Smartphones for Beginners: A Simple Guide
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
The world has become reliant upon connectivity. As ease of communication and access to information becomes ubiquitous, so has the use of smartphones. If you’ve never been particularly interested in their use or are feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of owning a smartphone, relax! They’re nothing to be afraid of. Read on and find out why there’s nothing to worry about in this short guide about the introduction to smartphones for beginners.
Smartphones For Beginners
First off, there’s nothing to worry about. Smartphones are essentially pocket-sized computers, capable of most of the general use that any computer is used for. While the possibilities are vast, you’re still in control.
If you’ve got any concerns about making a mistake or getting lost while exploring your new smartphone’s capabilities, that’s completely understandable. The trick to growing your confidence is the same as with anything new, a little trial and error go a long way. That’s how everyone who ever picked one up learned, and how you’re going to learn too.
Familiarizing yourself with your new phone ought not to be a stressful experience. Take the time to remind yourself that there’s no rush and that you can proceed at your own pace, putting the phone down whenever you feel like a break. You’re going to have your phone for a long time, there’s no reason to hurry!
Baby Steps
Our first recommendation on our smartphones for beginners checklist is to practice simply unlocking it and locking it again. This is the first step and might seem basic but we’re creating a base of familiarity to build upon. Once you feel confident in your ability to access your phone and lock it again, you can start exploring what’s available inside.
Don’t worry about all the different buttons. It’s common practice for new phones to come preloaded with various applications, most of which you’ll never need or want to look at. You can get rid of all the ones you have no interest in by pressing gently on top of each without letting go and moving the application button over the ‘remove’ option.
It’s a similar process whether you’re using an iPhone or Android device. Once you’ve managed to delete an application, you can consider yourself a little more in control of your smartphone! Congratulations, and don’t worry if you delete something and want to get it back again, everything is reversible.
Apps For Beginners
Our next recommendation on our smartphones for beginners checklist is to get familiar with apps. Your smartphone is capable of all sorts of amazing things, each of which can be accessed by downloading the appropriate application (app). The best smartphone apps will be listed at the top of the results when you search for something specific in the application store. You’ll also be able to see the rating any specific app has been given by other people who’ve downloaded and rated it.
Reading the comments and taking note of an application’s rating is a good way to work out if it’s worth trying. Any application that has a particularly poor rating or negative comments is worth steering clear of. If you’d like to access the store, you’ll find the button on your home screen, the screen that pops up when you unlock your phone.
Tap it and it’ll open up, and you’ll be met with the app store user interface. There will be a bar for you to search for whatever you’re looking for. Simply tap the search bar, and type in what you want before hitting the enter key.
How to Use A Smartphone
Part of the beauty of these little computers is that each person will use their smartphones differently. Some people like to use them strictly to take calls and take photos, without ever needing to explore further. Others use them as portable entertainment devices, watching Netflix and YouTube on the go.
The use of your smartphone depends completely on what you want to get out of it. For the most part, there will be an application to meet your needs in the store, and usually for free. Once you have the basics of your smartphone’s operation down, the technological world of the internet and smartphones will be your oyster.
That’s why the next recommendation on our smartphones for beginners checklist is to better understand the capabilities of your phone and to explore how you might want to use it. Simply let your interest and curiosity guide you at your own pace. Before you know it you’ll have decided what you want to try, and in succeeding you’ll have learned a lot concerning what a smartphone is all about.
Take It Slowly
The introduction to anything new and fairly complicated can feel daunting. This feeling is easily alleviated with time and practice. What feels new and unfamiliar at the start will soon become second nature.
Our last recommendation on our smartphones for beginners checklist is to learn Google Maps, and it’s incredibly helpful in day-to-day life. Playing around with this application, in particular, will teach you a lot about how many applications function, and is available on all smartphone types. Using GPS, the app can tell exactly where you are within a few feet in real-time.
Navigating the app, moving the map with the touch screen, searching for places to go, and exploring the settings and options will stand you in good stead for future phone use. As a rule of thumb, most applications have been designed for ease of use, so you may well be surprised at how intuitive you find them!
Patience Is a Virtue
Don’t expect to learn everything in a day! Take it one app at a time and you’ll be a professional user in no time. The use of a smartphone in your day-to-day life will be a great boon and before you know it you’ll be wondering how you ever lived without it!
If this article was helpful and answered your questions about using smartphones for beginners, take a look over the rest of the blog! You’re sure to find something else to pique your interest there somewhere.
