It’s awe-inspiring to think about the way technology has accelerated over the past couple of decades. This new century has brought unprecedented societal changes.
Think about social media’s advent. There are electric vehicles on the road now, and we’re seeing automation in more niches. Companies are working on self-driving trucks that should reduce collisions and eliminate the driver error issue that costs lives every year.
If you want another amazing technology example, look no further than your pocket. If you have a smartphone, you should know all of the astonishing things of which it is capable. You might take these abilities for granted now, but consider what someone from just twenty years ago would think if you showed them some of your iPhone’s tricks.
You Can Order and Track Food on It
There are now multiple food-ordering apps, such as Uber Eats, Door Dash, GrubHub, and so forth. You can relax after a tough workday and find the best pizza, Indian, BBQ, Italian, or Chinese in your area. You might get some proven comfort food, or maybe you’re feeling adventurous, and you order something you’ve never had before.
You can download the app and order through it, and if you’re a new customer, you can probably get a coupon or a special discount for trying the service for the first time. Once you have put in your order, you can get it during a window that you designate if you don’t want it to show up immediately.
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You can also track the order as it moves through your city’s streets in real-time. You can see the driver’s name and their star rating.
You’ll want them to bring you your food quickly, but hopefully, they will still drive safely.
They should avoid tailgating the vehicles around them to get you your food on time. Rear-end crashes account for about 1/3 of accidents, and you don’t want the driver to total their car just to get you your General Tso’s.
You Can Send and Receive Emails
You can also use your smartphone to keep up with work when you’re out of the office. Maybe you work from home, and you decide to drive to your favorite restaurant for a midday break. The only issue is that you know you’re going to get a vital client email, and you want to be able to respond to it quickly.
If you take your smartphone with you, you can check your email while sitting in the restaurant. If it comes in, you can respond immediately. You can even set your phone so that it vibrates when you receive the email, so you won’t ever miss it.
You Can Look at Movie Times and Buy Tickets
You might download a Regal or AMC movie app. Lately, the pandemic has closed many movie theaters, but plenty of them are starting to open back up again now that the FDA has approved three vaccines and more people are receiving them.
If you want to go check out a movie at one of the newly-reopened theaters, you can get the app and look at showtimes and locations. You can then use your credit card to buy the tickets, so you never even need to visit the box office.
When you get to the theater, you can use your smartphone as your ticket. The ticket taker just needs to scan the bar code on your screen.
You Can Navigate Using It
You can use Google Maps or similar smartphone apps to navigate. You no longer have to print out MapQuest directions like you once did.
You can plug in an address of a place you have never been before. Then, you can set your phone in a holder on the car’s dashboard, and it will give you directions in real-time. You’ll never take a wrong turn and have to ask for directions anymore.
You Can Use It for Point of Contact Purchases
You can use your smartphone for point of contact purchases in stores now as well. All you have to do is set up your credit card and go to an establishment that allows this payment method. More of them will continue to do so as time passes, and before much longer, almost all of them will, even the tiny Mom-and-Pops.
Your smartphone can perform hundreds of other tasks and tricks. Part of the fun is checking out all the new things that each generation can do when it hits the market.
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