Modern mobile devices – and having the ability to carry a full-fledged computer in your pocket wherever you go – have changed modern life in a countless number of ways. Before today’s powerful smartphones reached the market, you had to sit down at a computer when you wanted to get things done.
Today, though, your computer travels with you – and that’s enabled the development of mobile apps with a surprising array of features that were previously difficult or impossible to accomplish in the same way. With millions of mobile apps now available for the two major smartphone platforms, it’s possible that you’re not even doing all of the things with your phone that you could be doing. These are the most surprising things that you can do with today’s mobile apps.
Invest in the Stock Market and Build Your Wealth
Wouldn’t it be great if you were rich? Everyone has to start somewhere – and for many people, the road to long-term wealth begins with the stock market. Investing is an area in which mobile apps really shine, and that’s because mobile investing has really helped to democratize the stock market. In the past, many people living on middle-class incomes didn’t bother investing in the stock market at all because the brokerage fees were simply too high.
Unless you already had a large amount of money to invest, there was little point in buying shares because you’d have to make a spectacularly good trade in order to avoid having your profits cancelled out by the fees you paid. Paying a transaction fee of $5.00 if you only had $100.00 to invest would essentially mean that your trade was down 5 percent right from the start. You’d then pay another fee to sell your shares. With those odds, why bother at all?
When the mobile investment app Robinhood appeared in 2015, it changed the nature of retail investing by offering commission-free trading and the ability to own fractional shares of more expensive stocks. By 2020, commission-free trading had also become the norm among the major brokerage firms. Today, the top six online brokerages boast a combined user base of more than 100 million retail traders.
With the ability to download a mobile app and begin investing immediately, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t become one of those users and begin building your own nest egg. The stock market has its ups and downs, but you’ll always come out ahead if you’re patient and consistent.
Control a Vaping Device and Manage Your Nicotine Consumption
If you’re one of the millions of people who has used vape juices from companies like Air Factory to help yourself stop smoking, you’ve learned along the way that e-cigarettes have some great benefits compared to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Replacing cigarette smoke with tobacco-free vapor is only one of those benefits. Another benefit is the fact that vaping gives you complete control over your nicotine consumption to an extent that would otherwise be impossible.
Some of today’s vape mods have built-in Bluetooth transmitters, and they can talk to your mobile device through an app. Vaping apps are easier to find on the Android platform, but some vaping devices also have web-based interfaces that’ll work on iPhones.
Either way, the functionality is the same. You’ll connect your vaping device to your phone via Bluetooth – and from there, you can begin keeping track of the number of times you use your device each day. With automatic puff tracking, you can reduce your nicotine consumption at the pace of your choice – even by as little as one puff per day – until you’re no longer using nicotine at all.
Send Yourself a Fake Phone Call and Escape an Uncomfortable Social Situation
Have you ever found yourself realizing while on a date that you simply have no chemistry with the other person and would like to end the date as quickly as possible? Maybe you’re the type of person who gets approached often while at bars and clubs, and you don’t have a lot of luck when you try to exit those situations without offending the other person or hurting their feelings. Wouldn’t it be great if a friend could suddenly appear out of the blue and bail you out?
With a fake call app, you can do the job yourself. When triggered by a specific action such as pressing your phone’s power button several times in succession, a fake call app can send a realistic call to your phone – complete with a recorded voice playing through your phone’s speaker to add realism. Sorry, creepy pickup artist – I’ve got to run!
Control and Track Your Car Remotely to Ensure Safe Driving and Prevent Theft
Car alarms have existed for a long time now, but they’ve never offered the surprising array of features that they do today – and we have mobile apps to thank for that. Over the years, car makers have added so many convenience and security features to their vehicles that traditional aftermarket car alarms have begun to feel irrelevant to many drivers. If your vehicle was made within the last few years, there’s a good chance that it already has a built-in alarm and the ability to start remotely. With most vehicles, however, you’ll only get the most out of those features if you’re close to your car.
The latest car alarm systems have built-in cellular radios. Through integration with mobile apps, cellular connectivity allows modern aftermarket car alarms to do a number of things that justify the cost. Here are just a few of the things that your car can do with a car alarm and mobile app.
- Unlock and start your car remotely – even if you aren’t standing near the car
- Unlock your car automatically when you’re nearby and lock it automatically when you walk away
- Receive a message on your phone when your car detects unusual vibrations that could indicate a break-in attempt
- Receive a message on your phone when your car is driven in an unsafe manner or enters an area you define
- Track your car via GPS if it is stolen
- Find your car via GPS if you can’t remember where you’ve parked it
- Receive a message on your phone if the time left on your parking meter is running low
