Short Bytes: There is a group of very
complex components of a smartphone but that’s definitely not our first
thought when we head out to purchase one, is it? However, it is still
important to know the basic layers of hardware that help your device to
function. Today we shall be breaking down the core parts present in
what’s become as one of the essential devices of today’s computing age.
Are you ready to find out more what’s inside a smartphone? Then let us
begin. With
a myriad number of smartphones available today, it’s all a game of
different designs, features, cameras, display quality, performance,
battery life and numerous other things that consumers are looking for.
However, what goes on beneath these mobile computing machines is equally
important because if you’re knowledgeable in this aspect, then you can
come close to making a purchasing decision less excruciating down the
road.
Looking Inside A Smartphone — Different Components
1. Display
Perhaps the most obvious components of a modern smartphone is its
display, and while every detail you see is on the outside, it is
actually an internal component of the device. Display technologies in
smartphones of today come in two main types:
-Those based on LCDs (IPS technology and its variations)
-Those based on LEDs (AMOLED or Super AMOLED and its variations)
LCD vs LED
On an LCD-based display, there is a backlight that is shining through
some polarizers, and it is shining through some filters. And by
manipulating the crystal display, you can see a boatload of different
colors on the other side. What this means in simple terms is that the
light is not being generated by the display itself; it is being
generated by the light behind the display, and only some of it is coming
from the other side.
Now, on an LED-based display, the light-emitting-diodes are doing all
the magic. All the pixels that you can or cannot see are being emitted
by these minuscule light-emitting-diodes (also know as LEDs and they
produce red, green, and blue colors).
Over here, it is the display itself that is generating the different
and vibrant colors. The advantage of AMOLED or Super AMOLED displays
over its IPS LCD counterparts is that when a pixel is off and you can
see a black color, it is not using up any battery, which is why
smartphones that feature AMOLED displays are more efficient in
delivering extended periods of battery life.
With an LCD display, however, if you’re seeing black, the crystal
display is being manipulated so that none of the light gets through.
However, the light behind the display is still being generated meaning
that the smartphone will be using small bits of the battery.
However, one drawback that we feel the need to mention is that AMOLED
panels are more expensive than IPS ones, so if you see a phone with
such a display and it carries a slightly higher price tag, you will know
that the display is one of the many contributing factors for that
price.
2. Battery
Image: Pexel
Batteries of phones normally use lithium-ion technology that are
either removable or non-removable in mobile devices. With these
batteries, which an important component of a smartphone, you will not
have to worry about ‘calibration’ or ‘testing’ issues that were plagued
with nickel-based cells. Still, this does not mean that
current-generation batteries are not filled with their own issues, and
users have to be very careful when handling and using volatile
components like these.
3. ‘System-on-a-chip’ or SoC
Image Credits: Android Authority
The SoC is perhaps the most important component present in a
smartphone, and some users might confuse it as being the processor of
the device. However, it is far more than that; the SoC not only
comprises up of the smartphone’s CPU, but GPU, LTE modem, display
processor, video processor, and other bits of silicon that turn it into a
functional ‘system’ in a phone.
While you might see phones touting different SoCs from Qualcomm,
MediaTek, Samsung, Huawei’s own Kirin and Apple’s own developed
chipsets, they are using the same system architecture from ARM. ARM
functions by not only producing their own processors and GPUs but by
also licensing their design and system architecture to other companies,
so they are able to use their technology to make powerful and efficient
SoCs.
Some companies also use architectural licenses so that they are able
to make their proprietary processors for use in smartphones as long as
they are compatible with ARM’s system architecture. Examples of these
will be Apple’s custom-made chipsets running custom-developed Cyclone
processing cores, or Qualcomm’s Kryo processors.
4. Memory and storage
Image: PhoneArena
No smartphone can function without the use of RAM and memory (system
storage). First, let’s talk about the RAM; most mobile devices are
shipped with LPDDR3 or LPDDR4, while some high-end smartphones are
shipped with LPDDR4X RAM. ‘LP’ stands for ‘Low-Power,’ and it reduces
the total voltage of these chips, making them highly efficient and
giving mobile phones the extended battery life.
LPDDR4 is more efficient and powerful than LPDDR3, while LPDDR4X is
the holy grail of RAM, resulting in unprecedented speeds and efficiency.
LPDDR4X is more expensive to produce though, which is why you only see
them in flagship smartphones. When newer generations of RAM are going to
be introduced, such as LPDDR5, then you guys will see the flourishing
of LPDDR4X memory in mid-ranged devices.
As for internal storage, it exists as the flash memory, ranging from
32GB, and can go all the way up to 256GB on some phones. Naturally, as
the requirements of users start to rapidly increase based on the amount
of storage that they use, phone manufacturers will exponentially
increase the amount of RAM present in smartphones. When you fire up your
device for the very first time, one thing that you’ll notice is that
the advertised storage is not the same value as running on the phone.
For example, a phone featuring 64GB of storage will probably have
between 53-55GB available for your personal use. Well, that’s because
the smartphone’s operating system and pre-installed applications require
that initial internal memory.
5. Modems
Image: Qualcomm
Since smartphones are just phones at the end of the day, they need
communication components to receive and send text messages and calls.
That’s where modems come in, and every SoC manufacturer has their own
brand of modems, and this includes Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei and several
others.
These manufacturers are also battling it out to release the fastest
and efficient category of LTE chips, so if you have come across the term
Cat. 9 LTE modem, that is the fastest one out there. However, if your
own cellular network does not support those level of speeds, then
there’s absolutely no point of having such powerful chips present in
smartphones.
Still, companies are going to do their best to make sure they produce the latest and greatest chips of their desired category.
6. Camera
Image: ifixit
All smartphones come with a rear-facing and front-shooting camera. A smartphone comprises up of three main parts:
-The sensor (which detects light)
-The lens (the component in which light comes through)
-The image processor
While the megapixels on the smartphone are still an important part of
the camera, it carries less importance than it did a while back.
Instead, the primary limiting factor is the camera sensor of the phone
and how sensitive it is when light passes through the lens.
Remember, each sensor behaves very differently in a different
smartphone, so every single image or video that you capture will be a
variation of contrast, color accuracy, saturation and several others
compared to a different handset. Most camera apps have manual settings
so you can capture an image or video based on your own settings, but
most devices don’t have such an extended list of controls.
Since smartphones have small sensor sizes, they tend to perform badly
in low-light areas. This is an area where camera sensor manufacturers
have worked incessantly to improve considerably, but they have a long
road ahead of them it appears.
7. Sensors
There are five main sensors in a smartphone that allow it to give you
that functionality of a ‘touch-enabled smart device’. The names of all
these sensors and their importance have been detailed below:
Accelerometer: Used by apps to detect the
orientation of the device and its movements, as well as allow features
like shaking the phone to change music.
Gyroscope: Works with the Accelerometer to
detect the rotation of your phone, for features like tilting phone to
play racing games or to watch a movie.
Digital Compass: Helps the phone to find the North direction, for map/navigation purposes.
Ambient Light Sensor: This sensor is
automatically able to set the screen brightness based on the surrounding
light, and helps conserve battery life. This would also explain why
your smartphone’s brightness is reduced in low-light environments, so it
helps to reduce the strain on your eyes.
Proximity Sensor: During a call, if the device is brought near your ears, it automatically locks the screen to prevent unwanted touch commands.
Now that you have more information on the intricate things that
happen inside a smartphone, you can judge your future purchase by
comparing the various different components that are present in these
modern day computing devices.
8:47 PM
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