More and more people across the United States, and internationally too, are deciding to make a conscious effort to spend less time on social media, to preserve their emotional health and well-being.

There is, however, a myriad of functions of a smartphone that have nothing to do with playing games and posting status updates. With this in mind, here is why you should upgrade your mobile to a smartphone.

To Keep Up to Date with the Latest News & Weather

Even with the very best of intentions, someone who is interested in current affairs and expanding their knowledge of real-time events around the world can sometimes simply be too busy to sit down and watch the news on the television, from start to finish, every night.

Smartphones are brilliant for keeping the user updated on not only the main and most important headlines from around the world but also to let you know about the weather and temperature conditions not only in your local area but anywhere in the world at any time.

Drastically Reduce Your Energy Bills

This next point seems slightly bizarre, but one of the key advantages of a smartphone is that you can monitor your home, both in terms of heating and lighting and general security, wherever you are in the country.

For example, if you have an innovative and high-quality WiFi smart thermostat, then not only can you control the temperature of your home without having to get up out of your seat, but you can also set the heating to turn on from anywhere to prepare your home before you arrive.

To Record Special Moments

Another prime example of why you should consider changing your ordinary mobile phone to a smartphone, either by buying one outright or else taking out a contract with a reputable phone company, is that you can also use it as a video camera and photographic camera.

For some phones, believe it or not, the quality and craftsmanship of the lenses in a smartphone are now rivalling those of a digital camera. What is more, there are many phones which are also capable of rendering photoshopping techniques onto photographs too and the memory capacity of most smartphones is such that you will never run out of space to store your visual creations.

As a Satnav Replacement

One of the disadvantages of having a separate satellite navigation system and one that is not built into the car itself is that to ensure the accuracy and complete functionality of the equipment, you need to update it regularly.

However, with a smartphone, there is more than one option when it comes to using the GPRS function and you can simply affix your smartphone to the windscreen to act as a complete satellite guide. What is more, as it will be running off the phone’s data, it will always update itself automatically, and show you real-time traffic alerts and plenty of other useful features as well.