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Smartphones are used to make phone calls and send text messages but they can also be used for checking your emails and searching the internet. Today, people rely on smartphones to take pictures, wake them up in the morning and manage their appointments. Calculator, GPS navigation, flashlight, document scanner – and that is not all. Product designers offer amazing tools that turn smartphones into the true ‘Swiss Army knife’ of technology.

Smartphone as a gaming console

Taiwan-based designer Ethan Chiang has developed a device set to take iPhone mobile gaming experience to a new level. Named PocketPlay, the design helps overcome limitations of touchscreen controls, providing precise controls for true gaming enthusiasts.

The game controller has been designed by combining the best aspects of other renowned controllers on the market, mimicking the established ergonomic grips of the Razer Kishi V2 and the Backbone One with subtle, yet noteworthy distinctions. Its folding and rotating features allow it to have an extremely compact size when not in use, making it easy for players to carry it anywhere simply sliding it into a bag or a pocket.

The interesting, detachable design replaces D-pad with diagonal buttons for precise control. Moreover, the subtly textured back adds the perfect grip, making every move feel natural and accurate.

Charging and fixation are achieved through the use of MagSafe, enabling players to charge both the game controller and the phone simultaneously while playing.

Smartphone as a space telescope

Hestia by VAONIS turns your smartphone into the next James Webb Space Telescope. The device comprises a lens that can be attached to a smartphone and boost its camera’s magnification by 25x, which is enough to take close-ups of the moon and star clusters.

According to the manufacturer, the book-sized consumer-grade telescope module features the smallest telephoto lens, which makes it easy to carry around in a backpack.

Thanks to a system of removable magnets, Hestia accommodates all sizes of current and future smartphones, while rubber lips on its upper surface help hold a phone in place even when the device is tilted upwards.

The telescope module sits on a standard tripod and works in conjunction with the intuitive ‘Gravity by Vaonis’ app, which alerts users when there is a cosmic phenomenon to see, informs them when the viewing conditions are right, and helps point the camera in the right direction.

Smartphone as a vinyl player / cassette recorder

The design team Shin Huei Tsai, Tzu Yu Huang and Zhuang Zhujun aims to bridge the gap between the virtual and the physical with its collection of devices that add old-world physicality to modern digital audio sources. Named RE:PLAY, these beautiful minimalist objects made from translucent frosted acrylic bring in aesthetics of cassette tapes and vinyl records to smartphones.

The first object pays homage to vinyl players reviving the cherished ritual of positioning the tonearm and spinning the disc. The smartphone becomes the vinyl record itself, as the user positions the tonearm onto it while visually interacting with the spinning disc.

Another device is inspired by cassette recorders. Instead of inserting a physical cassette, you kickstart music by placing your smartphone into the designated slot. Every five songs, the user has to flip the smartphone to continue playing music – a gesture reimagining the task of flipping the cassette over as a seamless way to switch songs.