In less than two decades, the smartphone has become more than just a mere communication tool. All of us now use it as an irreplaceable part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s to get work done or just for entertainment purposes, our smartphones have gone above and beyond the call of duty every time. With that in mind, the smartphone has also rendered certain objects and activities obsolete on its rise to being the all-in-one juggernaut it now is. Here’s a look at some examples the smartphone has bulldozed on its way to the top.

Getting the groceries

With the likes of Amazon and Walmart also now playing ball (perhaps begrudgingly), going to the grocery store is now unnecessary thanks to the solid number of delivery apps available. Just pick the items you would need and a designated person will deliver the items right to your door. In a natural progression from food delivery, groceries are now an option to be delivered in the home for people seeking to practice social distancing measures, or for users who just aren’t in the mood to do any errands. 

Expanding your circles

Mark Zuckerberg’s company has gone from a little communication tool into a pure social media powerhouse that finds itself flirting with the idea of the Metaverse. While we wait for that concept to truly take hold of the general public, Facebook has evolved into quite the formidable business tool. With the ability to add friends up to the thousands, one can maximize this to include people from different business circles and even walks of life just to get their name out there. A more hyper-focused version of this initiative is LinkedIn, which for lack of a better description, is plainly “Facebook for business”.

Access to a wealth of knowledge

Decades ago, most families had sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica as prized possessions in their homes. As a treasure trove of knowledge that could be passed down to generations, it’s as if you wouldn’t be caught dead without it. However, as technology evolved (and continues to do so), owning books of this caliber is now obsolete. Britannica crawled so that Microsoft’s Encarta could walk, and eventually so that Wikipedia could run. With information changing at a ridiculously fast rate, knowledge-themed books nowadays only provide snapshots of a certain time period. For those obsessed with never being out of the loop, our phones can search for literally any topic on the web and save us the embarrassment of not knowing who invented what (or who’s trending and why).

Planning the route of your roadtrip

There’s no need to pull up a foldable map that’s three times the size of your head anymore when out on a getaway. Thanks to the likes of Google and Apple, maps can now be zoomed in and out in the palm of your hand. This provides us with never-before-seen convenience, providing different walking and transportation routes for literally anywhere in the world you want to go. While some may argue that certain technological advancements hold us back, one look at our smartphones’ map apps proves that there’s some progress that benefits us all.

Writing stuff down

The most startling, surprising and perhaps even baffling change thanks to our smartphones is the slow decline of pen and paper usage. With every smartphone having been equipped with their own Notepads, anyone from the most skilled authors to the most meticulous shopping list planners can find use for this revolutionary app.