Every time a new phone is announced, there are specs that are given big numbers to convince the customer to like it and buy that smartphone. Often these are just specs on paper.

In reality, the phone does not reach the written numbers or it reaches those numbers but does not give you the real meaning of those numbers in relation to your needs. As I said that it is the specs that convince you on paper, but the truth is hidden.

How should you look at smartphone specs? Which hardware capabilities should you consider or not consider when you need a new smartphone?

Processors Cores and Speeds

Let’s go back between 10 and 20 years. There we were taught that always bigger numbers on computing devices are better. It was true in those years, but not now when chip sizes are getting smaller and smaller.

For example, we will compare iPhone 13 Pro Mac (Flagship) and Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (Mid-Range).

iPhone 13 has 6 cores with 2 Avalanche cores of 3.23Ghz speed and 6 Blizzard cores of 1.82Ghz speed.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 has 8 cores, which is two more than the iPhone 13 pro max. Among these 8 cores, there are 2 Cortex-A78 cores with a speed of 2.4Ghz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores with a speed of 2.0GHz.

If you put together the iPhone has a total clock speed of 13.74 GHz and the Samsung has 16.8GHz.

Our expectation is that the Samsung Galaxy A53 will have a better performance than the iPhone 13 pro max.

Yes, it will have good performance in paper numbers, but not in real use. This is because the quality of processor performance is not only in speed, but also in the type of chip used.

The Apple Bionic chip here has more capabilities than these ARM-Cortex chips, so its performance will be higher. You can check the GeekBench results of the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and you will find that the iPhone 13 (4,645 points) has more power than the Galaxy A53 (1,891).

So choose a phone with a type of processor that will suit your use.

Screen Resolution

Phone manufacturers will put words like 4K, QHD, FHD or UHD in their advertisements. Even I myself would quickly run to a phone with a 4K screen.

But I will not be able to run to the phone because of the numbers that are set to show the quality of the screen. For example, FHD resolution of 1920×1080 is suitable for phones with a screen of 6.5 inches or less.

That’s a good resolution, but don’t stop at that. Once you know the resolution, also check the brightness and color accuracy. This is because you can have a phone with a high resolution but you can’t see anything if you use it under sunlight.

Instead of looking at the number of pixels, also look at what type of screen the phone has. Good screens are AMOLED and OLED screens. IPS screens are good too, but avoid TFT (LCD) displays.

Also check the brightness rating of that screen. Rating starting at 800 nits, suitable as it allows you to use the phone even under sunlight.

Camera MegaPixels

“Yay! They have released a new phone, sir, the camera has 120 mega pixels”, said a young man who is a big fan of a certain brand.

The competition for high megapixel cameras started with the manufacturers of digital SLR cameras. They started with 8 megapixels until they reached 20 megapixels. This competition has greatly affected users, now many think that more megapixels is the quality of the image.

It’s so sad!

What do you know? for the same reason, phone manufacturers have been putting large megapixels to convince you to buy their phones, even though they know that the number of MP is not the quality of the image.

Once again we take the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Galaxy A53. The iPhone 13 has a 12MP sensor, while the Galaxy A53 has 64MP. For MP criteria alone even I will run for Galaxy A53.

But why has the Galaxy A53 not been mentioned even once in phones with the best camera? but the iPhone 13 has often been mentioned as having the best camera.

This is because there are other things to consider such as the size of the sensor (a bigger sensor is better), Image Stabilization options and processing power, but also look at Reviews by experts like MKBHD and MrWhoseTheBoss.

Digital (or Hybrid) Zoom

On the ads you will see some say the phone has Hybrid Zoom and others say the phone has 100x Super Resolution Zoom.

Whatever they call it, what I understand professionally is that zooming in without an optical lens goes hand in hand with a decrease in image quality and resolution. Because what digital zoom does is to cut the image (cropping) to bring it closer.

1.5x or 2x zoom doesn’t really spoil the picture if you have a phone with a good 50+MP sensor. Unlike there, depending on the quality is lost.

Otherwise, if you have 100x zoom, the phone should have good image stabilization, you should also have steady hands. Because moving even 2mm will ruin the image quality.

If you use your phone a lot to take pictures, consider the good optical zoom specifications. Also consider ultra wide lenses, as they help give you great photos. Without having an ultra wide lens, you will find it difficult to take photos with large scenery or photos of many people as well as selfies.

The end

When looking for a new smartphone, don’t use the numbers on the box, GSM Arena specs sheet or advertising words to decide which phone is right for you. Instead, consider the reviews of professionals who have already used these phones.

After that you should make decisions to choose a new phone by asking yourself these questions, Do you like the way the phone sits in your hand? Is it compatible with your use and appearance? Is it enough for your budget?

If you get the answers then you will be able to decide if the call is worth it.