How to Maximize Your Phone’s Lifespan

Even though smartphones are getting thinner and lighter, they’re still becoming more durable. Unlike early smartphones, today’s phones are typically tested to ensure their longevity, and technology is constantly evolving to make phones easier to use and less likely to become damaged through typical use. However, it’s still worth taking a few basic steps to prevent possible problems with your phone. Here are a few guidelines for avoiding common problems with smartphones and other smart devices.

Consider a Case

Cases add a bit of bulk to smartphones, but this extra size and weight provides protection against drops. Although a case won’t ensure you avoid a cracked screen or other damage, they do provide a bit of robustness that can mean the difference between an intact phone and a broken one. Not all cases are the same. If you have a history of dropping your phone, it might be worth investing in a more rugged case. If you’d prefer to preserve your phones look, consider a case that only covers the sides and not the back. As phones continue to become thinner, many people are finding they prefer a thicker device than is available on the market. Cases can provide a better feel for many people, and textured cases can help prevent your phone from slipping during long conversations.

Learn What Causes Scratches

Glass is a surprisingly hard material, and only harder materials can cause scratches. Metal, no matter how sharp, won’t scratch a smartphone’s screen, so don’t worry too much about car keys or other metal items causing scratches. One of the most common causes of smartphone scratches is sand, which can be harder than the glass on a phone’s screen. Wipe your phone screen gently, as wiping away sand or other small materials too harshly can lead to scratching. If you typically carry your smartphone in a purse or backpack, consider picking up a case that covers the screen to avoid scratching.

Updates Are Important

Smartphones are computers, and they need to be maintained like any other computer. Make sure to run security updates promptly, as failing to do so can leave your phone vulnerable to hacks, potentially compromising your information. App updates are important as well, as vulnerabilities in programs you run can lead to problems as well. If updates fail for any reason, make sure to talk with experts to find out how to resolve the issue.

Take Care of Your Battery

Modern smartphones are designed to maximize the life of batteries, but there are steps you can take to prevent premature wear. Try to avoid letting your battery drain completely, as doing so can shorten its lifespan; developing a habit of plugging in your phone every morning or evening can help keep it topped off. However, experts also advise against leaving your phone plugged in once its completely charged. Letting your battery drain a bit helps keep it functioning optimally. Note, however, that batteries inevitably lose their capacity, so consider picking a phone with a replaceable battery if you plan on using it for the long term.

Keep Your Phone Dry

Many phones on the market are advertised as being water resistant, and many that don’t advertise that feature can still function after being submerged in water. However, it’s still best to keep your phone dry whenever possible. Small cracks can make a water-resistant phone vulnerable to water damage. Furthermore, saltwater can still build up on a phone, potentially causing scratching and other issues. If your phone stops working after being submerged, give it time to dry completely before trying to power it on again. Note that the rice trick, which involves placing your phone in a container of rice, isn’t advised by most experts. It has little effect on drying out your phone, and small rice particles can become embedded in your phone. Silica gel packets, on the other hand, can safely speed up the drying process.

Be Wary of Non-Standard Apps

Android phones can be set to sideload apps, which lets you run programs not installed via the official store. Furthermore, third-party stores are common as well. Some people jailbreak their iPhones, which lets them run programs not found in the App Store. If you’re interested in running such apps, be careful, as malware is a growing problem with smartphones. These apps can sometimes capture information covertly, which can lead to identity theft and other problems. People often use their phones for banking and other critical tasks, so ensure any third-party app you install comes from a trusted source, such as Amazon or other established companies.

Avoid Temperature Extremes

Extreme temperatures can have a number of effects on smartphones. Hot and cold temperatures can shorten a battery’s lifespan, and phone screens and other parts sometimes fail to work properly in especially hot or cold temperatures. While those who live in hot or cold regions have little choice when it comes to smartphone temperatures, avoiding keeping a phone in a car when the temperature is hot can help you avoid issues. It’s generally best to keep your phone indoors as much as possible, especially if rain or snow is likely.

Streamline Your Apps

Today’s smartphones are often able to store a seemingly unlimited number of apps, but uninstalling apps to save space can be wise even if you have plenty of room left. Phone storage components wear down over time, and smartphones can spread information across the storage space to slow this degradation. Freeing up space offers more room for this process. Furthermore, uninstalling apps helps keep you interface from becoming cluttered, helping you find apps more quickly. Some apps run in the background, which can cost you bandwidth and lead to poorer performance. If you haven’t used an app in an extended period of time, think about if you’re likely to use it again in the future.

Smartphones are better than ever, and they’ll continue evolving over time. Although devices are more rugged and durable than ever before, a bit of caution and maintenance can go a long way toward ensuring your phone lasts as long as possible.

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source https://www.telcoworld.com.au/news-blog/how-to-maximize-your-phones-lifespan/

A Quick Guide To Mid-tier Smartphones

Smartphones have become an important staple of our daily lives. No longer are they luxury items sought out by the technologically minded. From communication and entertainment to navigation and banking, our phones play a pivotal role in many of our activities. However, their prices can be off-putting and downright prohibitive when it comes to top-notch devices. Choosing the right phone at an affordable price can be a cumbersome experience if you’re not familiar with the technical specifications and their meaning, and you might end up paying extra for features you don’t need.

This short guide will look at five smartphones priced below $500 AUD, highlighting their features and explaining the difference between them. In this price range, these devices often eschew state-of-the-art bells and whistles and yet are powerful enough to allow for a hassle-free experience.

The phones we propose are the Samsung Galaxy A5, the Motorola G5 Plus, the Huawei P9, the HTC U Play and the Oppo R9s. At a glance, they are very similar devices, roughly the same size, although aesthetically different.

Display

Screen sizes in these devices are the same, 5.2”, except for the Oppo R9s, 5.5”. Screen size is important if you plan to do a lot of reading on your phone or if you want to use it to watch movies or TV shows. Of course, a larger screen means a bulkier phone you’ll have to carry around.

When it comes to resolution, full HD is as far as you’re going to get at this price range. This means a picture 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high, also known as Full HD. If it’s any consolation, lower resolutions aren’t too noticeable in smaller screens. The difference between 4K and FHD on a 55’’ TV would be huge, whereas on a phone screen it might require closer inspection to even notice.

The biggest difference between these phones is the technology used for the screen. Broadly speaking, the two different options are AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) and IPS LCD (In-Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Display). Without going into technical detail, LCD’s present a sharper image, brighter colors and a wider viewing angle. On the flip side, it uses more power, and its components require more space, which means thicker phones. AMOLED shows darker blacks and higher contrast and requires no backlighting, which means less energy consumption. However, AMOLED’s have a shorter lifespan than LCD’s, are generally more expensive, and aren’t environment-friendly.

There is no consensus on which is better, so you’ll need to look at each kind of display for yourself the next time you’re out shopping.

Camera

One would usually think that a higher megapixel count is all that matters, but you must also take into consideration that a lower resolution camera might still have better sensors, shutters and focus speeds than their higher resolution counterparts. This translates into better pictures in different conditions, such as low light and moving objects. For example, the A5 has a higher megapixel count than the Huawei P9, both on the frontal and the selfie camera, but the P9 boasts a Leica dual lens setup that allows for more professional pictures. That said, larger megapixel counts are required to take higher resolution video, like 2K.

CPU and RAM

These two components determine how fast your phone works and how many tasks it can handle at a given time. Although bigger numbers are usually better, you may not see too much difference between a phone with 3 GB of RAM and one with 4 GB.

On the CPU side, more cores (quad-core, hexa-core, octa-core) with larger clock speeds (gigahertz, or GHz) mean a better phone. The apps in your phone don’t use all of the CPU’s cores at the same time, though, and a phone with four decent cores (> 2.0 GHz) and four smaller ones might be enough for your needs. For example, the Motorola G5 Plus has eight 2 GHz cores, while the HTC U Play has only four at that speed, the remaining four being clocked at 1.1 GHz. A regular user might not even tax the phone’s resources enough see a difference in performance.

Storage

Most of these phones come with 32 GB of storage, except for the Oppo R9s, which comes with 64 GB. You can expand this storage space by purchasing a microSD card, to add up to 256 GB extra space. Whether or not you want to do this depends on how you plan to use your phone. If you prefer to download all of your music, movies and TV shows, you’ll definitely need the additional card. On the other hand, if you usually stream this content using services like Spotify or Netflix, then you might get by with just the base storage space.

Battery

Battery capacity is expressed in miliamperes hour (mAh), and the higher the better. It means how much energy the battery can output in an hour. Non-replaceable lithium-ion batteries have become the norm, and the one aspect you should look out for is if it allows for fast charging. All of the phones have 3000 mAh batteries, except for the HTC U Play, which comes up short at 2500 mAh.

SIM Cards

All of these devices allow you to use two different SIM cards. This card holds your phone line data, such as your carrier and your phone number. Some people prefer to have separate numbers, one for personal use and one for their business. Having them on the same phone is obviously practical. The HTC U Play and the Oppo R9s cut some corners and only let you do one of two things: you can either expand the storage space with a microSD card, or you can use a second SIM card. Since they use the same slot, you’ll have to pick one.

In the end, you must choose the phone and phone plan that feels right for you. Most stores will have a display where you can examine each device and test out the camera, display, speeds, etc. You might find that a feature that many people prefer is actually not for you, as might be the case with the different kinds of displays. Hopefully, the information provided here will help you get the phone that best suits your needs.

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source https://www.telcoworld.com.au/news-blog/a-quick-guide-to-mid-tier-smartphones/