Top Android Phones

Over the years, the android and Apple operating systems have become closer through competition. Android and Apple phones have many of the same features. However, there is a remarkable difference. Android phones are not restricted in the apps they can download. If you own an iPhone, Apple restricts you to using only their apps. Not so, the android users. This process of free-loading apps is called side loading.

Android Sideload Apps

The number of apps that your smartphone will support is an important issue. Every day, there are new apps being released. This is a development that will continue and increase as businesses develop their presence on the internet. While the Apple Store has an ample selection, they don’t have all the available apps nor will they ever. Actually, side loading is the process of connecting a phone or tablet to a computer. The usefulness of side loading is that the user has access to apps not available in the official apps stores or websites. In the past, this issue has not been of much concern for most people because app use was not that prominent. However, app access may be more important in the near future.

Top Android Smartphones

The android operating system is a general system that was developed independently of Apple and several years before Apple introduced its iPhone. Android is what is called an open-system. This means that anyone use the android system can individualize it to meet their specific needs. Apple does not allow users to individualize its operating system. Thus, this system is amenable to many applications besides smartphones. For this reason, there are many systems that use android. For example, automobiles use android for their digital equipment in their dashboard. There are six major phone carriers that use the android system.

• Samsung
• Google
• Sony
• Nokia
• Motorola

Of the smartphones that use android, the following four are considered the best.

• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S23
• Google Pixel 7
• Motorola Edge Plus

Android Connect

As I have discussed elsewhere, smartphones are all about embeddedness and connectivity. But what is the experience of buying a smartphone really like. If we go online to purchase a Samsung S23 Ultra, we will immediately encounter the following monster.

USB Type C

with USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface

Sub 6 GHz, mid-band and mm Wave 5G

Support with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile

Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3

OK. I know some of this but basically, I’m not learning much about the phone. I usually just look at the pictures and pretend either I understand this jargon or I pretend it’s for someone else but not me. So when I buy a phone, I know very little of why I’m buying. It worked OK for my friend, so it’s OK for me. Let’s change that. This is a new language. It will take some time to get comfortable and fluent with this new language, but we can do it. We’ve learned one language.

A New Vocabulary

What is a USB Type C? Your smartphone needs two things on a daily basis. It needs data and it needs power. Run out of either one of these and your phone doesn’t work. Data and power are two vital functions of our phone. The USB Type C is a connection system that can run both power and data through a single cable. You will witness this when you text your friend while your phone is recharging. With my smartphone, I had noticed this ability, but I didn’t appreciate what a technological advance it was. Now when I see the words, USB Type C, I know what I am getting.

Our next monster term, ‘with USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface, has the USB term in it again. I have a feeling that it has something to do with plug ins. Something like a port. Universal Serial Bus. This is what allows your computer or phone to connect to other devices. They allow data transference and recharging. The 3.2 is an iteration of the 3 USB device. This device allows a large amount of data to be transferred between devices. The USB Type C cable transfers data at the rate of 5 G bps. This is 5 billion pieces of information per second. The USB 3.2 Gen 2 Interface transfers data at 10G bps.

We are making progress on the monster lingo. Our next piece is “Sub 6GHz, mid band and mm Wave 5G”. The “Sub 6 designates a frequency range for digital services. Instead of G bps we have GHz. GHz refers to a radio frequency used to transfer smaller quantities of data. The advantages to this radio frequency is that it has a longer range and lower power consumption. These frequencies are used for data transference like those found in Bluetooth devices where the longer range and lower power consumption are important. These lower-quantity frequencies transfer 50kbit/second. This is 50 thousand pieces of information per second.

The mid-band frequencies are between 1 and 6 GHz. Thus, the Spectrum S23 Ultra uses the top of this frequency band. Now let’s see what mm Wave 5G means. A mm Wave refers to a type of radiation that is used to transfer data and in called a millimeter wave. The millimeter waves transfer data at 30 GHz per second to 300 GHz per second. They are used for high speed wireless communication. The term, 5G, refers to the technologies that use these types of waves. These technologies move large quantities of data rapidly and are called 5G.

In the fourth line of the specifications above, we have another leg of the monster which states: “Support with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile”. Personally, all I get from this is that the phone is being supported with something. First, what is a Snapdragon? A snapdragon is a chip that contains billions of switches (these are what information is transferred by). They are a nano technology (extremely small technologies) that are the size of a finger nail. These chips are semiconductors. A semiconductor is a device that stores and processes information by the use of these switches. Now let’s put this together and decipher the phrase, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile is a nano technology that processes data at a very high speed. It also uses AI to perform such tasks as language translation. This is an example of a machine embedded within a machine. This chip was created for mobile devices.

We are making progress! We have one more leg of the monster to translate. We are familiar with a couple of the terms. The entire leg is: Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. We’ve seen Wi-Fi and Bluetooth before. Briefly, “Wi-Fi” stands for wireless fidelity. It is a facility that connects a myriad of devices to the internet. Bluetooth is a system that connects devices over a short distance. The only thing left are a couple of numbers to define. The first goes with Wi-Fi and is 6E. It refers to standards set by the profession for Wi-Fi technology that operate within a certain bandwidth. Lastly, we see the numbers 5.3 following Bluetooth. The 5.3 refers to the latest version of Bluetooth. It was released in July 2021. So, if your phone has, for example, Bluetooth 5, then it does not have the latest version of Bluetooth.

Conclusion

We have slain the monster. The specifications described above are those of the Samsung S23 Ultra. It was used as a model of how phone specifications are written in general. When you look up a phone, you will be given information on the bandwidth of radiation waves it uses to transfer data; you will see information on the particular generation of the USB interface it uses; and the type of nano processor it uses. This is useful information, because it tells you how the communication technology is changing with each new series.

If you still prefer your iPhone, that’s OK. But you can enjoy your iPhone knowing that Androids are a viable and interesting technology.