Among different gadgets, shortlisting a smartphone for purchasing can be the most toilsome job. Thousands of models available in the market, with each possessing numerous features, must have confused you in selecting one. But this smartphone buying guide is going to save your skin by easing your confusion.
Smartphones nowadays provide countless features, some of which might be useful to you whereas some might not. Certain features are very important to consider before you buy a smartphone. This guide enlists features that you should essentially take care of before buying a smartphone. You might also like Best Phones under £100.
Quick tips
- Display: Screen size, resolution, and display technology are important features to look for in the case of the display.
- Operating System: Two types of operating systems are available – iOS and Android.
- Performance: The overall performance of a smartphone depends on the RAM, storage, and the type of processor.
- Camera: Check for the number of cameras a smartphone provides and the resolution of the cameras.
- Battery: Consider a higher battery capacity if you are a heavy user and vice-versa.
- Software updates: Before purchasing, check whether the smartphone is compatible with the latest software updates.
- Post Sale Service: Make sure the service centre for the product is nearby and spares are available.
- Other features: These include fingerprint reader, water and dust resistance, speaker quality, body material and design, number of SIM slots, accessories, etc.
Smartphone Buying Guide
Display
The first thing about display one considers is the size of the display or screen size. The display size, measured in inches or cm, can be compact or wide. A compact screen is good for browsing and typing whereas a widescreen is good if you work with mobile documents or if you like to watch videos and play games on your smartphone.
Talking about resolution, which is the number of pixels on the display, a smartphone with a higher resolution will have better image quality. On the basis of resolution, the display can be HD, FHD, 2K or 4K Ultra HD, written in increasing order of resolution.
Displays can be of various types like LCD, OLED and AMOLED. AMOLED uses the best technology. It is thin, vibrant and consumes less battery. Another feature to consider is the refresh rate, denoted in Hz, which when higher gives a smooth video viewing experience.
Operating System
The next feature to consider is the operating system of your smartphone. Two types of operating systems are available in the market – iOS from Apple and Android from Google. Each of them has its own advantages. iOS is easy to use, has the best security and privacy and functions smoothly. Besides, new apps are launched on iOS first. On the other hand, the Android operating system does not drain the battery fast, can be personalised, has great built-in navigation and GPS and has the best cloud storage.
Performance
The overall performance of a smartphone depends on the RAM, storage and the type of processor. Taking RAM first, the higher the RAM, the smoother will be the functioning of your smartphone. Different RAM options are available ranging from 4 GB to 16 GB. a 4 GB RAM is enough for a light user with a heavy user who edits videos and plays games needs an 8 GB RAM or higher.
Smartphones offer different storage options ranging from 32 GB to even 512 GB. So, choose storage depending upon the amount of data you will be storing on your smartphone like apps, photos and videos. Many smartphones do provide you with the option of expandable memory.
Smartphones come with a variety of processors like Qualcomm, Mediatek, Exynos and Apple. Each processor is available in a number of series. Go for the series that best matches your usage.
Camera
The camera that smartphones consist of nowadays has numerous features with many more being added in new launches. Out of the number of features, the most popular ones and the ones we’ll discuss in this smartphone buying guide are the number of cameras a smartphone possesses and their resolution.
Smartphones generally come with a front camera and one or more primary or back cameras. Multiple camera setup is provided since different lenses serve different purposes and provide more shooting options. For example, wide-angle lenses are used for panoramic snaps whereas telephoto lenses are used for zooming in. The camera resolution is measured in megapixels with smartphones even offering 108 MP cameras and above.
Other features a smartphone camera may have include 4K video quality, optical image stabilization, HDR, AI Camera, auto-focus and different modes like portrait mode and burst mode. Smartphones with pop-up cameras are also available.
Battery
The capacity of the battery of your smartphone is a very important feature to evaluate. The battery capacity is measured in mAh and it ranges from below 4000 mAh to more than 5000 mAh. The capacity of the battery you’ll be choosing depends on your usage. The more the battery capacity, the longer will your smartphone last on each charge. Nowadays, smartphones come with the fast-charging option which takes the battery comparatively less time to get charged. Wireless charging is also available in high-end smartphones.
Software Updates
The next thing we’ll be discussing in the smartphone buying guide is software updates. Some smartphones might not get the latest updates until months after others. This is usually seen in the case of Andriod phones since they have plenty of smartphone models. Some models do not support specific updates at all. Since iPhone has fewer models, updates roll out quicker.
Post Sale Service
Whenever you buy a smartphone, do check whether its service centres are available near you or not. Make sure the company provides proper service after the sale of its product. Check whether spares of the smartphone you purchase are available easily or not. Also, check for the warranty of the product you’re buying so that you do not encounter any hassles are purchasing your smartphone.
Other features
Other features to look for in smartphones include fingerprint reader, water and dust resistance, speaker quality, body material and design, number of SIM slots, etc. You can also check for the accessories provided along with the smartphone, like the charger and phone case.
