Choosing a new smartphone can be a difficult task, with so many variations and manufacturers trying to persuade you to buy their product. Which one do you choose? Maybe this short little guide can help you make your choice. There are a number of aspects of a smartphone that makes it an amazing smartphone. The five most important areas are design, screen, camera, feature and battery.

Battery

The battery is important we do not want to constantly be next to the plug socket to charge our phone from 20%. We want our phones to last at least a day before we need to charge it. Our smartphones have become to the point where we need it 24/7 so the battery life during the day is important, we do not want to find ourselves out of battery when we need to make an emergency phone call or use Google Maps to find a place for an important meeting. We use our smartphones for everything so the battery life will be an important factor in your choice. Bigger the size of battery the longer it will survive during the day and the more percentage left over. However the bigger the size of the battery the thicker the smartphone tends to be.

Screen

Smartphones have become our number 1 media consumption device on the go either it’s from watching Youtube videos, listening to music, browsing the internet, viewing images, social media and much more. We practically live our lives on our smartphone, so the screen is important to consume media. With different screen sizes available and different types of screen resolutions out there, the more high-end you go the crisper and better the display. Display sizes tend to range from 5-inch - 6.8-inch screens and the different resolutions range from 720p – UHD with OLED display, which provides more vibrant, and deeper colours. Obviously, the screen must be able to cope with bright sunlight, which will allow you to consume media even on the brightest day.

Camera

Smartphone cameras are getting better and better after every release. They are slowly matching the picture quality of DSLR cameras used by professional photographers. Cameras will continue to be the main battleground for consumers whether it is the image quality, lower aperture or other complex technology advancements. We continue to capture the precious moments on our smartphones and share via social media. If the camera is not able to capture our moments in the highest quality, why should you bother purchasing the smartphone?

Design

The design element of a smartphone is important because you as the user will be carrying the device around. If you do not feel comfortable carrying a particular smartphone around due to the look of it then it should not be considered. However, the design is affected by button placement, materials and build quality. Placement of buttons is important whether it is the lock button, volume or fingerprint sensor. Button placement comes to play with bigger screen size buttons when you want to operate one-handed. For example, Samsung placed the finger sensor alongside its camera on the Galaxy S8, which made it awkward to unlock as well as smudging the camera as you try to find the fingerprint sensor.

Build quality will be important, as you want a good quality product so you would want build quality to be excellent whether its smooth edges which make it easier to hold. Materials will be dependent on the user whether they want a premium product made out of aluminium or plastic because they are an adventurer that may drop it a few times.

Features

Now all phones come with features however, it is whether those features will be important for your daily use. For example, a waterproof smartphone will be important if you are clumsy and tend to drop your phone in the toilet, then a waterproof phone will be useful. Another feature that you may find useful is the ability to fast charge. Fast charging allows you to charge from 0% to 100% at a quicker rate, therefore, allowing you to charge the phone within a couple of minutes and get it to a reasonable percentage before you head out.