By Catherine Waddell 
Since their invention and spread in the early 2000s, smartphones have changed our lives irrevocably. They not only assist us with multiple daily tasks, but they can also help us organise ourselves and have fun in virtually any location. This article will review the top ways that smartphones have become essential for productivity in our everyday lives and explore how to make your smartphone more efficient.
Table of Contents
Smartphone cameras are improving in quality every year, with every new model released. The best camera phones offer a winning combination of state-of-the-art imaging technology with high-quality photo sharpness. With each technological advancement, smartphones are arguably even better than ‘traditional’ digital cameras. Smartphones have made image sharing accessible to everyone, with easy-to-use functions and lightning-fast sharing options. With these developments, there is no moment in our daily lives we cannot capture and share with our loved ones in an instant.
Entertainment from Anywhere
One of the consistent and efficient functions of a smartphone remains entertainment. There are myriad ways to be entertained – including video streaming, online mobile gaming or gambling, and social media. The quality of video streaming is now often crystal clear and an internet connection is no longer essential. Meanwhile, many people are choosing to be entertained by online casinos (however, it is recommended to review our Suggested Reading before signing up). Lastly, each social media website has an app – including Youtube, Whatsapp, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook – offering a wide range of social entertainment to streamline and enjoy in your spare moments.
Working on the Go
The most basic function of a smartphone is a quick way to keep in touch with our friends and relatives. However, many people have also integrated their work life onto their smartphones to stay connected when travelling. Multiple apps can be downloaded to streamline your working life outside of the office – such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams for meetings, OneDrive or Google Docs for documents and article editing – or Dropbox or Google Drive for sending them to colleagues.
Organise and Manage Your Time
The most basic function of your phone alarm is to wake you up in the morning. However, alarms can also be useful to set reminders throughout the day. Most smartphones have a clock app already installed with programmable alarms and other features. For example, the iPhone also features a world clock, a stopwatch and a timer. Smartphones can also set reminders, organise and schedule daily activities, and change sleeping habits. Lastly, the calendar of many smartphones is now integrated with other apps, meaning Facebook events, restaurant or hotel bookings, and other appointments can be seamlessly added to the calendar for an efficient overview of the day.
Using Your Phone Hands-free
For many people who work with their hands (for example, driving) smartphone voice recognition is essential to make calls, arrange appointments and send texts. This can streamline the working day for people who do not have an office or work outdoors. The dictation function can be also used for a wide variety of purposes – including drafting emails, writing blog entries, sending text messages and taking notes. Moreover, if you are not the fastest typist these tools can be extremely useful.
Mirroring Your Home Screen
Sometimes sharing your smartphone display to a large screen is extremely useful, particularly for presentations or meetings. Both Android and iOS can do this, albeit with different underlying technologies. To cast your Android display to a Chromecast, swipe down with three fingers to get to Quick Settings, then select Screen Cast on the left side of the screen. On iOS, access the control center by swiping down from the upper-right corner (or up from the bottom of the ‘home’ button) and selecting ‘screen mirroring’ to use an AirPlay-enabled device (such as an Apple TV).
Keep Your Battery Alive
iOS and Android operating systems include low-power modes that can be used to improve performance. These restrict your background activity, pause any potential updates, and make other modifications to help your battery last longer. These modes are available at all times and not only when your battery is low. When an Android battery reaches 75% capacity, it is possible to begin limited use (for Apple, 80%). In Settings > Battery, you can find Android battery-saving options. Apple’s iOS has a ‘low power mode’ that can be activated from the ‘battery’ menu.
Add a Virtual Assistant
Adding a voice-activated personal assistant to your smartphone can save time and allow you to focus on carrying out the tasks instead. These personal assistants can place calls or send texts on command, such as Bixby on Samsung and Siri on iPhone. It is also possible to add Alexa to a smartphone if you use Amazon Echo. Some personal assistants, such as DataBot, can speak and understand 13 languages.
Reading Books
It is now possible to read an endless selection of books on your smartphone when travelling or during spare moments in the day. Reading books on a smartphone is a highly useful function that allows you to read in darkness – for example, when travelling at night. The iPhone ‘books’ app has a wide range of classic and modern titles for free and for purchase through the app store. Other options include the Amazon Kindle app – a useful choice for reading books bought and downloaded from Amazon – and the Google Play Books app.
Listening to Podcasts
When working, travelling or relaxing, podcasts are an efficient way to catch up on news or learn about new topics when working or travelling. iPhones have a podcast app already installed, but there are also alternatives such as Overcast and Pocketcasts. Android users also have an in-built podcasting app – Google Podcasts – but it is more limited than Apple. Thus, alternatives such as Pocketcasts, Castbox or Spotify are available. Spotify has a large collection of genre-specific podcasts and exclusive shows you can listen to on the go. You can also ‘follow’ a podcast to get notifications on any update of your favourite show.