A couple weeks back, I flew out to California for Google I/O. The trip was only a couple of days, but flying out of Ohio, I had a lot of time to kill getting there and back. Of course, I had my phone on me — and as it turned out, it was pretty much the only device I really needed to bring. Here are four things I did with my Pixel 9 Pro that made my last solo trip a little better.
1
Stayed up to speed on transportation
It’s an obvious idea on its face, but smartphones have revolutionized the way we navigate the act of traveling in a relatively short span of time. From checking in for my departing flight to getting directions driving home from the airport, I handled every aspect of travel logistics on my Pixel 9 Pro.
I was able to easily add my boarding passes to Google Wallet (thanks, Southwest!), and monitoring flight numbers on Google kept me up to speed on delays and gate changes. And of course, I called plenty of Ubers and Lyfts to get around the San Francisco Bay area.
2
Got into Balatro
I have a habit of bringing my Nintendo Switch on solo trips, but I never actually end up playing it. This time, though, I did finally take the time to get into 2024 indie darling Balatro — on my phone.
I’ve purchased Balatro three times: on Switch, Xbox, and Android. I’m a big fan of roguelites, but Balatro never quite got its hooks in me (maybe because I haven’t played much poker in real life). But I was eager to kill some time in the air between Chicago and San Jose, and with my Switch buried in my carry-on, my phone seemed like the best option.
Balatro was the only game I had installed that I could play without an internet connection, and boy, did I. Over the course of the rest of my I/O trip, in my hotel room and on airplanes, I sunk a couple of hours into Balatro, learning the nuances and coming to grips with the poker mechanics that make up the basis of the game. I’ve kept playing since I got back home, and I’ve even finished a couple of runs. I’m actually not crazy about the game on mobile — my Pixel is too small for the UI — but the Android version of the game was a great introduction.
3
Tried Android 16 QPR1 right away
Google got most of its I/O-related Android news out of the way early, in an Android Show video that streamed the week before the conference started. But the first Android 16 QPR1 beta, complete with the shiny new Material 3 Expressive, dropped during the I/O keynote, and I was able to download it to my Pixel 9 Pro on public Wi-Fi and install it with no issues. Long story short: I like it!
4
Watched (most of) a movie I wouldn’t have otherwise
My last flight home from I/O was a long one: Las Vegas to Cleveland. I tried to read on my Kindle at first, but a little over halfway through the flight, bleary from days of travel, I gave up and looked for an in-flight movie to watch on my phone.
Southwest’s selection didn’t have much that I’d normally watch, but I settled on the 2011 based-on-a-true-story baseball flick Moneyball. I’m not all that big on baseball, but I liked what I saw well enough. My flight landed before the movie ended, so I don’t know whether Brad Pitt ended up working for the Red Sox or not. I guess I’ll pick it back up the next time I fly Southwest.
Phones have become all-in-one travel tools
Traveling alone can be a drag sometimes, but my phone helped made my solo I/O trip a little easier by helping me get around and keeping me entertained in my down time. Maybe someday I’ll learn that I don’t need to bring so many devices with me on trips like this when my phone does most of the same stuff as my Switch and my Kindle with a much smaller footprint.
