The hunt for a new smartphone can be daunting. With many different brands available and prices that can go into millions you want to get it right the first time. This week we shall go over some features you might want to look into before making that big smartphone purchase you have had scheduled.
iOS vs Android
This is where it should all start. IPhones run on iOS operating system while most other phone brands use Android. iOS will generally give you a more crisp user experience with a clean interface and pretty straightforward layout of everything you need to use the phone. However you will have fewer Bluetooth compatible devices plus a more complex media playback. Android will Bluetooth pair with more devices, and play all your media files hassle-free. The OS also has more Apps available and gives you more options to customize your device.
Battery life
A good phone should be able to last you a whole day with moderate use. Go for a one with battery capacity of a minimum of about 3000aMh if you are an average phone user. If you are heavy user then start your consideration of devices with a minimum of 3500mAh. mAh stands for milliamp Hour and is a measure of electric power over time. In smartphones the unit is used to measure the capacity of a battery so the bigger the number the longer the battery will last.
Display
Phones have generally gotten bigger over the last couple of years as more people are using them for visual media consumption. If you are looking for a phone that will double as a device to watch videos on, then a large screen size will do you good. If you do not like big phones and are looking for something more diminutive then a smaller phone is what you are looking for.
If you are ordering the phone online, read about its screen size and measure off with a ruler. Otherwise you might be in a surprise.
Storage capacity
This is the amount of space available on the phone that you can store digital files on. These could be music, videos, photos and documents. For 2019 I discourage anyone from buying a phone with 16GB of storage. That is so 2005, as you will quickly become surprised at how fast that space fills up. Kick your storage size off at about 32GB but if you can crank things up to 64GB, go for it by all means. If you have the budget for it, 128GB is a good size although this is more appropriate for heavy users.
Ease of access
This is the login technology that the device may have. Use of patterns and numerical codes is great but fingerprint scanners or facial recognition is way faster.
The latter two technologies also do have the risk of your forgetting your password or pattern forcing to reset your phone and losing all your data.
Many phones after 2016 came with a fingerprint scanner so getting a phone with that feature wouldn’t be to hard.
Release date
Like with anything else it is advisable to choose a phone that was not manufactured too long ago. Anything that is four years or older is likely not to be receiving updates and security patches anymore so could have some risks. Also, older phone have outdated processors so may not have the power to handle newer Apps. I am not a believer in buying a new phone every year since it doesn’t make monetary sense but you can upgrade once every so often when your handset is at risk of becoming a petrified fossil.
Camera
We live in an age where the smartphone takes more photos than the traditional camera. Choose a phone with a high pixel count as this means it will take better pictures. You can test the phone out before paying for it to see the quality of the pictures it takes. Also try focusing on small items at close range like your watch and see if the camera doesn’t struggle to autofocus as some phones do.
Generally I would also recommend for you to read a few reviews about the phone you want to buy so that you get an idea on what to expect post purchase.