On average, we use our smartphones for more than three hours and 15 minutes every day, meaning the decision-making process of getting a new one is huge. It was only a few years ago that there was one predominant smartphone on the market; however, we’ve since progressed and new smartphones are coming out all the time. From different brands to different models, the smartphone market is bigger than it ever has been, leaving many lost when it comes to choosing a new phone. As a result, hours are often spent flitting between phones, researching various offers and features. Detailed below are some od the most important factors of consideration.
Battery
One of the biggest concerns for smartphone users across the globe is the battery. If you’re someone who tends to keep multiple apps open or you often play games and use video streaming platforms, then you’ll require a device that boasts a quality battery life. This is because heavy online usage results in batteries becoming quickly drained. iPhones were once renowned for having poor battery lives after the phone had aged slightly. While all batteries will degrade with usage, this issue has since been resolved and you won’t have to be charging your phone every hour once the phone is a couple of years old.
Display
When it comes to sifting through display options, you should bear in mind that you’re looking for a rich media experience that can still be carried in your purse or pocket. In order to obtain this performance, you should be looking for something along the lines of a 5.5 to 6-inch QHD or HD display. Despite this, your display requirements can differ for a variety of reasons. For instance, if you’re partially sighted, you may require a larger screen for ease of use. Meanwhile, women’s clothing often doesn’t come with ample pocket space, meaning a smaller model may be preferable.
Processor
For processor selection, there can often be a lot of technical jargon that might not initially make sense. MediaTek, Snapdragon, octa core, and quadcore are just some of the things that you might encounter. Despite this, you don’t need to worry about anything much more than the processing speed, which will be measured in Gigahertz (GHz). The higher the speed, the faster the processor. As a result, if you’re looking to stream video, play online games, or edit photos and videos, you’ll likely want to go for a faster processor.
Camera
The camera is one thing that smartphone brands really strive to compete with, offering more and more megapixels. Despite this, megapixels alone won’t result in better photos, making this a bit of a ploy. In addition to megapixels, good quality photos require a good autofocus speed, aperture, and ISO levels. Therefore, if you’re a keen photographer, you’ll likely require a camera of around 12 or 16 MP with an aperture of f/2.0 or lower, as this will produce good results even in low light.
Memory
There are two types of memory for smartphones, these are Read Only Memory (ROM) and Random Access Memory (RAM). ROM is most commonly referred to as storage, which is the memory that’s used to store the likes of songs, photos, videos, apps, and more. On the other hand, RAM teams up with your phone’s processor, determining the ease of operation of your phone, as well as its speed. As a result, phones with a higher ROM contain more storage, while phones with a higher RAM are faster. On average, a user should be looking for 16GB ROM and 2GB RAM.
