High-End Smartphones: Are They Worth It?

The ideal purpose of a phone is to make and receive calls. While old telephone instruments became obsolete due to the advancement of technology, one wishes we could go back in time and relish the satisfaction of hanging up on someone after a heated conversation. Today, one meekly touches the screen and the call is disconnected. Not that satisfying right?

Jokes apart, the advent of Premium smartphones has given rise to higher and higher cost of the cell phones. When we are sold into shelling out hard earned cash for a phone that claims to be the one all answer to all our tech needs, it becomes obvious that the buyer would pause for a second and mentally compare it to a mid-range smartphones. One can’t help but wonder if the brand attached to the premium smartphone is really worth the cost.

Potato VS Pohtatoh: Smartphone Edition!

The apps that these Premium smartphones offer are easily available on the midrange phone. So, why then do we keep a bias? There are no considerable benefits of owning a Premium Smartphone over a normal smartphones. In fact, most of the premium smartphones lack dual-sim feature in comparisons to it’s midrange counterpart.

Swaggering in a party and flaunting your Premium brand smartphone, seems to be the only reason such phones are designed. Targeted for the posh community where accessories are a part of their status symbol. They buy mobiles for the brand value and flaunt it thus.

When we compare the features of 2 smartphones of different range (a premium and a mid-range phone) we realise there is hardly any difference in their setup. For this blog purposes, we have compared a Sony Xperia M dual (a mid-range smartphone) and Samsung Galaxy S9 (premium smartphone). Here are the results:

• Internal memory: 4GB vs. 64 GB

Do we really need 64 GB in the basic configuration of the phone memory when one can expand it simply, with an external memory card of 120 GB? Seriously, 120 GB on a nail size memory card and all your storage troubles will be far away. That too for a fractional cost in comparison.

• Phone Ram: 1GB vs. 4GB RAM

A default computer system consists of 4GB RAM processor. Then, why does a palm sized phone require 4 GB RAM? Unless you are a gamer, no other communication or social media apps on your phone would require such a high configuration. 1 GB RAM is sufficient for a phone. Logically, it only makes sense to buy a phone that has 4GB RAM if you are a game addict.

• Screen Size: 4” vs. 5.8” screen

Ask yourself, do you want a phone that easily slips into your pant pockets or a tablet that you will have to carry around in your hand? Carrying a phone that is more than 5” is a liability as they are more likely to be damaged.

• Phone Camera: 5 MegaPixel vs. 12 MegaPixel

The one areas where premium smartphones win the race. Their cameras are good enough to capture and record videos with amazing quality. There are some extra features available in the premium phones such as humidity sensors, barometer, gesture sensors etc. But why would one need a humidity sensor or a barometer in daily routine? Unless it is required for research work.

In Conclusion: French Fries!

The latest smartphones in the market flaunt many a new features. But, the basic apps that are most commonly used, remain the same irrespective of the phone. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Outlook work exactly the same. There are no special versions of Facebook or Twitter for premium phone users.

For example, Instagram is not going to display photos in higher resolutions just because the phone camera has more megapixels.

While, naysayers may claim that a faster processor leads to apps responding a little faster on premium phones but, the difference in the loading time is merely a  fraction of a second.  An average smartphone is capable of loading apps in milliseconds. Premium smartphones are worth it for features like 4K display and the rare option of it being waterproof. Research  and analyse your needs before you enter the market for a phone. As per performance, a mid-range smartphone can easily perform the same tasks as a premium smartphone at a nominal cost. It’s your call in the end!