Smartphones are the obvious tech gadget to have in 2023. More than 85% us have one. We use it for several hours a day for almost everything from texting, talking, and taking photos or videos – to shopping, working, communicating on social media, and so much more.
However, are we making the most of our magical little do-it-all devices? Mostly not.
Tool makers are adding new helpful tricks all the time. For example, did you know that many smartphones now come with a built-in white noise machine? I didn’t until the feature buried in my accessibility settings happened a few days ago.
Take a look at this little genius, plus a handful of other fun and helpful tips to help you save time, money, and sanity.
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How do I turn on automatic translation on my phone?
You can translate the text with your own CameraAnd Photoor Video
On an iPhone:
As long as you’re using the latest operating system with your iPhone, both the Camera and Photo apps have a Live Text feature that can work wonders in a whole host of scenarios.
Live Text recognizes text and information within an image and lets you do all sorts of things, like select text to copy, share, search for, or translate. You can even use Quick Actions to perform tasks like making a phone call or converting currencies.
This is a great example that I came across recently when I was in a restaurant, and the menu was in another language.
Point the camera at the menu, tap the little page icon, then touch and hold the selected text.
Use the small yellow grab points to select specific text, then click Translate.
If you want to translate text from a photo or video in the Photos app, open that photo or pause a video containing text, then:
Tap the small page icon again, then touch and hold the selected text.
Apple says you may need to tap Continue and then choose a language to translate in, or tap Change language.
If you have any issues performing any of the above animations, make sure Live Text is turned on for all supported languages. (There are 34 languages supported at the time I’m writing this.)
Go to General Settings, Language and Region.
Turn on Live Text (green is on).
On an Android device:
The process is similar on most Android phones google lens. Both newer models of Android phones that I’ve tried with – a Google Pixel 6 And Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Comes with it already installed. Since many Android phones are a little different, you may have to download the free Google Lens app from here Play Store.
Take a photo, or choose one from your photo library, tap the lens icon, and choose Translate.
How do I use my phone to identify a plant?
Use your camera or photos to identify plants, landmarks, wines, and more.
Just last year, I paid a pretty penny to identify plants in my backyard with a proprietary app. Now my phone does it for free.
For iPhones, this feature is called Visual search. For Android devices, you can continue to use Google Lens.
On an iPhone:
Go to the Camera app, take the photo, then look for the little “i” icon at the bottom, in the middle of the circle. As long as it has two little stars in the upper left corner — you’re in luck. Visual search information is available for that image.
You can also go back through your Photos app and find it on an old photo. You’re good to go as long as the little “i” with two stars is there.
Swipe up on the image or tap this icon to see more of what the AI ”sees” in the image.
Either tap Search in the middle of the screen or tap the little “pin” icon to see what Siri can detect.
Usually, it takes you to a Wikipedia page and displays other similar images.
On most Android devices:
I usually use Google Lens for this as well. Bixby vision It’s easy for Samsung devices, too — and it’s all very similar to how it works for iPhones.
Open the Google Lens Camera app, tap the shutter button, and it will search automatically.
If you’re looking at a photo or video you’ve already taken – tap that photo and tap the little eye icon for Bixby Vision.
What is the sound around my phone?
Sure, you could spend $100 or more on a certain white noise machine to drown out sirens, honking horns, chewing gum, or peacocks (seriously, did you hear them scream?). Or you can use what is already downloaded to your phone.
On an iPhone:
Apple calls this feature “Background Sounds”.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds.
Switch the background sounds “on” to help you sleep and focus or cover up the noisy breather in the cabin next to you.
You can choose from a range of sounds: rain, stream, ocean, balanced noise, bright noise, and dark noise. You can also adjust the volume.
It turns off automatically when your screen is locked and/or you can set your screen to lock after a certain amount of inactivity.
On an Android device:
Playing white noise on your Android device only takes a few seconds.
The easiest way is through google assistant.
Say “Hey Google, turn on the ambient noise.”
This also works with Alexa, Siri, and many more smart speaker assistants, too.
Magically remove backgrounds from photos.
This was one of my favorite updates when Apple first released iOS 16 last fall.
An apple cutting machine It magically isolates subjects and removes backgrounds from photos. Until this update, you had to use a separate app like Canva or pixart To isolate a subject in a photo (I use this a lot with my dogs)!
On an iPhone:
Open a photo in the Photos app or in apps like Messages, Quick Look, or Safari.
Touch and hold the subject of the photo. A sparkling white outline should appear.
Let’s go to reveal options such as copy and share in the Photos app or copy theme in Safari.
Once you’ve copied the subject of the photo, you can share it through apps like Messages or Mail, or use AirDrop.
You can also copy and paste it into other applications such as Notes.
On an Android device:
You will have to download an app to do this on your Android device. I usually use futorumwhich is free from the Google Play Store.
Open the PhotoRoom app and tap on the quick tutorial.
On the Create tab, click Start from Image.
Select your photo.
Once you choose a photo, the app runs automatically.
You can make further edits, choose the background color and hit the share button to save to the gallery.
Use Amazon Lens as a shopping cart
This is one I found when I was shopping for furniture last year. I discovered my dream bookshelf for my living room, but it’s way over my budget.
I can’t remember who told me about this or when, but I did remember the hack to take a picture of the item, open the Amazon app on my smartphone, then use the little camera icon in the search bar—called Amazon Lenses—to find similar, much less expensive ones. Bingo – I found a similar bookshelf for a fraction of the price.
Since then, I’ve used it for clothes, lamps, wardrobes, and a whole host of other cool things.
Here’s how to do it on any smartphone:
A screenshot of the item. Open the Amazon Shopping app.
Click on the small image icon in the search bar and click on the yellow Upload Image icon.
The app shows you all the marketable links for items like your screenshot.
You can also upload a picture of just about anything, like a lamp you saw at your friends’ house or a screenshot from a TV show.
You can also use Google Lens to do this across devices, too:
Right-click on any image in your web browser and click on Google Lens.
You’ll then see a Shop tab, which displays similar items you’d find online — not just on Amazon.
This is especially useful when you really like something, like a certain piece of clothing or a pair of shoes, but it’s sold out where you usually shop.
What are some of the tips and tricks you’ve discovered on your devices? Please share in the comments section here or on our social feeds.
Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer technology columnist. Email it at jj@techish.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of USA TODAY.