Your phone’s camera it is more than just a lens for capturing memories. You probably already know this – he can deposit checks, import business cards and look for constellations in the night sky. But with smart thinking or the right tools, he can do so much more.
Use the camera roll for quick notes
I use my camera to remember things more often than for real photos. Not only do I store photos of my license plate, health insurance card and other information on Evernote – thanks to my camera – but I also keep a lot of short-term things on the camera roll. Taking a photo is usually a quick way to make a note without spending five minutes typing. Need to remember where you parked in the mall’s structure? Take a picture of the sign when entering the elevator. Need an easily accessible mall map while shopping? Take a picture of the kiosk (which never seems to be around when you need to). If you are monitoring your caloric intake throughout the day, take pictures of nutrition labels and consolidate them at night. When I dismantle computers, I usually take pictures of each step so that, if I have difficulty assembling them, I have a visual guide to consult. Never forget that you have an infinite roll of film in your pocket.
View furniture in your home
It’s not just about taking pictures: modern phones are much more powerful than they used to be. With augmented reality, you can impose digital information about the real world, as viewed through the camera’s lenses. For example, if you’re looking at some furniture, but want to see if it really matches your surroundings, some apps – including Amazon and IKEA Place – allow you to take advantage of your phone’s augmented reality features to put a digital rendering of that coffee table in your living room. It does not necessarily work for all the furniture available in the store, and IKEA offers this service only for iOS users, but it is very useful for those who have access.
Searching for products based on a photo
Let’s say you have the opposite problem: you see a piece of furniture, art, or something else in a friend’s house and he has no idea where he bought it from. Some apps, like eBay and Wayfair, allow you to take a picture of something and search on its platform. You may not find an exact replica, but you can find something similar – or you can provide the right words to dig deeper into your search and find exactly what you are looking for.
Try glasses, clothes and makeup on before you buy
Other brands started shipping with augmented reality, albeit a little slowly. Warby Parker, for example, allows you to virtually “experiment” with different frames so you can narrow down your selection before ordering a few pairs for home experimentation. Google is now working with cosmetic companies to offer a virtual experience when you search for certain types of makeup, and L’Oreal allows you to do something similar on the desktop (it also supports hair colors). Other apps, like Zeekit, allow you to try clothes from some popular brands, but we are still hoping that this idea will really gain traction among major clothing retailers.
Share your Wi-Fi with a QR code
This is not exactly a trick to your camera, but rather for your friends’ cameras: if your home network has a long, complex and unique password, it is irritating to give it to friends and family who visit it. Instead of reciting your long passphrase, print it out as a QR code using a tool like QiFi. When they scan it with the phone, it connects automatically – there’s no need to type. You can even buy stylish QR badges and magnets on Etsy, designed for things like short-term vacation rentals.
Scan documents to PDF
Scanners are, simply speaking, the worst. Making my printer / scanner work is like training a starfish to jump through hoops. Nowadays, your phone’s camera can do a decent job – just grab Adobe Scan and you can turn any document into a clean PDF to send to anyone. If you want to export it as an editable document, applications like Microsoft Office Lens and ABBYY FineScanner can offer you much more control.
Get a better view of hard-to-reach places
I’m just a little embarrassed to admit how many times I use my camera to find an HDMI port on the back of a dark case. Or to find out which wires correspond to which terminals on the rear of the high-level external speaker. Or to find my printer’s serial number, stored in a cabinet. Instead of pulling the whole thing out to see what happens, I can grab my camera, reach back and take some pictures, hoping for the best. (In the same vein, I’ve seen people use it on restaurant menus with small fonts when they forget to bring their reading glasses.)
Translate signals and other text in real time
Traveling to another country can be stressful if you don’t know the language, and while it helps you learn a little before you travel, apps like Google Translate can help you a lot. Not only can you type or say something to have it translated into the language of your choice, but you can also point your camera at a sign, menu or other piece of real-world text and it will translate it on the fly.
Get help with your math homework (or Sudoku puzzle)
At some point in your mathematical career, a calculator starts to look limited. After all, how does knowing the answer help you if you can’t figure out how it got there? Photomath is an augmented reality app that allows you to take a picture of a math problem and see the steps that lead to the answer. It can handle simple problems as well as more complex functions, such as logarithms, trigonometry and even differential equations. Oh, and for your free time, there are even apps that can help you solve your Sudoku.
See if your TV’s remote control needs batteries
Finally, here is something decidedly low-tech. If your TV’s remote control isn’t working, you can quickly open your phone’s camera, point the remote control and press the power button – if you see the infrared light appear on the camera’s application display, then you know that the remote control is still sending signals (and your TV receiver may be blocked). If you don’t see the infrared light, the remote probably needs new batteries. Be sure to test using the power button, as some functions may not use infrared on modern TVs, and if you experience problems with the rear camera, try the selfie camera – it may be more sensitive to infrared light.
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