It's sad you reduced smartphones to their negatives. I did distance myself from social media but here are things I frequently use my smartphone for:
- Long distance calls with Skype. It is possible to do a cheap long distance call in a foreign country by just buying some data credit. People can still reach you through your Skype number. Not possible with a feature phone.
- Browsing the internet while shopping. Sometimes I find a product that I'm suspicious of its quality. I just do a quick Google search. It's possible to do that with a more advanced feature phone but a smartphone usually have more screen estate.
- GPS/Maps. Big one for people living in big cities or while traveling.
- Payments, notes, quick photos, recording some calls, emails, etc...
There are more to smartphones than social revolutions, though I'm sure it played a certain role in shaping the opinion of people and transmitting the news.
And smartphones are out of reach for most governments, and only an AI powered thing can control it (there is just too many users to read all their messages) which won't likely work in the short-term/present or will be irrelevant in the future.
With the further democratization of tech, I wouldn't worry much about control. The area where government have the most control is currency and tariffs (control import/export goods). If they failed to curb crypto-currencies, they have little chance with texts/news.