When choosing a smartphone, buyers always want to get the most out of their investment. Inexperience and the usual desire to get “faster and more powerful” gives scope for marketing, which manufacturers successfully use. At the moment, there are a huge number of gadgets on the market with similar parameters, so choosing “the one” is becoming more and more difficult.
One of the most effective ways to attract attention is to endow the gadget with some outstanding feature that immediately sets the device apart from the competition. There are many examples: the acclaimed Honor P30 Pro, Galaxy S20 Ultra with their 16 GB of RAM and some of the best mobile cameras, Blackview P10000 Pro with a huge 11000 mAh battery.
6.2″ Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 128 GB blue
The most common mistakes when choosing a smartphone
- There is never too much RAM
If price and autonomy do not play a big role, then more is actually better. It would seem that everything is simple: more RAM – less lags, because the lack of RAM really negatively affects the system. But its overabundance also does not give special advantages. What is the problem? An average user is unlikely to be able to score 12 gigabytes, even if playing games and using resource-intensive applications at the same time. Also, RAM chips, regardless of use, spend the same amount of energy, which reduces the overall autonomy of the phone. Simply put, more RAM means more cost and less autonomy. But for normal use it is better to find a “golden mean”. From 4 to 8 gigabytes is enough for any task, including gaming.
6.53″ Smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro 128 GB gray
- The more megapixels, the better
This myth comes from the times when phones had cameras no larger than 1-2 megapixels. Photos had little detail and low resolution. Then the number of megapixels really mattered a lot. Now there are phones with a camera of 48 and 100 megapixels, which has grown from necessity into pure marketing.
A photo taken with a 100MP camera will not be 10 times better than a 10MP photo. More megapixels only means more photo resolution, which can only be useful for printing on large A3 sheets. With an increase in image resolution, the occupied space on the media also grows, so with a 48 or 100 megapixel camera, the built-in memory of the smartphone will quickly run out. If you are not into photo printing, then 12-16 megapixels will be enough.
What you need to pay attention to is the aperture, sensor size and pixel size. These parameters, unlike megapixels, directly affect the quality of photos. The camera should be chosen based on the fact that a larger sensor size will allow you to take better photos, and a smaller aperture (indicated by the letter f) will cope better with pictures in poor light.
6.5″ Smartphone Samsung Galaxy A51 64 GB black
- The larger the screen and its resolution, the better the picture
Again, this is just another myth. Neither size nor resolution affects image quality. The main role is played by the technology of the matrix, which underlies the screen. It depends on it saturation and realistic color reproduction. There are several types of matrices, so we will consider the most popular of them separately.
IPS is the most common type of matrix. This is a technology for manufacturing liquid crystal screens, which has a number of advantages: relatively low cost, good viewing angles and, most importantly, good color reproduction. There are both expensive and cheap IPS, the cost of which depends on the quantity and quality of the matrix crystals.
AMOLED is a fairly young type of screens. Phones with this matrix were first introduced in Samsung phones in 2010 and immediately proved themselves well. AMOLEDs are made on organic light-emitting diodes, thanks to which you can show a very rich image. Typically, such screens are found in top smartphones, because the quality is really amazing.
You can sometimes find devices with TN matrices in stores, but this is a very outdated technology, it is usually found in cheap phones, so it’s better to pay attention to something newer.
Now about the resolution. Image clarity and battery consumption depend on the resolution. There are both cheap 720p and flagship 4K screens. If the device has a large diagonal and low resolution, then the image will be grainy due to large pixels. In order not to make a mistake with the choice of resolution, you need to pay attention to such a characteristic as the PPI of the screen (pixels per inch). This characteristic means pixel density. The higher the PPI, the more dense and clear the image on the display will be.
6.1″ Smartphone Apple iPhone 11 64 GB black 53 799 *
The screen size only affects the usability, and the resolution, matrix and PPI already speak about the picture quality.
- The larger the battery capacity, the less often you have to charge your smartphone
Capacity, of course, is very important for a good autonomy of the gadget, but the most important thing is the balance between consumption and battery reserve. If you do not balance consumption and charge, then the phone, with huge consumption, is unlikely to survive until the evening, even if it has a sufficiently capacious battery. For owners of phones with 13000 mAh, such problems, of course, do not exist. But in this case, it’s not even necessary to talk about any compactness and ergonomics, because the thickness of a smartphone can reach 2 cm.
Phone software manufacturers are increasingly optimizing software and operating systems to reduce consumption and extend the life of phones. Operating systems have had power-saving features for a long time. Therefore, even a device with a diagonal of 6 inches with a resolution of 1080p and a 4000 mAh battery will do a good job during the day. The main thing is to look at the battery life indicated by the manufacturer, and not at the volume of the battery.
6.4″ Smartphone HUAWEI P40 Lite 128 GB green 16 999 *
- Focus on someone else’s opinion
Every person buys a smartphone according to their needs. Someone needs a large and beautiful screen, and someone needs performance and high-quality photos. It is impossible to advise someone on the size and manufacturer of shoes, because everything is very individual. It’s the same with the phone. Everyone has their own needs and possibilities.
Summarizing the above, we can say that, first of all, you need to pay attention not to the number of megapixels in the camera, but to the size of the matrix and aperture, screen manufacturing technology, instead of its size, battery life, and not battery capacity. And, most importantly, listen to your own feelings, because it is you who will use the phone.
