users. Using AR, you can add a digital 3D object in the live-view of your camera frame and explore/interact with it. You can experience AR on almost all brand smartphones today with various apps available on the Google Play Store. A few smartphones also come with built-in AR apps in their operating system. Samsung's OneUI has a dedicated AR Zone in its camera UI, ColorOS 7 has some great AR stickers and FunTouch on Vivo also offers AR stickers for the user to enhance their experience. We have noticed that ColorOS AR stickers work exceptionally well with the front camera to add elements to your selfies and make them stand out.

4. Undergo an intuitive experience- AI has taken center stage in smartphones, with applications now going far beyond just the basic camera application. The emergence of AI technology has allowed smartphones to become more advanced, with AI capabilities now being an integral part of the smartphone and its development. ColorOS 7.2 Intelligent AI algorithm, AI APP Preloading allows you to open your most-used apps faster by predicting when you are going to launch which app, thus saving the user time and improving the smartphone efficiency greatly. Imagine not having to wait for Uber to load when rushing to the office in the morning, or wait for YouTube during lunch break.

5. Free the hand and multitask while using the phone- With multi-tasking the norm of the day in times like these, enhanced accessibility on a smartphone is on the top wish list of all users. 

Samsung and OPPO have taken the lead in one-handed mode. Samsung has a One-Handed mode in its smartphones that can be activated to reduce the screen size for easier use with one hand. OPPO ColorOS 7.2’s Icon Pull-Down Gesture makes the icons move down to the bottom half of the screen, letting users move to an app icon and release to open the app, using the thumb.