7 useful tasks your phone can handle automatically
Your smartphone is supposed to make life easier, and automating various tasks of phone is one of the best ways to make that promise of convenience a reality. With these seven automated commands, you’ll get to spend less time fussing with your device and more time on the stuff that really matters.
1. Receive reminders at certain locations
Timed reminders can be handy, but they really shine when they, say, pop up at the exact moment you were about to walk past the place the grocery store. When your phone knows your location, it can nudge you to buy milk on your trip home from work or to clean the attic when you get home.
On an iPhone, launch the Reminders app, tap the New Reminder button, and type in the text you want to see later. Tap the Details button under your new reminder, toggle on the Location switch, and choose a location where you want it to trigger. You can pick any of your saved (pinned) locations, select your current position, or tap Custom to access a search box to find another address.
2. Automate quiet mode
As you go about your day, you’ll hop in and out of meetings, visit quiet places like libraries, attend theatrical shows, and experience other events when you’ll want your phone to stay silent. Constantly switching quiet mode on and off can get frustrating pretty quickly. Thankfully, your mobile can do the job automatically.
3. Open apps to shortcuts
When you open an app, it displays its default screen. For example, tapping the Instagram icon brings you to the home page featuring everyone’s posts. However, on iOS devices, you can change the first thing you see.
On Android, long-press on any empty space on your home screen, and choose Widgets from the emerging menu. On the next screen, you’ll see a list of the apps on your phone with available tools and shortcuts—tap on any one to see what’s available.
4. Don’t worry about backing up photos
Few things on your phone are as precious as your photos and videos. So save yourself the trouble of manually copying them to a laptop or cloud-storage service by having them automatically back up to the cloud.
Google Photos (free for Android and iOS) is one of the best automated backup apps. The platform will store your images in either high res (Storage saver) or Express quality depending on what you choose. But keep in mind that every file you upload will count against the space you have on your Google account, be that the free 15GB the company gives its free-tier users, or any extra storage you’ve purchased with a Google One plan (starting at $20 a year or $3 a month).
5. Safely reply to messages while driving
Your phone can detect when you’re driving along in a car and send out a customized text-message response on your behalf. This ability could genuinely save your life: It removes the temptation to reply to a message when you should be keeping your eyes on the road.
