Dictionary of Phone Tech

    Hello, this is TheTechBoy with a special post. I know I have some fans out there who need a little help with technology, but still want to read my content so here is the Dictionary of PHone Tech Terms for you.

                                                                   Basics: 

RAM: Ram stands for Random Access Memory, when you open an application on your phone and leave it, this keeps the application open. This means if you go back to the application, then it will open faster. If you are buying an Android phone for basic use you want maybe 4-6 GB of RAM for basic use. If you like to have many applications open maybe look for a phone with 6-12 GB or Ram. Do not buy more Ram than you need and the extra is just wasted. 

Sticks of RAM

GB: How phone storage is measured. GB stands for Gigabytes. If you are shopping for a phone look for one with at least 128 GB of storage if your phone is more than 400 USD. This allows you to store pictures and videos, applications, recordings and downloads on your phone. If you are looking at buying a Flagship phone go for at least 256 or more GB of storage. Some phones even have TB (Terabyte) of storage. This may be overkill for some users because it stands for 1,000 GB.

HZ: The refresh rate of a phone's screen. When a phone's screen is on it loads whatever is on the screen. Most phones do it 60 times a second, and some newer phones do it 120 times or more. The more times it is done, the smoother a phone feels to some people. However, a high refresh rate (more than 60) can drain the battery. This is why some companies are introducing a refresh rate that changes. If you are looking at an image in your gallery, the HZ will go to or below 60. If you are scrolling or swiping it will go to 120 HZ. I recommend that the screen HZ not be a big factor in your buying decision. 

MicroSD: A small card that holds data. Some phones have this slot in their phone, that allows them to upgrade storage by buying a MicroSD card. If you are buying one make sure the card has at least 64 GB of storage and a good transfer speed. (How fast the files move from the phone to card). Maybe 130 MBS (Megabytes a Second may be good.) Source: Android Authority. Most flagship phones and no iPhones do not have this slot. 

Curved Edge or Folding Screen: A screen that is curved over the edge of the device. It makes the phne look good, but it can sometimes make the phone slippery and more fragile. A folding screen is a screen that fold in half like the Z Flip/Fold series.  

Haptics: The vibrations of a device make the user experience better. Good haptics makes typing good and are subtle, while bad haptics are just vibrations.       

Stylus: A pen for your phone tht allows you to draw. Some also let you take pictures remotely via  Bluetooth.  

Samsung S22 Ultra

                                          

                                                               Software: 

Widgets: Smal pieces of an application you can interact with on a lock screen or the home screen. They show some information about what the application is doing and allow you to use the application to glance at some useful information. Some widgets allow you to search the Internet such as the Google search bar widget.  

AOD: Always on Display, a dimmed screen that allows you to see some notifications and the time. The rest of the screen is black. 

OnePlus Always On Display

Software Updates: The number of new software features that a phone can get. Phones such as the S22 series, and Samsung's A5-7 series get four software updates. iPhones usually get five or more years of software updates. Software updates bring more features to the device. Security updates make the phone more secure. 

Desktop Modes: A mode that allows your phone to display to an external monitor or a lapdock. It makes the phone look like a computer interface.  

AI: Artificial Intelligence. It is supposed to make your phone smarter, but it is usually overhyped. It is used in some features such as Samsung's smart widgets and battery management. 

   

                                                          Types of Phones: 

Flagship: A device with the best specs. The best camera, screen, and premium materials such as glass. Most have features like wireless charging. Not as good battery life as a midranger because of the fast processors and bright screen.  Priced at around 700 USD and more, Apple's iPhone 14 series and Samsung's S22 series would be considered flagships.

Pixel 7 Pro

Midranger: Phones just below a flagship 400 to 600 USD. On the android side phone like this usually have great batteries, large screens, but a slower processor and a weaker camera than a flagship. Sometimes phones that are discounted become midrangers.  

Budget Phones: Phones that are less expensive than a midranger. Worse camera and processors, but because of this good battery life. Some may have really thick bezels and even have features such as a MicroSD card slot and a headphone jack, but the phone may not have lots of storage, RAM, and the speed may be bad.

Flagship Killer: A device with comparable specifications to a flagship at a lower price. It may not have as good build materials, and slightly weaker cameras,  but it does have good software features such as desktop mode and wireless charging.   

                                                 

               Connections: 

SIM: We use nano SIM cards. (Source) card that allows you to connect your phone to the network. Most phones have this slot in the phones. The iPhone 14 was one of the first mainstream phones to go eSIM only.

eSIM: An electronic SIM card. It allows the phone to be used without a SIM card. Activation is done through a carrier. 

4G: The fourth generation of wireless connectivity. Make sure your phone has 4G connectivity. It brought major improvements to data (internet) speeds. 

5G: The new fifth generation of wireless technology.  It is still developing and can sometimes be slower than 4G. When it is fully developed it will be faster and you will have faster upload and download speeds. Most budget phones do not have all the bands for 5G, and thus will not be as fast as some flagship phones. 

WiFi: A wireless connection that your device has. If you have a WiFi router that is connected to the internet. WiFi 6E is the new standard, and you need a 6E-capable router and phone to harness the fast WiFi speeds on your phone.

Bluetooth: A Bluetooth connection allows you to connect wireless devices such as mice, keyboards, and earbuds to the device. Some devices (non-IOS devices) allow you to transfer files slowly via Bluetooth.  

Call Quality: How a phone sounds when making calls. Some phones have an AI mode that makes calls better such as the Google Pixel 7 range. 

                                                                    Battery:

mAh: No this is not misspelled. mAh is how the battery capacity is measured. Typically bigger is better, but the side of the phone and how well-optimized the software is for the phone are also important.  Look for a phone with a 4000 to 5000 mAh battery. If you are looking for an iPhone the battery may be smaller because Apple optimizes the software.

Phone Showing Battery.

USB-C: The standard charging connector in all non-iPhones. It is a reversible connector that has fast data and charging speeds. Some phones, such as the OnePlus phones can finish charging in less than 30 minutes. There are flashdrives that use USB-C that allow you to put files on the device

Lightning: Apple's proprietary charging solution for ith phones. It also transfers data. It does not charge as fast as some USB-C chargers and is being phased out over an EU (European Union) mandate.

Wireless Charging: The capability of a phone to charge on a pad or a stand. The pad/stand is connected to an outlet, and if you set a phone down on it it will charge. This is a convenience technology and it is not faster than Wired charging.

Reverse Wireless Charging: The way to wirelessly charge another device from the back of your phone. It is not as efficient of course, but it is a good way to charge people's devices for a little bit such as earbuds, smartwatches, and phones.      

Power Saving Mode: A feature on phones that allow you to save power by stopping background tasks, lowing the screen brightness, and making the processor run slower. 

                                                               Cameras: 

MP: Stands for Megapixel. It tends to be that the more MP you have the more datil you catch in a photo, but MP is not all that matters. The sensor size of the camera and the processing matter a lot more. 

Computational Photography: A phone uses its processor and AI to make an image better. It takes the strain of getting the image perfect off the user.

Marco: A camera put on budget and midrange phones to make it look better. Usually at a low MP such as five or two. A macro is used to take close-up photos of subjects. Good macro cameras such as the one on the S22 Ultra use the ultrawide camera and autofocus to capture nice closeups of things like flowers.

Ultrawide: A camera that is zoomed out to around .5 or .6. It allows you to take pictures of landscapes, and lots of people without stepping back. 

Wide/Main: The main camera. Zoomed to about 1. This is the camera you will use the most. It usually has the most MP and is often the best camera on the device.

Optical Zoom: A camera lens on the phone that is zoomed with physical pieces of glass. Good for capturing portrait photos and objects that are far away. 

Digital Zoom: A type of zoom that just crops the image of the main sensor, resulting in a detail-less photo. A higher MP would help with this but the best type of zoom comes from a dedicated optical zoom lens.

Hybrid Zoom: Combined optical and digital zoom together to make super zoomed-in images (past 10x) look decent.  

Portrait:  A mode on some phones that blurs the background of a subject, making them the focus of the photo. Some phones (because of the lens) have a natural bokeh that lets you do this without software. However, the software can be very fun and let you record them as a video blurred or in different colors.

Pro Mode: A mode on some phones that lets you take pictures and just the settings like on a real camera. It allows you the change the focus, White balance, ISO, etc. There are also some pro video modes that also let you change these functions and more.

Filter: Software in the camera that lets you change how the image will look. Some filters include Black and White and some enhance the color.

4k: A high resolution for recording video. The are 8K modes, but 4K is usually the best. 

FPS: Frames per second, the number of pictures the video camera takes in one second. Movies are recorded at around 24 fps. Smother videos cand be recorded at higher framerates such as 30, 60, and 120 fps. 

Conclusion: That is all for now, what terms would you like to see in this dictionary. God Bless, and Tech Talk To You Later!! Merry Christmas!!!