Our smartphones have become indispensable to us. They are right up there with our keys and wallets, we carry them everywhere we go and use them every chance we get. Anytime we want, we can pull out our phone and get updated on our social networks, check emails, take videos and photos, share them, play games or music, and a lot more…
Because smartphones are such a big part of our lives, it is important to choose one that fits our lifestyle and suits our needs. We have created this guide for buyers to make it easier for you to understand what you need to consider before making a purchase. This includes things such as operating systems, camera, screen size, etc. After carefully reading all of the things we will mention bellow, you will be able to make an informed decision when shopping for a new smartphone.
Operating systems
Windows
Phones powered by Windows operating systems never really gained much popularity, but the brand new Windows 10 is slowly starting to change that. With the brand new software, developers will be able to port IOS and Android apps easily to the platform.
Besides the fact that Windows phones aren’t that popular, they are still quite good. They have some unique and compelling features such as Cortana, a digital assistant, and a dynamic start screen. Basically, if you like using Windows on your computer, you will like it on your phone as well.
Android
Android is the most dominant seller of smartphones, and there is a good reason why this is so. They offer much more choices when it comes to specs, price, design, capabilities and display size. Furthermore, the Android OS is an “open source” type of platform, meaning that it can be easily customized with launchers, widgets or your keyboard choice, and much more. Some phone companies that make Android phones, such as LG or Samsung, tweak the software even further to enhance it with robust multitasking or make it more adjustable.
IOS
The latest model, iPhone 6, uses their IOS 8 as an operating system that has many enhancements. It has an interactive notification system, an improved app for photos and the possibility to swap out the keyboard. Additionally, there is a family sharing system that allows six people to share books, app purchases and iTunes. The major benefit of owning an Apple phone is the wide range of apps. Their app store usually gets the newest apps before everyone else.
Processor
A good processor in your phone means faster loading time, smoother photo editing and games working flawlessly. Qualcomm's Snapdragon was the fastest until recently, but since Samsung released its Exynos 7420 chip, which every Galaxy S6 has, it has taken the lead.
When it comes to Qualcomm CPUs, the best processor you can find is the Snapdragon 810, which is a 64 bit octa-core processor. With Apple’s 20 nanometer 64 bit A8 chip, you can smoothly play games on iPhone 6 or IPhone 6 plus. The improved A8 has an image-signal based processor that is better for taking photos or filming videos.
RAM memory
The more RAM you have, the faster you phone will work and it will perform multitasking much better. You should look to avoid mobile phones that have 1GB of RAM memory or less. Mid-tier devices have a good standard of at least 2GB of RAM.
The top notch phones like LG G4 and Galaxy S6 all have 3GB of RAM memory, which is even better. There is currently only one mobile phone model that has 4GB – Asus ZenFone 2, and it seems like other producers will look to follow this trend in the near future.
Camera
The mobile phone industry has reached the point when cameras on smartphones mater more than processors. This is very important, especially now that there are a lot of people who use their Smartphones to take professional photographs. There are more and more devices that have cameras with sixteen megapixels, but numbers are not everything.
When looking at the camera specs, you should consider the speed, image quality, features and aperture. For example, iPhone 6 has an 8 megapixel camera, but it can capture colors accurately and has pretty large pixels. The Galaxy S6 has a 16 megapixel camera that captures a bit saturated colors, more detail and better contrast.
Storage space
Given the fact that there are games that can take up more than 1GB of space and that high resolution photos and videos can easily take up most of your storage, we recommend looking for a device that has a lot of internal storage available.
The minimum space on most modern devices such as the iPhone 6 is 16 GB, however most newer devices have a standard of 32GB. If you plan on taking a lot of photos, videos, or you simply like listening to music a lot, we suggest going for 32GB or more.
Buy without a contract
No matter what device model you decide to go for, or which brand, you should consider buying it without a contract. Save up your cash for a couple of months and pay the full price at once.
This will be much cheaper, as monthly payments have steep interests. You can compare many different SIM Only deals, and choose the one that suits you best, and that allows you to use your device without any limitations.
The last thing you should keep in mind when choosing a device is its design. It is very hard to define whether a certain design is good or bad as it’s a subjective issue, but if this is an important issue for you, make sure that you get a phone that has a uni-body design.