Smartphone Buying Guide 2017
Mark Spoonauer writes this review for TomsGuide.com.
Choosing Your Smartphone
Your smartphone is right up there with your wallet in importance — in fact, it can sometimes double as your wallet. As phones have added more features, they've become an indispensable companion, helping you stay on top of email and social updates, take and share photos and videos, play music and games, and do a whole lot more. So we probably don't have to tell you that choosing the right phone is a big deal.
Our smartphone-buying guide covers everything you need to know before you buy, ranging from the operating system and the screen size to the camera and the carrier. Use this advice to make sure you get the very best handset for your needs and budget. Deciding between Apple's and Samsung's latest flagships? Check out our iPhone 6s vs. Galaxy S7 face-off.
Quick Tips
Opt for an iPhone if you want a phone that's easy to use and gets both the hottest apps first and the timeliest software updates.
Android is better if you want more hardware choice and more control over the user experience. You can also find great Android deals under $300.
Get a phone with a 5-inch screen or smaller if one-hand use is important. (See Best Small Phones for more.) Get a bigger screen if you like to watch a lot of video and play games.
The camera has become the most important smartphone feature. Pay attention to specs like pixel size (in microns, bigger is better) and aperture (lower numbers are better) and ignore the megapixels. See our Best Camera Phones for our top picks.
If you want the most speed for games and multitasking, buy an Android phone with the latest Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM. The A9 chip in the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus is also very speedy. A Snapdragon 615 chip is fine for mid-tier Android phones.
Don’t settle for a smartphone with less than a 3,000 mAh battery if endurance is really important. And see our list of the longest-running phones based on the Tom's Guide Battery Test (web surfing over 4G LTE).
16GB phones are a rip-off unless you’re going to store most of your photos and files in the cloud. Get 32GB or more of storage if you plan to download lots of games or shoot 4K video.
Verizon is the best wireless carrier for coverage and speed but T-Mobile is the best overall value. MetroPCS is our top pick for discount carriers.
Android
Android dominates worldwide sales of smartphones, and for good reason. You'll find many more choices than iOS when it comes to design, display size, specs, capabilities and price. Plus, Android is an open OS, which means it's easy to customize awesome launchers and widgets, while giving you a choice of keyboards and more.
Some Android phone makers, such as Samsung and LG, trick out the software with additional enhancements, such as more-robust multitasking and easier access to settings.
With the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the OS offers Google Now on Tap, with an assistant so smart it answers questions based on what's already on your screen. There's also Android Pay for making mobile payments, and better power management for longer battery life. However, when a new version of Android arrives, it can take several months for the updated OS to hit your phone.
iOS 9
All of the latest iPhones, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and the iPhone SE, run the latest version of Apple's operating system. iOS 9 offers all sorts of enhancements. For example, Siri offers proactive suggestions to save you time, and the Notes app is a lot more robust. The Maps app finally offers transit directions, too, but Apple's News app isn't that exciting.
The biggest reasons to opt for an iOS device include its ease of use, access to OS updates from day one (unlike Android) and ability to work seamlessly with Apple devices (such as the iPhone and the Mac).
Apple's App Store tends to get the hottest apps and games before Android, partly because developers have an easier time targeting a smaller set of devices that have similar specs. By the same token, iPhones enjoy the broadest array of accessories, because there's less variation in design from one model to the next.
Windows Phone
Windows Phone has never caught on, and Windows 10 Mobile is off to a slow start. The most compelling features are universal apps and Continuum. Universal apps allow developers to create one app for Windows 10 on the desktop and mobile, which should grow Microsoft’s anemic selection in the Windows Store. Continuum enables you to run Windows 10 Mobile on the desktop with a compatible dock using such phones as the Lumia 950.
Although Microsoft is trying to bring more partners into the fold, such as the HP Elite X3, the platform probably won't get the shot in the arm it needs until Microsoft unveils a Surface phone.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is showing some signs of life with its Android-powered BlackBerry Priv, which pairs Google's OS and app store with a slide-out keyboard. The built-in security is quite strong, but this phone is pricey. BlackBerry says it will release more affordable Android models later this year.
Formitize - making paperwork paperless.
Image source: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-buying-guide,review-1971.html
Like
Circle
Follow