Mobile phones have more outrageous myths than India 99 vs Nigeria 1. Like that legendary football match that never happened, many of the myths here have no basis, and we are in utter disbelief at how long these have been perpetuated. But not to worry, we are here on a myth-busting mission:
More Megapixels mean a better Camera.
98.2% of phone users are guilty of this. Until recently, many of us have held the opinion that a higher megapixel count will automatically translate into a better photo. This is one of the few myths that have endured for far too long. On paper, a 200MP camera should be better than a 48MP one. Still, as the comparison between the Samsung S22 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max shows, more numbers don’t necessarily translate into better images. Phone camera technology has gone beyond the number game. From the iPhone 6 in 2014 down to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple has stuck with 12MP shooters for their smartphones, yet year-on-year, iPhones were among the best camera phones in the world. The quality of photos is not determined by the number of megapixels but rather by the quality of the lens, the sensor size, the ISO capabilities, and the image processing Unit of the SOC. As Google Pixels have shown us, computational photography (a.k.a AI processing) has much to say. So, despite what the marketing material might say, a 500MP Tecno is not outperforming a 12MP iPhone in 2022
Charging Your Phone Overnight is Bad for Your Phone.
Careful here… There are a lot of caveats here. Charging your phone under unfavourable conditions (like charging your phone and putting it on your bed overnight) is dangerous and even hazardous; you can read more about that here. But if you charge your phone correctly, charging it overnight is not bad at all. Except your phone is defective, you cannot overcharge your phone. Modern smartphones come with chips that handle power. Once your smartphone reaches 100%, it will stop charging.
The Only Charger You Should Use is the One That Comes With Your Phone.
This is laughable now! Since its launch of the iPhone 12 series, Apple has stopped bundling chargers with their phones, its closest rival, Samsung followed suit in 2021; since its launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, Samsung has stopped putting chargers in its FLAGSHIP phones. So, if you have to charge only with the chargers that came with your phone, what will iPhone 12, S21, and S22 users do? The truth is each phone has a charging specification, the charging technology it supports. For instance, the iPhone X and later will work perfectly with any USB-PD compatible charger. Samsung flagship phones are compatible with chargers that support USB-PD 3.0 or its proprietary technology, Quick Charge 2.0. If you don’t have a follow-come charger for your device, a high-quality third-party charger or wireless charger will do just fine and here is a good place to begin your search.
More Battery Capacity Means More Battery Life
Leeeemaoooooo! Now having a 5000MAH+ battery is good. Theoretically, more mAh means more juice for your phone, but having more juice to access is not as important as having a well-optimised device that ensures that juice doesn’t get quickly depleted. The iPhone 13 Pro Max from last year has 4,352mAh, while its 2021 counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, is fitted with a 5000mAh battery. Guess who has a better battery, ladies and gentlemen? The iPhone. An optimised device that balances performance with high power efficiency will always do better than a poorly optimised device with a high-capacity battery. The S21 Ultra is no slouch, but the iPhone is slightly better tuned.
4K Will Look Better on a Phone Screen
No, it won’t. We haven’t seen a jump from 1440p to 4k from the majority of phone manufacturers because our eyes are incapable of benefitting from the resolution bump, especially on a screen that small. 4k might look good on your TV, but on a mobile phone, you will have difficulty discerning the difference between a 2K screen and a 4K screen. Sony has tried unsuccessfully. Their phones equipped with 4K screens aren’t doing well…
Tell us in the comment section which myth you find the most interesting and which myth do you think we missed out.