Is this the year for a phone upgrade?

The new year is here with us! Before you dismiss this as an error, hear me out. First, the term ‘new year’ is relative — think of the Chinese. Second, for most mobile enthusiasts, the year of the phones has just begun.

With the launch of most flagship phones having happened in the last two months or so, the year is shaping out to be quite bright.

We are going “ooh” and “aah” over the snazzy designs, dashing screens, sharp snappers and snappy processors being unveiled.

Otherwise ambiguous acronyms like S6 and M9 have suddenly become catch phrases that declare how cool we are. They have also made us look at our current phones and see fossilised tools reminiscent of a previous age.

In a nutshell, this is the time the pressure to upgrade gets serious — whether or not your current phone actually feels and looks slow and unimpressive.

Added benefits

The question is, however, do we really need all these upgrades phone sellers are touting, or would we just be bending to marketing gimmicks? Are these so-called added benefits worth an update?

Pause for a minute and consider, for instance, your phone’s camera and screen.

Do you know the ISO setting and aperture of your current device’s camera? Or whether or not the screen is IPS or Amoled — and if so, how many nits it illuminates?

Even more importantly, do you know how these affect your life? For instance, if you upload photos taken on your F1.8 aperture lens phone on Facebook, will you look more attractive on the IPS screen or Amoled one?

Also, marginal upgrades on processing power and response times on phones and are being trumpeted this year, with most flagships sporting a Snapdragon 810 processor — the fastest, most-efficient processor yet.

To be honest, though, a micro-second improvement in how a phone responds to a command tends to be nullified by the software add-ons phone manufacturers are installing on these devices. And then there are our natural inadequacies — a microsecond change is unlikely to be captured in all its glory by the human eye.

Same thing happens with a screen’s clarity ratings. A phone’s screen is composed of millions of dots pieced together dynamically to form an image.

Generally speaking, the more the dots, the clearer the screen. Flagships this year are all boasting screen densities of more than 400 dots per inch (dpi), with some sporting 577 dots per inch. In a quantitative world, all this sounds wonderful. Until you consider that the human eye can only see about 300 dpi.

What does this mean for the majority of us?

More affordable

Well, most of us just want a phone that can call, send messages, and allow us to comment on Facebook posts, upload photos on Instagram that will boost that ever-elusive follow count, and from time to time send out harsh criticisms on Twitter — you know, the simple things.

If you happen to fall among the majority, then consider that last year’s flagship phone or this year’s mid-tier, more affordable phone can meet your needs. You don’t have to break the bank to buy yourself the flagship of the year — which will be superseded a couple of months later anyway.

The phone manufacturers with a presence in Kenya have mid-level offerings that present just the right balance of features and price.

All you have to do is know what is important to you, compare this to the list of features available on a phone, and voila! You’ll have the right device.

Best of all? No bank accounts will be harmed in the accomplishment of this task.

Comments? Write to bizbeat@standardmedia.co.ke