How to Choose a Smartphone

With all the different technology companies and new smartphone options always on the market, searching for the right phone for you is often an exciting and daunting task. Choosing a new phone is a personal decision to make since users look for specific features to fit their own wants and needs. Read on to find some ways you can frame your smartphone search to help you figure out your personal priorities.

Price

The latest smartphones are always the most expensive. Recent prices have reached as high as $1,000. There’s no need to worry, though. Unless you wish to be on the forefront of technology by being able to unlock your phone with facial recognition, it is not necessary to spend that kind of money. Phones that came out within the past two to three years are the more reasonable choice, because they are young enough to download the latest updates, yet old enough to find on sale at much lower prices.

Carrier

An important choice for many when buying a new smartphone is the cell carrier and plan. Most cell phone users choose bigger-name companies such as Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. Others go with smaller players like US Cellular, MetroPCS or Cricket–these do not have the same nationwide coverage as the bigger brands. Smaller carriers such as Virgin Mobile, TracFone, and Net10 exist, as well. These smaller names do not offer the most recent phone models, so you may get stuck with a phone no one has heard of with a bad camera or lack of some other feature you wanted. Some carriers will offer a lower deal for a phone plan if you transfer from your old carrier or trade in your old phone.

Alternatively, the guys over at moneysavingpro.com have put together a cell phone plan calculator (https://www.moneysavingpro.com/cell-phone-plans/calculator/) to help you choose a plan that specifically fits your budget and cell phone needs.

A good thing to do if you’re not sure of what carrier to choose is to consult your friends and family as well as the internet. You can ask the people who live around your area how well their service works for them. Your mom who uses TracFone may say that her service works well in bustling metropolitan areas, but cuts out in more rural locations. Your friend who has always used AT&T might tell you that her service works well anywhere, even across state lines. Once you have decided to go with a carrier–let’s say you chose AT&T and you live in Indiana–you can search online for AT&T stores in Indiana and find the location closest to you with ease. No matter what carrier you choose or where you live, finding a store near you is simple.

Storage and Battery

Storage and battery life are both significant factors to decide on before you buy a phone. If you like to use multiple apps, take a lot of pictures, or download a lot of music, a larger storage ability is something you will need to investigate. 64GB is the best choice. If you don’t do much on your device besides call, email, or text, you could go with a smaller storage space such as 16GB. For many people, storage space trumps other features.

With the battery life, you will want something that can last for several hours at a time, especially if you go out running errands or somewhere there is no charging area. Your phone’s battery life depends on how much you use it, or if you have any apps open in the background while it is locked.

Other Features

Any other features you consider would include the screen display, the camera, the speakers, the headphone jack, etc. Do you want a bigger or smaller screen? Do you want to be able to use your phone with one hand? Are you an amateur Instagrammer looking for an image-stabilizing camera with a wide-angle lens? Do you listen to a lot of music or watch shows and movies on your smaller device? Asking yourself all these extra questions will help you narrow down your smartphone options even further.

Newer, better, faster smartphone will always exist. It’s up to you when to buy a new phone or trade in your old one, but you should always make sure to think about what you liked and didn’t like in your old phone and if you need to make any changes. Quite a few factors to consider exist, but once you’ve thought about them, you’re ready to buy your next well-priced and well-working device!