Smartphones & Mobile Phones

What To Consider When Buying a Smartphone

Software

Android or iOS - it's the first, and most important, decision you've got to make in the search for a new smartphone. Software can make or break a smartphone, and it's not something you can exactly change. Buy an iPhone and you'll be stuck with iOS, so it's best to take your time and research the pros and cons of each operating system.

In short, iOS largely appeals to those who've bought into the 'Apple ecosystem'. iOS synchronises with other Apple devices effortlessly. Get a message on your iPhone and it'll also pop up on your iPad and MacBook. It's a great quality-of-life feature, but once you're in this ecosystem, it's hard to get out of. Apple's commitment to supporting their devices is impressive as well. You can expect a new iPhone to receive at least 5 years' worth of iOS updates, if not more - far longer than what most Android smartphone manufacturers offer.

To maintain this ecosystem, however, iOS can feel quite restrictive and controlled. Compared to Android, iOS has little in the way of customisation, and what's there is limited. We're not just talking about visual customisation; it extends to all aspects of the operating system. Android is much more powerful in this regard. You can side-load third-party apps and app stores on Android, replace the home screen launcher entirely, and a whole lot more. If you like to tinker with your device, Android lets you do so. What's more, there's hundreds of Android smartphones to choose from, catering to a wide range of budgets. You're not just limited to a handful of expensive iPhones.

Processor

Smartphones have gotten ridiculously fast, to the point where they can run actual console-quality games, like Resident Evil Village. This is an astonishing level of performance to have in a device that fits in your pocket. But when buying a new smartphone, you've got to ask yourself whether you need the latest-and-greatest, or if you'd be just as well-served by last-generation's flagship processor or a lower-end chip.

If you're a power-user who uses their smartphone day-in, day-out, multi-taking between editing photos and streaming on social media, then it'd make sense to spend extra for the highest-end model. A serious mobile gamer chasing the fastest frame rates would of course benefit from the snappier performance, too. But for those who use their smartphone sporadically, modern budget models are perfectly serviceable for everyday tasks.

Display

A bigger display isn't necessarily better for a smartphone. A large, wide aspect ratio display will make watching videos and playing games all that more immersive, but it's at the expense of the phone's one-handed usability. You may not be able to comfortably reach for the notification shade if a phone is too big. On the contrary, a compact display may feel too cramped for your liking, making it hard to see what you're taking a photo of, for example. Fortunately, most smartphones come in standard and 'Plus' or 'Pro' versions, giving you the choice of an extra-large display.

Then there's the specification of the display itself. Without getting too technical, we wouldn't get hung up on the resolution of a phone's display. 1080p and similar, while old hat in the world of TVs, is still plenty sharp on the comparatively small screen of a smartphone. Instead, look at the display's rated brightness and refresh rate. A high brightness is crucial when using a smartphone outside on a blinding summer's day, and a high refresh rate makes the display look smoother and feel more responsive.

Camera

Today's smartphones boast an array of cameras. Not only have they got a wide-angle camera, but most smartphones on the market (even budget ones) also include an ultra-wide-angle camera for expansive landscape photography, and/or a telephoto camera for portrait and close-up photos. Let's not forget the front-facing selfie camera, either.

That's a lot of cameras to keep on top of, and each one has its own specs: sensor, megapixel count, aperture, and so on. It can all be a bit confusing, especially for someone who's just looking to point-and-shoot some holiday pictures.

However, arguably the more important half of the smartphone camera equation is software image processing. Compared to a dedicated DLSR camera, the cameras of smartphones are tiny. They can't capture nearly as much detail as a result. To counteract this, smartphone camera photos are heavily processed after the fact to make them brighter, punchier, and more visually appealing.

Each smartphone manufacturer approaches this step differently. It's what gives some smartphones photos a certain 'look'. Once you know what to look for (sharpening, 'HDR-ness', colour science), you can tell Google Pixel and Apple iPhone photos apart. So rather than looking at the raw megapixel count of a smartphone, we recommend comparing a few photos from each manufacturers' camera systems and see which one appeals personally to you.

And for those wanting to record videos, look for a smartphone featuring optical image stabilisation (hardware-based) in addition to digital or electronic image stabilisation (software-based) for the smoothest, highest-quality results.

Battery

For many, the battery capacity of a smartphone matters more than any other specification. A smartphone is, after all, a portable device. While you're out-and-about, you want your battery to last as long as possible off a full charge.

Battery capacity is measured in milliamp-hour, or mAh for short. You'll find the mAh rating of a smartphone's battery somewhere in its spec-sheet. The higher the mAh rating, the longer the battery will usually last.

Keep in mind that a flagship smartphone with a power-hungry processor will drain its battery faster than an entry-level model with a power-sipping chip. So it's best to take the performance level of a smartphone into account and balance the battery accordingly.

Smartphones with larger displays will also have bigger chassis, in turn allowing for bigger batteries. For example, the 6.2" Google Pixel 8 has a 4,575mAh battery, while the 6.7" Google Pixel 8 Pro is equipped with a 5,050mAh battery.

Smartphones at Ebuyer

Here at Ebuyer, we stock Apple iPhones as well as a range of Android smartphones from the likes of Google, Samsung, Sony, and more. While you're here, why not check out our smartphone accessories, including cases, chargers, and Apple AirTags.

Spread the cost of your purchase with our flexible finance offers. And if you want your new smartphone by tomorrow, next-day delivery is also available.