Purchasing a smartphone for yourself or a loved one is a difficult task. Smartphones are generally expensive but essential items, and there are ways to narrow down your options so that you spend your money wisely on the most important features for you. Hundreds of available options can make the selection process overwhelming, especially if your priorities are unclear. Modern smartphones have impressive specs, but the gap between two successive generations is smaller than ever before. As a result, deciding what to buy becomes more difficult.
Specifications to be aware of before purchasing a smartphone
1. Price:
The first decision you must make is how much money you are willing to spend on your new phone. You must know what price range you want your new handset to be in.
If you use the instalment option, you can increase your budget.
2. System of Operation:
This is the first thing you must decide. It will significantly reduce your options. Which operating system do you favor?
You now have two options:
iOS is an abbreviation for iPhone Operating System. There are a lot of Apple fans all over the world who only buy Apple products. The most recent iPhone should always be in their hands!
Android: Android is the only platform that offers a diverse range of brands and models.
3. Brand: Choosing a good brand is an important part of your decision. If you want to buy an Android phone, you can choose from top brands such as Samsung, Sony, Motorola, LG, and others. Alternatively, you can select from Chinese phone manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Techno, Vivo, Oppo, One Plus, Gionee, Symphony, and others.
Always remember that reputable brands will provide you with very good quality and value for money on their products. Chinese brands are also giving the top companies a run for their money. However, with the exception of a few top Chinese companies, the rest compromise on quality and value in order to make phones more affordable.
Always choose brands that have a strong presence in your country when choosing a brand. Otherwise, it will be difficult to obtain spares and accessories for that model in the future.
4. CPU: The CPU is the heart of a smartphone’s performance. It should be fast enough to provide fast performance for your phone.
Dual core, quad core, and even octa core processors are available. Dual means two, quad means four, and octa means eight processors in one! What matters more is the processor’s clock speed, CPU architecture, company, and model. A dual core processor from a good company, such as Qualcomm, will be much faster and perform much better than a quad core or octa core processor from a small company. As of January 2020, the fastest processors are Apple’s A13 Bionic and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865.
5. GPU: GPU is an abbreviation for Graphics Processing Unit. It processes all images and videos, which reduces CPU load. It should be fast to ensure quick processing and thus good performance when playing games, watching videos, or doing other graphics-related work.
RAM : RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. It is required to store temporary app, game, and operating system data. If the RAM capacity is less than what is normally required, the handset’s processing will be greatly slowed. Up until about two years ago, two gigabytes of RAM sufficed, but with apps and games becoming increasingly resource-intensive in terms of virtual memory consumption, you now need at least four gigabytes of RAM. The more RAM you have, the better.
7. Phone Memory: Your phone should have at least 64 GB of internal memory, according to today’s standards. Again, the more memory you have, the better. If the phone has expandable memory, you can increase your storage capacity further; however, if the handset does not have this option, you will be unable to increase your storage capacity later; therefore, you should be on the safe side and opt for more memory. Remember that the operating system uses 10 to 15 Gigabits of this internal storage.
8. Camera: Please keep in mind that megapixels (MP) are not the only thing to look for in a camera. It is only one of many factors that contribute to a good camera. More megapixels will make your images and videos larger. A 13 MP camera image will be between 2 and 3 Megabytes in size. The quality of the sensor and lens is more important. The best way to evaluate a camera is to take photos and begin zooming (enlarging) them. If the image loses clarity after a short period of zooming, the camera is of poor quality. If the image fades only after a significant amount of zooming, the camera is good and worthy. You should also look at the video resolution of the camera, which should be 1080p or higher in most smartphones. Check the fps (frames per second) of the camera’s videos as well. A smartphone’s frame rate should be between 60 and 30 frames per second. You should also look into the availability of camera features such as optical image stabilization, autofocus, face detection, and so on. These are required to ensure high-quality video and images. The above features should also be considered for the front camera, also known as the secondary camera.
The first thing to look for in a good display is the LCD resolution. To provide good graphics, the LCD should have a high resolution. The higher the resolution, the higher the image quality.
LCD resolution is classified as follows:
HD (High Definition) resolution: 720 x 1280. It is also known as 720p.
1080 x 1920 (Full High Definition). It’s known as 1080p.
1440 x 2560 (Quad High Definition). It is also known as 1440p.
UHD (Ultra High Definition, 4K) resolution: 2160 x 3840. It is also known as 2160p.
10. Battery: A battery with a high mAh rating is ideal. mAh is an abbreviation for milli Ampere Hour. It is used to calculate the energy storage capacity of a battery. You always prefer a smartphone with a battery that can last more than a day. The very least you can expect is that it will not drain until you return home from work or school. The mAh value of a battery is required to evaluate its performance. The higher the mAh value, the better and longer it will charge. In today’s world, the battery should have a minimum capacity of 3000 mAh. You can also get phones with 5000 and 6000 mAh batteries.
Recently, cell phone manufacturers have begun to focus more on reducing power consumption rather than increasing battery capacity. They are attempting to fine-tune the processing so that it consumes less power.
There is a continuous effort in CPU and display technology research to reduce power consumption. There has been a lot of progress in this area.
A lot of research is also being done to speed up the charging process, the results of which can be seen now. Reverse charging and wireless charging are two technologies that will soon be used in future phones, completely changing the way we charge our phones.
According to their inner chemical composition, batteries are classified into two types:
Ion Lithium
Polymer Lithium
Lithium polymer is the best and most recent technology, and it is only found in high-end flagship and expensive phones. Lithium Ion batteries are also good, but not as good as polymer batteries.
Nota bene: Higher mAh values imply larger battery sizes, which result in a heavier phone. As a result, larger brands limit the mAh value to around 4000.
You should also have a power bank on hand in case of an emergency or while travelling. Please read our buying guide for the best power bank for your phone.
11. Screen Size: According to current trends, mobile phone screens range from 5.5 to 6.5 inches. So, what is the best screen size for you?
We can divide size into the following categories:
4 to 5.9 inches for smartphones
6 to 6.9 inches for a phablet
7-inch tablet or larger
Between a phone and a tablet, the size ranges from 6 to 7 inches. As a result, these phones are also known as phablets.
You should choose a size between 5 and 6 inches. Larger phones are preferred by gamers and people who frequently watch videos and movies. However, because phones have recently become longer and narrower, we can now use larger screen phones.
In addition, phones smaller than 5 inches are difficult to use. While phones larger than 6.5 inches are too large for frequent travelers to use comfortably. Learn about the ideal smartphone screen size for you.
Additional Benefits
Dimensions, touch sensitivity, single SIM/dual SIM, and other features to consider are also important. You should also consider the phone’s weight, which should ideally be less than 200 grammes because carrying a heavier phone is inconvenient.
While some features, such as WIFI, Bluetooth, NFC, 4G LTE support, Volte, GPS, hotspot, and so on, have become standard in all smartphones, you do not need to check these. Glass protection is also essential. Toughened Guerilla glasses are standard on all smartphones. They are scratch-resistant and will only break in the event of a severe fall.
