5 Handy Tools Your Phone Turned Into Apps – BGR

In the early days of smartphones, when Apple first launched the App Store a year later, the slogan “There’s an app for that” proved to be an incredibly effective campaign that signaled iOS has an app for everything. These days, Android is the king of mobile apps, with over 3.9 million available compared to Apple’s 1.8 million. At the end of the day, there is no denying that there is, in fact, an app for the majority of your needs, and that absolutely includes tools that used to dominate in the physical world.

Apps like flashlights, rulers, and spirit levels are now standard across mobile app stores, and some of these functions are even built directly into our phones. It doesn’t even matter whether you prefer Android or iOS — these handy tools are now easily accessible from our phones at the drop of a hat.

So, rather than skipping on down to your local Lowe’s or Home Depot to pick up a stud finder to help hang a painting, or your local REI to pick up a compass for your next deep-woods hike, you can instead rely on your phone and a few worthwhile app tools to get the job done. As Apple so eloquently put it all those years ago, there is indeed an app for that.

When Android and iOS were still youngins, plenty of features that are commonplace today were anything but, often leaving modders and third parties to fill the gaps. This is how flashlight apps became so popular so quickly, to the point where flashlight shortcuts that can utilize the rear camera’s flash are now standard across most smartphones. Now that both operating systems are mature, it’s easier than ever to use your phone as a flashlight, whether you choose to use a third-party app or simply turn on the built-in flashlight without unlocking your phone.

If you’re looking for a reliable flashlight app, one that’s available on Android as well as iOS, there is MyLight, which is free to use on both platforms. What’s nifty about this app is that it lets you control your screen’s brightness and color, as well as your rear camera flash, so you can utilize two different options to illuminate your surroundings. User reviews are positive across the board, noting MyLight’s simple interface along with its versatility, which allows the app to work on devices without a camera flash (like some iPad models).

Ultimately, since most people carry their phones around with them all day (with 5% doing so in their underwear), it means everyone also has a convenient flashlight in their immediate vicinity, whether they prefer to use their screen or camera flash. From emergencies like power outages to a useful tool on the job that can easily brighten any dark corner, pulling out your phone to shed light on a situation is a universal experience. The convenience, accessibility, and safety of having an always-accessible flashlight can’t be understated. This is a physical tool that has transitioned to the digital realm with great success.

Did you know that the metal-detecting properties of the compass sensor built into your phone are also useful for finding studs in your walls? Instead of picking up a dedicated physical stud finder from your local hardware store, you can just whip out your phone. You see, just about every stud in your house will have metal screws or nails in it, and stud-finding apps have smartly tapped into the metal-detecting properties of your compass to find those screws and nails. So what is often a sensor used primarily behind the scenes for navigation in your day-to-day can now be called upon, so you can easily hang a picture in a pinch.

You will need to install a third-party app in order to take advantage, and there are different options depending on your preferred platform. For Android, there’s Stud Finder Stud Detector Wall, a free app (with ads) that boasts a high review score, with users noting its easy-to-navigate interface. On the iOS side, there’s Stud Finder°, which is free (with a $9.99 in-app purchase to remove ads and unlock the full feature set) and is well-reviewed, with users pleased by its free functionality. More or less, these apps work similarly to a typical physical magnetic stud finder.

So the next time you need to find a stud in your walls, rather than spending your cash on a physical magnetic stud finder, take one of these apps for a spin and see if you can locate a few studs for free. That’s one less tool cluttering up the house, thanks to an app on your phone.

Rather than pulling out a physical ruler to measure something, our smartphones can help with this endeavor by utilizing a handy ruler app. Of course, like many of the software tools in today’s list, there are countless options to choose from. Thankfully, we have standout offerings on both sides of the mobile OS fence, making this choice much easier.

On the Android side, there’s NixGame’s aptly-named Ruler app, which keeps things incredibly simple with a clean, intuitive design, so much so that it made our list of the best free measurement apps on Android for this very reason. However, it’s best for measuring small objects that don’t exceed the size of your screen, so if you need to measure a larger object, a different app is required. We recommend AR Measure Tape here, which offers just enough free features to measure any object (if you want information like volume, you’ll have to spring for the $29.99 yearly subscription). While Google used to offer its own measurement app, in classic Google fashion, it killed that years ago.

On the iOS side, things are much easier. Apple itself offers an app called Measure, which comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads. Not only does it work as a simple ruler, but it also offers AR functionality for measuring larger objects, without the need for two apps like Android. Best of all, Apple’s Measure app also includes a spirit level (more on that below), exceeding the usefulness of a measuring tape by offering a convenient leveling function.

Keep in mind that AR measurement apps aren’t always exact. Ruler apps don’t suffer from such issues, which is why it’s best to combine the two for anything precise. Ultimately, if you’re looking to replace physical measuring tapes and rulers, your phone can fill that void in a pinch, with the help of an app or two.

Another physical tool that has made the jump into the digital realm is the spirit level — what some call a bubble level or simply a level. By using your phone’s accelerometer, spirit level apps can report the angle of your phone relative to the horizon — for example, to check if a table is perfectly level. Of course, this goes well beyond checking household furniture and how level it sits in your home; it also helps with DIY construction projects like building and hanging a shelf or ensuring your yard’s fence posts are perfectly plumb. The usefulness is endless.

What’s especially nice is that you don’t have to install an extra app on Android to make use of your accelerometer as a level. For Android, you can simply jump into the Google app and search for Bubble Level, which you can also do in Google Search in your preferred browser. In both cases, a convenient bubble level will appear at the top of your Search results. If you wish for something deeper, you can opt for Gamma Play’s free (with ads) Bubble Level app that offers three levels in one (as opposed to Google’s single level in Search).

Of course, iOS offers a spirit level built into Apple’s Measure app, and while the design doesn’t let you lay the phone down like many of the Android options, all you have to do is align the edge of the phone with an object to see how level it is. If you require more functionality, we recommend Dyana Network’s free Pro Leveler app, which offers a flat level along with edge leveling.

Last but not least, we have the compass, a simple tool that’s indispensable for hikers and city dwellers alike. Knowing which direction you are moving when traveling on foot is always handy, which is precisely why a compass sensor is built into just about every smartphone — it’s indispensable for proper navigation. But since this sensor is commonly available, and has been for quite some time, there is no shortage of compass apps on each mobile storefront.

Much like spirit levels, Google does not offer a first-party dedicated compass app, but Apple does. On the Android side, you can easily jump into Google Maps to see a compass and which direction you are facing, but if you prefer a dedicated app, you’ll have to snag it from a third party. We recommend MBCompass, a free, open-source app on F-Droid that offers both compass and navigation features (through OpenStreetMap). Thankfully, iOS makes things even easier, with a free app built into the OS that not only relays which direction you are headed, but also your elevation, appropriately named Compass.

By and large, if you have a phone in your pocket, you don’t need a physical compass in hand, as your smartphone can easily handle that duty with even more info than any regular compass will offer (unless you purchase a digital compass, so you may as well use a phone app). No matter if you prefer hiking in the woods or hoofing it in the city, you can always know which direction you are headed with the use of a trusty smartphone compass app.