The airplane mode is a common feature in gadgets that prevent receiving or transmitting wireless signals so that they don’t interfere with aircraft communications. Many of us see airplane mode on our devices and wonder what it’s actually used for. After all, not everyone spends enough time in the air to need access to it so often.
However, airplane mode is actually an incredibly versatile feature that is great for practical purposes. While it is already known as a good way to save battery, here are a few other things that you can do on airplane mode today.
1. Stop Embarrassing Text Messages
In the heat of the moment, have you ever typed and sent out a text message that will bring shame to you and all of your ancestors? Thankfully, if your fingers are fast enough, airplane mode can stop a message before it leaves your phone for good. All you have to do is turn it on the moment that the pang of regret sinks in. You’ll know if you were successful if your message fails to deliver.
2. Manage Your Contacts and Messages
After years of having our phones, we can sometimes rack up many contacts that aren't really part of our lives anymore. So, do yourself a favor and clean your phone off all the people and conversations that no longer spark joy. You can even block people you don't like anymore while you're at it. Afterward, you're free to figuratively have a clean slate and make your phone feel safe again.
3. Organize Your Photos and Videos
Are you on your way to a holiday with a phone that has barely enough memory? While on airplane mode, you can rid yourself of all your excuses and take the time to organize your mobile phone albums. While on airplane mode, you can delete all the repeating (and ugly) pictures and videos of you to make room for better ones. Once you arrive at your destination, you'll be ready to snap away without worrying about maxing out your device space.
4. Listen to Music
While music is part of our everyday life, these days, it almost always gets played in the background. With airplane mode, you can listen to music as the main event and really take in the experience. When you’re a premium user for music streaming platforms or have offline music player apps on your mobile phone, music and other audio, like podcasts, become available for offline streaming.
5. Learn a Language
If you're actually using airplane mode during a flight, chances are you're heading somewhere wherein you don't speak the language. Should you want to avoid being one of those annoying tourists who expect everyone to speak English, you can learn a few important phrases during your flight. To accomplish this, you can download language learning apps that have offline course options.
6. Catch Up on Content
Many video streaming platforms, like Netflix, let you download content for offline viewing that will work even if you’re in airplane mode. Before a long flight, you can download several hours’ worth of entertainment and be ready to binge-watch once the plane takes off. In fact, you can even download content related to your flight destination. With this, you can easily relate to locals or have more context about the place you're visiting.
7. Work Out in Peace
Most of us already use up a lot of our willpower to get ourselves to start moving in general. It’s no wonder that just a little inconvenience is enough to make us want to stop. If you notice that random notifications are keeping you from your fitness goals, it may be time to put your phone on airplane mode while exercising.
8. Delete Unused Apps
For those with expandable memory, it is easy to become complacent with how many apps your phone has. However, it's important to understand that it's best to only keep apps that you regularly use to avoid security issues. When we don't use apps regularly, we don't always realize how they may not be updated, which makes you a target for hackers who might take advantage of the loopholes.
9. Play Offline Games
While on airplane mode, you can save your console battery while staying on top of your favorite games. Aside from this, there are several multi-player games that you can play without having to ever connect to the internet. So, if there’s a cutie next to you during a long bus ride or flight, you don’t need to be connected to ask them to play.
10. Read an Ebook
With electronic books becoming more common, an increasing number of people are making good use of their devices to read books everywhere. However, it can get quite distracting when endless notifications take you out of being immersed in your favorite world. If you’re dying to finally finish that Kindle book that you purchased a year ago, airplane mode might be precisely what you need.
11. Meditate
In our modern world, it can be tempting to believe that everything is urgent. There’s always something calling for your attention somewhere. However, taking the time to put the world on hold and being present is an experience worth having. With airplane mode, you can put yourself first for a while and ask the world to wait for its turn. You can even download offline meditation apps for a little help.
Airplane Mode Is More Useful Than You Think
While on airplane mode, people can still try to contact you. However, you won’t see any of their attempts to call you unless they leave you a voice call. As for texts, whether you receive them or not depends on how long you leave your device on airplane mode and how your service provider works.
So, while made for the skies, airplane mode definitely has a place in your everyday life. In a way, airplane mode helps you take back control over your time, focus, and energy. Aside from airplane mode, tech manufacturers have introduced other ways of controlling your time, such as do not disturb mode and focus mode.
