The “Core” Problem
Nowadays, every phone manufacturer loves to advertise their phone using the number of cores their processor has and all the nifty things this processor enables their phone to do. I have only one thing to say to specific phone manufacturers — “Stop fooling consumers, I have had enough of that fake power you advertise.”
Today, the common man, especially in developing regions such as India and Brazil is sold gadgets using the so-called ‘Numbers Game’. This tactic is heavily utilised by domestic or regional phone manufacturers. They use inferior chipsets which have the same number of cores as in the chip used in a phone by a world-class manufacturer. The advertisement these manufacturers use doesn’t mention the inferiority of the chip, it only states the following — “Quad-Core processor for half the price of a Samsung Galaxy S5.” This alone is compelling enough for some if not all consumers to waste their hard-earned money in buying such inferior devices.
However, the thing is that power is not determined by the number of cores or their clock speed or whatever other number that a manufacturer tries to throw at you. The number of cores definitely multiply the power however, the core architecture is the major component that determines the stability and the load that a chip can take when in use. There are two examples in completely different ecosystems which highlight this fact — the iPhone 5S and the Moto X.
Both of these phones use a dual-core system on chip, but are some of the fastest devices on the market right now. Sure, the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One take away the crown, but you can be sure that the chipsets in those phones cut no corners owing to the premium price. Although it should be noted that in terms of graphical performance the dual-core iPhone trades blows with the quad-core giants. This again demonstrates that cores don’t matter even when you consider two equally priced smartphones.
Now let’s consider a regional smart phone which runs on the so called quad-core processor. When you compare this chip to one an international manufacturer like Samsung uses, in 9 out of 10 cases the regional processor would be plagued with issues which disrupt the user experience whereas the international processor would provide an experience in a league of its own. In the end, customer satisfaction and experience while using the device are the only things that matter. These criteria tilt the scale in favour of the international systems. However, the low price and the presence of those so called four cores in the regional smart phone result in the regional phone being sold to a large amount of people who, in the end have to use a sub-standard device.
That doesn’t mean that cheap phones always use inferior parts. The Nexus line of smartphones which Google manufactures and the recently announced OnePlus One have proven to the world that one can buy a smart phone with the best specifications at a price that doesn’t hurt your wallet. These phones sell at a subsidised price which seems too low to be true. Despite the price, they offer one of the best experiences in the mobile industry contradicting all of those claims I made in the previous paragraph.
Now you may be confused and might have a simple question — “What is the solution to this problem?” I would say that using a phone before buying it is the most important safety precaution. Since most consumers don’t want to know the intricacies of devices as long as the devices are smooth, fast and work well, my prime advice would be to experience a device by using one of the display models at a showroom or by using a friend’s phone. When one holds a particular device and skims through content on it for a few minutes, a person can evaluate the flaws as well as the strengths of that device. This can greatly improve your chances and help you to narrow down on a phone which suits your needs and is perfect for you. However, if you still decide to believe the commercials and make a purchase, then there is a high risk that you might be at the “core” of the problem.
**Pictures courtesy phonearena.com
