It’s more than the spec sheet

One of the biggest moves I’ve made in my career to date was to focus on the tech beat, reviewing smartphones, cameras, and other gadgets. I was a bit clueless from the start, but thanks to the help from the Unbox team (Carlo, John, Jamie, and Lea), I was able to learn the basics with how to review a smartphone thoroughly.

Through the four months (since I joined the team) of reviewing smartphones from the budget to mid-range segment, I’ve learned a few insights along the way:

Software optimization really, really matters!

The thing with most brands when it comes to advertising their phones is that they would brag about the spec sheet most of the time. Truth is, a phone’s overall performance goes beyond what you read on paper. Android software (be it Marshmallow, Nougat, or Oreo) can go with different flavors, and brands can do a hit-or-miss in terms of software performance depending on the amount of skinning and bloatware they put in it.

Yes, even stock Android can be not optimized properly in some cases. Which is why I get Sony’s point when they published an infographic about the process of rolling out software updates.

Benchmark tests only tell one part of the story

In doing phone reviews, running benchmarks is crucial to get a rough idea of a phone’s performance. Be it AnTuTu, GameBench, or PCMark, these tools help us determine if a phone lives up to as promised. However, benchmarks can only tell so much, as these apps do a “stress test” on a phone for a particular time period or for certain functions. Likewise, reviewing a phone can be fully determined when you use it as a daily driver–even for a week or two.

By daily driver, this means using the phone I am reviewing for things I normally do: from social media, games, telephony, to photography. From there, you get to see if there are bugs, glitches, and issues that benchmark tests would fail to spot.

Not all internals are made equal

Most of the time, people would care only about whether a processor is quad-core or octa-core (or deca-core in some cases) or whether it is equipped with adequate RAM and internal storage. After reviewing several phones in the past 4 months of being with Unbox, I’ve learned that there are differences when it comes to internals, even if one has less RAM than the other.

This has been the case when I reviewed the Galaxy J7 Core and OPPO A71 side-by-side, where I was surprised that performance-wise, they are roughly at the same level even if the former has less RAM.

Audio matters as much as video/photography

When it comes to reviews, we put more focus on a phone’s photo and video capabilities over a phone’s audio capabilities. But realistically speaking, both photo/video and audio capabilities should be given with equal importance. I realized this when I was doing a long-term review with the ASUS ZenFone 4. Even if it is wrongly priced (which we hope ASUS can address in the near future), the ZenFone 4 has not just an impressive camera setup (with a really good OIS+EIS combo), but also a broad audio setup that includes customizing your sound according to the headphones/earphones you are using.

Local brands are stepping up their game

Oftentimes, we look down at local brands for coming up with phones that are priced affordably while compromising on quality. Fast forward to 2017, and it is a whole different game. Local players like Cherry Mobile and Cloudfone have been stepping up in giving us quality phones for a good price. In fact, their recent releases have quality builds that match those from international brands!

A few examples include Cherry Mobile’s Flare S6, and Cloudfone’s Next Infinity Quattro are perfect examples of local brands being able to go head-to-head with international brands.

You can get a decent phone without raping your wallet

It’s a given fact: Smartphones have become more expensive these past few months, with some models costing as much as a laptop. However, even with the rising prices (no thanks to inflation and market trends), one can snag a decent phone for much lower prices. In fact, our team has reviewed several mid-range phones, and they are all quite impressive!

Truth be told, one does not need to spend exorbitant amounts of money to get a good-performing smartphone. One good example is the Motorola Moto G5s Plus: Priced a hair under Php 15k, this mid-range phone boasts of an impressive set of internals, along with an optimized stock Android software, that can go through with most daily tasks (gaming included).

Don’t forget to check out our other editorials on the site:

5 Things to Consider Before Buying a New Smartphone

Reasons Why It Doesn’t Make Sense to Upgrade to the Newest Flagship