The upgrade cycle for smartphones has reduced over time. With millions of phones shipping to India every year, people are buying a new phone almost every year, some even in six months.
But just because you bought a new phone doesn’t mean your old one has to go to waste.
If you aren’t passing it down to a family member, here are some things you can do:
Make it a universal remote
If your old phone had an IR (infra-red) blaster, it can probably operate many appliances in your house. Xiaomi’s phones, for example, have in-built remote support. They can be used to operate air conditioners, TVs and more. It’s a great way to reduce the number of physical remotes you have to deal with.
For devices such as smart air purifiers, Amazon’s Fire TV stick, etc., the phone just needs the respective dedicated apps to fill the role of the remote.
Control your PC with it
An app called Unified Remote turns your phone into a wireless controller for your PC. It works with Windows, Mac and Linux-based computers and offers a variety of functionalities.
These include using the phone as a wireless keyboard and mouse for your PC, mirroring the PC’s screen, accessing the file manager and much more.
You can also use Chrome Remote Desktop for remote access to your PC through your phone.
as a home security camera
If you can keep your phone plugged in for charging perennially, it can be used as a surveillance camera . Apps like IP Webcam and AtHome Camera use the phone’s camera to stream video from one phone to another, meaning you can use your old phone to monitor activity in your home. This could be useful for those with children, pets and more. But since the apps keep the phone’s camera on all the time, you will need to ensure that it’s on charge.
Use it as a dash-cam
You will need a high-end phone, or at least one with a good camera and video stabilization. If you have that, you will have to find a way to prop up the phone on your car’s dashboard and put it on video recording mode. Et voila, you have a dashcam.
