There is a drawer, bin, or shelf in your house with the outdated tech merchandise you not often use however cannot justify throwing away. For those who’re something like me, it would embody a handful of spare Android telephones. They come in useful if a flagship cellphone is misplaced or breaks, supplying you with a backup till your major system is repaired or changed. Nevertheless, when you wait to utilize your spare Android cellphone till a necessity arises, it may rot away in a junk drawer eternally. That is why I proactively put my additional Android gadgets to make use of as a sensible residence helper.
With just a few free apps, you may flip your Android cellphone into a sensible residence controller, residence safety digicam, media server participant, or digital toolbox. It shortly turns into an indispensable companion that may be mounted at your bedside desk or in your desk, changing a devoted sensible display screen. That is how I did it — and how one can too.
Associated
5 issues my outdated Android cellphone does higher than any devoted gadget
Devoted devices like audio gamers and cameras are extra enjoyable, however outdated Android telephones are extra sensible and cheaper in lots of conditions.
Google House
It connects my total Matter sensible residence system ecosystem
I’ve tried all the favored sensible residence ecosystems, and the one I’ve settled on is Google House. It has glorious cross-platform assist, so you should use it on Android, iOS, and the online. Plus, it really works with the open trade commonplace Matter to bridge sensible gadgets throughout ecosystems collectively. In different phrases, you do not have to be deep into the Google House or Nest ecosystems to make use of the House app to handle your sensible residence. As a person of Google Nest safety cameras, routers, thermostats, and shows, I can say that it definitely helps, although.
After organising the Google House app and connecting your Matter sensible residence gadgets, your spare Android cellphone turns into a standalone sensible residence controller. You possibly can customise your favourite toggles within the House app to create a homepage that serves as a visible sensible residence dashboard. In my case, I can look into my stay digicam feeds, change the temperature of my condominium, or verify the standing of my Wi-Fi community at a look. Utilizing Google Assistant or Gemini, you may work together with the House app along with your voice, successfully turning that outdated Android cellphone into a sensible speaker and show.
OS
iOS, Android
Worth mannequin
Free, with Google House Premium subscriptions
App Kind
Sensible residence
Google House is a brilliant residence controller app that brilliantly connects Matter gadgets collectively. The app works particularly properly for anybody deep into the Google House or Nest {hardware} ecosystems, which embody thermostats, cameras, shows, sensible audio system, and extra.
Symfonium
Or every other Android music participant and streamer
An additional Android cellphone can shortly grow to be the proper approach to work together with your private home media server. Utilizing the app Symfonium, I can retailer music libraries together with as much as 300,000 tracks on my gadgets, with scanning and indexing assist. That is very good for outdated Android telephones with expandable storage compatibility, as a 1TB microSD card can deal with all of your music and media wants. Since these gadgets usually have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Google Forged assist, an outdated cellphone will be capable of work together with any residence speaker system, together with ecosystems like Sonos.
The app is appropriate with quite a lot of audio file codecs, starting from lossless codecs like ALAC and FLAC to lossy ones corresponding to Opus and Vorbis. You additionally get sensible playlists, a built-in equalizer, metadata scraping, and playback caching.
Credit score: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
The most effective half, although, is Symfonium’s assist for residence music servers. If you have already got a devoted track library out there in your community, this app helps a spare Android cellphone faucet into that server. For instance, it connects to platforms like Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, and Subsonic. It will even work with beginner cloud storage platforms corresponding to Field or Google Drive. This makes it simple to arrange your cellphone as a controller or streamer for the music server you have already got.
If you do not have a music server, do not fret. You possibly can run on-device libraries with Symfonium, and naturally, you may swap this app for the music streamer of your selection (Apple Music, Spotify, and many others.) whereas deploying a spare system the very same method.
OS
Android
Subscription Worth
$5
.99
Worth mannequin
One-time in-app buy (free trial)
Symfonium is an Android music participant app particularly suited to individuals with giant music libraries. It has a contemporary design with customization, superior options like gapless playback and silence skipping, in addition to broad assist for audio codecs.
Alfred Digital camera
Flip your outdated Android cellphone right into a free residence safety digicam
I am not an enormous fan of always-on residence safety cameras. Except you are working an end-to-end encrypted or closed-circuit safety system, there are too many privateness weak factors to depart cloud-based cameras recording 24/7. Nevertheless, I do see the worth in having safety cameras deployed for particular conditions. I hold cameras in my residence which are solely used after I’m away or anticipating a stranger to enter, like for routine condominium upkeep or inspections. It could be exhausting to justify shopping for a devoted digicam for rare use, and that is the place your spare Android telephones are available.
With the free app Alfred Digital camera, it is simple to show an outdated Android cellphone right into a safety digicam with all of the anticipated options, together with stay video streaming, movement detection, and native recording. It may possibly additionally stream over the cloud to different gadgets utilizing the cellular app or net viewer, when you’d choose. The app makes use of 256-bit AES encryption, however once more, I would fairly decide and select when my house is being recorded. In that case, I can prop up a spare Android cellphone as a safety monitor utilizing Alfred Digital camera quickly, and easily take it down after I’m completed.
OS
iOS, Android, net
Subscription Worth
$5
.99
Worth mannequin
Free with elective subscription
Alfred Digital camera is a free safety digicam app that allows you to flip any cellphone right into a stay streamer and video recorder. The free model helps single-device livestreaming, movement detection, and on-device recording. Extra options may be unlocked with a $29.99/yr. or $5.99/mo. subscription.
Get instruments like a ruler, protractor, and degree with one app
For those who’re not large on constructing a smartphone, there’s nonetheless a smartphone app that turns your outdated gadgets right into a useful family software. It is referred to as Physics Toolbox, and I have to admit, it is merely enjoyable to mess around with. The app can detect steel, establish the notes of sounds, and visualize movement. Nevertheless, in order for you extra sensible instruments, the Bodily Toolbox app has these too.
There’s an inclinometer mode that turns your cellphone right into a degree, which is useful for hanging pictures or constructing furnishings. You get a protractor, compass, and ruler, too. The ruler is not only a “dumb” ruler both — you may specify the precise size you need all the way down to the hundredth decimal level. Plus, there is a calibration software to make sure accuracy. Relatively than use the essential apps that will or might not have come along with your cellphone, set up Physics Toolbox to assist along with your subsequent family venture.
OS
Android, iOS
Worth mannequin
Free with $4.99 one-time improve to Professional
Physics Toolbox is a knowledge recording app that makes use of your smartphone’s sensors to show scientific data for evaluation. It may possibly showcase sensor information, document it, and export it as a CSV file for superior customers. It is out there as a testing playground for curious customers or a strong possibility for researchers and academics.
Why you need to repurpose your outdated Android cellphone
We change gadgets earlier than they really grow to be out of date — the newest smartphones obtain software program updates for as much as seven years, however the commonest improve cycle is each three years. Whereas an additional cellphone is sitting in a drawer, it nonetheless has a usable life. Nevertheless, the longer it rots away in a bin, the much less useful it will likely be while you lastly resolve to drag it out. That is why you need to make use of any spare Android cellphone you may have earlier than it heads to the recycling middle. It is nonetheless beneficial to be used across the residence for sensible (and dumb) duties.
