Before Buying a New Smartphone

 

 Audio Version Given Below

 

Before I begin the topic I will make a guess and some of you might be surprised.

You are reading this article on your smartphone.

Tell me in the comments section if I guessed it right.

We know that today a smartphone is a necessity and we use it for different purposes. Since we use the phone so much, we want the best for us.

In the market there are 2 main categories of smartphones based on the Operating System (OS) they run on: An Android smartphone or Apple’s iPhone running on iOS.

Apple releases just two to three versions of the iPhone in a year. It means a customer who only wants the latest model of the iPhone has an extremely limited choice to decide about the purchase. On the other hand, many Android phones are released every year, by different companies, at different prices, and with varied features.

In this article I shall try to discuss, what one should keep in mind while deciding to purchase an Android phone. I shall be explaining the basic criteria and what the main features of a smartphone really mean for you.

Criteria

a)  Objective: Firstly, one should know the main objective of using the phone. It should be kept in mind that a phone is not perfect in all areas. If the objective is photography, then more focus should be on the phone with a good camera setup (i.e. have different lenses). In case the objective is heavy gaming then the phone should have a good processor and higher RAM. If one wants to use the phone as an all in one device like in my case, a bit of gaming, watching videos on phone, using the internet and a little photography or if one likes changing phones often then the budget is more important.

b)  Budget: As I said earlier, Android phones come in different price range. Generally termed as ‘Budget Range’, ‘Mid-Range’  and ‘Flagship’.

Budget Range has lower specifications while Flagship has top of the line features among the phones launched by that brand. 

Different Hardware Features in a Smartphone

Now that we know the objective and the budget, let’s see the main features in a phone, based on that we can decide which phone to purchase. These are not in any specific order. You have to decide, what is more important for you and what doesn’t matter at all.

a)  Android Version: Android launches a new version regularly. Since Android 4.0 launch in 2012, this frequency is annual. New version means new features.

Google’s devices get the new version first, then the flagship devices of other brands are launched with the new Android version, and only after that other models are launched. So, if one wants the latest version soon, then he/she would have to spend more money. Also, this means regular phone upgrades.

If the phone is new, it will ship with the current Android version directly from the factory( ‘Out of the Box’ as it is called) or if it is a slightly older model, the new Android version might be released as an OTA (Over the Air) update by the manufacturer.

Given a choice, I would prefer the former as that way the device is more optimized to the newer Android version as compared to the other option.

b)  RAM: Like a PC, in smartphone too, RAM performs the same function. It helps to load the app from the memory card or internal memory for processing by the chipset. More the RAM, more apps can run simultaneously. It is mainly useful in multitasking. That’s it. The fact that higher RAM will make the phone faster is not entirely true. More RAM will only help the app load faster.

However, having a little higher RAM is of no harm. It will be useful in the future, in case one plans to use the phone for more than a year or two, as app sizes increase with time.

These days, for a normal user, 4GB to maximum 6GB RAM is sufficient. For those running heavy apps like PUBG etc, maximum up to 8GB RAM is good enough.

This way one can have a few more apps in the background to use simultaneously for a good user experience.

So, in my opinion, RAM above 8GB is generally not required in the current scenario.

c)  Internal Memory: Here one mainly stores the content used on the phone. So, what internal memory size would you want is subjective. It depends on  the size of Apps you use, how much content (like videos and music) you download from the internet, the size of photos you store on your phone, etc. If your phone is your only device you use then a higher internal memory would be good. However, if the phone has a memory card slot, then you can save music and photos and, in some cases, certain apps on the memory card. In that case, the internal memory can be smaller.

Generally, in a 64 GB phone, about 51 GB is available for the user and in a 128 GB phone, about 112 GB is available for the same.

d)  Camera: These days phones are used by many as the primary source of photography. A camera setup depends on many features:

1)  Lenses: Multiple lenses is the norm in today’s cameras, especially the back cameras. Different types of lenses apart from main sensor are:

i)               Depth sensor: Used to give a blur effect to the photos. It highlights the object from the background in portrait mode.

ii)             Wide/Ultrawide Angle sensor: To cover a larger area in a photo without moving the subject.

iii)           Telephoto Lens: It is used to click from a greater distance by zooming in at the subject without loss in quality. This is generally available only in flagship devices.

iv)           Macro Sensor: Used to take photo of extremely small objects like an insect and capturing greater detail.

2)  OIS/ EIS: Optical Image Stabilization is a hardware feature in the camera lens that helps in giving a steady video. This is generally available in flagship devices. Electronic Image Stabilization does the similar job but it is a software feature and has little lesser quality of steady video as compared to the same with OIS.

3)  4K video: This is 4 times the resolution of a Full HD video. Hence, better in quality. This is available in mid-range and flagship phones.

4)  Slow motion video:This is recorded at higher frames per second (fps) so the video appears to be moving slowly, generally this speed is 960 fps and is available in mid-range and flagship phones.

The quality of photo/ video depends on aperture size (lower the better), quality of sensors used and quality of processing, not just the resolution (high megapixel) photo it is. Just higher megapixel doesn’t mean better photo/ video quality.

So, based on lenses and camera features you would use, a decision can be made.

e) Battery and Charging speed: We purchase a phone to use it. So, it should have a battery capacity that makes it last for at least a day. Generally, a battery of 5000 mAH should be good. Bigger the better. But it can also make the phone bulky.

Equally important is the charging speed. Today’s phones generally support a charging speed of 15W or more. In midrange phones, the charging speed is around 25W.  If the speed is slow and the battery is big, the charging time will be high. So, there is a trade-off between the two. Battery draining time also depends on your usage.

Further, these days high-end phones have wireless charging. Though wireless charging speed is slower but it is little convenient.

f) Dedicated Memory Card Slot: In my opinion, having a dedicated memory card helps to keep data separate from the internal memory. In case, in the future, there is some problem with the phone and you need to change the phone, at least the data on the memory card is safe.

Also, as I have said earlier, with the option to use a memory card, one can buy a phone with lesser internal memory.

Moreover, this allows use of 2 SIM cards along with the memory card, as against phones with hybrid SIM slot, where the second slot can either be used as SIM slot or a memory card slot.

g) Display Type: Two types of displays are: IPS and Super AMOLED screens. Super AMOLED are definitely brighter and more power-efficient than IPS ones.

h) Custom OS or Stock Android: Android is developed by Google. It is an open-source OS. Other companies can develop their own OS, based on Android, by adding to or removing certain features from Android OS to customize it as their own.

On the other hand, Lenovo, Motorola and certain other phones from other companies use Android OS without any customization, hence said to be running on ‘Stock Android’. Google’s flagship phone, Pixel also uses Stock Android.

So, it’s important to decide the type of OS one wants. Custom OS has certain extra features. But nowadays certain phone brands show Ads in the OS while interacting with the phone. This might not be liked by some. On the other hand, Stock Android phones receive regular Android OS and security updates as compared to other phones but may lack some additional features.

i) Chipset: There are mainly three brands of chipset: MediaTek’s Helio, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Samsung’s Exynos. Snapdragon and Helio are used by many brands (including Samsung for some phones) but Exynos is limited to Samsung devices only.

Even though chipset is the heart of a phone but it should not be the deciding factor. Other features that one needs should also be considered.

j) 5G connectivity: Though we know, 5G connectivity is the future way to connect but right now it is not even launched in India. So, it is of no use to purchase a phone just because it offers 5G connectivity unless you travel to a country with 5G connectivity.

k) Back material: Today’s phones either have a glass back or plastic back. The choice between the two is subjective. A glass back looks aesthetic. In some high-end phones, wireless charging is also available because of glass back. But it is prone to breakage if the phone falls..

On the other hand, plastic back makes the phone light and the chance of breakage is comparatively less.

l) IP Certification: Ingress Protection (IP) Certification means the device is protected against foreign objects (both solids and liquids). It has 2 digits: The first digit shows protection against solids and the second digit shows protection against liquids.

Highest IP rating is IP 68. It means the device is completely protected against dust and is water-resistant beyond 1 meter under specified conditions.

m) Glass protection: Manufacturers install glass protection to avoid accidental scratches of glass surfaces (i.e. screen and glass back).

American company, Corning’s,  Gorilla Glass (Gorilla Glass 5) is used the most. Some phones have a lower version, called Gorilla Glass 3 while a few also use Japanese company, Asahi’s Dragontail Glass.

It should be noted that having glass protection only saves the device from scratches on the surface and not breakage due to drops. Also, not having a glass protection doesn’t mean the phone is fragile. One can use screen cover or good quality tempered glass as an alternative.

n) Audio Jack: Though we are moving towards wireless world but those who prefer listening music using wired earphones, like me, might like to consider this during purchase. The manufacturers are slowly doing away with an audio jack to save space inside the phone and make use of it for other important components.

o) Higher refresh rate: Refresh rate is the rate at which the screen changes the image in a second. Till now the 60 Hz refresh rate was standard. It means image refreshes 60 times in a second. Now phones with higher refresh rates are being launched. For example, the ones with 90 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rate.

In my opinion, one should not take decision based on the refresh rate. The difference is barely noticeable with eyes though theoretically, a higher refresh rate leads to smoother images. One would not feel the difference in day to day usage. Only in gaming, one would feel the same, that too if the game supports it. All games don’t support the higher refresh rate. More important is the quality of display, be it IPS or AMOLED screen.

p) Fingerprint sensor: Nowadays fingerprint sensors are ‘in screen’. It is only a convenience feature since you need not lift the phone to use the fingerprint.

If a particular phone suits your other needs then you should give them priority over the type of fingerprint sensor because the function of both, physical or in screen sensor, is the same.

Thus, we see that every phone, including the top-end phones are not the best in every category. We need to compromise on what is less important for us.

In my opinion, unless there is an urgency to buy a new phone, one should wait for at least 1 to 1.5 months before buying a newly launched phone to get long term review opinion about the same from the internet  and other resources.  One should understand about pros and cons of the device and how much do the shortcomings in the device matter.

Moreover, if there are any bugs reported after launch, the manufacturers would have removed it by this time.

I have tried to cover as many points as I could, to help you make a smart decision about your next smartphone purchase.

Enjoy your new phone!

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I hope you all found this article informative and interesting. I will try to post interesting articles in an easy language in this blog. Please keep following and also do share your thoughts about the blog and suggestions for future posts. You can ask me questions in the comments section or mail them to me at: askme[at]aseemjavablogs[dot]com and I will try to answer them.

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