KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 —  If you're looking for ideas to entertain or distract yourself, the iPhone is as good a companion as any especially when lockdowns are happening the world over.

There's more to using an iPhone than just to watch the latest cat video or listen to podcasts.

Considering a Sundance film was shot on the iPhone 5S, perhaps experiment with creating instead of consuming content on the phone.

You don't even need to spend any or a lot of money necessarily. There are free apps available on the iPhone or some that you can try and perhaps purchase additional add-ons for later.

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1. Level up your iPhoneography

It doesn't matter which model you use — the iPhone camera over the years has proven to be reliable, user-friendly and capable of satisfactory shots.

The Darkr app offers tips on improving your photography with analog photography tips that also apply to taking photos on your phone.

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Instagram is also a good place for you to search out iPhone photos via either the #shotoniPhone or #iphoneography tag for inspiration.

2. Keep a journal

There are many ways to keep a journal on the iPhone. You could use native, free apps such as Pages or Notes or dedicated journal apps such as Day One as well as Microsoft's OneNote.

Being able to save your running diary in the Cloud is another bonus. These are unusual times and being able to look back sometime in the future could well be rewarding.

3. Embrace your inner film-maker

Apple's iMovie is free and simple to use. If you've never learned how to edit video, why not try? It could be as simple as a 10-second video of you tossing pasta for Instagram or family videos to share with relatives far away.

There are plenty of resources online as well with tips on how to make the most of your cinema experiments such as the articles on the Mobile Motion film festival here.

Experiment with other mediums — try making social media videos with Apple's Clips or maybe give stop motion an attempt with apps such as Stop Motion Studio.

4. Start your own podcast

Hosting your own podcast these days isn't that complicated. The Anchor app is a good place to start with recording and you can start out with the mic on your iPhone AirPods.

Garageband, another native Apple app, is also free and a good place to record and make basic edits of your podcasts.

5. Try video streaming

Apple still leads other smartphones in the video stakes and even if you've got a phone that goes as far back as the iPhone 7, you could make passable vlogs you can put up on YouTube.

If you're a gamer, why not share your gaming activities? Streamlabs offers free software for the PC, Mac as well as mobile phone so you can share your gaming adventures.

Mobcrush is another great mobile gaming streaming alternative that you can download for free with a ton of features including replays, analytics as well as monetisation options.

6. Now is the time to experiment

Whatever you choose to do, don't feel too pressured to create a masterpiece. This is the time to try new things and expect your first attempts to be less than polished.

You could choose to just jump in and create content first, and once you have learned the ropes you can start planning out your endeavours to create more polished results.