Buying a cell phone can be a real headache at times. There are many options on the market, some of them are exactly the same, and this is what makes it difficult to choose between one or another model.
Most go through key parts of the specs like RAM and storage size, camera megapixels, battery capacity, and OS version. If we press a little further, some consider things like the screen and the processor, but did you know that there are other components that are important? Today we’re going to list seven details you should ignore when buying a mobile phone (and you shouldn’t).
Quality selfie camera
Many users pay special attention to the rear cameras, but skip the front cameras. In a world where social media has monopolized our time and we live our lives taking selfies or recording videos, this doesn’t make much sense.
Yes, the front cameras are more modest than the rear cameras, but this does not mean that there are no smartphones that offer excellent results. Plus, having it helps you work remotely without having to ask someone to record it for you. That, and they’re ideal companions for video calls.
Screen with good brightness and anti-glare if possible
Most people only focus on screen quality and refresh rate, but none of that matters if you can’t see well, right? It probably happened to you: you go out in the middle of the day and the brightness of your cell phone is too low to allow you to read anything. A panel with more nits helps solve that, so look for phones with as many as possible. Although, be careful, recently all products have paid attention to this detail.
Also, if you can get a terminal with an anti-glare screen, even better. This prevents the sun’s reflections or different light sources from bothering you, a very nice addition (you can solve this with a screen protector). Of course, there are a few terminals with this technology, one of which is the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
FM radio and infrared transmitter, two technologies that are old and useful
Thanks to the Internet, you can access almost any radio station on the planet, but what if you run out of data? Then the party’s over because you can’t hear anything. A mobile phone with FM radio allows you to keep listening to your favorite local station at any time.
The infrared emitter, on the other hand, is extremely useful for using your smartphone as a remote control. It doesn’t matter if it’s an air conditioner, television, projector, stereo or any other device. You can control everything from your mobile phone and say “goodbye” to using multiple controls.
Good sound system, both speakers and microphones
To be honest, I don’t know the first user who paid attention to this detail (although there must be some). We all think that our mobile phone sounds good, but that is not always the case.
Sometimes the speakers are easily filled, which makes the sound to be of poor quality. Meanwhile, if you’re hearing muffled or muffled calls, it could be a poor microphone.
Good quality speakers and microphones are essential for consuming multimedia content, talking a lot on calls, and especially if you’re a gamer. And we’re not just talking about power and sound, we’re talking about faithful reproduction of sounds without distortion.
Choose a mobile phone that can easily connect to other devices
I will talk about two very specific issues: If you have an iPhone, you know that connecting it to devices outside the Apple ecosystem can be a difficult challenge. Meanwhile, if you have a Pixel, forget about screencasting on devices without Chromecast (happened to me when I tried to use my Fire TV stick with Miracast). Like these, there are other situations.
If you don’t have a device from the same ecosystem, it’s always good to have a mobile phone compatible with multiple communication protocols. We are talking about wireless screen sharing technologies, as well as USB ports with video output and OTG to separate and use other devices with a cable. You can even think of mobile phones that have desktop mode to work by connecting them to Galaxy devices like the Samsung Dex.
Stylus holder
If you need to take a lot of notes or draw with your phone (for work or for fun), stylus support is perfect for you. This allows you more precision than a simple stylus that mimics touches with just your fingers.
In addition, smartphones that are compatible with a stylus always have additional features that give you more complete control over the application. For example, quickly add notes to a screenshot, select specific parts, manipulate images and more. The Galaxy S and Galaxy Z are the best in this regard, although there are other brands that offer compatibility.
Manufacturer’s support period
Your cell phone may be a plane of beauty, but if the support is terrible, it won’t be a safe bet in the medium to long term. A good smartphone is one that is frequently provided by the manufacturer with updates and security patches. Also, if you receive these updates for a good handful of years, it will be much better.
In the market, the best references are Google, Apple and Samsung, which provide system updates for up to seven years. In contrast, brands like TCL, ZTE, Sony and Nokia only provide up to two system updates and three years of security patches.
And now that you know these forgotten details, will you pay more attention to them?
