Choosing the right mobile phone can be a challenging task, especially if you don’t really know what to consider when buying a smartphone. There are many factors like budget, usage, preferences, brand, etc. that one has to check when choosing the right one. With years of experience and being a smartphone enthusiast, I will share some important things I keep in mind and you can also, when choosing the right phone.
First thing first!
What’s Your Budget?
It’s very important that you have a clear budget for purchasing the mobile phone. It should be neither too rigid nor too flexible, otherwise, you will have limited options in the 1st case or too many options to confuse in the 2nd case. Here are some price ranges for the new mobile phones:
- Small-budget phones: Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000
- Lower Mid-budget phones: Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 70,000
- Upper Mid-budget phones: Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 150,000
- High-budget phones: Over Rs. 150,000
If you have a budget for the small budget phones, you should have flexibility of Rs. 5,000. LIke if you have a budget of Rs. 20,000, you should have more flexibility of 5K so you can see options of up to Rs. 25,000.
What Do You Plan to Use It For?
It’s a big question, you should know what you want this phone to be used for. Is it going to be used for business, content creation/videography, gaming, or is going to be a daily use phone. It will help you choose and set your priorities, and make decisions easily when checking the specs and features of the phones.
For instance, here are the two major uses of the smartphones:
Gaming vs. Camera
If you want the phone primarily for gaming, the specs and features you should look at are chipset, RAM, cooling technology, storage type, OS version, etc.
However, if you want it for photography or videography, focus changes to the camera specs like megapixels, number and type of cameras, max video recording resolution, fps, OIS or EIS, and much more.
Any Brand Preferences?
Well, let’s accept it! Most people have brand preferences. If you have previously used an iPhone, Samsung’s phone, Vivo’s phone, etc. and the experience was positive, you are more likely to go for the brand again. It can affect decision making especially when there are too many good options. So, set your brand preferences or go with an open mind if you don’t have any.
See the Battery Timing
For many people, battery timing is very important. If you are one of those who needs a phone that has at least a full day or two days backup, it’s important to see the battery size and the efficiency of the chipset. Most mobiles have 5,000 mAh battery but there are some models that offer 6,500 or even 7,000 mAh batteries. In terms of chipset, the lower the nanometer lithography, the more efficient it will be. Like a 3nm chipset will be more efficient than a 12 nm chipset most of the time.
Android vs. iOS
Everyone has their own preferences for operating systems. Some like iOS due to its clean and intuitive UI, better safety and privacy, consistent updates even for older devices, and Apple’s ecosystem. Other people like Android due to customizable themes, interfaces, numerous apps, and Google’s built-in features. Even phones with Android OS have multiple other operating systems as per brand like Samsung One UI, Xiaomi MIUI, Oppo ColorOS, Realme UI, Huawei EMUI/HarmonyOS, etc. Each has its unique set of advantages and disadvantages but at this level, it is more about personal preferences as the base OS will be Android (except for Huawei).
PTA Status Check is Crucial
Without PTA approval, you can’t use mobile sim services on your smartphone. So, it is important for you to Check PTA Status of your mobile phone. Many new phones have PTA-approved marks on their boxes but still, check after purchasing as some people had this issue of getting a new phone that was not PTA-approved.
New vs. Used
Choosing between new phones vs. used phones might be difficult for many people as both have their pros and cons. The new one is going to provide durability, latest OS, updates, security updates, and much more. At the same budget, the used one can provide better performance, camera, display, or other features but you may have to compromise on battery timing, body, OS, updates, etc. Also, you will have to check for PTA status before buying a used phone.
Design And Size
What is the first thing that everyone notices on a mobile phone? It’s design, right? That’s the reason why it is such an essential factor no one should miss. Some phones have flat sides while others come with curved ones, some have more of a boxy shape but the others are more rounded from the edges. I love the boxy shape with flat edges but it varies person-to-person.
You will find phones with glass and plastic rear sides along with numerous color options and designs. The glass one looks and feels premium but is prone to breakage more than the plastic while the plastic rear may look and feel cheap.
Storage
This one is self-explanatory as no matter if you are a gamer or capture a lot of photos and videos, you are going to need storage. First of all, you have to identify your needs. It can be done by seeing the storage of your previous phone and getting a phone with double storage this time. Like if I had a 128GB phone last time and the storage was full most of the time, I would go for a 256GB or a 512GB phone this time as it will fulfil my current needs and might also be enough for the next 2 years.
Display
Choosing the right screen size is something that everyone should do carefully. There are different sizes of smartphones and even the flagship phones like the iPhone 16 series and Samsung S24 series come in multiple-screen size models. It is because some people have smaller hands and others have bigger ones. More importantly, some people like to grab a smaller phone whereas others prefer a larger screen for a bigger display.
I like the smaller phones as they are easy to carry but I have also used larger screen phones and consuming content on them is much more fun.
Wrapping Up!
Well, I have shown you the factors I consider when buying a mobile phone. I hope you will find the right smartphone after reading these tips as they help me a lot in filtering out the options. If you want to buy, OLX has many mobile phones with the best prices.
Do you consider any other factor when buying a phone? Share with us in the comment section below.
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