Things To Look For When Buying a Smartphone

While a smartphone is no longer just a trend but has become a necessity of our day to day life.

We take a look at some of the vital things to look for when buying it. Even it depends upon the user which features to compromise over other, there are few things which are essential in every smartphone. Here, I will list some of the features starting from the most important ones.

    Processor – The most important thing is the processor on which the smartphone is running. Because everything in your smartphone starting from opening an app to rendering photos or videos requires processing. Currently, Snapdragon processors are best in the market. While the Snapdragon 820/821/835 are only available in the flagships, we can go for Snapdragon 435/625/650/653 provided in budget smartphones. Even Samsung's Exynos is also a good choice, going for Snapdragon is the best.

          Display – The size of screen totally depends on you but the resolution and display type will be crucial. HD display measures 1280 x 720 pixels, full HD display measures 1920 x 1080 pixels, Quad HD measures 2560 x 1440 pixels and 4K measures 4096 x 2160 pixels. While 4K is available only in high-end smartphones, you can go for HD, full HD or Quad HD resolution. The most common display types available in smartphones are LCD, IPS, OLED, AMOLED. AMOLED display provides more colors than LCD. You can choose between these types of all having some pros over the other.

       Camera – Photo enthusiasts look for a phone with a good camera. The most common misconception for the Camera is that a greater Megapixel means good photos. Along with Megapixel, we should look for aperture, pixel size and ISO rating of the smartphone camera. Lower ISO, higher pixel size, and lower f-number account for a good camera. For eg., 16 MP camera with f/1.8 f-number is better than 16 MP camera with f/2.0 f-number. Also, Camera should record videos at 720p at 30fps/60fps or best option would be 1080p at 30fps/60fps. 

      Memory (RAM/ROM) - RAM size also affects the performance of the smartphone. 3 GB and 4 GB RAM are quite common in a smartphone these days. ROM size depends upon the user. But if you go for 2 sims in hybrid sim slot phone, 16 GB or 32 GB ROM is recommended.

     Battery – you don’t want your smartphone to run out of juice every few hours but thankfully, battery life is getting better in most of the smartphones these days. Most of the smartphone these days will provide around 3000 – 4000 mAh power battery. Try not to compromise below 3000 mAH.

   Build Quality – The entire smartphone industry is basically divided into metal and plastic build. While some also have glass coated panels, but those are very limited. I would recommend using a metal build as it gives a nice feel to our hand, you can go for plastic built too. The front screen has mostly Corning gorilla glass which can sustain a few drops.

      Operating System – User Interface and Operating System version too are key factors while choosing a smartphone. Today, most of the company provides their UI along with the Android OS. E.g. MIUI by Xiaomi. We should look for the UI that is light and easy to use. There are some companies like Motorola, who provides most basic and pure Android experience. Also, we should look for brands who provide updates and bug fixtures regularly.

       Security Features – While every smartphone has some pin or pattern lock, we should go for additional security features like finger print scanner or even iris scanner. Iris scanner is available only in some high-end smartphones, therefore, your smartphone should have finger print scanner to protect your valuable files and photos.

·   Sensors – Sensor is one of the things that we generally skip while buying a smartphone. But it is as important as the other things as it controls the functionality of a smartphone. Most common sensors are proximity sensor which blacks out the screen when we place the smartphone close to our ears, and an Ambient light sensor for auto brightness, Accelerometer sensor handles the orientation of the screen. Along with these sensors, we should also look for Compass sensor, Gyroscope sensor for AR/VR apps and 360-degree videos. You should also look for IR Blaster if you want to use your smartphone as a remote.

     Speakers/Audio – Speakers and quality of audio coming out of it can be an important parameter for those who rely on heavy music or video streaming. Therefore, it is suggested you should go for Stereo or Dolby Atmos Speaker. Also, 3.5mm head phone jack is common in all smartphones.

These were some of the things to look after while buying a smartphone. I Hope this helps.

Finally, Thank You.

      

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