Inquisitive Universe: A lovely evening to you on this beautiful weekend. How was your week? Mine was choked. I hope yours was better. With all of the recent noise going on, I have come to remind you of the basics. The things that truly matter. I'll start this talk by picking on something that everyone can understand. Cars. We've all riden in one. You could be an expert driver for all we know. The primary function of a car is to get people and goods from point A to point B. This is an undisputable fact. For this to happen, a car needs a good and decently powered engine, four solid tyres, a working transmission system and a strong chassis to house both the car's components and possible passengers and goods. Imagine now, that you're an individual who wants to buy a car. You go to the car dealership and the guy is advertising that it is the paint job of the car, the leather seat and the space for 2 extra tyres that should make you buy the car? Just imagine that for a sec He doesn't tell you anything about the engine, the speed, fuel consumption, long-term usage etc. He simply says, buy the red car because it is red and looks fine. Would you buy it simply because it is red and has space for 2 spare tyres? Most people would not but if they're presented with a phone and given the same type of marketing, they'll buy the phone. The puzzling thing now is why? The basic parts of a car that aids its function are the: Engine Transmission Tyres etc So the key parts of a phone include: SoC (Processor) RAM Storage Display Cameras Battery Once upon a time we used to complain about how companies would pad specs in a way that is misleading. Examples including: Slowing down processors (advertising a Helio P60 but using a update to make it weaker than the Snapdragon 625, HMD's handwork) Using high resolution cameras on processors that didn't support them Fake 120Hz refresh rates Dummy camera holes Big batteries on pressure cooker 28nm SoCs like the Unisoc 9832A Amongst other shenanigans In those days, companies worked hard to try to fool us into buying their phones. They mostly succeeded but at least they worked for it. These days, they don't even care because (this may offend some people and I don't care) we have gotten dumber as a collective. Alot of us. Where once upon a time, a company had to put 60MP cameras on a Helio P35 that didn't support it and call it a flagship phone, these days they don't have to. Why? Because they can advertise things that have nothing to do with the working of a smartphone and people will jump at it. If you think extended RAM was bad, this is worse. Now it's water resistance that is trending. Another set of people are using phone displays as hammers (like we are dummies) to knock nails into wood. HMD brought back replaceable batteries and are acting as if they discovered it. Others are advertising phones as fashion items. Fashion items to spice up your steeze. 😂😂😂 A trip through most tech groups on Facebook or a visit to Nairaland will tell you that as a collective people are getting really really slow and it's terrifying. I'm here thinking about how my next device should have computing power on the level of at least the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 or the Dimensity 9300, someone somewhere wants a phone that a car can drive over... Another one wants a phone that he can change the battery and it should be seaweed aquarium green. 🤦🏽‍♂️ These are the same people that stumble across me playing PS2 games on my phone with a controller and demand to be given the app refusing to believe that it won't work for them. Even as the world has decided to collectively lose average IQ points and descend into apparent madness, we at inquisitive universe will champion the cause of common sense. For your next phone, decide what you want: 1. The same or better computing performance 2. Photos/videos 3. Is the display a priority? 4. Do you want a big battery or is fast charge your thing? Check and master your specs, research a phone that provides your needs for you before you go out to a store. This is so that they won't sell you an entry level phone at an exorbitant prices. A glorified hammer or foot mat masquerading as a smartphone. From me to you, that's my bit. See you around and have a great weekend.