Manufacturers of cell phones are constantly tinkering with the myriad of things you could do on the new phone to keep driving sales. The alterations, at first, seem very evident. They made this one bigger. They made this one smaller. This one opens up to a wider screen. This one offers a protective case with an option of 3 shades of black.

One innovation that has really caught on with me is Siri. As long as the phone is in the room with me, I could ask Siri any question and I usually get a straight answer. What’s the temperature outside right now? What time does the Yankee game start? Sensing that computers may be communicating with each other with artificial intelligence, sometimes I even say “Hey Siri, give me tonight’s winning lottery numbers.” Siri teasingly responds with “Do you want me to use ChatGPT to answer?” Before I can call the nearest Mercedes-Benz Dealership, Siri adds “I’m unable to provide tonight’s winning lottery numbers as they are drawn after 7:45pm.”

I soon learned that the manuals that you could get online for your new phone take a lot for granted. One manual I downloaded told me to press the action button when I tried to silence the ringer. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a diagram on that page that actually showed you which of the five buttons is the action button? 

I soon found the fastest way to find out what the iPhone 16 can do is to ask my friends. They have helped me find some interesting and useful functions on my phone. A good friend taught me this one. As a writer I often scramble to find a piece of paper to jot down notes while interviewing someone on my phone. Too many times in the past 10 years have I wound up saying I should have written that down?  The model 16 of my new phone solves that problem. Suppose you’re on the phone and I need to keep notes of the call. Look in the upper left-hand corner of your home screen. Click on the icon. Your conversation is automatically recorded and written down.

As I kept searching for the secrets of the iPhone I kept coming up with ideas to make the phone easier to use. So here is item #1 in Hudson’s Cell Phone Wish List.

After spending seven hours playing everything from Wordle to Candy Crush Saga, you notice your cell phone’s battery power is running low. You find the cardboard box hidden in the back of your closet. Opening it up you see it could be labeled Remembrance of Cell Phones Past. Inside is every old cell phone, outdated doodad and gizmo you’ve saved including protective casings. You reach in and take out a fist full of phone charger cords you have collected since the dawn of cell phones. Of course, none of them work with your current model.

My wish list item is a way to never have to worry about using charging cords again. Built in to the bottom of your protective case will be a  hidden compartment. With a twist, two prongs will be exposed from the built-in plug. Simply plug it right directly into your outlet. No need to ever need a charging cord again

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.