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Upgrading your smartphone or tablet will give you a decision: What will you do with your old device?
Trade, donation or recycling Deprecated hardware are all popular options, such as giving a handy phone to a family member who shares your wireless carrier account. However, there are countless other ways to get more efficient use of older hardware without spending a lot of money.
Below are a few ideas to get more out of your downgraded device.
Build a Media Machine
Need an extra TV in the kitchen or home office? If you subscribe to a TV provider or streaming service, your old phone or tablet can get up to speed. Just download your TV provider’s app (eg. spectrum cable or Verizon Fios) or your separate service (Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, fubo.tv, Netflix or whatever) and log into your account. Place the device near an outlet so that it can run on electrical power while you watch, as the old device is likely to run out of battery.
Likewise, parking your old phone in a charging speaker dock gives you a library sound system for music and podcasts. Or you can keep the phone connected to its charger and stream music to a nearby wireless Bluetooth speaker. Powered speaker docks can be found online for around $40 and a wide variety is available. Wire cutterProduct testing and review site owned by The New York Times bluetooth speakers, General audio equipment and these shopping on a budget.
And even if they need to stay connected to a charger, older tablets also make good custom e-book readers or digital picture frames for photo slideshows.
Control Your World
Smart home appliances, music libraries, internet-connected televisions – so many things can be controlled by apps these days, so why not turn your old phone or tablet into a universal universal remote control? Third-party remote apps abound, but many tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Google, LG Electronics, Roku and Samsung, to name a few) has its own programs. Just take a stroll through your app store for software that matches your hardware.
Even if you haven’t lost the tiny remote control that came with your set-top box, the on-screen keyboard in most apps makes typing in passwords easy. (Apple, which used to have a standalone Remote app, folded the Apple TV remote software into the operating system in iOS 12, but still iTunes Remote Control Application for iPhone/iPad users to control their iTunes music collections stored on it Macs and computers.)
Start Your Game
Depending on the processor and battery condition, dedicating your old device to gaming is another way to give it some extra life. It gives you more space to delete all old data, download and store new games to start over.
Playing old games on old phones can have a nostalgic appeal. many classics converted for mobile game in app stores. And you’re not limited to indie games. subscription services such as apple arcade and Google stadium you can work on most mobile devices and beam your games (and other videos) to the big screen if you use them. Google Chromecast game mode or AirPlay technology used by Apple devices share screen on Apple TV.
If tapping a touchscreen has never been your serious gaming idea, consider plugging your old phone into a custom controller that brings physical buttons, standard D-Pad, and thumbsticks to the gaming experience. NS Razer Contact ($80 to $100) or Spine One ($100) are among the options.
Entertain and Educate
If you’ve decided that your child can use a hand-delivered phone or tablet for games and educational apps, take some time to do some setup to protect you both. Visit the settings area and delete your personal information first.
Next, create an account for the child and configure parental controls for screen time, app purchases and internet access; for operating systems Amazon, Android, Apple and Samsung all contain similar parental control settings.
If the phone still has a functional camera (and can still hold a charge for up to an hour), you can also use it to teach photography basics. Uploading a prepaid app store gift card to a child’s app store account can add money management skills. And if the old battery of the device dies after an hour, you can teach time management.
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