2017 is the ‘Year of the Smart phones’. All the flagships that have
come out this year are feature rich & justify the premium they
charge. We know mobile phones have a stronger penetration in the
market than tablets or laptops. Moreover, due to the advancements
in mobile phone tech, they have become our daily drivers for work
& entertainment. The demand for mobile phones is such that even
the mid range segment have almost caught up with the higher priced
flagship mobiles. If you are looking to buy a new phone this Diwali,
then read on to find out some of the top features adored by
technology nerds.
5. Storage
If you are looking to upgrade from a phone
with an 8 or 16 GB onboard storage then you
must be aware of the tribulations they cause.
You keep deleting one app to give space to
another. Thankfully most phones come with 32
GB of onboard storage in the mid range
segment. The flagships on the other hand aim
at 64 GB minimum for the base variant. There
is always an option for expandable storage for example the LG G6, Samsung J7 and many
others feature.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all apps work well when installed on the SD card. More
importantly the new 64 bit architecture in mobile phones improves performance significantly, so
you can keep loads of movies & media if you opt for a phone with a bigger internal storage. The
RAM is able to handle multiple applications well if the phone has a single storage.
4. Display
Mobile phone displays have come a long way from
the old TFT screens to the current gen AMOLED
screens. All the popular flagships this year have
ditched the bezels and have gone towards a full body
display. The infinity display on the Galaxy S8 and
the super retina display on the iphone X are good
examples. The industry norm has shifted to quad
HD screens but any screen with a full HD resolution
is good enough with vibrant colors & deep blacks.
Most mid rangers like the Moto G5s plus come with a full HD screen. For better viewing and
to get the best out of images and videos a full HD display is the minimum basic choice.
3 Battery
I sometimes miss the old Nokia phones; their
battery lasted for days on a stretch. Most of us are
extremely dependent on our phones. Emails from
work, messages from the boss, weekend plans for a
movie, looking at some funny videos when you are
bored at work, these are some of the things that
most people do. Sometimes we navigate using
maps when going to a new part of the city.
However doing that eats a lot of battery and most
phones die before you hit the bed.
The massive batteries in android phones do a good job for a year or more till the battery
shows signs of fatigue. If buying a new phone it’s better to go with a battery capacity of
3000mAh nowadays. That way you can squeeze a lot of juice out of your phone. Be sure to
check if the phone supports quick charging, as that would keep you away from the charger for
a longer time.
2. Camera
Camera is the number one priority for most
consumers ever since the widespread popularity of
apps like Instagram, Snapchat and the likes, the
selfie generation uploads a million pictures
everyday online. Technology has become cheaper
hence even the mid range segment has adopted
flagship like features but that doesn’t mean that a
dual camera in a Moto G5s plus would
outperform an iphone.
When choosing a phone especially for a camera, it is better to go a bit above the mid range
segment to be able to justify your camera performance expectations.
1. Operating System
All the hardware and features depend on an equally
potent operating system. Your final decision when
buying or upgrading to a new phone depends on your
OS preference. If you are like me who loves stock
android you would stick to the latest Oreo update. Or
if you are an Apple fanboy you would stick to your
latest IOS 11. However, some people out there keep
switching between IOS and android, to keep up with
the times.
One more feature to look out for, is if the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack or a USB c -type
connector. Unless you have a weird obsession with your wired headphones you’ll love the
jackless new Iphones and Pixels.
**The next time you are online looking through the long list of phones,
be sure to check out these features be it in a mid range or a flagship.**