GUIDE FOR A NEW SMARTPHONE PURCHASE

We are surrounded by various names when it comes to choosing a smartphone like Snapdragon, Mediatek, Exynos, Adreno, Mali, ARM Cortex, etc. Most of the times we are completely confused on which phone to choose from the ocean presented to us by various smartphone brands. Its very important to choose a smartphone wisely, else we may render it useless in about 6 months. Here’s a detailed guide on how to choose a smartphone.

• PROCESSOR OR SoC

This is the main component of the smartphone and almost every aspect of a smartphone depends directly or indirectly. This is the heart of the smartphone where the different sorts of processors are embedded in. The most important thing while choosing a smartphone is the SoC. We are arranging the different SoC brands in the order of their performance. (It is noteworthy that we are going to describe only Android Products, Apple chips are not included).

Qualcomm Snapdragon>Samsung Exynos>Huwaei HiSilicon Kirin> Mediatek> Spreadtrum

This is basically the current trend of smartphone chips in terms of performance. Even while buying budget smartphones, it is recommended to get a phone with Snapdragon. It is important to note that budget Exynos SoC’s are complete disasters in terms of performs and thus they should be avoided. The best budget mid-range range chips are Snapdragon 625, Snapdragon 630, Snapdragon 450, Snapdragon 435, Hi Silicon Kirin 659. Mediatek P30 and X20 can also be considered to an extent. The Processors based on Arm Cortex A53 or A72 or A73 should only be considered as good performers and it is also very important to note that clock speed (GHz) and no. of cores alone cannot decide the efficiency of a processor. There are various other factors like Manufacturing Process, Die Size, architecture, etc.

The next point which comes is the GPU. This is also embedded into the SoC and hence a definite SoC has a definite GPU. Adreno GPUs are considered to be very good and are only available with Snapdragon SoCs. Mali G72 is another good GPU which is available with both Samsung and Mediatek SoC’s.

Remember the processor even decides the camera quality, Display quality, battery Performance, Volume and Sound Performance, etc. and so it is a very important to choose a smartphone with a good SoC otherwise your phone may start lagging only after 3 months of use.

• DISPLAY

Another important part is the choice of a good display technology for better multimedia and gaming experience. Both IPS LCD and AMOLED displays are very good and have their own pros and cons. I’ve linked a detailed article on the different types of display. Please go through it to decide the best type which suits your personalized use. On a brief note, IPS LCD provides accurate colours and AMOLED displays provide vibrant colours. However, on our part we would recommend AMOLED displays for better viewing experience and contrast ratios.

• CAMERA

This has presently become an integral part of a smartphones. It is really very difficult to decide the performance of a camera with on-paper specs but still there are certain norms to check the quality of camera to an extent. The aperture decides the amount of light entering the camera. Hence it is always recommended to choose a smartphone with a camera of larger apertures which means lower f-numbers. The second thing is the pixel size. Try opting for a larger pixel size for better low-light photography. The focusing speed depends on the camera sensor and it is always recommended to have laser auto-focusing system or PDAF system in the smartphone camera. Flash is recommended to be a dual-tone or quad-tone. Dual-camera is always preferable. Mega-pixel count also has a role to play but is not a very important criterion to decide the quality of a camera. OIS or EIS is generally preferable for shooting videos in challenging conditions.

• STORAGE AND RAM AND BATTERY

There are many smartphone manufacturers who skip on their internal storage. Beware everyone who opts for lower storage options like 8GB or 16GB. Out of 16 GB, you guys have just about 10 GB of storage available which is really an issue to ponder about. The usage gets completely limited and the potentiality of a smartphone can’t be utilized completely. Thus we opt for a smartphone with at least 32 GB of internal storage. When it comes to RAM, a minimum of 3 GB of RAM is recommended and 4GB RAM is good to go. Now, in the case of Battery, a 3000+ mAh battery will last you a full working day.

We hope we have provided some useful information regarding the purchase of a smartphone which lasts you at least 2 years. Keep supporting us for more useful articles like this.