5 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Cheap Android Smartphones

The popularity of smartphones running on android operating system has misguided users believing that they will get the same user experience from just any android smartphone. Well, technically, the fact that the device is running on android means that you should be able to run all the apps in the play store but it is not as simple as that. The user experience is not the same despite being able to run the same range of games and other applications. Low end android devices will keep ‘hanging’ when some applications are installed and most games will just slow and overheat the phone. While the obvious advantage for going for a cheap android smartphone is saving money, I will point out the main reasons why I believe you should never go for a cheap Android smartphone throughout the rest of this article. 

 Slow Single-Core Processors 

Buckle up and rack the dough to invest in at least a double core processor smartphone. This way, your device will be more responsiveness, you will be more satisfied with the overall performance and it will last you much longer. When it comes to CPUs, GHz and MHz are not all there is to consider. A single-core 1 GHz CPU in a cheap Android device is only good for basic tasks and casual gaming. Users will notice performance drops when they run anything even slightly more intensive. Do not think of your single core android device as comparable to your desktop CPU even if it comes with a 1 GHz processor. You’ll encounter a lot of setbacks, you simply won’t have hardware that is good enough to run the current top apps if you choose to go down the dirt-cheap road.

 Insufficient Amounts of Internal Storage 

For an android device, internal storage is still very important even with expandable memory via micro SD. While data can at times be moved to the external memory, the apps that you install on your android device will be using the phone’s internal memory. Any device with internal storage less than 8GB will have you regretting right after you step out of the dealers shop. Any attempt to install multiple apps will leave you running out of space. And since you cannot move all you apps to external storage, memory card is only good for storing music, photos and any other form of multimedia.

Low RAM (Random Access Memory) 

Having insufficient amounts of RAM will effectively disable on of android’s key features: Multitasking. The Android OS will automatically kill apps in the background to open up more RAM for the currently open apps to prevent clogging up. Games and other memory intensive tasks will leave the phone redrawing and stuttering, which translates to you having to wait a few seconds when you tap that screen to open something. Most cheap Android phones come with under 1 GB of RAM which is not enough, perhaps just sufficient to run an app or two, which is one thing but truly getting to enjoy the multitasking capability of the operating system requires a lot more than that.

 Low Quality Touchscreens 

Cheap android smartphones even those with considerable screen size tend to have lower resolution. Try to go for a screen with at least 720p to enjoy viewing media from your smartphone. While it may be hard to notice the distinction in the interface, you will be able to make out clear sharp edges in videos/movies regardless of their native resolution, and your games will not be fuzzy either, particularly 3D ones. Anything less than 720p is not going to be as sharp and crisp as you would expect. I can’t stress enough the importance of a good quality screen on a smartphone to fully enjoy the experience. Ever heard of dead pixels? Yea they make your screen less responsive. This usually happens in low quality touchscreens mostly found in cheap android phones. You’ll probably get bored pretty quick if all the fun is sucked out by an irresponsive screen or blurred images and videos, or if you are experiencing difficulties navigating around apps.

 Lack of a Front Facing Camera 

 Everybody wants to take a selfie every once in a while, but how are you going to do that with no front facing camera? Many of the so called affordable android smartphones come without a front camera, and if it’s there, it is a poor VGA camera that will leave you hating your face if you happen to open it by mistake. There is not much fun in taking pictures without a front facing camera.

 Well, there you have it, reasons you shouldn’t buy one of these ‘affordable’ android smartphone. If all you want to make phone calls, text and moderate internet browsing, you are better off with a decent feature phone. They are cheap and happen to come with an incredibly long battery life.