We all know that smartphones can do incredible things, from capturing professional-quality video to reducing our stress levels. But did you know your smartphone could be world-record-setting amazing? Read on for a round-up of eight astounding world records set by the smartphone.
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Largest smartphone ensemble
If you’ve never thought of your smartphone as a musical instrument before, this world record will make you think again. Organized by Sohu IT and Vivo Xplay, the record-setting event for the largest-ever smartphone musical ensemble took place on June 15, 2013 at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy (as part of the Vivo Xplay Mobile Music Festival). To set the record, 223 of the Academy’s students played a tune together on smartphones supplied by Vivo Xplay.
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Highest text message and highest mobile phone call
If you’re at the top of the world, you might as well see how many records you can achieve while you’re there. On May 21, 2007, British mountaineer Rod Baber set two new world records while atop the summit of Mount Everest—an altitude of 8,848 meters (or just over 29,000 feet). Using his Motorola MOTO Z8, Baber phoned a voicemail account that Motorola had specially set up; the call, which was just under two minutes in duration and cost $4.72, was made possible by a recently built mobile phone antenna that had a clear line of sight to the North Ridge of Mount Everest. To achieve the record for highest text message, Baber sent the following message via SMS: “One small step for man one giant step for mobilekind – thanks Motorola.”
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Highest altitude smartphone livestream
Of course, what’s a mere 8,848 meters compared with 30,000 meters? That was the altitude target for the weather balloon that was launched on September 5, 2016 from northern Sweden’s SSC Esrange Space Center. Attached to the balloon, along with a camera and other key equipment, was a Huawei Honor 8 phone attempting to set the altitude record for livestreaming. Unfortunately, the balloon burst just over halfway to its target, at 18,421 meters (60,436 feet), but that was still more than enough for the Honor 8 to set this unusual record.
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Most people sending a text message simultaneously
Appropriately enough, the American National Speech & Debate Association set this record. On June 19, 2014, 2,193 people gathered in Overland Park, Kansas to form the largest crowd to ever send a text message at the same time. (No word, sadly, on what the text message said.)
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Most people playing a mobile game simultaneously
Vivo Xplay6 organized this record-setting event in Hangzhou, China, on August 26, 2017. Participants gathered to play “Honor of Kings,” an online fantasy role-playing battle game for multiple players. While 1,100 players took part in the event, 20 were disqualified because they did not meet the requirements. However, the remaining 1,080 players still constituted a large enough group to give Vivo Xplay6 the record.
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Most simultaneous selfies
Clearly, people setting world records want to do things simultaneously, and taking selfies is no exception. In this case, an astonishing 4,991 people in St. Louis, Missouri, snapped a selfie at the same time on August 6, 2016. Naturally, this was no random gathering: the record-setting selfie event was organized by the Younique Foundation to promote its new initiative called Defend the Innocence, a campaign aiming to prevent and build awareness of child abuse.
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Longest selfie relay chain
In addition to “most simultaneous,” selfies have been the subject of a number of other records, including the “longest selfie relay chain.” If you’re wondering what a selfie relay chain is, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a long line of people passing down a single phone and snapping a selfie before handing the phone off to the next person. As of April 22, 2017, the longest selfie relay chain record belongs to Honor V9, which achieved 925 selfies as part of the product launch of the new Honor V9 phone.
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Fastest time to type a text message on a touchscreen
On November 7, 2014, Brazilian teenager Marcel Fernandes Filho took 17.00 seconds to type a standard text message (designated by Guinness World Records) on an iPhone 6 Plus touchscreen. This speed was made possible by the keyboard technology Fleksy, which was originally introduced in 2012. Interestingly, the previous record-holder whom Filho beat on this occasion was himself: he had previously set the touchscreen texting speed record on a Samsung Galaxy S4 with a time of 18.19 seconds. And if you’re wondering what’s so hard about typing a quick text message, take a look at the set text that Filho had to enter: “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.”