10 ways your Android phone is smarter than you

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You say you miss your dumbphone, but you really don’t, because your smartphone is, well…a hell of a lot smarter. It’s smarter than your dumbphone, and it’s also (sometimes) smarter than you. And it should be! It’s packed with sensors, a lifetime of Google knowledge, access to the whole Internet, and eerily accurate predictions based on your habits. Here are 10 ways your Android phone is too smart for its own good.

It knows if you’re holding it

Android Lollipop’s new “smart lock” feature can tell if the phone is in your hand or your pocket, and unlock accordingly. Does that make it smarter than you? Raise your hand if you’ve ever lost your phone, only to find it in your pocket.

It knows when you’re looking at it

Some Android devices have an option called “smart stay,” which, when turned on, uses the front-facing camera to determine if you’re looking at the screen (and what angle your head is at). And most Android devices will let you unlock them with your face.

It knows your Internet history

Okay, so this is more of a Chrome thing than an Android thing: Chrome users can sync their tabs across their devices, which means that tab you had open on your PC? It's also open on your phone!

It knows what you’re listening to

Sure, you can download Shazam for instant song recognition…but you don’t have to. Google’s search app also listens to and recognizes the music or TV show that’s playing in the background.

It’s also always listening

Okay, not always…unless you set up “OK Google,” in which case, yes, always.

It knows where you are

Android automation apps, like Tasker, let you automate things based on your location. For example, you can tell your Android phone to turn on Wi-Fi when you get home. How does Android know when you’re home? Why, because it knows where you are, of course. Duh.

It knows where you’re going, and how long it will take you to get there

Think you can escape Android’s omniscient presence by planning a trip? Think again! Google Maps knows where you’re going (obviously), and it also knows approximately how long it will take you to get there, based on travel times from previous users, average speed data during the time of day, and current traffic.

It knows the temperature and humidity level

The Samsung Galaxy S4 had a chip that took measurements of relative humidity and ambient air temperature, which you could access through the S Health app. The S5 doesn’t, but it does have a heart rate sensor. In other words, your Android phone probably knows a heck of a lot more about what’s going on around it than you do.

It knows who’s calling you

…Even if you don’t. That’s right, some Android phones have smart caller ID, which basically means that Google uses local business data to determine the identity of phone numbers, even if they’re not in your address book.

It knows what you’re about to say

thelist android smarter sentences

The iPhone just got predictive typing, but Android has been able to (somewhat badly) predict the next word you’re about to text for years.

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