A CCELEROMETER. Accelerometers are devices that can measure acceleration, but in smartphones, they're able to detect changes in orientation and tell the screen to rotate. Basically, it helps the phone know up from down.

G YROSCOPE. Smartphones use gyro sensor to detect the orientation of the phone. It's a gyroscope in the form of a small sensor. Any change in orientation of the device is measured by the gyro sensor. A simple use case: View a picture keeping your phone horizontal, rotate the phone to vertical position, what do you observe? you will see that the picture also gets rotated as your phone. The gyro sensor is constantly sending its orientation data to the display device and based on certain orientation condition the display device appears horizontal or vertical.

P EDOMETER AND THERMOMETER. A pedometer counts how many steps you take; it’s useful for people trying to lose weight. A thermometer displays the temperature of the room you’re in; It can help older people by letting them determined whether they need the heating on during winter (possibly saving lives).

B AROMETERS. A barometer detects the surrounding air pressure. They can help hikers, by alerting them when the air pressure drops (meaning that the oxygen has become thinner). They can also be useful in detecting oncoming storms, letting people know that they need to be prepared.

A MBIENT LIGHT SENSOR. An ambient light sensor changes the brightness of the screen depending on the light in the surrounding environment. It also helps to save battery power. They can be useful when trying to take photographs as the can identify the perfect lighting.

M AGNETOMETER. Magnetometers are a built in sensor - mainly used for compasses on your smartphone - they detect where North is. When combined with a GPS they can be used to tell you where you are and can be used in maps. Furthermore, certain apps can turn your phone into a metal detector by using the magnetometer. This can be used to help find lost items (such as money) or just as a way to pass time.

M ICROPHONE. All phones have a microphone, without it phone calls would be impossible. Thanks to the microphone, the latest smartphones have become even smarter. You can now speak into the mic instead of typing; some apps can change the sound of your voice and some apps can detect the song that’s playing and identify the name and artist. You can also record your voice and use the mic when recording videos.

P ROXIMITY S ENSORS. Proximity sensors are commonly found in touchscreen smartphones to detect how close they are to neighbouring objects. When you hold the phone close to your face during a call, the sensor disables the touchscreen to avoid any accidental taps by your ear or cheek. Some apps allow you to unlock the screen, turn on music or control other functions with a simple wave against the sensor. Other apps even use the proximity sensor to count your push ups as you exercise

GPS R ECEIVER. Many people rely on their smartphones to work out where they are. The GPS chip inside a phone detects radio signals from multiple satellites orbiting the Earth to calculate its position. As well as finding your position on a map, some apps use your smartphone’s GPS receiver to tag the location of your photos, so you can remember exactly where you took them. Other apps can remember where you parked your car and guide you back to it later.

T OUCHSCREEN AND B LUETOOTH. Touch screens do not use the pressure of your finger to create a change in the flow of electricity; instead, they work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including humans. A Bluetooth device works by using radio waves instead of wires or cables to connect with your T.V, smartphone or computer. Bluetooth is a wireless short-range communications technology found in millions of products we use every day – including headsets, smartphones, laptops and portable speakers.

WI-FI. Wi-Fi is a high-speed internet and network connection without the use of cables or wires. The technology uses radio waves to transmit data between your computer and a router. Wi-Fi has a lot of advantages. Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive. They're also unobtrusive -- unless you're on the lookout for a place to watch streaming movies on your tablet, you may not even notice when you're in a hotspot. Wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires.

S CANNERS. Your smartphone has the ability to read both QR codes (which automatically take you to a website URL) as well as scanning a barcode to bring up product information such as price comparisons and user reviews. All you need to do is download the right app and then simply point your smartphone camera at the codes QR reader