Maximise your smartphone’s potential with these hidden features and hacks.
Your smartphone is packed with features, but are you truly using it to its full potential? Many users overlook hidden settings and powerful tricks that can enhance their experience, save battery, and improve efficiency. Whether you’re an iPhone or Android user, this guide covers essential smartphone hacks that will transform the way you use your device.
How to Extend Your Smartphone’s Battery Life
Lower Screen Brightness – Your phone’s display is the biggest battery drainer. Reduce brightness to 30-50% or use auto-brightness to save power.
Optimise Location Services – GPS is useful but can drain your battery. Manually enable location only when needed or restrict access for certain apps.
Turn Off Push Notifications – Emails and app updates constantly syncing in the background eat up battery life. Switch to manual fetch mode instead.
Shorten Screen Timeout – If your screen stays on too long when idle, it’s wasting power. Set your screen timeout to the lowest possible duration.
Charge Smartly – Keeping your phone plugged in all the time is bad for the battery. Instead, unplug at 80% and recharge before it hits 20% for better longevity.
Disable Unused Features – Features like auto-rotate, live wallpapers, and background apps consume energy. Turn them off when not in use.
Useful Smartphone Tweaks and Hacks
Use Airplane Mode for Faster Charging – When in a hurry, enable Airplane Mode while charging to cut down charging time significantly.
Shake to Undo on iPhone – Made a typo? Simply shake your iPhone to undo the last typed text.
Block Ads in Free Apps – Avoid pop-up ads by switching to Airplane Mode while using offline apps or games.
Multi-Window Mode for Multitasking – If you need to read an eBook while taking notes, enable multi-window mode (available on many Android devices).
Add Emergency Info to Your Lock Screen – Android and iOS allow you to add medical details, emergency contacts, and personal info to your lock screen in case of emergencies.
Auto-Turn Off Music While Sleeping – On iPhones, use the Auto Timer feature to stop music playback after a set time—perfect for falling asleep to music without draining the battery.
Must-Know iPhone Features
Custom Vibration Alerts – You can create personalised vibration patterns for different contacts. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Vibration > Create New Vibration.
Burst Mode for Perfect Shots – Hold down the shutter button on your iPhone’s camera to take a series of rapid shots—ideal for capturing action moments.
Smart Calculator Trick – Made a mistake in the Calculator app? Swipe left or right to delete the last digit instead of clearing everything.
Reverse Panoramic Photos – When taking a panoramic shot, you can switch the direction by tapping the arrow on the screen.
Top Android Tricks You Should Use
Text-to-Speech Feature – Want your phone to read text aloud? Go to Settings > Accessibility > Text-to-Speech and enable it.
Remotely Locate or Lock Your Lost Phone – Enable Android Device Manager in Settings > Security > Device Administrators to track and lock your phone remotely.
Guest Mode for Privacy – Need to hand your phone to someone else? Use Guest Mode to keep your personal data hidden. Find it in Settings > Users & Accounts > Guest Mode.
Magnify Any Screen Instantly – Enable Magnification Gestures in Settings > Accessibility to zoom in on any screen by triple-tapping.Turn Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot – Use your smartphone as a portable hotspot to share internet with other devices. Go to Settings > Tethering & Portable Hotspot.
