Your smartphone already wear a number of hat : camera , MP3 musician , and it can even make and receive calls — but with the right set of apps , you may do much more with your handset . Here are 8 scientific instruments your phone is capable of transforming into .

1. Earthquake detector (MyShake)

This will be especially useful to any of you subsist near a fault . MyShakecan discover seismic activity using nothing but your Android phone . The app ’s special algorithm picks out an earthquake shake from other types of cause .

If enough people install it , the University of California , Berkeley team that created it hopes to use it as an off-the-cuff early earthquake word of advice organisation as well . An iPhone version is apparently in the works but not quick yet .

2. Spirit level (Google/iOS)

Your smartphone comes equipped with an gyroscope that hump how compressed or tilted the equipment is . Several apps can easily take vantage of that , the easiest of which is make directly into Google : sample type “ house of cards grade ” into the Google search Browning automatic rifle on Android or iOS to bring up simple level tool .

There are great deal of consecrate apps you could use alternatively , not least the one built into iOS . establish the Compass app and swipe to the rightfield to find the spirit floor . ( You may be asked to fine-tune your iPhone before it influence . )

3. Skin cancer scanner (MoleScope and SkinVision)

Using a bulky television camera lens clip and an Android or iOS app , MoleScopelets you canvas skin mole incisively , just as its name suggests . The app scans and tracks suspect moles on your body and maneuver you through a self - diagnosis physical process .

you may also send off scans to a dependant dermatologist . If you require to cohere to an app without an accessory , thenSkinVisionis usable for Android and iOS devices and promises just as high a spirit level of accuracy .

4. Heart rate monitor (Instant Heart Rate)

peck of wear — from wristbands to chest strap — can supervise your core rate , but you’re able to do it with your phone too if you have a suited app installed . instantaneous Heart Rate , available on Android and iOS , is one of the best .

It works by scanning the changing color of your fingertip through your phone ’s tv camera and working out your current heart rate accordingly . It ’s not the most graceful solution , but it cultivate — and with no extra ironware .

5. Microscope (Micro Phone Lens)

Born on Kickstarter , theMicro Phone Lensgives your smartphone ’s tv camera a whopping 150x magnification cost increase , allowing you to employ it as a portable microscope ( it works best when used with sample distribution on microscopic swoop ) .

The small appurtenance you adhere to your phone ’s tv camera genus Lens can apparently function with any photographic camera fink as 5 megapixels or higher . If you just require the adhesive - free lens itself without any accessories , prices start at $ 30 .

6. Sound level meter (Decibel Meter Pro)

Apps likeDecibel Meter Pro($1 for Io ) use your smartphone ’s microphone to work your handset into a sound story metre — though accuracy may deviate depending on the quality of your French telephone .

Those of you on Android might desire to judge the freeSound Meterinstead . There are several other choice to experiment with . Useful for cover the neighbour for being too cheap late at dark , at least .

7. Thermometer (Thermodo)

It ’s likely that your telephone already has thermometers inside it , but ones designed to valuate home element temperature . To get an exact reading on the air around you , you need an external sensor likeThermodo .

It plug into the phone jack on your Android handset or iPhone and then works in tandem with the companion app to narrate you exactly how hot or cold it is in your current position . The chintzy Thermodo sell for $ 30 .

8. Baseball speed detector (Radar)

This one is only “ come soon , ” but it ’s still deserving mentioning : the successfully KickstarteredScouteecombines an app and a small sensor equipment , feed you an on - the - go fastness radiolocation for measuring toss speed .

The kit let you log speeds and record videos , write and analyze pitch shot parameters and game solution , and of course percentage stats with the extensive world . If you missedthe crowdfunding campaign , the pre - order price is $ 170 .

get through the author at[email   protected ] .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

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