Smartphones have evolved tremendously over the last decade, and while most of the technologies found in modern smartphones are generally refinements over older tech, there’s been so much advancement that it’s hard to believe the latest iPhone and the iPhone 1 are related. When out buying a new smartphone, there are some hardware specs that are easy to overlook but can make all the difference in both the performance and the longevity of the device.

It’s important to have an idea of the kind of specs that a buyer will want to keep an eye out for, the difference they can make to the usability of the device, as well as why it’s often worth paying that extra price.

A Better Screen

Modern smartphone screens either come as an LED or an LCD, and there’s a fairly big difference between the two. LED screens, especially those labelled as OLED, are becoming more and more popular, and provide a much richer experience for the user. Colours tend to pop more, brightness is usually much higher, and it can even help improve battery times. Of course, LED screens do come at a higher cost than an LCD, but the price gap is quickly closing, and in terms of longevity, an LED is still worth the extra money.

Storage

Typically, a smartphone will either have eMMC or UFS flash storage integrated directly into the phone, and this is where the operating system and user data is stored. UFS is a much newer type of flash storage, which offers much better performance than eMMC, but it does tend to come at a higher price – although, similar to screens, we’re beginning to see this price gap shrinking at a fast pace.

Older and cheaper phones will tend to have eMMC flash storage, which is typically the kind of storage found in USB sticks and other kinds of slower storage devices. For the user that wants the very best performance possible, choosing UFS is highly recommended.

Charging Port

This is one that is already in transition, but it’s a good idea to try and avoid phones that still use the micro-USB connection. USB-C has become the standard in recent years, and provides a more robust way for charging a device as well as transferring data.

IP Certification

IP certification relates to the overall “toughness” of a device. This can mean the amount of liquid that a phone can resist, or how resistant it is to find sand or heat, as well as the amount of shock that it can withstand. A device with an IP certification typically tends to cost a lot more than devices with comparable specs but without the IP. For those that take their phones out a lot during work or happen to work in an environment where damage can occur frequently, it might be worth investing in a phone with a good IP rating – or even just for protection when enjoying online betting NZ on the go. There are several different kinds to choose from, but IP68 is generally the most recommended.