How to choose your smartphone?

There are many smartphone references available on the market? It becomes difficult to choose the one that best suits its use, depending on whether you are a seasoned user or beginner, frenetic or occasional user, young or old, familiar with new technologies or not? This little guide will try to guide you in the middle of this jungle.

A SMARTPHONE FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

This is the first question to ask. If you are looking for a smartphone mainly to the phone, check your email or surf the internet, do you really need the latest style Samsung Galaxy S9 or iPhone X? You will be able to access all these functions - with more or less fluidity - on all smartphones including more affordable models (less than 200 €). Rather than invest in high-end, keep the money saved to care for accessories (protections, headphones, media, etc. ...). Some brands have specialized in models with a good price/quality ratio, foremost among which shines French Wikio. New players are trying to gain a foothold in this market, such as Logical or Honor, Huawei's second most affordable brand.

If you have more use with the use of functions such as photo or multimedia, a mid-range smartphone will be more suitable (between 200 and 400 €). With better sensors and more powerful, they are a good balance between reasoned budget and performance. This category of product is very crowded and there are very good products at Samsung, HTC or Nokia. A good plan: take a look at the high-end models of the previous year, there are often good deals to make and the products concerned are of excellent quality.

Let's end with the most demanding category, one of the users looking for the best of the moment. They are the ones who snapped the last power monsters out of Samsung, Apple, Sony or LG. They are uncompromising on the quality of the photos, the fluidity, the power (especially for the game), the finish and the quality of the display. And they are ready to put the price. This category includes an iPhone X, LG G7, Samsung Galaxy S9 +, Xiaomi MI Mix 2S  or the latest Huawei P20 Pro and even the Honor 10.

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA OF CHOICE?

THE SIZE

Between a 6.3-inch phablet and a 4 -inch smartphone, it's the big gap. If you often watch videos, if you are a big fan of video games or if you use your smartphone for office automation or, generally, in a professional setting, a large screen brings more comfort for both consultation and the input. A smaller screen will, however, easier to fit in a pocket and easier to handle. 

The current trend is too large screens, which is a distraction for fans of small format smartphones. When to reconcile small format and a high-end configuration, there is little more than Sony to risk it with its XZ2 Compact and the iPhone SE.

THE SCREEN RESOLUTION

Here again, we find everything on the market, from entry-level smartphones with an anemic resolution to high-end models offering high resolution and even now 4K. In addition to the fact that ultra-high definition is not always justified on a screen that remains small, the inflation of pixels induces screens more and more energy-intensive, and from there real autonomies that tend to cap.

CONNECTIVITY

The 4G LTE is now available as standard on almost all ranges of smartphones, including now on the entry level. As for the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, they are also found on all models, just like the GPS. Concerning the Wi-Fi, prefer when it is possible a smartphone compatible Wi-Fi ac, more stable and faster.

 

 THE OPERATING SYSTEM

This is a matter of taste. Without going into details, Android is arch dominant today (more than 80% of the market) and offers great freedom to the user. The direct consequence is also the least secure since it concentrates the vast majority of viruses and other malware on mobile. In contrast, Apple's iOS is known for its security and ease of use but remains a closed system, with the constraints that imply.

In this regard, it may be consistent to stay on the same ecosystem and to opt for an iPhone if you are already on Mac, even if it is not mandatory. Synchronization will be greatly facilitated. Another aspect to take into account, the number of applications available in different stores. IOS and Android still lead the way with hundreds of thousands of free or paid apps.

 

CONNECTIVITY

Apart from the particular case of Apple, it is advisable to prefer models with memory card reader to expand the storage capacity, and with video output (HDMI or MHL) to broadcast the image of your smartphone on a large screen. Regarding this last point, many smartphones are now ignoring this type of connectivity and favor wireless screen duplication (mirroring). A USB OTG (or Host) port will allow you to connect peripherals - especially USB flash drives or external hard drives - to your smartphone. Note that the USB-C begins to spread everywhere.

PHOTO FUNCTION

Having become an essential use on a smartphone, the photo function has seen great progress since the first sensors. Beware of the fabulous figures of manufacturers, the millions of pixels are not everything. Other important criteria must be taken into account, such as zoom, HDR (shooting optimization method), Flash LED, Panorama mode, stabilization or burst mode. The editing and sharing options should not be neglected either. Lumia and Sony are renowned for the quality of the sensors on their smartphones. The latter even offers goals dedicated to Android or iOS smartphones. - THE TECHNICAL

CHARACTERISTICS

The more powerful the processor and the more RAM, the smoother and more comfortable your smartphone will be on 3D video games. Although this is not always the case, a quad-core processor (4 cores) will generally be more suitable for demanding uses. More and more high-end models now offer an Octo Core processor (8 cores). 2 GB of RAM is now the minimum union on most smartphones, but there are high-end products with 4 or 8 GB installed. The graphics chip also comes into play.

 

THE AUTONOMY

This is the subject that makes you angry. Many smartphones, very good indeed, fish by their reduced autonomy. An indicator is the power of the battery (measured in mAh). The higher the figure, the more autonomy is supposed to be consequent. Except that other criteria intervene, like the interface, the overlay builder, the type of use, etc. Also remember that the notifications, the selected screen brightness or the Bluetooth significantly impact the consumption of your smartphone. Beware of builder announcements, they are often very optimistic. In this respect, user feedback can be a real gold mine.

THE ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITIES

Some features may be a criterion of choice. For example, the presence of an NFC chip allows a simplified connection by simple contact with compatible devices. The dual SIM card slot will be useful for travelers who can integrate a prepaid SIM card without removing their main card when traveling. The Mira cast feature allows wireless streaming of your content on a compatible screen. Finally, high-end models are most often equipped with a fingerprint reader, for better security.