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SMARTPHONE BUYING GUIDE - HOW TO BUY THE BEST MOBILE

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By Dhriti Datta | Published on 22 Jun 2020 and availability

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HIGHLIGHTS
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There are a few things you need to keep in mind while buying the right data limit
smartphone for yourself.

You must identify what do you use your smartphone for.

This guide takes you through the complete process of selecting the best mobile LATEST ARTICLES VIEW ALL

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Smartphones have snaked their way into almost every living moment of our
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of options is also increasing. Choosing a smartphone from such an overwhelming Starts 22 Aug 2020, 10:30PM

list of options might get confusing, so we made a guide that helps you pick the
best smartphone for your needs.
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WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A SMARTPHONE?

SMARTPHONE PERFORMANCE: PROCESSOR AND RAM TOP PRODUCTS

Your smartphone processor, also known as the chipset or the SoC, is the
component that is responsible for just about everything functioning on your Best Mobile Phones
smartphone. It is essentially the brain of the system, and most of these processors
Best Phones under 10000
also come equipped with AI capabilities that essentially make your smartphone as
‘smart’ it is today. Best Phones Under 20000

A capable processor not only allows your device to function seamlessly but is also Best Phones Under 15000

capable of enhancing other factors. One example is image processing. Samsung

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phones, as an example, comes in two variants - one hosting the Snapdragon
Best 5G Mobile Phones
chipset (the latest one being Snapdragon 865+). In contrast, the other one employs
Samsung’s in house Exynos processor (the latest being Exynos 990). Some Best Android Mobile Phones
reviewers have explicitly stated that there is a tangible difference in not just the
processing power of the two variants, the Snapdragon being much snappier, but
POPULAR MOBILE PHONES VIEW ALL
also the image-processing abilities.

So, when you choose your smartphone, it is integral to know what processor you’re
Redmi 9 Prime
getting along with it since the performance directly correlates with it. Popular ones
include Snapdragon, Apple A13 Bionic, Exynos 990, and Kirin 990. Apple processors Samsung Galaxy M31s

are known for their raw computing power, and Snapdragon processors are the OnePlus Nord
closest equivalent in the Android realm. You also have lower-powered processors
Oppo Reno4 Pro
for mid-range and budget devices such as the Snapdragon 730 and 730G,
Snapdragon 675, MediaTek Helio G90T and G85, and more, that are commonly Honor 9A
found in lower-priced 2020 smartphones. If you’re on a budget and don’t mind
Redmi Note 9 Pro 128GB
sacri cing some power to save money, consider buying phones with one of these
processors since they drive down costs quite a bit. Samsung Galaxy M21

Coming to RAM, this refers to system memory that smartphones use to hold data OnePlus 8 Pro

that active applications are using. A portion of your smart- phone’s RAM is always Redmi K20 Pro
used up by the operating system, to keep it run- ning. We’re not going to get into the
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nitty-gritty of RAM usage in a phone since it involves explaining terms such as
kernel-space which will end up taking a lot of room in this article. Having su cient
RAM can allow you to have a larger number of apps running in the background, HOT DEALS VIEW ALL

which signi cantly affects your multitasking experience. However, some

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CHOICE OF OPERATING SYSTEM Samsung Galaxy M31 BUY NOW

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complicated than you imagine since both operating systems have a sizable list of
pros and cons. If you’re someone who enjoys tinkering around with your device and

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Samsung Galaxy M31s

customising it to your heart’s content, you’re Team Android. If you like a simple, BUY NOW
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extended period, you’re Team iOS. Nevertheless, Android is also almost as powerful
but not quite as simple, although the current Android version has become much Redmi K20 Pro (Flame BUY NOW
simpler to use than the days of Gingerbread. Just know that iOS, as an OS, is quite Red 6GB RAM, 128GB
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they are not available on the App Store, the split-screen mode still isn’t a thing on
iPhones (just iPads), you cannot customise your home screen (although iOS 14
may include widgets), and you de nitely cannot use launchers to completely
change the look of your phone. However, iOS comes with a plethora of advantages
as well, such as iMessage, FaceTime, regular software updates, and the biggest of
all, minimal bloatware, and no adware! We’re looking at you, Xiaomi!

PREFERED USER INTERFACE

You also have to keep in mind that numerous smartphones come with their own
skin or UI (user interface) smacked on top of Android. OnePlus has OxygenOS, a
clean skin that is quite close to stock Android, Samsung comes with One UI 2,
which has improved by leaps and bounds from its TouchWiz days, MIUI on Xiaomi
phones, which is an ad-fest but is well-optimised, ColorOS on Oppo and Realme
smartphones, that is heavily inspired by iOS.

Remember to try and experience the UI before buying the device to see if it works
for you.

A GOOD DISPLAY
Smartphone display sizes seem to be ever-increasing and are continually pushing
the boundary of what we’d expect a smartphone display size to be. They’ve reached
the ‘phablet’ realm with displays even reaching up to 6.9-inches!

However, in the age where content is being consumed increasingly on our pocket
devices (hard to call them that now), this may not be a bad thing. We suggest
anything above 5.7 inches so you can really immerse yourself into games and
media. As far as display types go, you have LCD and AMOLED displays. AMOLED
displays have variants such as OLED or Super AMOLED (in the case of Sam- sung)
and have better contrast and darker blacks. They also assist in saving battery since
they turn off all the black pixels on the phone to display ‘true black’.

Next, you also have various resolutions such as Full HD, Full HD+ Quad HD. While
QHD does provide crisper images, the difference between FHD and QHD is not too
jarring, especially to the untrained eye. You should also check the screen protection
on your device. Gorilla 5 and 6 are usually used in current-generation smartphones,
and they provide reasonable protection for your glass sandwiches. However, we
still recommend a case strongly.

THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF STORAGE

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8/16/2020 Smartphone Buying Guide - How to buy the best mobile phone | Digit

The current standard is 64GB on lower-end models and 128GB to 512GB on

agships. With swift sharing apps and technologies, almost all of us import every
single GB of data from our previous phones to the new ones. So, adequate storage
is essential. We recommend that you do not go under 128GB since it will give you
enough breathing room to keep your data as well as download apps to your heart’s
content. Also, keep an eye out for phones with expandable memory storage.

BATTERY LIFE THAT FITS YOUR DAILY REQUIREMENTS

The golden standard of battery life in agship smartphones is 6+ hours of screen
on time. Anything with higher capacities can mostly allow even heavy-users to
power through. Flagship phones, as well as some mid-range phones, can also
reach 8-10 hours of screen on time, which is brilliant. The goal is to get a phone
that can at least pull through one whole day of intensive usage. So, ensure to check
battery tests online before purchasing a device. Also, try and research if the phone
you’re planning on buying has a decent power-saving mode.

CAMERA QUALITY THAT JUSTIFIES THE PRICE

In 2020, multi-cameras are the norm and phones with just one rear camera are
extremely rare now. You usually get a primary lens which sports the highest MP
count, a portrait lens, and a wide-angle shooter. And then, you also have a few
extras that some manufacturers add such as the ToF (Time of Flight) sensor,
macro lens, and colour lter lens. We, at the Digit Labs, are fans of the wide-angle
lens because of the magnitude of images you can now take on phones. Capturing
sprawling scenes is not a problem anymore! The portrait lens, when done well, can
produce spectacular bokeh shots too. However, if this trend just isn’t for you and
the growing camera bumps enrage you, it would be best to buy older phones with
one primary lens or newer ones such as the iPhone SE 2020. Also, don’t go MP
hunting, higher megapixel-count doesn’t always mean better images since the
sensor size is much more integral to producing good photos.

Smartphones have also been employing pixel-binning, which essentially turns four
or more pixel into one big pixel, that adds clarity and detail to the image. Also, for
now, try to stray away from the 108MP sensors since they’re pretty rough around
the edges at the moment plagued with image fringing and autofocus issues.

MISCELLANEOUS THINGS TO CONSIDER

Wireless charging
Gaming Mode
Fingerprint sensor vs Face Unlock
Bluetooth version
IP Rating
Dual sim
Reverse wireless charging
Stereo speakers
NFC
Dual-band Wi-Fi

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WHAT NOT TO CONSIDER?

FOLDABLE DESIGNS
While the design evolution is innovative and smart, it is simply too early to be
completely reliable. Our verdict? Hold off on buying foldable phones for a few years.

5G SMARTPHONES
In a country like the US which is slowly but surely seeing widespread 5G integration
(low band or mmWave), sure, go for 5G phones to futureproof. However, 5G
integration in India is still a ways away, and the proper rollout is years away. So, it
makes no sense paying more to purchase a 5G phone.

Dhriti Datta
Perpetually sporting a death stare, this one can be seen tinkering
around with her smartphone which she holds more dear than life
itself and stu ng her face with copious amounts of bacon.

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