How to choose a smartphone with a right processor

The processor is like the brain of a smartphone. It controls all the functions of the phone no matter whether the functions are few or many. A high-performance processor will be included in a high-end flagship smartphone. As the price goes up, the performance will also go up. However, you need to ask yourself if you really need it. The type of processor you need depends on the applications and functions you want to run on your smartphone. It is important to choose a smartphone with a desirable processor within an affordable price range.

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What is a “Processor”?

A processor is, in fact, an SoC (system-on-chip) and chipsets. A processor directly controls and processes all the functions done within a smartphone. The higher the processor’s performance, the faster the phone’s functions. The function of the processor is not just data processing. It also has to support hardware and other features such as camera, Wi-Fi, screen, security system, Graphics, Bluetooth, internet connections and so on.

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Choosing processor by number of Cores and Core speed

The performance of the processors varies depending on the number of Cores and the Core speed of the processor. The Core determines the functioning capacity of a smartphone. If the processor has the more number of Cores, it can handle more complicated applications better. Nowadays, most smartphones come with multi-core processors; mostly dual-core (two), quad-core (four) and octa-core (eight). Some processors come with Hexa-core (six) but are quite rare.

The performance of a processor can also be measured by core speed called Gigahertz (GHz). It shows the speed at which each core operates. However, multi-core processors have multiple GHz so that they can synchronize performance and efficiency. For example, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 chipset has eight cores, four with 2.8 GHz speed while the other four have 1.7 GHz in order to reduce the battery consumption rate. So, you should choose your processor not only by the number of cores but also the core speed of the processor.

 

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Choosing a processor by Brand and Series

You can also choose the processor according to Brand and Series. There are only a handful of smartphone processor manufacturing companies. Qualcomm and Media Tek are the leading companies among them. Apple, Samsung, and Huawei also manufacture processors but most of them are used for their own smartphones. Both of the above companies have chipsets sorted by their performance levels. Qualcomm has Snapdragon 200, 400, 600 and 800 models. The bigger the number of the series, the higher the performance. Qualcomm recently launched the Snapdragon 845 series, the best processor to date yet. Media Tek’s processors have a unique naming system. There are two levels namely entry-level and mid-level, usually with two numbers such as MT67. The premium mid-range is called the Helio-P and the higher-end processor is called Helio X. For MediaTek, the latest in alphabetical order means the highest performance.