Your Life
MY PHONE CAN DO THAT?
Our mobile devices are so packed with features that you may have missed some surprisingly useful capabilities
One small sin of smartphone makers is that they leave it to users to find many of the great tools they’ve built into their devices. So these options go underused. Here’s an example: Go to the Accessibility menu in the settings of your iPhone or Android-based smartphone, and you’ll find tools designed for people with disabilities that can make all our lives easier. Here are a few to try (note that all take some trial and error to set up and use):
IT CAN READ TO YOU.
This can be helpful when listening is more convenient than looking at the phone screen; essentially, the phone reads aloud whatever text is on the screen. You can adjust the speaking rate and choose from a handful of synthesized voices.
iPhone: From the Accessibility menu, tap on VoiceOver, then adjust the various settings to meet your needs.
Android phone: Tap on the Accessibility submenu option, then turn on Select to Speak. In addition to screen text, your Android phone can read printed material. Just point your phone’s camera at any text, and using the Select to Speak option, the phone will read it aloud. (If this feature does not appear, download the free Android Accessibility Suite from the Google Play store.)
IT CAN CAPTION YOUR VIDEO CALLS.
Say you’re in a noisy area and you get a video call from a friend. Go ahead and take it. Your phone can create real-time captions of what’s being said.
iPhone: Go to the Accessibility menu, and tap on the Live Captions option. Turn on the virtual switch associated with Live Captions, then tap on the Appearance menu option to customize the text size and color.
Android phone: From the Settings menu, tap on Sound, then choose the Live Caption option. Turn on this feature, then customize the settings as you like.
IT CAN RECOGNIZE IMPORTANT SOUNDS.
Have you ever not heard the doorbell? Or your dog barking outside? Or even your grandchild crying in the next room? Your phone can be set to listen for specific sounds and alert you when it hears them.
iPhone: Look for Sound Recognition in the Accessibility menu, and follow the instructions.
Android phone: Look for Sound Notifications in the Accessibility menu, and follow the instructions.
IT CAN TRANSLATE CONVERSATIONS.
If you encounter someone who doesn’t speak English, there’s no need to resort to pantomiming. Your phone can serve as a real-time translator.
iPhone: Launch the pre-installed Translate app. From the top-left corner of the screen, use the pull-down menu to select your native language. From the pull-down menu in the top-right corner, select the language the other person is speaking. From there, you can either type in what you want translated or use the microphone icon to speak it. What you say will be displayed almost instantly in both languages selected.
Android phone: Download and install the free Google Translate app from the Google Play store. Launch the app, then from above the round Microphone icon, choose your native language from the left pull-down menu, and the language the other person is speaking from the right pull-down menu. Tap on the Conversation icon, then the Auto icon. As each of you speak, what’s said gets displayed on the screen with the appropriate translation. Tap on the Speaker icon that appears in the top-right corner of the translation window to also hear a computer voice speak each translation.
Jason R. Rich is a personal technology journalist who has also written for Forbes and Entrepreneur.