The authors analyzed the relevance and expediency of using the smartphone-based laboratories in physics. The purpose of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of the smartphone laboratory in the formation of research skills among students. The article deals with the use of mobile applications not to replace the real experiment, but to supplement it. To determine the effectiveness of using mobile applications when performing laboratory work in physics, an experiment was conducted among 9th grade students at a school in Taldykorgan (Kazakhstan). During the experiment, the difference between the performance indicators of students in control and experimental groups was identified and the significance of the difference in these indicators was evaluated using the “χ2-square” criterion. The significance of the obtained results is that they provide an effective alternative approach to the teaching process in educational institutions where the traditional methodology does not bring the desired pedagogical effect.