OTHER
Smartphones are a must-have tech gadget in 2023. Over 85% of us have one. We spend several hours a day texting, talking and taking photos or videos, shopping, working, on social networks, etc.
© Jennifer Jolly Magically highlight objects and remove background from photos using your smartphone or Android.However, are we getting the most out of our little magical gadgets? Certainly not.
Gadget manufacturers are constantly adding new useful features. For example, did you know that many cell phones now include white noise generators? I didn't know this until a few days ago when I came across a hidden feature in my accessibility settings.
Start the day better. Get all the news you need in your inbox every morning.
Check out this little genius and other fun and useful tips to save you time, money and sanity.
Keep Voicemail Forever: How to keep those important voicemails on your phone
How do I enable automatic translation on my phone?
You can translate text with camera, photo or video
On iPhone:
As long as you're running the latest operating system on your iPhone, the camera and photo apps have a live test feature that can work wonders in a variety of scenarios.
Direct Text recognizes text and image information and allows you to do everything from selecting, copying, sharing, searching, or translating text. You can also use quick actions to perform tasks such as making a phone call or converting currencies.
A good example was when I was in a restaurant and the menu was in another language.
Hover over the camera menu, tap the thumbnail icon, and then tap and hold the highlighted text.
Use the small yellow buttons to select specific text, then press the Return key.
To translate text on a photo or video in the Photos app, open the photo or pause the video with the text, then:
Tap the thumbnail icon again, then tap and hold the selected text.
Click "Continue," then choose a language to translate, or click "Change language," Apple says.
If you have trouble performing any of these steps, make sure Live Text is enabled for all supported languages. (As of this writing, 34 languages are supported.)
Go to "General Settings", "Language and Region".
Enable direct text (green).
On an Android device:
The process is similar on most Android phones through Google Lens. The latest Android phones I've tested (Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip) already have it installed. Since many Android phones are slightly different, you may need to download the free Google Lens app from the Play Store.
Take a photo or select a photo from your photo library, tap the target icon and select Back.
How can I use my phone to identify a plant?
Herbs, clerics, wine, etc. Use your camera or photos to identify yourself.
Last year I paid a pretty penny to identify my garden plants using a special program. Now my phone does it for free.
For iPhone, this feature is called Visual Look Up. You can continue to use Google Lens for Android.
On iPhone:
Go to the camera app, take a photo, and look for the little "i" in the middle of the circle below. As always, if there are two little stars in the upper left corner, you're lucky. Visual search data is available for this photo.
You can also go back to the Photos app and find an old photo. As long as there's a small "i" with two stars, you're done.
Hover over a photo or tap this icon to see more of what AI "sees" in the photo.
To see what Siri can guess, look in the middle of the screen or tap the little pin icon.
You usually go to the Wikipedia page and see other related images.
On most Android systems:
I also usually use Google Lens for this. Bixby Vision is also useful for Samsung devices and works very similar to how it works for the iPhone.
Open the Google Lens Camera app, press the shutter button and it will search automatically.
If you're viewing a photo or video you've already taken, tap the photo, then tap the little eye icon for Bixby Vision.
What is surround sound on my phone?
Sure, you can spend $100 or more on a dedicated white noise device to drown out sirens, horns, loud chewing gum, or peacocks (seriously, have you heard them scream?). Or you can use the ones that are already downloaded on your phone.
On iPhone:
Apple calls this feature "Background Sounds".
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Video > Background Sound.
Turn on background sounds in a booth near you to help you sleep, focus, or breathe out loud.
You can choose from different sounds: rain, stream, ocean, balanced noise, clear noise and dark sound. You can also adjust the volume.
It turns off automatically when you lock the screen or you can set it to lock the screen after inactivity.
On Android:
Playing white noise on an Android device takes a few seconds.
The easiest way is through Google Assistant.
Say "Ok Google, turn on background noise."
It also works with Alexa, Siri and many other smart speaker assistants.
Magical background removal from photos
When Apple first released iOS 16 last fall, it was one of my favorite updates.
Apple's crop tool magically isolates objects and removes backgrounds from images. Before this update, you had to use a standalone app like Canva or Picsart (which I often use with my dog) to isolate the subject in the photo!
On iPhone:
Open the photo in the Photos app or in apps like Messages, Quick View, or Safari.
Touch and hold the subject of the photo. A bright white outline should be visible.
To find options such as "Allow photo copying and sharing" or "Copy theme" in Safari.
After copying the photo theme, you can share it via messages, apps like Mail, or use AirDrop.
You can copy and paste it into other applications, such as Notes.
On Android:
To do this on an Android device, you need to download the app. I usually use PhotoRoom, which can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
Open the PhotoRoom app and tap on the quick guide.
On the Create tab, click Start with a photo.
Choose your photo.
After selecting an image, the program runs automatically.
You can make other adjustments, choose a background color and hit the share button to save it to your gallery.
Use Amazon Lens as a shopping tool
Here's what I discovered last year when shopping for furniture. I found the bookshelf I wanted for my living room, but it was way over my budget.
I don't remember who told me this or when, but I do remember taking a screenshot of an item by opening the Amazon app on my phone and then using the little camera icon in the search bar (called the lens Amazon) to find it. . . many similar products cheaper. Bingo - I found a similar library for a small price.
Since then I have used it for clothing, lamps, jewelry and many other beautiful things.
Here's how to do it on any smartphone:
Screenshot of the article. Open the Amazon Shopping app.
Click the thumbnail icon in the search bar and download the yellow image panel.
The app shows you all the links to buy items as a screenshot.
You can also upload a photo of almost anything, such as a lamp you see at a friend's house or a scene from a TV show.
You can also use Google Lens on all devices to:
Right-click any image in your web browser and select Google Lens.
You will then see a shopping tab that displays similar products not only found on Amazon, but also online.
It's great when you really like something, like a particular outfit or pair of shoes, but it's not available everywhere you shop.
What tips and tricks have you found on your devices? Share it here in the comments section or on our social networks.
Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer technology columnist. Email it to jj@techish.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ambient Sound for Plant Finder Apps: What Hidden Features Does My Phone Have?
.png "Admin")