Before buying a smartphone, you should set your priorities first. Your choice of smartphone features might differ from one of your friends. A handset is basically a portable device you carry around in your pocket that does almost the work of a computer for you.
Having money for your dream phone is a thing of joy, but buying the one that’ll give you the best service and durability is a great task. Every year, a lot of new smartphones are being released from different brands, but not all can give you the best service.
There’s no doubt that many smartphones tend to last longer than others. Some affordable handsets last longer than most flagship devices. However, to make sure you bought the dream smartphone that’ll give you the best service and longevity, we’ve outlined the top 8 things you should consider before buying a smartphone in Nigeria.
Design and Build-up
Before selecting a smartphone, personal taste matters a lot both in outward appearance and build-up quality. Some people may prefer rounded edges whereas others like something flat with sharp metal edges. There’s no doubt that with each passing year, a lot of smartphone industries are bringing new design trends to compete with each other and the choice available is strongly influenced by marketing campaign trends.
However, the build-up is based on functionality. A metal body design is stylish, trendy, and tends to last longer whereas glass unibody gives you a unique stylish look, but you have to be careful to avoid drop.
Size and Type of Design
For those who like watching movies or playing games with their smartphone, you should consider a smartphone that’s equipped with at least a 6-inch display size. However, for those whose smartphone is mainly for receiving calls or WhatsApp, a smaller screen will be more efficient.
When it comes to display, there are two main types in Android – LCD and AMOLED. The former is always equipped in affordable smartphones and tends to display decently whereas the latter offers a brighter, vivid, sharper contrast, and more saturated colored display. However, with the emergence of new technologies like Full HD, Full HD+, and QHD resolutions, it’s quite difficult to differentiate between the two panels, apart from darker colors of AMOLED screens.
Chipset and RAM
The chipset is the powerhouse of the device which determines how the smartphone performs. Sometimes, the chipset capability is what limits how other features of the phone works. Qualcomm and MediaTek are the common names when it comes to chipset. However, many brands like Apple and Huawei have their own Biotic and Kirin chipset respectively.
Also, the chipset is paired with RAM to deliver an excellent performance. It’s noted that for any chipset to be at its best, the amount of RAM and processor speed is crucial.
Internal Storage
When you’re considering the best smartphone to buy, check out the internal storage and not just what it’s on paper. Also, take a look at how much space the pre-installed apps occupy and also check whether it supports an external SDcard.
At the same time, 128GB and 256GB are considered the biggest but think about what you need them for. Are you using your smartphone to store numerous files, games, photos, movies, music, or other heavy apps? If no, then a 64GB internal storage will be good for you. However, you can take advantage of Google’s Cloud storage to save some space, but be sure you have a steady internet connection. Meanwhile, it’s advisable to go for a device with at least 64GB of built-in storage and 4GB of RAM.
Battery Life
Recently produced smartphones are being equipped with massive battery capacity, but that doesn’t warrant a strong battery life. Don’t be deceived, a big mAh does not amount to a longer battery life cycle. Some factors come into play when it comes to batteries.
For example, a phone with an AMOLED panel or higher resolution tends to consume more power than one with less. However, some phones come with battery optimization technology that helps to sustain battery life. Then, there’s a fast charging technology to consider too. Rather than looking at the phone specs on paper, it’s better to check the benchmark results and to know how good they perform in reality.
Camera Quality
Recently, smartphones are mainly ranked on how good their camera is both in daylight and lowlight shots. Undoubtedly, smartphones are becoming the new digital camera of our age and with time will surpass them.
The number of cameras and megapixels on a phone doesn’t matter but rather on how it performs. Some smartphone cameras are equipped with many features such as optical stabilization, special effects, hybrid autofocus, AI technology, and many others.
Operating System and Integrated Functions
Android and iOS are the most common names in operating systems, but we have other ones like Symbian, Windows, Blackberry, and many others. However, before buying a new smartphone, you should consider the one that’ll give you the best features between Android (Google) and iOS (Apple).
Price compared to the performance
Last, but not least factor to consider before buying a smartphone is definitely the price and whether it’s worth the smartphone’s performance. Before spending your hard-earned money on a smartphone, think of whether it’s worth it or you should limit yourself to something cheaper but yet powerful device.
Some brands like Oukitel, Xiaomi, Poco, Oppo, and others offer enough value for money. However, the choice is yours to make, but avoid following all these phone hypes that offer less value for money.
