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Each & Everything You Want To Know About Your Smartphone PDF
Each & Everything You Want To Know About Your Smartphone PDF
Each & Everything You Want To Know About Your Smartphone PDF
Series # 1
SMARTPHONES
Each & Everything you want to know about your smartphone.
How to Buy Best
Series #1
Smartphones
By J. A. Khanzada
Copyright 2016 J. A. Khanzada
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License Notes
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to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Jamil Ahmed Khanzada is a professional Engineer, working in a leading National Industry. Member
of National Technology Association. Khanzada received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the
University of Illinois in 1994.
Since 1994 he served in a particular Engineering and Manufacturing Industries.
J. A. Khanzada is author and co-author of Books, several Research Papers and hundreds of professional
journal articles on Industry development and Energy Conservation. These Papers were presented in the
Annual Conventions and printed in several National and International Journals. His most recent books is
How to buy best series 1: Smartphones (November 2016 publishing at Amazon).
Living happily with his family in his home country.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Buying a Smartphone
1.2 Why Did Smartphone call Smartphone
1.3 Mobile Phones
1.3.1 Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
1.3.2 Smartphones
1.3.3 PDA Phones
2.0 Mobile OS (Operating Systems)
2.1 Android OS
2.2 Apple iOS
2.3 Windows OS
2.4 BlackBerry
2.5 Sailfish OS
2.6 Tizen OS
2.7 Ubuntu Touch
2.8 Symbian OS
2.9 Windows CE kernel OS
2.10 Bada OS
2.11 Firefox OS
2.12 Palm OS
2.13 webOS
2.14 Maemo/MeeGo
3.0 Smartphone Features
3.1 Smartphone Hardware Processors
3.2 Smartphone Processors
3.2.1 System on a Chip (SoC)
3.2.2 Ranking According to GPU Performance
3.3 The Qualcomm Chip Processors
3.3.1 Snapdragon 821
3.3.2 Snapdragon 820
3.3.3 The Snapdragon 820 with Kryo
3.3.4 Snapdragon 820 and LTE Networks
3.3.5 DSLR Like Photography
3.3.6 Qualcomm Spectra
3.4 Apple’s A10 Fusion Chipset
3.4.1 What is The A10 Fusion?
3.4.2 How faster it is?
3.4.3 iPhone 7 Performance
3.4.4 The Apple A9 Chipset
3.4.5 The Apple A9 Cupertino
3.4.6 Resulting The Density
3.5 Exynos 8 Octa-Core (8890) Chipset
3.5.1 Enhanced Performance & Better Power Efficiency
3.5.2 Power & Play
3.5.3 Multimedia Experience
3.5.4 Connectivity With the LTE
3.5.5 Product Specification
3.6 HiSilicon Kirin 955 Chipset
4.0 Smartphone Graphics
4.1 The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
4.1.1 Qualcomm GPUs
4.1.1.1 Imagination Tech PowerVR GPUs
4.2 ARM Mali GPUs
4.3 NVIDIA ULP GeForce GPUs
5.0 Storage & Memory
5.1 RAM or Random Access Memory
5.1.1 The Bigger The Better
5.2 ROM & Internal Storage
5.3 User Removable Storage
6.0 Smartphone Displays
6.1 LCD Type Display
6.1.1 Twisted Nematic (TN) LCD
6.1.2 IPS or In-Plane Switching LCD
6.1.3 LCD Panels
6.2 AMOLED Type Display
6.2.1 AMOLED Panels
6.3 The Subpixel Matrix
6.4 The Pixel Density
6.5 Adding Touch Screens
7.0 Smartphone Connectivity & Sensors
7.1 Smartphone Connectivity
7.1.1 The 2G, 3G and 4G Networks
7.1.2 Bluetooth
7.1.3 Wi-Fi and Its Usage
7.1.3.1 Wi-Fi Direct
7.1.3.2 Wi-Fi Hotspots/Tethering
7.1.4 GPS Smartphone Navigation
7.1.5 Triband, Quad-Band Roaming
7.1.6 HDMI Connectivity
7.1.7 DLNA Connectivity
7.1.8 NFC Connectivity
7.1.8.1 How NFC Work?
7.1.8.2 Use of NFC
7.1.9 Femtocells
7.1.10 USB C Connectivity
7.2 Smartphone Sensors
7.2.1 The Accelerometer
7.2.2 The Gyroscope
7.2.3 The Magnetometer
7.2.4 The Proximity Sensor
7.2.5 The Light Sensors
7.2.6 The Barometer
7.2.7 The Thermometer
7.2.8 The Pedometer
7.2.9 The Heart Rate Monitor
7.2.10 The Fingerprint Sensor
7.2.11 Radiation Detector
8.0 Smartphones Batteries
8.1 Battery Life
8.2 Battery Bag
8.3 Squeezing In Run Time
8.4 The XYZ of Cells
8.5 Need to Keep Cool
8.6 Building a Smartphone
8.7 Chemistry
8.8 Conclusion
8.9 Advancement in Battery Technology
9.0 Smartphone Cameras
9.1 Camera Hardware
9.2 Megapixel Count
9.3 Sensor Size
9.4 Pixel Size
9.5 RGBC Filter, Stacked CMOS, ISOCELL & BSI
9.6 Focal Length
9.7 F-Number & Aperture
9.8 Image Stabilization
9.9 Shutter, White Balance, ISO, Metering & Focus
9.10 Video Capturing
9.11 Manufacturers
10.0 New Smartphone Features
10.1 Always Listening
10.2 Active Display or Always On Screen
10.3 Double Tap to walk
10.4 Paying With Phone
10.5 Location Based Reminder
10.6 Shake To Redo
10.7 Pin Screen
10.8 Reachability Mode
10.9 Handoff
10.10 Fast Charging
10.11 Water Resistant
10.12 Using While Driving
10.13 IR Blaster
10.14 Wireless Charging
11.0 Latest Smartphones
11.1 Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
11.2 Samsung Galaxy S7
11.3 iPhone 7 Plus
11.4 iPhone 7
11.5 Google Pixel
11.6 Google Pixel XL
11.7 Motorola Moto Z
11.8 ZTE Axon 7
11.9 HTC 10
11.10 OnePlus 3
11.11 iPhone SE
11.12 Huawei Nexus 6P
11.13 LG G5
11.14 Microsoft Lumia 950
12.0 Conclusion
13.0 13.0 Glossary
About The Author
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Courtesy by Nokia
More frequently called a cellular phone or cell phone. Mobile phones linked to a wireless
communication network via radio waves or satellite transmission. Most of the mobiles provide voice
conversation, SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Message Service) and latest phones may
also facilitate to Internet Service like Web Browsing and emails.
1.3.1 PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT (PDA)
In general, a smartphone is based on an operating system that allows it to run apps. For instance,
BlackBerry smartphones use the BlackBerry Operating System and iOS runs on Apple's iPhone. Some
other smartphones run HP's webOS, Google's Android Operating System and Microsoft's Windows
smartphone.
Many people have enough factual information about distinct smartphones and their manufacturers,
but a few of them know something about (OS) operating systems. It is absolutely necessary to learn about
different Mobile Operating Systems (OS) used by major companies so that you can know that what is
behind your smartphone’s smooth and colorful touchscreen.
Android Smartphones
Google Inc. developed Android mobile operating system, it backed by an industry syndicate known
as the “Open Handset Alliance”. It is an open source platform with optional proprietorship components.
Plus a suite of leader software for Google services, and the content and application storefront Google
Play. On October 20, 2008, by the release of its first device the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), Android
was officially brought in. As an open source product, Android has also been the matter of third-party
development. To develop and distribute their own modified versions of the operating system, Such
as Cyanogen Mod, Development groups have used the Android source code. To provide newer versions
of Android and add features to the OS, to devices that no longer receive official updates from their vendor.
Forked versions of Android have also adopted by other vendors, such as Amazon.com, who used its "Fire
OS" on a range of tablets and the Fire Phone. As it is a non-proprietary platform that has shipped on
devices capturing a wide range of market segments, Android has observed significant adoption. During
the fourth quarter of 2015, 325 million Android smartphones were sold as estimated by Gartner Research,
heading all other platforms. In the same period of time, Samsung Electronics, who produces Android
devices, was also the top smartphone provider across all platforms.
2.2 APPLE iOS
Formerly iPhone OS and renewed as iOS is a copyrighted mobile operating system developed
by Apple Inc. Basically, iOS used for Apple’s iPhone product line. The iPhone was first introduced in
January 2007. The device unveiled with numerous design concepts that have been followed by many
modern smartphone platforms, such as the use of multi-touch gestures for navigation, shunning physical
controls such as physical keyboards in favor of those delivered by the operating system itself on
its touchscreen (along with the keyboard), and the use of The practice of incorporating traditional
design elements even though not functionally necessary called skeuomorphism - bringing in features and
controls within the user interface appear like real-world objects and concepts in order to improve their
usability. Apple introduced the App Store in 2008, a wide-range storefront for purchasing new software
for iPhone devices. iOS can also incorporate with Apple's desktop music and podcast program iTunes to
synchronize media to a desktop PC and Laptop. With the introduction of iCloud on later versions of iOS,
the dependency on a PC was withdrawn. iCloud provides synchronicity of user data via internet servers
between multiple devices. The iPhone line's early dominance was credited with reshaping the smartphone
market, and aiding make Apple one of the world's most worthful publicly traded companies by 2011.
However, the iOS and iPhone have generally been in 2nd place in worldwide market share.
2.3 WINDOWS OS
Microsoft developed Windows Phone, its first release, Windows Phone 7, was a revamped version
of the previous, Windows CE-based Windows Mobile platform. The user interface of Windows Phone
planned to contrast with its rivals, utilizing a design language codenamed "Metro". Which distressed
iconography and skeuomorphism in favor of flat and text-based display. The platform also boasted
ideas such as "live tiles" on its home screen that can display dynamic content. Windows Phone also
incorporated with other Microsoft platforms and brands, including SkyDrive, Xbox, and Bing. MS Office
Mobile apps also bundled with the operating system.
Microsoft released Windows Phone 8 in 2012; it was not compatible with previous released but
replaced by a core system fixed on the Windows NT platform. It expanded the functionality and
platform's hardware support and added storage encryption as expanded enterprise-oriented
functionality. Windows 10 Mobile released in late 2015 by Microsoft. It is no longer promoted by the
Windows Phone family. As it aimed to provide greater consistency and integration with Windows 10 for
Personal Computers, by Universal Windows Platform it included cross-platform applications. And the
ability to dock supported devices like keyboard and mouse support to use a desktop interface.
The Microsoft Windows Phone series has had poor acceptance as compared to its rivals. Lack
of interest in the platform also decreasing in third-party applications, and some partners ended their
collaboration for Windows Phone altogether. The most important Windows Phone user was Nokia, who
solely adopted Windows Phone as its smartphone platform in 2011 as part of a large partnership with
Microsoft. The Lumia series by Nokia was the most famous series of Windows based Phone devices.
Representing more than 83% of total Windows based Phones purchased in June 2013, and Microsoft
gained Nokia's mobile phone business for just over €5.44 billion in April 2014, making the
subsidiary company “Microsoft Mobile” under Ex. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.
I have no love for Windows Phone. I've always found it to be more disturbing than useful. Today,
though with a mere 0.6 % of market share, Microsoft Windows Phone is in third place.
And such a little percentage of it admirers, it is possible too for Windows OS Phone can fall to the
fourth position or even lower. On the other hand, Windows 8.1 looks more promising and more potential
than previous versions. Microsoft has never hit a home run on mobile devices, on the contrary, we must
give them credit, the Company keeps struggling, and this is their best attempt so far.
Or, maybe possible, Microsoft will give up, and go for Android. Seriously I am not joking.
Microsoft already makes most of its mobile OS earning from Android. Thanks to patent licensing, and
I'm not the only one who's observed that Microsoft, via its Nokia subsidiary, already making Android
phones.
So, I'm left imaging Windows based Phone the favorite in staying in third place, I can't even
conceiving the world where Windows Phone could rise to second, at odds of number one to two.
As I've written this, what really bangs me is, while Android and iOS are clearly on the top, there are
really all kinds of possibilities in how the competition for third will end up. I really could see my current
two favorites companies, Samsung and Microsoft, both moving to pure Android Operating System and
then the competition for third genuinely would become wide open. It's going to be interesting to watch.
Place your bets now!
2.4 BLACKBERRY
By facilitating secure real-time push-email communications on wireless devices RIM released its
first BlackBerry devices in 1999. BlackBerry Messenger Services provide the integration of all
communications into a single inbox. RIM reported in September 2014, that the 200 millionth BlackBerry
smartphone was shipped. Until September 2014, there were more than 46 million active BlackBerry
service subscribers around the world. Most recently, RIM had had a platform transition, replacing its
name from BlackBerry and producing new devices on a quite new platform named "BlackBerry 10" and
released an Android smartphone, the “BlackBerry Priv” in November 2015.
2.5 SAILFISH OS
2.6 TIZEN OS
Tizen is a Linux-based OS is used for devices, like tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, in-vehicle
infotainment (IVI) devices, smart cameras, and laptops. Tizen projected within the Linux Foundation and
is run by a Technical Steering Group (TSG) a joint venture of Samsung and Intel with some others.
Samsung released the Samsung Gear 2 and then the Gear 2 Neo smartwatches in April 2014, running
Tizen Operating System.
Simultaneously, Samsung, after Apple, is the leading smartphone manufacturer in the globe and
the leading Android hardware company. The Samsung released Tizen Operating System based first
smartphone named “Samsung Z1” in Indian market on January 14, 2015.
So why has Samsung, who made Tizen foundation for its Gear Smartwatch, just released its first Tizen
phone, when they're already doing so well with Android?
I don't know. It's not unlikely to twist Android operating system according to your own needs.
Samsung already doing that for years and Amazon also for their tablets, anyone can make his own
product-specific version of Android Operating System.
If it were some other company instead of Samsung, I'd rate Tizen's chances very low. But, Samsung
seems committed to it and with their share of the market, they can make carriers, independent software
vendors (ISVs), and users all must pay attention.
So, with some hesitation, I give Tizen odds of one in three to hit the bull eye or taking the third
position of market share. It might also be possible that Samsung would pull the plug on Tizen at any time.
How Tizen future plays out, let us wait and see.
2.7 UBUNTU TOUCH
Ubuntu Touch developed by Canonical UK Ltd and Ubuntu Community. It also known as Ubuntu
Phone, is a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system.
Do you want to know a little secret that Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth and Ubuntu's founder, aware
about to develop a mobile operating system popular? Get the leading phone carriers and hardware
companies on board first, then release.
While I happen to consider Ubuntu Touch can be the next popular tablet and smartphone operating
system, its appealing interface and idea of making one operating system that will work on all platforms,
I know that plainly being technically cool is not enough to develop a product a hit. If it were, we did all
been using Betamax during the '90s in place of VHS on our VCRs at home.
No, what matters as well as market share is a concern is both technically good and powerful business
partnerships. Along with agreements in place with T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Verizon and Vodafone,
I can think Ubuntu Touch has a one in four hit at taking the third position.
2.8 SYMBIAN OS
Samsung BADA OS
Samsung announced Bada operating system, in November 2009 for smartphones. Samsung Wave
S8500 released in June 2010, was the first Bada-OS-based Mobile phone. In quarter 2 of 2011 Samsung
shipped 4.5 million phones running Bada Operating System. In 2013, Bada merged in Tizen having a
similar platform.
2.11 FIREFOX OS
In February 2012, Mozilla developed Firefox Operating System. Using open standards
and HTML5 applications, it was designed to a complete community-based system for mobile devices.
Alcatel One Touch Fire and ZTE Open was the first available Firefox OS phones. More companies have
partnered with Mozilla as of 2014, including Sony and Panasonic making smart TV with Firefox OS.
Mozilla is too serious to making Firefox Operating System a real competitor in the mobile Market
and wants to be a smartphone power. Mozilla's plan is to give users not so much a tablet or smartphone
experience as well as to give them a Web identity that they can access from a device powered by Firefox
OS. Device and its operating system are unimportant than what you can do with its access to Web services
in a way, it's similar from Google's Chromebook idea.
While Mozilla's taking on the growing smartphone and tablet world, Google, however, is going after
the moribund PC market. That said, Firefox OS already features thousands of apps, and is available in
multiple markets and claims having cleared the way to introduce a $25 smartphone with a chip partner.
All of this makes me consider Firefox Operating System has a potential to grow. Yet, I can only rate
its odds of taking the third position as no more than one in twenty.
2.12 PALM OS
Palm Continuous
Handspring established the Springboard GSM phone module with limited success in late 2001.
Handspring released the Palm OS Treo 270 smartphone in May 2002 that did not support Springboard,
with both featuring a full keyboard and touchscreen. The Treo had wireless web browsing, a contact
organizer, calendar, email, and mobile third-party app that could download or synchronized with a
computer. Palm Inc. purchased Handspring which launched the Treo-600 and continued releasing with
a few Treo devices using Windows Mobile. When Hewlett-Packard (HP) bought Palm Inc. in 2011, it
discontinued its webOS based tablet and smartphone and production.
2.13 WEBOS
2.14 MAEMO/MEEGO
Nokia MeeGo
From the source code of Moblin and Maemo (produced by Intel and Nokia respectively) MeeGo
operating system was created. Nokia used Maemo before that on some of its internet tablets and
smartphones like Nokia N810 and N900. MeeGo has originally envisioned to power a variety of devices
from smart TVs to netbooks, tablets to smartphones. However, Nokia N9 and Nokia N950 was the only
smartphones which used MeeGo v1.2 Harmattan. Following Nokia's decided in 2011 to cease MeeGo
development and move to Windows Phone OS. Following Nokia’s decision in September 2011 the Linux
Foundation canceled MeeGo too in favor to develop the Tizen.
3.0 SMARTPHONE FEATURES
It's easy to take smartphones - and the ways in which they make our lives easier - for granted. The
very word 'smart' in a smartphone has an endless number of significances for what that little device in
your hand is capable of. 'Smart' means life management, GPS, web browsing, touch screens, and voice
controls. Appreciation to the creativeness of particular smartphones producers, it can also mean gesture
controls, television remotes, and heartbeat sensors.
Software frequently takes a back to play new hardware, but the exterior of a smartphone only tells one
side of the story.
It's also the characteristics of the device that can make or break this device. Like Android and iOS
continue to develop, we can see hardware and software ideas working altogether more unitedly with every
new update.
Somehow, all of these phone features aren't available on any one single mobile device. Dear
smartphone makers, we won't tell if you simply copy and paste.
It shouldn't take having a half dozen smartphones to glean the benefits of Active Display, quick
charging, shake to redo, knock to wake, reachability, always-listening.
Here are what we deem to be best features across all smartphones.
Regarding smartphone features, we can easily classify this section in two parts Hardware and
Software. We would see here how a smartphone work and what is the importance of hardware and
software to make a smartphone smart?
The thought behind a system-on-a-chip, or SoC, is that all the vital components of a smartphone are
placed in a comparatively small area on the device. This minimizes the size of the mother or component
board required inside and also can assist make the smartphone itself faster and more battery efficient.
They also help minimize costs for setting up the product and can also be cheaper than an equable multi-
chip set-up.
I am more specifically seeing at the more vital parts of the processing inside the SoC as well as
obtainable SoC packages now a day, but you can see for the other parts of this section for more detailed
information on the memory, the graphics chip, and more.
Recently, many smartphone producers released their respective new devices, which doubtlessly
makes users feel deluged with options. Because of the release of new smartphones almost every week,
the smartphone ranking list based on processor chip performance has had the mind-blowing change!
Followed by HiSilicon Kirin 950, Apple A9 took the lead this time last year. And today, Samsung, Apple
and Qualcomm, and are competing for the enthronization. You must want to know which smartphone
processor chip is the most powerful one. Come, let’s have a look at the leading performance smartphone
Processor chips.
??Results in the data are average scores, not the highest ones. The actual running results may
fluctuate, which is quite a phenomenon.
??3.2.2 RANKING ACCORDING TO OVERALL PERFORMANCE
??According to the most recent ranking of top performance smartphone Processor chips, Qualcomm
Snapdragon 820 processor has won the first position, which is higher than that of Apple A9 which is at
number two. The performance of Samsung Exynos 8890 is also well, and is already close to Apple A9.
??Smartphones using Qualcomm Snapdragon 820-powered are Letv MAX Pro, Samsung Galaxy S7
Active, Mi5, Sony Xperia X Performance, LG G5 etc. currently, only one smartphone Samsung Galaxy
S7 is powered by Exynos 8890 Octa-core.
??The Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 & 650 also performed outstandingly, and as well as processor
performance is concerned Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 is already close to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 has already beat Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and brings new power to the
smartphone market of midrange devices. There is no MediaTek MT 6797-powered smartphone in the
market yet, MTk processor could not make it in the TOP-10 list.
??Samsung Galaxy A9 is the typical Qualcomm Snapdragon 652-powered mobile phone and Red Mi
Note3 is the typical Qualcomm Snapdragon 650-powered mobile phone.
??RANKING ACCORDING TO GPU PERFORMANCE
??Since the GPU performance is intimately related to the games performance and it has a direct
impact on users’ actual experience. Therefore nowadays, smartphones companies are attaching increasing
importance to the GPU performance. Currently, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (Adreno530), is the GPU
with the highest performance. Apple A9 (PowerVR GT7600) is again at the second position. And the
GPU performance of Samsung Exynos 8890 (Mali-T880 MP12) closely equals Apple A9. The GPU
performance of HiSilicon Kirin 950 (Mali-T880 MP4) is not good enough, and the outcome is similar to
Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (Adreno510) and Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (Adreno418).
??In fact, the GPU performance is also directly proportional to the resolution of your smartphone
screen. As 2K screen resolution become a development trend of high-end smartphones, and the
mainstream resolution is 1080P currently, and if strong GPU support does not exist, even 2K resolution
will still produce to worse user experience.
??Certainly, the factors that determine the performance of a smartphone is far more than GPU and
CPU. We must be fully mindful that nothing but the great performance of the processor chips is the base
of a prominent user experience! And without the foundation of strong performance, any user experience
will be a palaver, as a proverb says, “you can't make something out of nothing!”
??From these results, we can easily find out that Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 is leading according
to its chip performance. Although Apple not yet released his new processors, but the Apple A9 overall
performance is still very powerful. Relying on Exynos 8890, Samsung is competing Apple A9 in
overall performance. No doubt, the performance of Samsung Exynos 8890 processor is making a strong
impression.
Here is some detail of most popular Chip Processors for smartphones you must know about.
3.3 THE QUALCOMM CHIP PROCESSORS
3.3.1 SNAPDRAGON 821
The Qualcomm announced his new processor named Snapdragon 821 is now official and ready for
smartphones of next-generation. Google seems set to launch its two new smartphones the Pixel & Pixel
XL in October, with the Nexus name being withdrawn. New Google smartphones could use the flagship-
beating new Snapdragon 821 processor.
Qualcomm had not mentioned so many details in their declaration for their newest high-end chipset
but claimed that it delivers a 10% higher performance (CPU speeds up to 2.4GHz) over the Snapdragon
820. Think of the 821 more powerful than 820, but one that must also assist welcome in Google’s
Daydream (Virtual Reality) VR program.
Qualcomm further said to look for Snapdragon 821 powered devices in the 2nd half of 2016. And we
are already in the 2nd half, so we would see the first any day now.
3.3.2 SNAPDRAGON 820
You can and will see the Snapdragon 820 in a lot of tablets and smartphones in the year of 2016.
A long leap ahead from the Snapdragon 810, was facing issues from the beginning, the 820 is the most
powerful Processor chipset on market yet, clearing the floor with both Samsung’s Exynos 8890 and
Apple’s A9 chipset and.
Despite this, all Qualcomm still remained the major holder of the smartphone marketplace.
“Samsung’s new 14nm LPP process provides up to 15% less power consumption and 15 % higher
speed over the previous 14nm LPE process through advancements in process optimization and transistor
structure. In addition, use of fully depleted FinFET transistors brings richer manufacturing capabilities to
defeat scaling restrictions.”
Snapdragon 820 packs an Adreno 530 GPU, which predicts a performance uplift in the region of 40%
increase. It will also utilize the new LPDDR4 RAM memory standard and support a boat of new hardware
capabilities like DSLR-like photography and 4K video at 60fps.
Snapdragon 820 chipset also sees the reintroduction of Qualcomm's custom core architecture. And
they've even got a new name...
3.3.3 THE SNAPDRAGON 820 WITH KRYO
Not a great information revealed about this except it being 64-bit and part of Qualcomm’s Zeroth
cognitive computing program.
What is cognitive computing? Well, it is a bit full-on in very simple terms it is essentially an effort to
make a computer processor, in terms of efficiency, act just like the human brain. On a practical level, it
also has the potential to be more intelligent and to be able to better anticipate a users’ requirement.
For example, this can demonstrate you every photo featuring a specific person. In a theoretical
way, a system like this could be operated with a front-facing camera to permit a device to adapt to the
requirements of whoever is operating it, and this can be generalized to other always-on sensors connected
with software apps. There is been more than a hint that this technology is purposed at bringing the so-
called Internet of Things like household goods and smart appliances to life as a genuinely workable
proposition because it has the potential of reducing mundane user interaction for things (like logging into
accounts). If you enter into your home or switch on your smartphone and it just does all the things you
care, how much better is that? The company even referred the possibility of Zeroth recognizing facial
expressions, therefore in a theoretical way, if your smartphone starts playing a video or audio you don’t
like it could understand straight away and skip it just from that grimace you make.
A report from ExtremeTech shows how this functionality will be transferred from one smartphone to
another via Zeroth:
“Qualcomm is saying that the Zeroth program will have the potential to learn from its users’ actions
and can transfer that knowledge between different smartphone, even when the user upgrades this device.
The company is delivering Zeroth a bit like an intelligent administrator that knows your needs before
you do, and can leverage its own capabilities and measurements to take a better picture; switch smartly
between Bluetooth, cellular data, and WiFi depending on which signals are the greater. Zeroth is also
supposedly able to recognize faces, expressions, and gestures, and smartly sensing its own environment.”
3.3.4 SNAPDRAGON 820 WILL SUPPORT 600MBPS LTE-A SPEEDS
You can anticipate, the Snapdragon 820 operates LTE-A. But unlike the previous chipset this version
will support up to 600Mbps, a mega uplift over previous year’s 450Mbps record. This becomes possible
by Qualcomm’s newly upgraded modem X12 LTE, which also blows uplink speeds to 150Mbps.
“Snapdragon 820 is the first publicly announced chipset processor for use in smartphones to support
LTE Category 13 in the uplink and Category12 in the downlink,” said company at launch, “providing up
to 200 percent increase in uploading and 33 percent in downloading speed improvement over its previous
versions.
The processor also provided with LTE support for 4x4 Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO), will enable
double download output speeds on single LTE platform, meaning less waiting around and downloads
faster.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…
The Snapdragon 820 also provides a stack of new technologies making your Wi-Fi and LTE
connections work more efficiently together. Qualcomm outlined the below at launch:
LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U). The Snapdragon 820 processor LTE-U support when paired with the
WTR3950, increasing mobile network throughput and user capacity by combining LTE in unlicensed and
licensed bands.
LTE and Wi-Fi Link combination (LWA). LWA is another procedure of aggregating unlicensed
and licensed spectrum. The processor is designed to permit smartphone operators to use their Wi-Fi
infrastructure to increase licensed LTE network throughput with unlicensed spectrum capacity.
Next-generation Wi-Fi calling. The modem X12 LTE supports next-generation HD Video over LTE
(ViLTE) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) communication services applying the IP Multimedia Subsystem,
supporting for call continuity between Wi-Fi and LTE. Making use of the knowledgeable potentials of
Qualcomm® Zeroth™, the modem X12 LTE monitors real-time Wi-Fi quality to determine when and if
to shift the call from Wi-Fi to LTE or back.
Antenna sharing. The modem X12 LTE backs various antenna sharing schemes between Wi-Fi and
LTE, making easier to design for manufacturers to provide devices with advanced technologies like
2-stream Wi-Fi, 4x4 LTE MIMO, and LTE-U, with minimal performance impact and attractive form
factors on either technology.
3.3.5 DSLR-LIKE PHOTOGRAPHY
New 14nm Spectra ISP unit and new Adreno 530 GPU which the Qualcomm claims will deliver
DSLR-like photography to smartphones in 2016.
Qualcomm’s brand new Adreno 530 and Adreno 510 GPUs, which, according to the representatives,
represent a huge step forward in features, overall performance, and power efficiency.
There is two distinct Adreno 5xx GPUs released inside 2015/16, the Adreno 510 inside the
Snapdragon 620/618 and the Adreno 530 inside the Snapdragon 820 processors.
These new GPUs the most notable of which are as follows:
40% faster performance and 40% lower power consumption for both graphics and GPGPU compute
as compared to the Adreno 430;
OpenGL ES 3.1+AEP (Android Extension Pack) support, Renderscript, as well as the new OpenCL
2.0 and Vulkan standards (Vulkan, in case you were wondering, enables multi-threaded performance
and minimizes driver overhead on mobile devices; also support for 64-bit virtual addressing, intending
efficient co-processing and shared virtual memory (SVM) with 64 bit CPUs;
Fine-grain new rendering, power management, compression and compositing techniques to enable
higher performance, reduced DRAM bandwidth at lower power consumption; And 4K HEVC video
support at 60fps.
3.3.6 QUALCOMM SPECTRA: UNBEATABLE TECHNOLOGY FOR MOBILE
PHOTOGRAPHY?
By Launching Spectra a new Image Signal Processor it will bring in a lot of new capabilities
and features to smartphones, (Virtual Reality) VR devices and a whole stack of other Snapdragon
820-powered gizmos in 2016.
But the prime benefit will be DSLR-like photography on smartphone devices. It is a Big deal for
mobile consumers and makers. According to Qualcomm, Today’s imaging technology on phones is
decent, but it’s not great. Spectra is designed to improve this and make the camera technology aboard
2016 flagship smartphones truly special.
Spectra will provide support for up to three cameras simultaneously i.e. two rear facing and one facing
the user, as well as with zero shutter lag sensors operating at 30 frames-per-second with a 25MP.
Improved photos with Qualcomm Spectra ISP’s multi-sensor fusion algorithms and flexible hybrid
autofocus framework supporting next generation computational photography.
When compared to earlier versions it has higher throughput, better noise immunity and improved
power efficiency via latest compression technologies and use of the advance MIPI serial C-PHY interface.
Next-generation Computer Vision and further use cases via direct-to-DSP pre-processing capabilities
and raw Bayer data streaming.
You will enjoy the power of Snapdragon 820 chipset with a lot of tablets and smartphones this year.
Following are the most smartphones that are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.
1) Samsung Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 EDGE (Only in certain regions).
2) Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
3) LG G5
4) LG V20
5) HTC 10
6) OnePlus 3
7) Lenovo Moto Z & Moto Z Force (Droid Editions)
8) Sony Xperia X Performance
9) Let Le Max Pro
10) Xiaomi Mi 5 & Mi 5 Pro
11) ZTE Axon 7
12) ZTE Nubia
13) LeEco Le Max 2
14) ZUK Z2 & ZUK Z2 Pro
15) HP Elite X3
16) Vivo XPlay 5
17) ASUS ZenFone 3 Delux
18) Moto Droid Turbo 2
19) Samsung Galaxy Note 7
And may more.
In fact, the 14nm FinFET (Process by Samsung) is not a true 14nm process, it does constitute a die
shrink. For instance, taking the product off
(The M1 pitch X Gate pitch)/Poly pitch
According to Samsung Integrating custom-designed CPU cores for unrivaled performance and
incredibly fast LTE Cat. 12/13 modem, the new Exynos 8 Octa will bring the most exciting mobile
experience to Galaxy S7 users.
The 64-bit custom CPU cores in the Exynos 8 Octa have been designed to deliver unparalleled
performance and power efficiency. Built on Samsung’s 2nd generation 14nm FinFET process, the Exynos
8 Octa delivers improvements in performance by more than 30 percent and in power efficiency by 10
percent, compared to its predecessor, the Exynos 7 Octa 7420.
The Exynos 8 Octa also integrates the most advanced LTE Rel.12 Cat.12/13 modem for cutting-edge
speed in connectivity. It offers downlink speed of up to 600Mbps (Cat.12) and an upload speed of up to
150Mbps (Cat.13) with carrier aggregation, which will transform mobile user experience.
3.5.1 ENHANCED PERFORMANCE & BETTER POWER EFFICIENCY
Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, launched the Exynos 8
Octa, in Spain in February 2016. On 14nm FinFET technology it is Samsung’s 2nd generation premium
mobile processor chipset, used in latest Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
Including Samsung custom-designed CPU core based on 64-bit ARMv8 architecture, Exynos 8 Octa
has eight CPU cores. Compared to its predecessor the Exynos 7 Octa it provides over 10 percent in
power efficiency and 30 percent improvement in performance. SCI (Samsung Coherent Interconnect)
technology, presented cache-coherency between Samsung’s Cortex-A53 cores and custom CPU. The
processor fully utilizes benefits of big.LITTLE processing for offering the perfect balance of efficiency
and performance.
3.5.2 POWER & PLAY
Exynos 8 Octa engages ARM‘s latest GPU, Mali T880, for graphic-intensive user interface (UI), life-
like virtual reality experience and 3D gaming. With 4K UHD video playback and recording capabilities,
and up to 4K UHD (4096x2160) & WQUXGA (3840x2400) display resolution support, users can benefit
life like Visual experience.
3.5.4 CONNECTIVITY WITH THE LTE-ADVANCED MODEM
Exynos 8890 is an LTE-Advanced Category 12/13 Modem integrated one-chip result that supports
the uplink speed of up to 150Mbps as well as downlink speed of up to 600Mbps. Exynos 8 Octa supports
FDD-TDD joint carrier aggregation for more flexible network utilization leading in authentic connectivity
for seamless mobile network experiences.
3.5.5 PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: 2.3 GHz Quad (Custom Core) + 1.06 GHz Quad (Cortex-A53)
GPU: Mali-T880 MP12
Process: 14nm FinFET Process
Camera: Front 13Mp/Rear 24Mb @30fps
Video: 4K Video Capture and Playback/Up to 1080p 320fps/H.265 (HEVC) Support
LTE: LTE Category 12 (600Mbps DL), Category 13 (150Mbps UL) / FDD-TDD
Joint Carrier Aggregation
Storage: eMMC 5.1/UFS 2.0
Memory: LPDDR4
Display: Up to WQUXGA (3840x2400) / 4K UHD (4096x2160) Support
"The processor is the brain of the smartphone," explains Nick Stam, director of technical marketing at
Nvidia. "Just like a regular desktop or laptop, these devices are, at the highest level, computers, and like
computers, they have a processor to do all the basic calculations and to execute code."
There are a lot of features to consider of when you are planning to buy a new smartphone, like camera,
screen size, keyboard or no keyboard, operating system. But one main and a very basic feature that more
buyers are starting to pay attention is the processor. There is, no doubt, in part due to the recent influx
of Octa-core, Snapdragon 820, Apple A10, Exynos 8890 and Kirin 955 powered smartphones like the
HTC One A9, Huawei Honor 7, iPhone 7, Sony Xperia Z5, Motorola Moto X Play, LG G5 and Samsung
Galaxy S7.
4.0 SMARTPHONE GRAPHICS
Where is the graphics processor located?
As found in Processor or SoCs section you would have come upon that the actual processing cores
are just the part of the overall system-on-a-chip that builds the basis of all modern smartphones. With said
other subsystems and processing cores in the SoC you can find the graphics processing unit, or GPU, in
very close propinquity to the processor chipset.
The processor is quite a tiny chip that is used on the motherboard of a device, and as the GPU is
actually built-in in this chipset, apparently finding the GPU while looking at the insides of a smartphone
is near to impossible.
The GPU is the "2D/3D Graphics Processor" part of the Tegra 2 SoC above
Of course, there is a reason as the two chips in a smartphone are built in the same chipset. First, you’ll
see that tablets and smartphones don’t have a large amount of internal space to work, so having vital
elements bundled together gives the device’s motherboard to be small in size and the larger space for the
battery. Second, building the both components as one keeps down the heat production of the smartphone
as it’s more concentrated in the internal environment and can utilize minimum power through fastened
tightly integrating the two. At last, it saves costs of production to build one chipset instead of two.
4.1 THE GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT (GPU)
The utilization of the GPU depends on many factors: the operating system used and also the design
of the system-on-a-chip on the device. For the first one, if the SoC doesn’t take place to have a specific
media decoding chip then the GPU might be used to handle high-resolution games and videos. There is
also be possible that compatible duties are off-loaded to the GPU so the huge power intensive CPU cores
able to clock themselves down.
Very first and foremost the graphics processing unit (GPU) utilize entirely for all 3D rendering in
applications and games. For instance, the Cortex processing cores are usually not manufactured to handle
these types of jobs and in all operating systems the GPU will take over from the CPU to cover the
rendering more efficiently. The CPU helps out for specific calculations while rendering 3D models on
display particularly for games, but the prime task will be done by the GPU.
Most of the graphics cores also support 2D rendering in specific areas: things like picture zooming
and interface animations are two good examples. The processor also can usually responsible for these
tasks so the use of GPU is usually up to the operating system used on the smartphone device.
Playing Asphalt 6: Adrenaline on this Galaxy Note would be very difficult without a GPU
The GPU has a major part in rendering the main interface and the other animation-heavy UIs, leaving
with a very smooth and fine experience for the users.
You must have discovered, iOS on the iPhone and iPod Touch is very smoth due to it renders most
interface components utilizing the GPU. Apple has to work only with a small choice of hardware, so
they can tightly integrate the OS to what is really available hardware wise, so there were fewer problems
achieving GPU acceleration to the task.
A lot of GPUs are available along with SoCs, some significant are as under;
4.1.1 QUALCOMM GPUs
This is a look into the architecture of the PowerVR SGX 5XT series
Imagination Technologies is the second largest manufacturer graphics chipsets for smartphone, which
created the PowerVR line of smartphone GPUs. They designed many series of PowerVR GPUs, used
products from the PowerVR 5XT or SGX 5 series.
You can find PowerVR GPUs into a lot of smartphone devices because they are licensed to other
SoC manufactures. PowerVR GPUs used exclusively by TI OMAP chipsets, and you can see them
in the Apple A4 and A5 even in some older Samsung Exynos chipsets. Even in low-end notebook
computers you can also find them alongside Intel x86 processors.
On clock speed at 200 MHz, the SGX530 is able to 1.6 GFLOPS. The SGX535 used in the iPhone 4
and iPhone 3GS is a smaller version of the SGX530 it support DirectX 9.0c and the 530 does not, but
retains the same performance.
For smartphones PowerVr GT7XT is the fastest GPU series. It is used by many Apple product like
iPad Air 2, A9 and A10 SoC chipset which is placed inside Iphone 7 and 7 plus. It is part of a powerful
GPU series 7XT which is based on unified shader architecture with 6 clusters that integrate 192 (FP16)
/ 384 ((FP32) ALU cores upcoming model has 16 clusters and 512-1024 ALU cores. Compare to any
6XT GPU it is much more efficient and improved performance. It is more energy efficient thanks to 3D
transistors and improved 14/16 nm fabrication process.
A package-on-package set-up. The upper die would be the RAM and the lower is SoC.
If you are thinking where the RAM normally can be found, you’ll locate it in almost all cases, at once
on the top of the processor or SoC and is known as a package-on-package (PoP) set-up. This gives up the
SoC close proximity means less power consumption, less heat output and direct access to the RAM. If you
can’t find it on SoC because of not enough space on top, you can find the remaining RAM in neighboring
chips often.
5.1.1 THE BIGGER THE BETTER
First and the most important aspect when it comes to looking for to buy a smartphone is the size of
RAM. It’s fairly straightforward to look the more is better, as the bigger is the capacity the more data
can be stored and accessed promptly by other subsystems. You shouldn’t be worried about larger memory
using more power, consuming batteries fast, because when it does, this is only a small fraction of the
system power and is surpassed very easily by the processor and display’s needs.
Along with a smart operating system, voluminous amounts of RAM isn’t necessary. Smartphone
devise’s apps normally utilize a small amount of RAM i.e. around 50 MB, and therefore lots of these apps
can be run at the same time. The Operating System decides during multitasking to hang the applications
that are less important or not being used at that time, saving memory (or RAM) and freeing it up to
ready for use for other important applications. That’s why Windows Phones seem to be so responsive and
smooth when the smartphone it runs, have RAM of 512 MB only.
Nevertheless, that’s not to say that large RAMs aren’t fruitful. Games that have 3D in particular,
can take large amounts of RAM, storing 3D models, game textures, sound and game graphics. While
bearing 512 MB may look smooth for operating the operating system and basic applications, it may not
be enough to store game data without frequent loading screens and falling back to annoying in high-end
high-resolution heavy data bearing games.
Windows Phone is uncommon in that field as there are few devices with a user accessible microSD
card slot. Nevertheless, any cards put in the phone slot bear heavy security features activated
automatically resulting the card cannot be read in other smartphones, other devices or in your laptop,
allowing management software as the only procedure to replace what is on your smartphone. But Proper
removable storage support for users is to be launching in a future Windows Phone updates.
As well as Android phones are concerned there are two effectuations of user removable storage: it is
either an extension to the internal user accessible storage or the only user accessible storage. If it extends
what is already provided, there must be a split system partition for the external SD card such as /mmc or
/sd-ext that few apps, such as video players and music can approach. Frequently, apps that download files
to the “External SD card” will in fact download to the internal storage in places where there both storages
available, unless there is an option provided by the operating system.
Standard SD and MicroSD cards are accessible in different size classes. For example, the original SD
design appropriated cards up to 2 GB in capacity, and then SDHC (SD High Capacity) enhanced the limit
up to 32 GB. And recently SDXC (SD Extended Capacity) further increases the capacity limit all the way
up to 2 TB, but SDXC cards are not supported in most of the new smartphones devices, resulting in the
maximum expansion of storage rests at 128 GB.
Apart from capacity or size, the other significant feature to count when buying a microSD card for
your smartphone device is the speed, is declared as a “Class” on the package. Fortunately, the class
number is easy to interpret as it directly represents the minimum writing speed of the specific card in
Megabyte per Second or MB/s. A card that rated as Class 6 will be able to write at a minimum speed of 6
MB/s, and Class 10 at 10 MB/s.
Classes may go as high as the maker need to, within the specifications of the card, and normally the
higher class results the card will be more costly but the performance will be better.
6.0 SMARTPHONE DISPLAYS
In this section we’ll take a look at the all-important display on smartphones; the differences in
resolution and subpixel, which technology is best, layout and so forth.
The Sony Xperia S features a standard TN TFT LCD, but it's one of the better ones
The outclass type of TN LCD panel used by the Samsung/Sony-made S-LCD or Super LCD, which
has substantially better color reproduction and contrast levels as compared to the standard TN panels.
These displays types started coming along in the HTC Desire as an alternate for AMOLEDs when supply
became short in the market and superseded by Super LCD 2 displays type.
6.1.2 IPS OR IN-PLANE SWITCHING LCD
Higher end smartphones preferred using IPS LCD panel type of display. Because it uses a more
coordinated procedure of crystal cell twining, which provides a better quality display. IPS LCD
panels have the main advantages over TN panels which are a significantly truer color reproduction
and better viewing angles because the fashion the panel acts minimize off-angle color shift. Advanced
generation IPS panels also provide much better contrast ratios than TN panels, which make them in some
examples, competitive with AMOLED technology.
Super LCD 2 display on the HTC One X is an IPS-type TFT LCD
Most IPS panels used in smartphones devices are technically either Advanced Super IPS (AS-IPS) or
Super-IPS (S-IPS) and in few cases proprietary technology that betters on different features of IPS panels.
From time to time smartphone fabricators will specify their panels as "TFT IPS LCD", or "IPS LCD" but
in some cases they will use a particular brand name like Apple and Sony.
6.1.3 LCD PANELS: PROS AND CONS
It's appropriate to demonstrate that what the good and bad features about TN and IPS LCD type of
panel.
Good Features
Low cost to manufacture
IPS panels provide exact color reproduction
Low chance of color shifts or color tinting
Can be clearly readable and bright outside
Bad Features
Because of the requirement for a backlight, solid black levels and huge contrast ratios are difficult to
attain
TN panels provide bad viewing angles
In few cases, they are physically thick and more power consuming
RGB stripe subpixel layout. Notice that each green, blue and red subpixel forms a square, and also
note the small black specs which are the transistors
Almost all personal computer displays have red, green and blue colored subpixels, which are
combined together employing the RGB color model to produce a big amount of composite colors. Every
subpixel must be able to 256 color intensity levels, 0 has the subpixel ‘off’, 128 stands for color half-
on and 255 is full strength. As there are three colored subpixels all capable of 256 levels, this resulted
altogether in producing 16,777,216 possible colors in every one pixel on display.
To produce these 16.78 million colors you require one of each of the three RGB subpixels, the
preferable method is all three of these formatted in a square or rectangle, and this rectangle or square
becomes a pixel. This is called the "RGB stripe" procedure, and it's globally used in LCD monitors as it
gives the highest level of clarity and the most accurate color reproduction.
There are some issues with the AMOLED technology that must be overcome like
the inconsistencies between the different subpixel lifespans and intensities. There is also one more issue:
it's presently much difficult to develop a high-density AMOLED display at a sensible price due to the
technology to manufacture extremely small subpixels isn't common there yet, on the other hand with
LCDs, manufacturing tiny subpixels is much easier and cheaper.
For instance Samsung's trademark PenTile subpixel matrix. Alternatively, to add combine all three
RGB subpixels into a pixel, the PenTile RGBG matrix combines a green subpixel with replacing blue and
red subpixels; resulting in that there are technically only two subpixels in one pixel in a PenTile RGBG
matrix as compared to three in an RGB stripe structure.
PenTile subpixel matrix; note that a single, square pixel has a green subpixel but alternating red/
blue subpixels
Due to the science of the human eye and its different sensibilities to different frequencies of light, a
PenTile matrix display is still able to deliver effectively the same colors as the conventional RGB stripe
using unique subpixel rendering. As it uses fewer subpixels in one pixel, this also provides the display to
be heavier than if it were created using the RGB stripe procedure, and in some scenario, it consumes less
power. At last, because of there being less blue subpixels, the display must last longer than a conventional
design AMOLED using the same organic blue-light-emitting diode.
Certainly, users who complain about PenTile matrices have a point. Actually, there are only two
subpixels in one pixel technically brings down the subpixel resolution of the display: for instance, a
1280x720 display employing the RGB stripe layout has 2.76 million subpixels, on the other hand, a 720p
PenTile display provide 1.84 million subpixels; 0.92 million lesser. In certain situations the difference
is obtrusive but most of the time subpixel rendering compensates for this.
On hard edges, like the edge of an interface element or crisp text, the PenTile matrix mostly has to
"borrow" subpixels from other existing pixels to make a picture that is of the exact color. This is most
detectable when looking at the left edge of a white text or icon display, where there seem to be tiny red
dots along the corner, or along high-contrast lines, where the line either appears not frosty or - in the case
of blue/red lines as compared to green lines - dotty.
Generally speaking, you have to give pretty much attention to the display to discover these
imperfections, but comparing a PenTile display to an RGB stripe display, the text furnishing on the
latter is perceptibly clearer at a normal reading distance. The good thing though is PenTile displays are
frequently today only used on smartphone devices along with a PPI (pixel per Inch) density of 250 or
more, and as you advance 300 PPI it will progressively hard to observe the problems.
It would obviously be nice to buy a high-density RGB stripe AMOLED, and Samsung even
acknowledges its Super AMOLED Plus displays are good, so in the near future, we'll probably see
components and technology make better so they can eliminate off the awful PenTile matrix.
A 4.3-inch 720p display has a density of 342 PPI, Even magnified, individual pixels are hard to
determine.
As advancement in display technologies, precisely in the AMOLED case, it has a potential to deliver
high pixel densities in all positions. Most new coming high-end smartphones devices are using a high-
density display, as with few mid-range smartphones, but it's still obviously something to look for in new
tablets.
6.5 ADDING TOUCH
The last part of the display part in a smartphone device is the significant touchscreen, more correctly
known as the touch digitizer layer. Fortunately, pretty much almost all smartphones nowadays utilize
capacitive touch sensors, except for really cheap and terrible one, instead of the resistive touch sensors
used in earlier devices. There is no use to discuss the resistive touchscreens at this time as these are almost
disappearing from the market.
The capacitive sensing digitizer layer most often uses PCT (Projected Capacitive Touch) technology,
which looks the materials utilize in the sensing engraved into the layer as a grid. When a voltage is
applied that grid projects an electrostatic field, and when a human finger which is electrically conductive,
contacts the area occupied by this grid, the electrostatic field is changed. The controller then establishes
the position based on sensors, of the finger and other components.
Only conductive materials can affect the electrostatic field, so the things like human skin reacts on
capacitive touchscreens but plastic and cloth do not. Nevertheless, depending upon the strength of the
sensors and field, and the fact that the field is slightly three-dimensional, it is also possible on some
occasions to activate the touchscreen through thin cloth such as gloves and without actually touching the
screen.
Another wireless technology is Bluetooth but designed to be utilized over much smaller areas as
compared than Wi-Fi. The most general use is for wireless Bluetooth earpieces and headphones, but it is
also used by 'pairing' with another device to transfer data over very short distances.
You will find it is supported on all smartphones as well as laptops, tablets and some other devices.
7.1.3 WI-FI AND ITS USAGE
A lot of advanced devices, including smartphones, equipped with the capability to communicate to
other devices over a WLAN or 'wireless local area network'. The set of standards for this method of
communicating is called IEEE 802. 11, and Wi-Fi Alliance the trade group lets any item conforming to
its certification process carry the Wi-Fi logo, therefore the fact Wi-Fi is nowadays is the commonest of
the terms employed to describe this type of connectivity.
When it comes to smartphone usage, Wi-Fi is normally associated with 'hotspots', places like stations,
airports and cafes etc. where you can go online through your tablet, laptop or smartphone. Wi-Fi is also
common in offices and homes because of the wireless broadband routers, while aspirational projects
have seen very larger areas covered by growingly massive Wi-Fi networks: for instance, London had one
mighty Wi-Fi for the Olympic Games 2012.
Wi-Fi supported by almost all of smartphones. Many of you may never utilize it, particularly if you
don't transfer much data traffic with your smartphone, like web browsing. Even if, you do, it may save a
plenty of money during, sometimes giving you a better and faster broadband connection when you are in
a Wi-Fi hotspot range.
If you plan Wi-Fi might be a big count of your smartphone, you have to look out for a network who
offer up either has a good selection of Wi-Fi hotspots or free Wi-Fi on its roll. But remember one thing, a
lot of Wi-Fi hotspots will still charge you extra to use it, they're not all created equal.
7.1.3.1 WIFI DIRECT
Bluetooth, you know that well too, and also use it quite often. WiFi, you know it well, and use it
every day. If you combine all the best features of the both, that's WiFi Direct.
So, there is this thing called WiFi. You have likely listened to it and you believably use it quite a lot,
perhaps even now. This is a wireless communication technology that has a lot of uses, but it is commonly
used to access the Internet. But there are options when you don't require any Internet connection, just
want to pair two smartphones and other devices and share some files or data between them, like print your
document on a printer or send an image. Fortunately, there is a technology just for that tasks, called WiFi
Direct.
The requirement of wirelessly sending data to nearby devices without the use of any other hardware
is not a new idea. Bluetooth was the one of the first and most widespread solutions around 1998. It is
awesome to connect your peripherals to a computer like keyboards or mice via Bluetooth or using a
wireless headset, as these connections don't need fast data transfers. Setting up Bluetooth is not hassle-
free and it is not a fast technology either.
But WiFi is quite different, it has high data transfer speeds, as well as much easier to configure. It
is why WiFi Direct was designed. Thanks to the much easier configuration make it a technology for
wireless and fast transfers of files between devices. With WiFi Direct you can connect basically anything
wirelessly.
Intel was the first big company to support WiFi Direct. For their Centrino 2 platform in 2008, they
introduced the new standard.
With launching Android 4.0 in 2013, Google introduced WiFi Direct support for their devices.
You might confuse ad-hoc wireless connections with WiFi Direct, but these both are quite different.
Ad-hoc connections also combined two computers wirelessly, but they have a speed limit of 11 Mbps and
much harder to set up.
The main ideas to develop the WiFi Direct standard was quite simple: make it just as faster as WiFi
connection, have it support all sort of services and make it easy to set up. It doesn't have any drawbacks
since WiFi Direct is based on "regular" WiFi.
The way it works is rather simple, one device locates the other like it would locate a wireless network,
you push a button or enter a password, and yes the devices are connected. No need to put up with any
of the problems Bluetooth has, match long numeric codes and set up visibility. And best it all, only one
device has to be the standard of WiFi Direct.
Basically, when you pair two devices via WiFi Direct, First one creates an access point like a router
and the second device connects to the first. And it's all automatic you don't have a need to do it manually.
Depending on what sort of devices are connected the available features vary, play movies or music on a
TV from a smartphone or music player, send files from a smartphone to a computer, send pictures to a
digital picture frame or you can print to a wireless printer. The possibilities are limitless.
You can forget about passwords, WiFi Direct based on WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) a simple way to
securely connect two devices via WiFi. You only have to press a button or enter a number displayed on
screen just like with modern routers and the devices connect.
With its much higher transfer speeds, longer range and simple setup for wireless file transfers between
two devices, WiFi Direct is the best option than Bluetooth. Range and setup also make it a great
replacement for Bluetooth in other areas, like peripheral connection. Certainly, the technology is quite
new, therefore this might take some time to happen, but we'll see.
7.1.3.2 WI-FI HOTSPOT/TETHERING
Connect your laptop or tablet to your smartphone and get internet access on the move. In this section,
we explicate everything you need to use your smartphone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
If you own a Tablet or a Smart TV with 4G or 3G connectivity, you will likely be connected to the
Internet, provided by your mobile network, through your smartphone.
Smartphone's small screen isn't as good as a tablet's for streaming videos and browsing the web,
though. It's still possible to share the data connection with your Wi-Fi-only a laptop or tablet by making
your smartphone a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
This setup is called internet sharing or tethering, and almost all smartphones equipped with this
feature.
'Tethering' means the same thing no matter what OS on a smartphone you are using. The only thing
count is how you enable it on each platform.
Regardless of the pairing method, its prime important to check first whether your mobile network
tariff allows tethering, before making your smartphone a Wi-Fi hotspot. In some cases, the mobile
network operator can prevent the option from displaying on your handset screen if tethering isn't part of
the deal.
It's physically possible to set up hotspot but if it's not part of your tariff you even being cut off or find
yourself with a warning for breaking the rules. Some operators are more indulgent than others, but always
make sure if you're in doubt.
If you haven't bought a tablet, and you are considering buying one with 4G or 3G support, then you
have to get a data-only SIM card for it, and either pay as you go for this separate tariff or pay monthly.
You can invest in a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, also called a MiFi. These are essentially wireless routers,
battery powered devices, into which you insert a SIM card, just as you would a 4G or 3G tablet. MiFi cost
you some or might come with a data SIM as part of a package.
The tethering process involves enabling the hotspot option on your smartphone, configure wireless
security with a password to keep other people piggybacking on your connection, then pairing your tablet
or laptop to the wireless network.
You have to enter the password the very first time you connect, but on subsequent time, your device
should connect automatically. If you have a MiFi dongle the process will be the same.
On your smartphone, always disable the hotspot when you're not utilizing it as this will not only save
your money with unnecessary data usage but prolong the battery life of your device also.
7.1.4 GPS SMARTPHONE NAVIGATION
GPS stand for 'Global Positioning System' is used to spot your location via satellite, allowing you
to use a smartphone as a sat nav or (Satellite Navigation). Standard GPS is fine, but if it's something
you'll be using a lot it's probably worth keeping an eye out for a smartphone equipped with A-GPS, which
should be on any model made in the last few years or a GPS. This 'Assisted' GPS uses data connectivity
to improve accuracy and performance.
7.1.5 TRIBAND QUAD-BAND ROAMING
Mobile networks around the world operate on different frequencies resulting that if you buy a
smartphone which doesn't operate on a specific 'band' or frequency it may not function in certain
countries.
If you're within North or South America, Canada, or the Caribbean you'll require a tri-band handset
that adds the 1900 MHz frequency. And if you head to most parts of Europe, you'll find that any
smartphone made to European specification (900MHz and 1800MHz) and dual-band should suffice.
Nevertheless, some areas of the Caribbean, Central, and South America use 850MHz, for those areas,
you'll need a smartphone which has a quadband.
If you are in doubt, check the specific country you're going to. This link of Wikipedia is might be
useful, but always to be sure to double check your information somewhere else too.
Once you've purchased a smartphone you can want to use abroad, be sure to ask about mobile data
roaming before you start communication, if you used it for internet access smartphone roaming can be
expensive!
7.1.6 HDMI CONNECTIVITY
HDMI-equipped smartphones to let you watch HD videos recorded from your smartphone to your
HDTV. Actually, original HDMI ports were too big for cell phones but because of the introduction of
the smaller Micro- (Type D) and Mini- (Type C) HDMI cables did it possible for smartphone devices
producers to start the HDMI phone era.
Today, different software and technologies are making it possible for smartphones and mostly HD
smartphones to broadcast high-definition content via HDMI. Today smartphones are available in the
market with HDMI port that let you watch, record and capture HD videos and pictures on any HDMI-
enabled device and watch it on HDTV.
7.1.7 DLNA CONNECTIVITY
The DLNA abbreviated for Digital Living Network Alliance is a non-profit trade organization, Sony
started it way back in 2003. DLNA defines standards that enable devices to share contents like music,
video and photos and much more with each other, and it has a lot of members companies responsible for
more than 4 billion different DLNA Certified devices.
DLNA is created to work as a bridge between your various types of devices, so you can play an
MP3 file from your smartphone on your stereo, watch an HD movie from your smartphone or send shots
from the family photo album to your wireless printer via your tablet or your laptop on your big-screen
HDTV. Think of it as a kind of home cloud: it shouldn't matter where your media is or what device you're
currently holding; with DLNA, whatever you want should come to whatever you're using and wherever
you are.
As you might expect, DLNA hardware is designed to work on a home network. It doesn't matter
whether that network is wired or wireless, even though with Wi-Fi you'll require assuring that for what
you want to do, your network must have enough bandwidth. We'd recommend 802.11n Wi-Fi for serious
home sharing.
7.1.8 NFC CONNECTIVITY
Do you aware, what causes tap-and-go services like Google Wallet Amiibo and Apple Pay work? It
looks like it is pure magic.
NFC is a method of wireless data transfer that locate and then enables technology in close proximity
to communicate without an internet connection. It works automatically, fast and easy.
7.1.8.1 HOW DOES NFC WORK?
The technology involved in NFC is misleadingly simple. Evolved from RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) technology, an NFC chip works as one part of a wireless link. A small quantity of data
between two devices can transfer when placed a few inches from each other, once it's activated by another
chip.
Femtocells are small base stations that can connect to your fixed-line broadband connection at work
or at home, utilize your internet line to boost your mobile phone network signals.
Femtocell technology has arrived a while ago but has largely failed to capture on at the consumer
level. In major cases, femtocells have a small range of appeal, but they can prove life-saver, if your home
or office undergo from terrible mobile network signal reception, a femtocell could be the solution to make
all the difference.
7.1.10 USB-C CONNECTIVITY
You are likely aware of the Type-C USB port. But, you may not be aware of its power and true
potential. This upgraded version of microUSB 2.0 port and is so big and powerful that this is going to
establish a new trend in the smartphone technology in coming future.
If you have interest having this future proof technology on your smartphone, then you don’t have to
wait anymore, as we already have a dozen of smartphones available in market equipped with the tech.
One best feature of the USB-C connector is that it is reversible, and can be inserted in either way. It
will be able to connect screens, power cables, and USB devices. The USB-C or USB Type-C is the same
size as of the Micro-B USB.
The dimensions of the USB C port are 2.6mm by 8.4mm. With the top speed of 10Gbps, it will support
USB 3.1, and the power output will be 20V (100W) and 5A. Apple launched its new MacBook having
first the USB-C connector, users even charge the laptop with its small size.
The bi-directional one intends that you may charge the peripheral device using the same port and use
the peripheral device to charge a host device at the same time. The USB Type-C came really easy to use,
but it needs the right devices and accessories for the two-way charging to take place.
This is still the new technology that is coming forth, and there will be a lot of potential around it
because that this technology will be adopted by so many other companies, reason it does save a lot of
space and there is less clutter of cables around the devices with this single port capable of handling
everything.
The accelerometer/gyroscope
7.2.2 THE GYROSCOPE
The ‘gyroscope’ is a sensor that can determine orientation status as well, but with greater detail and
precision. Because to this specific sensor, Photo Sphere camera (Android) feature tell how much a device
rotate/tilt and in which direction. It is also used to tell what constellation you're aiming a phone by
Google's Sky Map.
Magnetometer
7.2.3 THE MAGNETOMETER
The magnetometer is another sensor that almost all smartphones now equipped. The magnetometer
is capable of detecting magnetic fields. Compass applications also use this sensor to aim at the planet's
north pole. Applications made to detect metal use this magnetometer as well.
7.2.4 THE PROXIMITY SENSOR
The proximity sensor is the next up we have here, it consists of an IR light detector and an infrared
LED. For a good reason, it is placed near the earpiece of a phone while taking when you place the handset
to your ear, the screen has to turn off because the sensor lets the sensor know that you're probably in a
call. The sensor works by shining a beam which is invisible to human infrared light reflected from a close
object and caught up by the IR detector.
A phone's light and proximity sensors are usually placed near the earpiece
7.2.5 THE LIGHT SENSOR
A Light sensor in smartphone is measured how bright is the ambient light. The phone's software uses
this data to adjust brightness automatically at the display. The screen's brightness is pumped up when
ambient light is plentiful, and the display is dimmed down when it is dark. It is interesting fact to know
that high-end Samsung Galaxy smartphones utilize an advanced light sensor that measures blue, green,
white and red light severally. And that is not all. In fact, the Adapt Display function uses this data to fine
tune image representation near to reality.
Adding the cameras and the microphone to the list provide us a count of at least 14 different sensors
that are or have been utilized in a smartphone device. That is quite a lot of data that a smartphone can
provide, use and pick up. And as smartphones devices becoming more and more amazing by the year, the
list is certainly to keep on rising.
8.0 Smartphone Batteries
Old generation phones low to mid-end gives more than ten hours of talk time and around 400 hours
of standby time. Smartphones are fundamentally mini computers which have lots more going on inside
than ordinary cell phones. Therefore, they squeeze more juices. High-end smartphones give up to 300
hours standby time and up to ten to twelve hours talk time. A typical smartphone provides around 150
hours standby time and five hours talk time on 3G (2-3 times more on 2G). Despite these times drop very
sharply when you surf the web, play games and media files. A typical smartphone would not run with
you through the all work day on one single charge, so, whichever way you look at it, you have to buy a
separate reserve battery. Businessman or smartphone users who travel a lot must buy traveler kits and car
adapters. When assessing a new smartphone, pay attention to testing conditions and check its rated battery
life. For instance, manufacturers usually conduct battery tests with WiFi turned off, no media playback
and 50 percent brightness. These settings rarely reflect real-life usage scenarios and skew the battery life
unrealistically.
Users must observe that some smartphones come with built-in batteries and some removable. While
for most people this isn’t a major feature, and lots of buyers will prefer the slim designs provided by
irremovable batteries, so, it is very important to keep in mind. If you are sending emails constantly,
makes a lot of calls, or a heavy phone user, then you might need to keep an extra battery handy. Many
smartphones, like the iPhone, have cases available with built-in batteries, but they provide a bit of weight
and size to the handset.
8.7 CHEMISTRY
Advancement in Li-ion chemistry may provide spectacular advances in energy density, giving
smartphone manufacturers more options in the feature vs. lifetime battle. A lot of promising research into
some new solutions and new active materials already on the market for sale. One uses a new Li-imide
electrolyte that delivers a dramatic improvement in battery life and thermal stability because it doesn't
generate hydrofluoric acid. It also allows effectively thinner batteries by terminating most of the swelling
in thickness aspect of current Li-ion pouch cells over their effective life, which forces makers to sacrifice
cavity space to accommodate the swelling.
8.8 CONCLUSION
While smartphones are developing ever more advanced, but are still limited by power. The batteries
have not advanced in decades. Fortunately, we are on the brink of a power revolution.
Big companies, and now car companies are making electric powered vehicles, are all too aware of
the restrictions of existing lithium-ion batteries. While operating systems and processors are becoming
efficient to power conservation we are still only looking at a day or two of use on a smartphone before
having to recharge again. To counter, this problem universities are getting involved.
We are seeing a lot of battery discoveries popping out from universities all around the world. Car
manufacturers and technical companies and are forcing more money into battery advancement. And with
races like ‘Formula 1’ applying pressure to make technology better, so that technology is only going to
get greater.
While we have been discussing this advancement for decades there is yet nothing in our smartphones.
It is because every company is waiting for the perfect alternate before making the move.
Coming year is beginning to shape up as the year of batteries change. We will describe briefly some
of the best battery discoveries that could be with us soon. From super-fast 30-second re-charging to over
the air charging, you could be seeing this tech in your smartphones sooner than you imagine.
Ryden Dual Carbon Battery: A Japanese company (Power Japan Plus) has already
announced to launched Ryden dual carbon battery, there new battery technology. It will
not only charge faster, last longer than lithium batteries but it can be manufactured using
the same plants where lithium batteries are built. The batteries utilize carbon materials
resulting environmentally friendly and more sustainable than currently available. These
batteries will capable of charging twenty times faster than lithium ion batteries. They
will also be harder with the capability to last 3,000 charge cycles, further, they are safer
with minimum chance of explosion or fire. The company said it will begin manufacturing
18,650 Ryden cells soon. Hopefully, we'll go to see these batteries appear in mobile
handsets soon.
Organic Battery: Organic Batteries could be one possible future of power if a recent MIT discovery
makes it develop. Scientists have produced an organic flow battery that costs only about $27 per kilowatt-
hour nearly a 97% saving as compared to metal batteries at about $700 per kilowatt-hour.
Using Quinone molecules that are almost similar to molecules found in rhubarb, a battery was built
that is not only as effective as metal but that could also be built on a large scale.
Sand Battery: This is substitute type of conventional lithium-ion battery that utilizes sand to attain
three times better performance than existing. It is still lithium-ion battery like existed in your smartphone,
but instead of graphite, it utilizes sand in the anodes. This means it's not only low cost but provides three
times better performance, environmentally friendly and nontoxic. Scientists have been focused on Nano
Silicon but it is tough to manufacture in huge quantities and been degrading too fast. By sand, it can be
purified, powdered then ground with magnesium and salt before being heated to remove oxygen to extract
pure silicon. It is three-dimensional and porous as well, which helps in performance and, potentially, the
life of the batteries.
Sodium-ion Batteries: In Japan scientists are working on modern sort of batteries that don't require
lithium. Instead of Lithium which is rear material these new batteries will use one of the most common
materials on the planet sodium and will be seven times better performance than conventional batteries.
Marketing of the batteries is anticipated to start for smartphones in the next five to 10 years.
Upp Hydrogen Fuel Cell Charger: This portable charger is available now in the market. Upp charger
uses hydrogen to power your smartphone keeping you remaining environmentally friendly and off the
grid. One hydrogen cell will capable to gives five full charges of a smartphone, 25Wh capacity per cell.
The by-product formed is water vapor only. It uses a USB type-A socket means it will provide power to
most USB devices with a 1000mA, 5W and 5V output.
NTU Fast Charging Battery: Scientists have developed a battery that fast charges in 2 minutes up to
70% and has a life 10 times longer as compared to existing lithium-ion batteries. According to its creators,
the NTU (Nanyang Technology University) battery should last for 10,000 charges.
A lot of research work going on to improve battery technology as devices as diverse as smartphones
are more and more held back by a small range of energy storage. Most of the battery technologies fade
away before they reach to us. As MIT Technology Review mentioned, there are a lot of reason for this,
but most likely it comes down to a lack of focus and funding. Many energy analysts and researchers
considered it’s going to take a fundamental new chemistry to motivate the action. That could take decades.
Meanwhile, the big battery producers are working hard to make the existing capacity of batteries more
adequate.
9.0 SMARTPHONE CAMERAS
The camera is one of the most significant features of smartphones. Whether it’s for flowers or food,
landscapes, and photographing people, buyers today demand the best quality camera on the back of their
smartphones. As users are getting better each year, for many they have substituted standalone point-and-
shoot cameras as the go-to smartphone for everyday photography, as they're more compact to carry with
you and easier to access. With the services like Snapchat and trend of ‘selfies’ across social media, the
front-facing camera is progressively important too.
Photo was captured using a Samsung Galaxy at ISO 40, 1/580s, f/2.2
The focal length is the distance between the sensor and the lens elements. The focal
length determines both field of view as well as the effective magnification of the camera
system. A short focal length equals to a wide-angle lens with little magnification and vice
versa.
How much far the lens requires to be from the sensor changes depending on what
function you want the lens to perform and the sizing of the sensor itself. Cameras in
Smartphone almost universally use small sensors and wide-angle lenses, resulting focal
lengths are below 5mm.
Therefore, it is a basic look at what a camera in a smartphone comprises of. As you
may have discovered, it’s very similar to a human eye, where the retina is the sensor and
the lens is the lens. It’s time to take a deeper look now.
Independent cameras come in a large range variety, and are often specific to certain
purposes: macro cameras are for getting up close, the medium format provides the detail
needed for posters and magazines, superzooms are great for photographing birds and
airplanes and broadcast cameras are furnished for streaming video to your TV.
However, the Smartphone cameras categories into the one bracket designed to be the
most versatile without being complex. Sensors are small because of the small footprint of
a handset, apertures and lens focal lengths are fixed to minimize the number of moving
objects, the wide-angle lens is to be most useful for general shooting situations, and there’s
not a lot of extra hardware to accompany the lens and the sensor.
The Duo Camera on the back of the HTC One (M8), a 4-megapixel OmniVision
OV4688 paired with a 2-megapixel OV2722 for depth sensing
There is a range of areas in which smartphone cameras differ between models and
vendors. Every one of them is detailed below.
9.2 MEGAPIXEL COUNT
Megapixels count is the one most people are aware of and the
subject that usually falls onto specification sheets and marketing
materials. Because it is the simplest to understand: a larger megapixel
count means more detail, which can be used for zooming and
cropping or for creating lifelike images. Because of fixed-focus
lenses for a Camera on a smartphone, zooming can be specifically
important, where you need a higher megapixel count to preserve the
detail.
Having a higher megapixel count is all good and well, but it doesn’t even start to
explain the story of how a camera performs overall. A distinctive tradeoff with having a
sensor packing millions of pixels is a small pixel size, but conversely having few pixels
produce pictures look worse through a lack of detail. On smartphones, you’ll generally
find sensors packing between 20 and 5 megapixels because Camera manufacturers know
this trade-off.
Image was taken with a 4-megapixel, 1/3" at ISO 200, 1/25s, f/2.0
As mentioned earlier, this trade-off between pixel size, sensor size, and the megapixel
count is extremely important. Some manufacturers like Samsung and Sony go for the
megapixel count, others Nokia and Apple like a balance, while HTC pushes all out on
pixel size.
Now it comes which one is better? There is no correct answer to this, as it comes down
to what you want from the camera in your smartphone. Typically, you’ll get better low-
light pictures with bigger pixel sizes, but if you like to shoot mostly during daytime, then
a higher megapixel count may be more appealing. I’d recommend as always, to see what
type of camera you’ll find by checking the sample images and camera specifications for
any smartphone you are going to purchase.
9.5 RGBC FILTER, STACKED CMOS, ISOCELL, AND BSI
These terms refer to the susceptibility to noise, the sensitivity of
each pixel and the construction of the sensor.
You can find RGBC filter in high-end sensors of some
OmniVision. OmniVision adds in a clear pixel to the filter, instead of a
Bayer RGBG filter, which improves low light performance by running
through full brightness data information to the processor. Then camera
translates this into Bayer images for the image signal processor of
SoC.
In Sony sensors you can find Stacked CMOS technology, again
improving the ability to gathers light below the pixel array by forcing
some parts of the circuitry. It’s found BSI technology in alongside
Exmor RS sensors.
BSI (Backside Illumination) is a method of designing a
smartphone camera sensor where the photodetectors are layered above
the other components with transistors. It’s a more complex method,
but it minimizes reflectivity, which in turn improves the light
gathering ability of the sensor. Nearly all high-end smartphones are
equipped with BSI sensors.
Samsung's ISOCELL sensor
For their BSI sensors, ISOCELL is the Samsung-specific technology, it provides barriers
between each photodetector to minimize crosstalk, and especially in low-light situations it
improves color accuracy and sharpness. When photoelectrons bleed between the pixels is
called Crosstalk, causing halo effects and bloom in specific conditions, so to produce clean
images reducing these effects is important.
There are other forms of tech found in sensors as well.
9.6 FOCAL LENGTH
The distance between the sensor and the lens called Focal length,
which determines magnification and the field of view. Due to the small
sensors, the actual focal lengths for most of the smartphone cameras
aren’t very practicable for people familiar with photography terms.
35mm-equivalent focal lengths explain what focal length the camera’s lens would
require to have if you wish to create equivalent images on a DSLR with a 35mm-format
sensor. Then it is easy to bracket the camera lens into different types based on what’s
already known about lenses for traditional 35mm cameras: 18-35mm assigns a wide-angle
lens, 35-60mm are normal lenses, and above 60mm are long-focus known as zoom lenses
or telephoto.
Image was taken with a 20-megapixel, 1/2.5" at ISO 100, 1/1100s, f/2.4
All Cameras for smartphones fall into the wide-angle lens bracket, generally
somewhere between 24-30mm; the bigger the number, the less wide angle the lens will be.
Calculating the 35mm-equivalent focal length needs a ratio known as the crop factor,
describes how small the sensor is proportional to a sensor of 35mm. There is no great
difference between the focal lengths of cameras for a smartphone, although Samsung
smartphones use lenses slightly less wide as compared to their rivals. Though it doesn’t
make a lot of difference in practical use.
9.7 F-NUMBER AND APERTURE
The size of the aperture of a camera has much more significant value, commonly described as an
f-number. The f-number is a ratio between the size of the orifice and the focal length, and explain how
much light sensor can pass through. For example, An f-number of 2, expressed typically as f/4 would be
a focal length 4 times the aperture and f/2 mean the focal length is twice the size of the aperture; and so
forth.
The larger the aperture, the lower the f-number, and thus more light will pass through it. Although
differences in f-number aren’t directly apparent, as double the f-number doesn’t mean the half the light
capturing area and one stop less. Instead, double the f-number is a two stop difference due to the circular
nature of an aperture, providing one-quarter the light capturing area.
20.7-megapixel, 1/2.3" sensor paired with a f/2.0 lens.
Cameras in Smartphone generally utilize apertures ranging between f/2.0 and f/2.4,
in the overall camera ecosystem both are wide, but there is a huge difference between
them. The aperture of f/2.4 is a half stop less as compared to f/2.0, so a f/2.0 lens transfers
50% more light to the sensor. On low-light performance, it is a significant effect, with
f/2.0-lensed smartphones generally producing better results as compared to their f/2.4
counterparts.
The difference in f-number doesn’t only affect light capturing properties. A lens with
a larger f-number has Weaker Bokeh means pleasant blur because of defocused fields
outside the depth of field range, less Chromatic Aberration means prevalent colored
fringes in areas of a photo with high contrast, typically sharper images and a wider depth
of the scene.
An average bokeh from a smartphone camera. Taken with a 16-megapixel, 1/2.6" at
ISO 40, 1/200s, f/2.2
We find another trade-off here. In some cases, strong bokeh and shallower depth of
field are preferred particularly when shooting subjects in macro mode or in up-close,
as it places the focal point of the image rather than the background, squarely on the
subject. DSLRs are specifically good at presenting pleasant bokeh with a good lens. But
on smartphones, the effect is less obtrusive, but still exist comparing f/2.4 and f/2.0 lenses.
While sharpness and chromatic aberrations are issues with wider apertures, it always
falls second place to depth-of-field and low light sensitivity. So, in nearly all situations,
wider apertures are preferred over smaller apertures. But unfortunately, wide-aperture
lenses are more expensive and more complex to manufacture, that's why not all
smartphones providers use them.
9.8 IMAGE STABILIZATION
When taking images, Smartphones are almost always used
handheld, that is why image stabilization is important. There are two
main forms: Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), and optical image
stabilization (OIS). Normally, OIS is preferred as it provides better
results but is more complex and more expensive to integrate.
OIS works by placing a lens module or the camera sensor inside a stabilized rig.
Using data from a gyroscope installed just beside the camera, to counteract the physical
movement of the device the entire rig is shifted with electromagnets. This keeps the optical
components in the same specific position while the camera gently shakes in the hand of
users.
The harnessing manual mode in Camera and OIS. Taken with a 20-megapixel, 1/2.5"
at ISO 100, 2.0s, f/2.4
EIS or Electronic Image Stabilization works without the help of any additional
hardware. For still pictures, typically an EIS system will boost the sensitivity of a sensor,
therefore, a quicker shutter speed can be used, minimizing blur. Other EIS systems will
take a burst shot of normal sensitivity, u merging or sing together the least blurry pictures.
Extra pixels are used outside the normal video frame for video shooting, to reduce the
effects of motion, giving a buffer as the camera is moved around.
A good OIS system will provide a smartphone camera an advantage of a stop or more.
It means a slower shutter speed can be utilized that, without creating blur into the picture,
allows double the light to strike the sensor than otherwise.
9.9 SHUTTER, WHITE BALANCE, ISO, METERING AND
FOCUS
These five conditions are very significant to get an accurate and good looking, images.
Smartphone cameras typically focus using contrast detection unlike to professional cameras, it is
completely working on the software side by shifting the lens until there is maximum contrast between
nearby pixels. DSLR professional cameras typically utilize more accurate and quicker phase detection
method, which doesn’t support the hardware of a smartphone camera.
A 13-megapixel 1/3.06" Sony IMX135 sensor with OIS and a unique laser autofocus system.
All smartphones do not depend on contrast detection: for example, the LG G3 has a laser-assisted
autofocus system, before matching the focus, it assesses the distance from the lens to the subject. This
autofocus system is faster and more accurate as compared to contrast detection.
Metering is completely done utilizing the sensor, again unlike professional cameras, pairs the sensor
with other hardware along with a light meter to get better results. The software of camera for a smartphone
analyze the picture before capturing and sets vibrancy, shutter speed, exposure, white balance and ISO
accordingly.
Specifically, a center-weighted metering mode is utilized, which corrects settings with a preference to
get the picture properly metered in the middle. And spot metering can also be used, it meters based on
where you tap on the display screen and as can matrix metering, uses a complex algorithm to calculate
the proper settings to use.
ISO refers to the speed of the film of a camera, in the case of digital cameras explaining how sensitive
the photodetectors are set. High ISOs make lighter pictures via increasing the signal amplification but are
more capable to grain, particularly so on a sensor of a smartphone. ISOs of 400 and above typically gives
images with obtrusive grain with such a small sensor, so they’re reserved for low light. In most of the
cases, you should try to take a picture with the lowest possible ISO.
The biggest point of failure often is White balance, when it comes to properly metering images,
indoors especially. The preview is used to calculate what color should be white and sets the tone for the
whole picture. Most camera applications provide you with full manual control over white balance, and it
can be key in getting a perfect image from your smartphone camera.
The shutter on almost all cameras is completely electronic, instead of mechanical as on DSLRs. A
mechanical shutter can improve its performance and simplify the sensor, but due to size reasons and build
quality, they are seldom found on smartphones devices. Electronic sensors are absolutely appropriate for
practical use and have the edge of being very fast.
In the smartphone camera, Video is an integral part, captured by taking fundamentally a burst shot
of pictures at the frame rate and the resolution of the video. Frame rate and the maximum supported
resolution of a camera is always confined by both the image signal processor on the SoC’s side and the
circuitry of the camera model itself.
Video recording is extremely bandwidth intense, and all the processing is done, off the camera
hardware after it passes through the image signal processor raw input converting to the H.264 is done
by the video encoding block on the SoC. Therefore, you don’t see crazy frame rates from cameras in a
smartphone, because the hardware can’t support it.
What type of bandwidth are we talking about? For instance, the high-end IMX214 sensor from Sony
supports maximum output speeds of 2.4 Gbps, sufficient to support transmitting raw 4K information at
30 Feet per Second (FPS) which needs 1.9 Gbps.
A high-end smartphone typically supports recording 4K i.e. 3840 x 2160 videos at 30 FPS, which
needs a sensor size of minimum 8 MP (megapixels). Other supported video recording modes typically
include 720p at 120 FPS and 1080p at 60 FPS.
9.11 MANUFACTURERS
The smartphone sensors most often used in smartphone handsets are from manufacturers such as
S5Kxxx from Samsung, IMXxxx from Sony and OmniVision, parts designated OVxxxx, and are used in
everything from the entry-level Moto E to the high-end iPhone. Camera modules are also built by Nokia,
although these used exclusively in their own handsets. ST VDxxxx sensors from ST Microelectrics also
crop up time to time.
The sensor is sometimes coupled with a lens by the camera fabricators to give an easy slot-in module.
At other times, a third-party will give potentially an optical stabilization rig and the lens system; or the
smartphone manufacturer companies will design their own to use.
10.1 Always-Listening
The most recent smartphone handsets are moved a step ahead towards always-on technology. You
have already encountered a few smartphones with voice activation while the handset is away from you
charging to a power source or while the screen is on. However, always-on, touchless and full-fledged
handheld devices remain relatively new and quite rare. This trend began with Motorola's Moto-X always-
listening voice activation feature. The Apple iPhone 6S features always-listening Siri released one year
ago. The new Samsung Galaxy S7 become a double member of the always-on feature club, with S-voice
activation as well as a perpetual low-power time and date display. These smartphones are the pioneers, but
it's a safe to say that these features will soon become the standard for all smartphone devices. Therefore,
what does it take to not drain your phone's battery by having the great always-on features?
Active Display or Always-on display is the new feature, introduced in the LG G5, Samsung Galaxy
S7, and Edge. This feature is designed to breathe your screen to life depending on the occasion. It doesn’t
look like a big deal because we’ve been using our smartphone without it for years. However, Trust me,
the convenience makes a world of difference. It may be a trick, but I am certain once you use it, you’ll
never leave it again. And, don’t concern, it’s not as sinister as it sounds.
Genuinely introduced by first Moto X and its famous motion-activated display, these new display
features are first and foremost designed for convenience, but they offer some other benefits also.
Fundamentally, an active display will show you a sneak peak of information, even when your display
screen is turned off. A feature in Moto X called Moto Display, the screen comes to life and shows
you information such as email, messages and time all without having a hand or even to touch your
smartphone. On the same way, if your handset is lying face down, as you simply turned it over and the
display will gently be faded on.
In the Pure Edition Technically, lights up the entire screen, as opposed to previous Moto X models,
but it keeps the display black and shows white text so your eyes don’t bleed when seeing the time at 4 a.m.
You can see in the picture above to observe what this feature looks like. Moto Display took advantage in
previous Moto X models, of AMOLED technology to only light up particular pixels.
Because of The Pure Edition, in particular, came with an additional set of IR sensors, enabling
it recognizing when to fade notifications in and out. Certainly, the Moto X does a fantastic job of
recognizing when your hand waves over the display, which means you won’t have to swing at it just to
see the time.
It’s not only the time either. If your notifications already waiting for you, just approach your
smartphone and it’ll come to life, detecting your presence like some sort of digital guard. This feature
makes it easy to watch if any notifications require your attention to right this moment. Again, all without
touching your handset. It works like magic.
It means the less you turn on your display screen, the more battery life is saved. Once you begin to
enjoy this feature of checking time and notifications, you’ll start to love the benefits an active display or
always-on screen gives.
Simply providing the feature isn’t enough, still. A feature knows as Ambient Display with Lollipop
(introduced by Google), but it’s not as responsive or advanced as what Motorola provides. Still, it’s
good to see manufacturer recognizing the usefulness of the feature. With an extra sensor or two or some
tweaking, Google can obviously provide Ambient Display up to compare with Motorola’s tendering.
Samsung has dallied with active display technology before while LG’s V10, to feed users information,
used a secondary display. We also observed OnePlus dabble with a same feature in the OnePlus X. Even
Nokia also played with a likely feature known as Glance. But with the Samsung’s S7 and LG’s G5, active
display or always-on displays are about to go mainstream.
10.3 DOUBLE TAP TO WAKE
First found on the G2 of LG, the "KnockOn" easy-to-use wakes up feature with a simple double tap
on the display screen.
It's more easy than reaching for the wake-up or power button on the back cover, side or top and
became a hit.
This feature is coming preloaded on flagship devices like iPhone 6, Samsung galaxy S5, S6, and
Tablets.
A power button may get some rest now. Furthermore, there are some apps like ‘Knockon’, ‘Knocker’,
‘Gravity Screen’ and ‘Waveunlock’ are available now to use this feature on your Android tablet and
Smartphone ON and OFF without using your legendary power button.
How frequently do you pass by your favorite departmental store and forget to pick up Bread? Have
you ever headed to the airport to grab a flight, only to aware you have forgotten your passport is back
at home? If you're forgetful and disorganized, I recommend to set up a few location-based reminders on
your smartphone device.
As the name indicates, location-based reminders are alerts or notifications that show up when you or
really, your GPS-enabled smartphone are in a specific place. For instance, you can set up a location-based
reminder that displays, "Buy Bread" the next time you drive or walk past your favorite departmental store.
By using an application that supports location-based reminders, you instruct the smartphone through
application to take an action or alert you when you leave or arrive at an assigned destination. You setup
the address by either by selecting one stored in your digital address book or typing it in. The application
then keeps track of the GPS information data collected by your smartphone app to wake up the alert when
you leave or arrive at a destination.
If you have ever seen a tablet device in place of a conventional menu booklet at a restaurant, you
aware how this works. The user can use the menu application only and can’t open anything else or leave
the screen display. The best option about screen pinning is that user can pin any app so if you needed to,
for instance, hand your smartphone off to your kid so they can play a certain game, they wouldn’t be able
to reach anything else.
The Release of Android 5.0 Lollipop has for more than one year now and has the ability to pin an
application to lock the screen.
Pinning an application provide it the feature so if someone using your smartphone can't tap the app
and swipe away to anywhere else on your device. It's a very useful feature for parents who often let their
kids play games.
10.8 REACHABILITY MODE
There was a time when the original Galaxy Note having 5.3-inch display was believed huge. Now, it
is normal to have 5-inch-plus displays.
Just like Apple Reachability or one-handed mode for the larger iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6 displays.
Apple is calling this feature a “Reachability Mode” and because of it (as the image above) you can double
tap the Home Screen icon or button to shift the entire User Interface (UI) down to put UI contents at the
top of the display screen within your thumb’s reach. Others manufacturers along with Samsung having
large smartphones devices provide same features that scale the screen to corner or one side to make the
smartphone easier to utilize with a single hand.
10.9 HANDOFF
A new feature brought in iOS 8, and OS X Yosemite, because of this ability text messages or phone
calls to be forwarded to another device. For instance, you could listen to a call conversation on your iPad
or reply to text messages from your MacBook with help of the much larger keyboard.
In order for Handoff to work, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features must be a turn on both of your MacBook
and iPhone/iPad, and you have to enable on Handoff.
On the other hand, Handoff works with much more than text messages and calls. You can simply
synchronize information to and fro other devices, even from the Apple Watch, through applications like
Keynote, Numbers, Mail, Pages, Safari, and Maps.
Cameras get better, displays get sharper, and hardware gets faster, the battery is yet a field that doesn't
seem to change. Battery lifespan has gotten importantly better across the board, but when you require
your smartphone the most, you're let down often.
Qualcomm Snapdragon processors powered a lot of phones devices, so thanks to its built-in "Quick
Charge" technology lives up to the name. With the most recent version, Quick Charge 2.0, user can
acquire a significant boost in as short as 15 minutes.
For example, Motorola's Turbo Charger offers to provide you up to 8 hours of battery lifespan after
charging in 15 minutes. Though, for most of Motorola's smartphones, you need to buy this charger
separately.
"Fast Charger" from Samsung goes by a different brand, but has the same benefits for the Galaxy
S6 Edge and S6, and now the LG G4 also has this feature.
10.11 WATER RESISTANT SMARTPHONE
Who says water and electronics devices don’t mix? Smartphones that can tumble into a puddle, a dunk
in the bath or handle the rain, aren’t the rarity they once were, we are not only talking about low-powered,
basic cell phones covered in rubber either. Nowadays it’s possible to purchase a capable mid-range phone,
good-looking, and even an awesome flagship smartphone which isn’t fear of the wet stuff or components,
too.
Maybe you just want to Tweet while you shower in the morning, you’re always at the pool or you
work outdoors. Whichever the reason, we’ve got your back. There’s the top smartphone available for
anyone seeking a waterproof phone. With a quick overview of what those IP numbers really mean.
When we discuss waterproof hardware, we mention to an IP rating. IP is an abbreviation for Ingress
Protection and is normally followed by a number, which refers to its capability to withstand dust and
water. The first number relates to solid particle protection and the second number to liquid. Here is an
entire breakdown of what the IP codes denote, but I have added the details you require to know with each
smartphone device, so you don’t need to go and work it out.
While some of the smartphones get close to being labeled waterproof, we certainly should address
them as just water-resistant. It means we don’t advise you to submerge them intentionally. But it’s still
good not to need to worry.
For example, if the IP number starts with a six, then the smartphone provides complete safe from dust
and must ward off mites to the extent where none can find their way inside. If the IP number is a five,
then the smartphone device is protection against ingress, and any particles that get inside couldn’t stop it
from the operation.
To meet the IPx8 standard, the smartphone device must continue to work normally after being
submerged in water “continuously,” however the exact details depend on to the fabricator. For example,
in the case of the Sony Xperia Z5, the manufacturer says it’ll withstand low-pressure water jets from
any angles, and at a depth of 1.5-meters for 30 minutes underwater. It’s as good as it gets for consumer
electronic devices, but you have to keep in mind that its touchscreen isn’t going to work properly while
underwater.
10.12 USING PHONE WHILE DRIVING
As smartphones devices have brought features like streaming music services and voice-guided
navigation, they've become fabulously useful while driving in a car. But certainly, looking down at your
smartphone screen while driving is not a safe idea.
Voice-assistance features as the iPhone's Siri have provided us a little safer by giving us to speak
commands to our smartphones, but they still need you to touch microphone’s icon to activate it.
Nowadays so many new vehicles come with features that let your smartphone to connect wirelessly to
your car so you can make calls using the car's controls, get directions or listen to music. But it hard to
setting up these features.
For example, the first smartphone Google launched since buying Motorola, the new Moto X
smartphone, has two new features that enable you to continue using your smartphone while driving a car
without sacrificing a lot of safety. In Moto X the first feature is touchless control, enables you to speak
voice commands to your smartphone without touching it. After your phone train enough to recognize only
your voice, then it is always listening for your command, whether its screen is sleeping or awake. Without
having to touch the smartphone device, you just say "OK Google Now" and you can do a Google search,
get directions or even make calls. If you secure your smartphone with a password, you can only to make
a call using touchless controls. Other commands need you to unlock it first with your hands. We all hope
that Google will fix it with a software update.
"Assist" is the other breakout feature, switches your phone to a "Driving" mode designed to make you
safer in the car, which automatically discovers when you're in motion. It asks whether you want to take
the call, announces the name of new phone callers or reads new text messages aloud.
NETWORK
Technology: GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps), EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps) LTE
(Cat9 450/50 Mbps)
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
Launch Date: September 2016
BODY
Dimensions: 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in)
Weight: 188 gm (6.63 oz)
SIM: Single SIM (Nano)
Features: Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX Certified), IP67 Certified, Dust
Proof and Water Proof Over 1 Meter and 30 Minutes
DISPLAY
Type: LED-Backlit IPS LCD, Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size: 5.5 inches (~67.7% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution: 1080 x 1920 Pixels (~401 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch: Yes
Protection: Ion-Strengthened Glass, Oleophobic Coating, Wide Color Gamut
Display, 3D Touch Display & Home Button, Display Zoom
PLATFORM
Operating System: iOS 10.0.1, Upgradable to iOS 10.0.2
Chipset: Apple A10 Fusion
CPU: Quad-Core 2.23 GHz
GPU: Six-Core Graphics
MEMORY
Card Slot: No
Internal: 32/128/256 GB, 3 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary: Dual 12MP, (f/1.8, 28mm, OIS & f/2.8 56mm,) Phase Detection
Autofocus, 2x Optical zoom, Quad-LED (Dual Tone) Flash
Features: 1/3” Sensor Size @ 28mm, 1/3.6 Sensor Size @ 56mm, Geo-Tagging,
Simultaneous 4K Video and 8MP Image Recording, Touch Focus,
Face/Smile Detection, Auto HDR, Panorama
Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary: 7MP, f/2.2, 32mm, 1080@30fps, 720p@240fps, Face Detection, HDR,
Panorama
SOUND
Alert Type: Vibration, Proprietary Ringtones
Loud Speaker: Yes, Stereo Speakers
3.5mm Jack: No
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone, Lightening to
3.5mm Headphone Jack Adopter Included
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, Hotspot
Bluetooth: v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS: Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC: Yes (Apple Pay Only)
Radio: No
USB: MicroUSB v2.0, Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors: Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging: iMessage, SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail,
Browser: HTML5 (Safari)
Java: No
Features: Siri Natural Language Command and Dictation, iCloud Service, MP4
H.264 Player,
MP3/WAV/AAX+/AIFF+/Apple Lossless Player, Audio/Photo/Video
Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type: Non-Removable Li-Ion 2900 mAh Battery (11.1Wh)
Stand-By Time: Up to 384 h (3G)
Talk Time: Up to 21 h (3G)
Music Play: Up to 60 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors: Jet Black, Balck, Gold, Silver, Rose Gold
SAR US: 1.19 W/kg (Head) 1.19 W/kg (Body)
SAR EU: 1.24 W/kg (Head) 1.00 W/kg (Body)
11.4 iPHONE 7
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps), EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps) LTE
(Cat9 450/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date September 2016
BODY
Dimensions 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in)
Weight 138 gm (4.87 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
Features Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX Certified), IP67 Certified, Dust
Proof and Water Proof Over 1 Meter and 30 Minutes
DISPLAY
Type LED-Backlit IPS LCD, Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 4.7 inches (~56.6% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 750 x 1334 Pixels (~326 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Ion-Strengthened Glass, Oleophobic Coating, Wide Color Gamut
Display, 3D Touch Display & Home Button, Display Zoom
PLATFORM
Operating System iOS 10.0.1, Upgradable to iOS 10.0.2
Chipset Apple A10 Fusion
CPU Quad-Core 2.23 GHz
GPU Six-Core Graphics
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 32/128/256 GB, 2 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12MP, f/1.8, 28mm, OIS Phase Detection Autofocus, Quad-LED (Dual
Tone) Flash
Features 1/3” Sensor Size @ 28mm, Geo-Tagging, Simultaneous 4K Video and
8MP Image Recording, Touch Focus, Face/Smile Detection, Auto HDR,
Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary 7MP, f/2.2, 32mm, 1080@30fps, 720p@240fps, Face Detection, HDR,
Panorama
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, Proprietary Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes, Stereo Speakers
3.5mm Jack No
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone, Lightening to
3.5mm Headphone Jack Adopter Included
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes (Apple Pay Only)
Radio No
USB MicroUSB v2.0, Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging iMessage, SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail
Browser HTML5 (Safari)
Java No
Features Siri Natural Language Command and Dictation, iCloud Service, MP4
H.264 Player, MP3/WAV/AAX+/AIFF+/Apple Lossless Player, Audio/
Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 2900 mAh Battery (11.1Wh)
Stand-By Time Up to 256 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 14 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 40 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Jet Black, Balck, Gold, Silver, Rose Gold
SAR US 1.19 W/kg (Head) 1.19 W/kg (Body)
SAR EU 1.38 W/kg (Head) 1.34 W/kg (Body)
11.5 GOOGLE PIXEL
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps), EVDO/LTE (Cat9 450/50 Mbps
or Cat11 600/75 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date October 2016
BODY
Dimensions 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.5 mm (5.66 x 2.74 x 0.33 in)
Weight 143 gm (5.04 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
Features Splash and Dust Resistant
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.0 inches (~69.0% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1080 x 1920 Pixels (~441 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V7.1 (Nougat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 32/128 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12.3 MP, f/2.0, Phase Detection & Laser Autofocus, Dual-LED (Dual
Tone) Flash
Features 1/2.3” Sensor Size, 1.55µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus,
Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary 8MP, 1/3.2” Sensor Size, 1.4µm Pixel Size, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Feature Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB MicroUSB v3.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging, MP4 H.264 Player, MP3/WAV/eAAC Player,
Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 2770 mAh Battery
Stand-By Time Up to 456 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 26 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 110 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Quick Black, Very Silver, Really Blue
11.6 GOOGLE PIXEL XL
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps), EVDO/LTE (Cat9 450/50
Mbps or Cat11 600/75 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date October 2016
BODY
Dimensions 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm (6.09 x 2.98 x 0.33 in)
Weight 168 gm (5.93 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
Features Splash and Dust Resistant
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.5 inches (~71.2% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~534 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V7.1 (Nougat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 32/128 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12.3 MP, f/2.0, Phase Detection & Laser Autofocus, Dual-LED (Dual
Tone) Flash
Features 1/2.3” Sensor Size, 1.55µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus,
Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary 8MP, f/2.4, 1/3.2” Sensor Size, 1.4µm Pixel Size, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB MicroUSB v3.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging, MP4 H.264 Player, MP3/WAV/eAAC Player,
Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 2770 mAh Battery
Stand-By Time Up to 552 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 32 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 130 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Quick Black, Very Silver, Really Blue
11.7 MOTOROLA MOTO Z
NETWORK
Technology GSM/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat9 450/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date June 2016
BODY
Dimensions 153.3 x 75.3 x 5.2 mm (6.04 x 2.96 x 0.20 in)
Weight 136 gm (4.80 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.5 inches (~72.0% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~535 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow), Planned Upgrade to V7.0
(Naugat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot MicroSD, Up to 256 GB (Dedicated Slot)
Internal 32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 13 MP, f/1.8, Laser Autofocus, OIS, Dual-LED (Dual Tone) Flash
Features Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus, Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR
Secondary 5MP, f/2.2, 1.4µm Pixel Size, LED Flash, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack No
Features 3.5mm to USB-C Headphone Adapter, Active Noise Cancellation with
Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, WiFi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes
Radio FM Radio
USB USB On-The-Go, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector, Magnetic
Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging, MP4 H.264 Player, MP3/WAV/eAAC/Flac
Player, Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 2600 mAh Battery
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Black/Gray, Black/Rose Gold, Black/Rose, White
11.8 ZTE AXON 7
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat6 300/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date May 2016
BODY
Dimensions 151.7 x 75 x 7.9 mm (5.97 x 2.95 x 0.31 in)
Weight 175 gm (6.17 oz)
SIM Dual Nano SIM (Dual Stand-By)
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.5 inches (~72.2% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~538 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4, MiFavor UI 4.0
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot MicroSD, Up to 256 GB (Uses SIM 2 Slot)
Internal 64 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 20 MP, f/1.8, Phase Detection Autofocus, OIS, Dual-LED (Dual Tone)
Flash
Features Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus, Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary 8MP, f/2.2, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes with Stereo Speakers
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features 32-bit/192kHz Audio, Dolby Atoms, Active Noise Cancellation with
Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, WiFi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS/BDS (Region Dependent)
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB USB V3.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging 83% in 30 Minutes (Quick Charge 3.0), MP4
H.264 Player, MP3/WAV/eAAC Player, Photo/Video Editor, Document
Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 3250 mAh Battery
Stand-By Time Up to 360 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 16 h (3G)
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Ion Gold, Quartz Grey, Chromium Silver
11.9 HTC 10
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps)/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE
(Cat9 450/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date April 2016
BODY
Dimensions 145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm (5.74 x 2.83 x 0.35 in)
Weight 161 gm (5.68 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
DISPLAY
Type Super LCD5 Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.2 inches (~71.1% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~565 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3, HTC Sense UI
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow), Planned Upgrade to v7.0
(Naugat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot MicroSD, Up to 256 GB (Uses SIM 2 Slot)
Internal 32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, Laser Autofocus, OIS, Dual-LED (Dual Tone)
Flash
Features 1/2.3” Sensor Size, 1.55µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus,
Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 720p@120fps HDR, Stereo Sound Recording
Secondary 5MP, f/1.8, 23mm, OIS, Autofocus, 1.34 µm Pixel Size, 1080p, HDR
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes with Dual Speakers
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features 24-bit/192kHz Audio, Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated
Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-Band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, aptX
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS/BDS (Region Dependent)
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB USB V3.1, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging 50% in 30 Minutes (Quick Charge 3.0), Google
Drive (100 GB Cloud Storage) MP4/XviD/WMV/H.264 Player, MP3/
WMA/WAV/FLAC Player, Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh Battery
Stand-By Time Up to 456 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 27 h (3G)
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Topaz Gold, Carbon Grey, Glacier Silver, Camellia Red
11.10 ONEPLUS 3
NETWORK
Technology GSM/EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps)/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat6
300/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date June 2016
BODY
Dimensions 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.4 mm (6.01 x 2.94 x 0.29 in)
Weight 158 gm (5.57 oz)
SIM Dual Nano SIM (Dual Stand-By)
DISPLAY
Type Optic AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.5 inches (~73.1% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1080 x 1920 Pixels (~401 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Oxygen OS 3.2.4
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 64 GB, 6 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 16 MP, f/2.0, Phase Detection Autofocus, OIS, LED Flash
Features 1/2.8” Sensor Size, 1.12µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus,
Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 720p@120fps Auto HDR
Secondary 8MP, f/2.0, 1/3.2” Sensor Size, 1.34 µm Pixel Size, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS/BDS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB USB V2.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging 60% in 30 Minutes (Dash Charge), MP4/XviD/
DivX/H.265 Player,
MP3/eACC+/WMA/WAV/FLAC Player,
Photo/Video Editor, Document Viewer
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh Battery
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Soft Gold, Graphite
11.11 iPHONE SE
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps), EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps) LTE
(Cat4 150/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date March 2016
BODY
Dimensions 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in)
Weight 113 gm (3.99 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
Features Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX Certified)
DISPLAY
Type LED-Backlit IPS LCD, Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 4.0 inches (~60.8% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 640 x 1136 Pixels (~326 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
PLATFORM
Operating System iOS 9.3.2, Upgradable to iOS 10.0.2
Chipset Apple A9
CPU Dual-Core 1.84 GHz Twister
GPU PowerVR GT7600 (Six-Core Graphics)
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 16/64 GB, 2 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12MP, f/2.2, 29mm, Phase Detection Autofocus, Dual-LED (Dual Tone)
Flash
Features 1/3” Sensor Size 1.22µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Simultaneous 4K
Video and 8MP Image Recording, Touch Focus, Face/Smile Detection,
HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary: 1.2MP, f/2.4, 31mm, 720p@30fps, Face Detection,
HDR, faceTime Over WiFi or Cellular
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, Proprietary Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone, 16-bit/44.1 kHz
Audio
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes (Apple Pay Only)
Radio No
USB MicroUSB v2.0, Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging iMessage, SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail
Browser HTML5 (Safari)
Java No
Features Siri Natural Language Command and Dictation, iCloud Service, MP4
H.264 Player,
MP3/WAV/AAX+/AIFF+/Apple Lossless Player,
Audio/Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 2900 mAh Battery (11.1Wh)
Stand-By Time Up to 240 h (2G & 3G)
Talk Time Up to 14 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 50 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Space Gray, Silver Gold, Rose Gold
SAR US 1.17 W/kg (Head) 1.19 W/kg (Body)
SAR EU 0.97 /kg (Head) 0.99 W/kg (Body)
11.12 HUAWEI NEXUS 6P
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat6 300/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date September 2015
BODY
Dimensions 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm (6.27 x 3.06 x 0.29 in)
Weight 178 gm (6.28 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.7 inches (~71.4% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~518 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Oleophobic Coating
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow), Upgraded to v7.0 (Naugat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
CPU Octa-Core (4x1.55 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A57)
GPU Adreno 430
MEMORY
Card Slot No
Internal 32/64/128 GB, 3 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12.3 MP, f/2.0, Laser Autofocus, Dual LED (Dual Tone) Flash
Features 1/2.3” Sensor Size, 1.55µm Pixel Size, Geo-Tagging, Touch Focus,
Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 720p@240fps
Secondary 8MP, f/2.4, 1080p@30fps
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes with front Stereo Speakers
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features 24-bit/96 kHz, Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Dual Band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB USB V2.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging, MP4/H.265 Player,
MP3/eACC+/WAV Player, Photo/Video Editor,
Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Non-Removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh Battery
Stand-By Up to 440 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 23 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 100 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Aluminum, Graphite, Frost
SAR US 1.49 W/kg (Head) 0.81 W/kg (Body)
SAR EU 1.17 W/kg (Head) 0.54 W/kg (Body)
11.13 LG G5
NETWORK
Technology GSM/CDMA/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat6 300/50 Mbps or Cat9
450/50 Mbps)/EVDO (Rev.A 3.1 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date February 2016
BODY
Dimensions 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm (5.88 x 2.91 x 0.30 in)
Weight 159 gm (5.61 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano) or Dual Nano SIM (Dual Stand-By)
DISPLAY
Type IPS LCD Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.3 inches (~70.1% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~554 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Always-On Display, LG Optimus UX 5.0 UI
PLATFORM
Operating System Android OS, V6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
CPU Quad-Core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.60 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
MEMORY
Card Slot MicroSD Up to 256 GB (Dedicated Slot) Single SIM
MicroSD Up to 256 GB (Uses SIM2 Slot) Dual SIM
Internal 32 GB, 4 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary Dual 16 MP (29mm, f/1.8) + 8 MP (12mm, f/2.4), Laser Autofocus, OIS
(3-Axis), LED Flash
Features 1/2.6” Sensor Size @ 29mm, 1/3.2” Sensor Size @ 12mm Geo-Tagging,
Touch Focus, Face/Smile Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, HDR, Stereo Sound Recording
Secondary 8MP, f/2.0, 1/4" Sensor Size, 1.12 µm Pixel Size, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features 24-bit/96 kHz, Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Dual Band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFC Yes
Infrared Port Yes
Radio FM Radio
USB USB V3.0, Type-C 1.0 Reversible Connector, USB On-The-Go
FEATURES
Sensors Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer,
Color Spectrum
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Fast Battery Charging 83% in 30 Minutes (Quick Charge 3.0), MP4/
DviX/XviD/WMV/H.265 Player,
MP3/eACC+/WAV/WMA Player,
Photo/Video Editor, Document Editor
BATTERY
Type Removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh Battery
Stand-By Up to 400 h (3G)
Talk Time Up to 20 h (3G)
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Silver, Titan, Gold, Pink
SAR EU 0.52 W/kg (Head) 1.24 W/kg (Body)
11.14 MICROSOFT LUMIA 950
NETWORK
Technology GSM/HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps)/LTE (Cat6 300/50 Mbps)
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Launch Date November 2015
BODY
Dimensions 145 x 73.2 x 8.2 mm (5.71 x 2.88 x 0.32 in)
Weight 150 gm (5.29 oz)
SIM Single SIM (Nano)
DISPLAY
Type AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen, 16M Colors
Size 5.2 inches (~70.5% Screen-to-Body Ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 Pixels (~564 PPI Pixel Density)
Multi-Touch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3, ClearBlack Display
PLATFORM
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
CPU Hexa-Core (4x1.40 GHz Cortex-A53 & 2x1.80 GHz Cortex-A57)
GPU Adreno 418
MEMORY
Card Slot MicroSD Up to 256 GB (Dedicated Slot)
Internal 32 GB, 3 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 20 MP f/1.9 26mm, Carl Zeiss Optics, Autofocus, OIS (3-Axis), Triple
LED RGB Flash
Features 1/2.4” Sensor Size 1.12µm Pixel Size, Pure View Technology, Geo-
Tagging, Touch Focus, Face Detection, HDR, Panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, Stereo Sound Recording
Secondary 5MP, f/2.4, 1080p
SOUND
Alert Type Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Loud Speaker Yes
3.5mm Jack Yes
Features Active Noise Cancellation with Dedicated Microphone
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Dual Band, Hotspot
Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP
GPS Yes, With A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFC Yes
Infrared Port Yes
Radio FM Radio
USB USB V3.1, Type-C Reversible Connector
FEATURES
Sensors Iris Scanner, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer,
Sensor Core
Messaging SMS (Thread View), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No
Features Microsoft Continuum Support, Qi Wireless Charging (Market
Dependent), OneDrive (15 GB Cloud Storage), Fast Battery Charging,
MP4/H.265 Player, MP3/eACC+/WAV Player, Photo/Video Editor,
Document Viewer
BATTERY
Type Removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh Battery
Stand-By Up to 288 h (2G & 3G)
Talk Time Up to 23 h (2G) & Up to 18 h (3G)
Music Play Up to 67 h
MISCELLANEOUS
Colors Black, White
12.0 CONCLUSION
"Which phone should I buy?" This is the single most common question readers like you ask phone
reviewers like us every day. We get it, it can be a challenge, especially with superb choices such as
Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge and iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. But depending on your price range and
what's available where you live, the new phone you should be getting may not be a flagship, it could turn
out to be the Microsoft Lumia 950 or one of the many Moto Z.
On the bright side, options like given in this book are a good thing, so long as you're armed with the
knowledge necessary to make smart shopping decisions.
When you are planning to buy a new smartphone decide first what features you want to see in your
device. Further look thoroughly the specification provided by the manufacturer along with the following;
1) Operating System
2) Processor CPU
3) GPU
4) RAM
5) ROM
6) External Memory Option
7) Screen Display Type
8) Pixel Density
9) Sensors
10) Connectivity Options like Blue-tooth, WiFi, HDMI, USB-C, NFC and DLNR
11) GPS Navigation
12) Battery Life
13) Camera Front & Rear
14) Megapixel Count, Sensor Size, ISO, F-Number
15) Quality of Video Recording
13.0 GLOSSARY
Final Words
To show your appreciation to the author and help others have wonderful reading experiences and find
helpful information too, I'd be very grateful if you'd kindly post your comments for this book.
About The Author
Jamil Ahmed Khanzada is a professional Engineer, working in a leading National Industry. Member
of National Technology Association. Khanzada received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the
University of Illinois in 1994.
Since 1994 he is serving in a specific Engineering and Manufacturing Industry.
J. A. Khanzada is author and co-author of Books, several Research Papers and hundreds of professional
journal articles on Industry development and Energy Conservation. These Papers were presented in the
Annual Conventions and printed in several National and International Journals. He also received two
gold-medals for best research papers of the year. His most recent books is How to buy best series
(November 2016 publishing at Amazon).
He is living happily with his family in his home country.