Smartphones are an essential part of our day-to-day lives. We use them for work and for entertainment and have them in our hands for hours every day. Smartphone brands have made amazing strides in terms of what’s inside our phones. They have more storage, better connectivity, incredible cameras and so much more.
The insides of our smartphones may have come a long way but the bodies haven’t. Smartphones are all slim rectangles in neutral colors. It’s true that there has been some innovations, like the creation of foldable flip smartphones and the addition of a stylus, but for the most part, smartphones are boring.
We have our smartphones with us every day, so why shouldn’t they reflect our personalities and styles? Thankfully, there are tons of options to make smartphones unique and personalized. Below are some of the most popular ways to personalize a new smartphone:
Cases
A case is an essential when it comes to smartphones. They’re not as fragile as the first generation phones were but they still need protection from the bumps and drops that are part of everyday life. A utilitarian and waterproof case is a basic choice and can be color-customized.
But why not have more than one case? For someone outdoorsy (or accident-prone), an Otterbox case is great to have for times when your phone might be at risk. The rest of the time, there are thousands of lightweight cases to choose from.
Phone Grip
Another popular accessory that adds personality to smartphones is a phone grip. These small devices stick onto the back of a phone or case and can be popped up to provide better grip or act as a rest for the smartphone. Some people even prefer to have two on their phone for a variety of ways to hold it, and more support when it’s leaning. That’s double the space for creativity!
Like cases, phone grips come in a wide variety of colors and styles. It’s even possible to personalize them further by having a photograph printed on the grip. Some of the leading companies have also started to add cute features like using the body of the grip to hold a mirror, a small pill case, or even lip balm.
Home Screen
The first thing that most people do when they get a new phone is change the background image on their home screen. As pretty as some of the standard backgrounds are, they lack any real personality. Making the home screen a photograph of a loved one, a pet, a fun meme, or a favorite picture is the easiest way to personalize a mobile phone.
Customizing the home screen also includes choosing which widgets are displayed there. The widgets on the home screen should be the apps that are used the most frequently but don’t have to be limited to just practical apps for email and related tasks.
Including the widget for a favorite game is a great way to personalize an app. Game apps often have widgets that are fun to look at too, which is a nice change from the repetitive Google logos. Gaming apps are incredibly popular (we all like a bit of a distraction, after all!). A widget on the home page for a casino in Ontario, or the NYT puzzle app, featuring word and logic games, can be a great conversation starter.
Ringtone
There aren’t many sounds more jarring than the default ringtones and alert sounds on a new smartphone. Even for someone who always leaves their smartphone on vibrate, it’s fun to set the ringtone, alarms, and alerts to the sounds and songs they like.
Choosing a ringtone is trickier than just picking a favorite song. People who get a lot of calls often quickly get bored of hearing the same snippet of a song. Setting a personalized ringtone for the contacts they talk to the most is a great way around this. Just be careful not to set any joke ringtones that the contact might be hurt by or find offensive if they were to find out about it.
Use Personal Photographs
One of the best ways to truly personalize a smartphone is to use personal photographs on any or all of the above customizable elements. There are plenty of tools online that will help print a case or phone grip with a personal photo on it, and many retailers offer similar options. Using personal photographs can make your smartphone a one-of-a-kind device.
