There is no judgement here – it is something we all do. It starts with us pulling our phones out and then scrolling through social media until you have lost sense of time. All of us have been guilty of sitting there waiting for the dentist or the doctor, sitting under the hair dryer at a salon, or waiting for a taxi outside your house, and not notice out hand start that robotic movement to your pocket. Before we even realize it, we are back on social media again. But you know what? There’s a lot more you can do with your phone than look at social media, and below we shall take a look at five of them.

Measure Your Heart Rate 

There are apps out there that make use of your phones camera to read your pulse, and one such app is Instant Heart Rate. All you have to do is put your index finger on your camera and the app will start measuring your heart by detecting color changes. The app also collects all the data from your readings to create a chart that shows your heart rate over a period of time. You can also add tags to a particular heart rate such as “before bed”, “just woke up”, and “exercising” to give more effective tracking. 

You do not need to be some type of fitness freak to make good use of this app – it is very helpful for those with diabetes or heart disease. There is a free version of this app for Android and Apple users, and there is also a Pro version (Android $1.99 and Apple $2.99) that does not have adverts and gives unlimited data tracking.

Play Casino Games 

Many people play games on their mobiles to relieve stress, and more and more people are starting to play casino games for entertainment purposes. In fact, it can be argued that mobile gambling is now more popular than desktop gambling. Playing casino games on your mobile is a great way to pass the time and there is the added benefit that you can win a bit of extra cash. 

According to expert casino site onlinecasinonewzealand.nz, you will find that the majority of online casinos have their own app that will provide you with a great gambling experience, while those online casinos that do not have an app will have a mobile-friendly site that you can use to play all your favorite casino games. They also stress that it is very important to remember that you should play for fun and that winning money is an added bonus – you should not expect to always win, and you should not consider the money that you are spending to be an investment. 

Look for Treasure

One thing that your smartphone can do that most people are unaware of is detect metal. If you have an iPhone, then you can download an app that is called Metal Detector. How does it work? well, the app will tap into the built-in magnetometer on your phone, which is what enables your phone to pick up the X, Y, and Z axes for features such as a compass. 

Now, this app will not detect all metal, but you should not discredit it. Once you have downloaded the app, point your mobile at metal objects and increase the dial to improve intensity – we guarantee that you will be pretty surprised by the items that it can pick up. 

If you do not use an iPhone, then a similar app by the same name can be downloaded for Android users. Although the apps have the same name, they were not invented by the same companies and operate slightly differently. 

Control Your Car

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could cool down or warm up your car before you hop in it? Well, nowadays, thanks to the app called Viper SmartStart, you can do exactly that. You are basically turning your mobile into a remote control for your car. 

With the full app, you can start the car, unlock the doors, open the trunk, and activate the security system. There is a premium version that will also warn you when you are speeding and when your car’s battery is low. 

The app is free to download, but you will have to get some extra hardware and a service plan for the whole system to work. The service plans range from $70-240 a year, depending on what features you want. Additionally, you will have to get a module installed in the car, which is around $300.  

See in the Dark 

Seeing in the dark is not a trait that we are born with, but we can now do so thanks to some amazing technology. All that you need is a type of camera attachment, like Seek Thermal. This is a high-resolution camera that attaches to your mobile through your Android micro-USB port or your iPhone’s lightning port. At the time of writing, there are two different models, and these are the Compact XR and Compact. 

The latter will cost you about $250 – it is waterproof, has a temperature detection range of -40 to 626 degrees Fahrenheit and works up to a distance of 1000 feet. If you spend $50 extra, you can get the XR model and this will give you a bigger field of view and a longer range (1,800 feet). 

These cameras also come with an app that you can use to see the heat signatures on your mobile screen. You can use this cool piece of technology to look for wildlife, monitor your house, find any lose electrical wires, find air leaks, and so on.