10 things smartphone cameras can do, besides taking pictures

Your smartphone camera is more than just for snapping pictures of your lunch. It's an incredibly powerful tool that can make your everyday life easier, more efficient, and sometimes even safer.

 

1. What do the camera settings on your phone do?

10. Scan documents and convert them to PDF

Gone are the days when scanning a document meant hunting down a bulky office device. Your phone's camera can turn any piece of paper into a neatly cut, shareable digital file in seconds—and the app you need for the job is built right in.

 

This feature is especially useful when you need to submit signed forms, digitize expense claim receipts, or store important documents without worrying about loss or damage.

1. Get Adobe Scan for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
2. Get CamScanner for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

9. Real-time text translation

If you're abroad and staring at a menu you can't read, or you've just unboxed something with instructions in a language you don't speak, your smartphone camera can act as a pocket translator.

 

With tools like Google Lens (also accessible through the Google app, Google Photos, or Chrome), Apple's Live Text, and a host of other similar apps that translate text on the fly, you can point your camera at almost anything.

1. Download Google Lens for Android (Free)

8. Measuring objects and spaces

Your tape measure may be hidden in a drawer somewhere and not always within reach, but your smartphone camera can measure distances using augmented reality. Apple's Measure app and Android equivalents like AR Ruler can estimate length, height, and even room dimensions by scanning your surroundings.

 

1. Get AR Ruler for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

7. Identify plants, animals and places

If you're curious about the flowers growing in your backyard or the birds perched on your balcony, a camera can help you find out.

Apps like Seek by iNaturalist, Google Lens, and iOS's built-in Visual Look Up feature can identify plants, animals, insects, and even landmarks. To use them, simply snap a photo or point your camera at them in real time. Interestingly, some of these free apps can even help you improve your nature photography skills.

1. Download Seek for Android | iOS (Free)

6. Scan QR codes and barcodes

Scanning QR codes has become a habit for many people, allowing you to do everything from open restaurant menus to connect to Wi-Fi to make quick payments. Your smartphone camera can handle this without any special app by opening the camera, pointing and tapping the link that appears.

 

5. Math and homework support

Stuck on a math problem? Your camera can become an on-demand tutor. Apps like Photomath let you scan equations — handwritten or printed — and then walk you through solving them step by step.

1. Get Photomath for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. Detect health indicators

You can turn your smartphone camera into a mini fitness tracker. By placing your fingertip over the rear camera, fitness apps like Instant Heart Rate or Cardiio can detect your pulse through changes in skin color caused by blood flow.

1. Get Instant Heart Rate for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
2. Get Cardiio for iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

 

3. Digitize and organize old photos

Cameras can breathe new life into old photo albums. Instead of simply taking a single printed photo, apps like Google PhotoScan and Photomyne use multiple shots and intelligent processing to remove glare, enhance colors, and straighten photos.

1. Download PhotoScan for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Get Photomyne for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Accessibility support

Smartphone cameras can be essential accessibility tools for people with visual impairments. Apps like Be My Eyes, Sullivan+, and Lookout use the camera to describe your surroundings, read text aloud, and even recognize currency.

1. Download Be My Eyes for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Download Lookout by Google for Android (Free)
3. Download Sullivan+ for Android | iOS (Free)

1. Augmented Reality Experience

Augmented reality (AR) overlays digital objects onto your real-world environment, and your phone's camera is the window into it. Games like Pokémon GO blend virtual creatures with your real-world environment, while AR filters on social media apps let you try on sunglasses, change your hair color, or immerse yourself in a fantasy backdrop—all in real time.

1. Download IKEA for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Get Wayfair for Android | iOS (Free)

The more you explore these features, the more you realize that this part of your smartphone is more than just a camera, and more like a pocket-sized problem-solver. It's often much faster than typing or even using your voice.