More than just the screen and processor: A look at the features that are missing from the 1,000-yuan phones

Recently, Huawei launched its new Mate S at IFA. The new phone is equipped with Kirin 935 processor. At first glance, it seems that the performance is not much different from the Redmi Note 2 which uses Helio X10...

At present, the domestic thousand-yuan mobile phone market is becoming more and more intense, and even Luo Yonghao, who has always been known for his sentimentality, has entered the market with his sub-brand Nut. However, if you only pay attention to the obvious configurations such as screen, processor, and camera, you will find that the thousand-yuan mobile phone is not much different from the flagship mobile phone of three or four thousand yuan, but there are still some differences in some small places.

Gyroscope/Compass

The gyroscope sensor has attracted much attention since it was introduced by Steve Jobs at the iPhone 4 launch conference.

However, there are not many applications that support gyroscopes. In addition to some large-scale games such as somatosensory and car, gun and ball games, the main use is map navigation. Among the current Android map applications, Amap and Tencent Maps use electronic compasses, while Baidu Maps uses gyroscopes. The advantage of using a gyroscope is accurate positioning. For example, when driving a car through tunnels, caves and other areas with poor GPS signals, the gyroscope can still accurately navigate and guide the direction. In addition, the gyroscope can also play a certain role in anti-shake when taking pictures.

The most common function of an electronic compass is a compass. Similar to a gyroscope, it also serves the navigation function. The main function of an electronic compass is to guide the user, display the direction on the phone, and adjust the direction as the phone rotates. In urban areas with tall buildings or in areas with dense vegetation in the wild, the GPS signal is weak. An electronic compass can effectively compensate for the GPS, improve the accuracy of navigation, and bring convenience to travel.

Currently, more thousand-yuan phones choose to use virtual gyroscopes instead of sensors, but the user experience is much worse than that of real sensors.

NFC

I believe everyone has seen the scenes in Korean dramas where the protagonists use their mobile phones to pay, take the subway, and scan access control.

NFC mobile phones can be used for airport boarding verification, building access keys, transportation cards, credit cards, payment cards, etc. It is very convenient to use. However, the popularity of NFC devices in China is not high, resulting in various manufacturers in the thousand-yuan mobile phone market canceling NFC support in their designs in order to save costs.

NFC, a popular mobile phone feature in the past few years, is almost extinct in the current thousand-yuan phone market.

5G WIFI

5G wifi refers to a wireless signal frequency of 5Ghz, which is different from the previously commonly used 2.4GHz. Its frequency, speed, and anti-interference are much higher than the traditional 2.4Ghz.

Because it is a new frequency band, it will not be affected by household appliances such as microwave ovens. The current fastest 11ac standard is based on the 5G frequency band. When transmitting the same amount of data, 5G will save more power and provide a better user experience.

5G, as the future development trend of WLAN, is rarely seen in the configuration of thousand-yuan phones.

Sound quality

For a thousand-yuan phone, functions and cost-effectiveness are the most important, and sound quality is not the focus of manufacturers. Consumers often do not care about the quality of sound when purchasing. Although the era of "not being able to afford" eight speakers has passed, as a user experience, sound quality cannot be ignored.

Excluding the factors of sound source and headphones, the factors that affect sound quality include chip decoder, sound unit, audio interface, etc. Most flagship phones use independent chip decoders, while most thousand-yuan phones use the decoding function that comes with the chipset, just like the difference between an integrated sound card and an independent sound card on a desktop computer.

If you have high requirements for the sound quality of your phone, try to choose a HIFI-level flagship phone.

Summarize

Due to its pricing positioning, the configuration of a thousand-yuan phone is bound to be slightly reduced compared to a flagship phone, but it basically does not affect normal use.

When choosing a mobile phone, in addition to the obvious information such as the processor, battery, and screen, you should also consider whether the phone has castrated some functions in terms of sensors and other aspects that will affect its use based on actual needs.

In this era where price is paramount, as a thousand-yuan series of phones priced at X99, you can't ask for more.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.