Tech

10 Things Your Smartphone Can Do That You Probably Didn't Know

June 28, 2026·6 min read

Modern smartphones are quietly packed with sensors and built-in tools that most people never open, mostly because there's no reason to stumble onto them by accident. None of these need a separate app download — they're already sitting on your phone.

1. Measure real-world distances with the camera

Both Android (Measure) and iPhone (Measure app) use the camera and motion sensors together to measure real-world objects and distances — genuinely accurate enough for quick furniture-fitting or DIY measurements when you don't have a tape measure handy.

2. Translate text live, through the camera

Point your camera's translate tool at a menu, a sign or a document in another language, and the translated text overlays directly onto the live camera view in roughly real time — no need to type or copy anything.

3. Turn your phone into a level

Most phones' built-in compass or measure app includes a spirit-level tool, using the same accelerometer that detects screen rotation, useful for quickly checking if a shelf or picture frame is straight.

4. Read text out loud from any screen

Built-in accessibility features can read aloud any text currently on your screen — an article, an email, a long message — which is genuinely useful for anyone who wants to "listen" to a long read while doing something else, not only for accessibility needs.

5. Identify a song playing nearby without an app

Both major phone operating systems now include a built-in song recognition tool accessible from the lock screen or quick settings, without needing to open a separate app like you did a few years ago.

6. Scan and digitise a physical document

The built-in camera or notes/files app on most phones includes a document scanner that automatically detects the edges of a physical page, corrects the perspective, and saves it as a clean PDF — a genuinely full replacement for a standalone scanner for most everyday needs.

7. Convert handwriting to typed text

If you write a note by hand on a supported device and stylus, or scan handwritten text with the camera, built-in tools can convert that handwriting into editable, searchable typed text.

8. Set up a temporary, isolated guest Wi-Fi-style share

Beyond simple hotspot sharing, most phones let you generate a QR code for your Wi-Fi network directly from settings, so a guest can join by scanning instead of you reading out a password character by character.

9. Track exactly which apps are draining your data or battery, hour by hour

Built-in data and battery usage screens break usage down by app and by time period, which is far more precise than most people realise when trying to figure out what's draining their phone.

10. Reverse-search any image straight from your gallery

Many phones let you long-press or use "Circle to search"-style tools directly on an image in your gallery or on screen to search the web for similar images or identify an object, without saving and re-uploading the photo elsewhere.