A 2025 cellphone with out these 7 options? No thanks

Fashionable smartphones, just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro, are full of the newest options however are sometimes out of attain for a lot of consumers due to their excessive costs. Whereas most customers most likely will not purchase the newest flagships, they need to nonetheless get telephones that go well with their use and have modern features that make them purposeful and nice to make use of.

No person likes losing their money, and spending cash upfront on fashionable options ensures your cellphone will last more with out requiring an improve. These seven must-have smartphone options make your cellphone extra user-friendly and supply a point of future-proofing to increase its lifespan.

1 Wi-fi charging

No strings hooked up

Wi-fi charging is a lot simpler and extra handy than wired as a result of all it is advisable do is place your cellphone on the charger to get some further juice. You needn’t fear about plugging in your cellphone, the muddle of a charging cable, or it getting broken with common use. Wi-fi charging takes on one other dimension when paired with magnetic instances — you get versatile mounting choices to make use of your cellphone for navigation whereas driving and different issues.

Other than comfort, wi-fi charging supplies a level of redundancy to increase your cellphone’s life. Smartphone charging ports are inclined to wreck and corrosion over time. In case your cellphone has wi-fi charging functionality, you will not want to fret about potential restore prices or changing it.

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2 A 120Hz refresh price or increased

Smoother graphics and scrolling

Refresh charges discuss with what number of frames your cellphone can show per second. Older fashions normally ship at 60Hz, however most fashionable telephones are transferring to 120Hz and above due to the variety of advantages it gives. While you open apps, animations grow to be extra fluid, and navigation and scrolling grow to be a lot smoother, too. Contact inputs additionally grow to be extra responsive and have much less lag with sooner refresh charges.

Movies and different content material may look higher when paired with a excessive refresh-rate show. It is also helpful for mobile gamers wanting the best graphics performance when enjoying their favourite titles. Most fashionable telephones have an adaptive refresh price, which means they modify it relying on the duty, so that you needn’t stress about extreme battery drain.

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Love them or hate them

AI is contentious as a result of it could possibly intrude with simplicity. I am additionally uninterested in manufacturers pushing it as a must have characteristic when most customers disagree. No matter your emotions, it is nonetheless good to have helpful AI options that make life simpler as soon as you employ them. Options like Google Lens and Circle to Search have grow to be indispensable for locating details about merchandise, nature, or the rest in your display.

Different AI options like be aware, transcript, and shopping help can prevent time by condensing textual content to make it extra readable and customarily optimizing your workload. Modifying photographs additionally turns into a lot simpler, as a result of you may magically erase undesirable objects. You may also use AI to translate dwell calls and dwell chats to speak with buddies or colleagues from different international locations.

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4 Quick-charging

Extra pace for larger batteries

Quick charging is a sensible characteristic we would all like as a result of smartphone batteries are getting larger, and wait occasions for the battery to juice up are additionally rising. Nevertheless, mainstream manufacturers like Apple and Samsung have dropped the ball on this characteristic and lag behind the competitors with mediocre 45W wired quick charging speeds. The identical goes for wi-fi charging, with the iPhone 16 providing 7.5W speeds and the Samsung S25 Extremely topping out at 45W.

Then again, smaller manufacturers like OnePlus provide 80W wired quick charging (100W outdoors the US) and 50W wi-fi charging on their flagship telephones. Charging pace must be a consideration when shopping for a brand new cellphone, though you will most likely must compromise relying on the model and different options you need.

5 Respectable selfie digicam

Video name readability

Many telephones embody glorious rear arrays however have horrible front-facing cameras for selfies or video calls. These cameras take blurry, low-resolution photos which can be embarrassing to ship to folks, placing you off from utilizing them. Dangerous selfie cameras get even worse in low-light situations and smash video calls due to unhealthy picture high quality. They will even make your work calls really feel unprofessional.

Most of us preserve the identical cellphone for at the very least two years, and it is value getting one with an incredible selfie digicam that can take glorious photos and facilitate clear video calls with household, buddies, and even coworkers. Some telephones provide as much as 50-megapixel selfie cameras, however 12 megapixels must be the naked minimal to intention for.

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6 Easy efficiency

Plan forward to keep away from disappointment

Shopping for that budget-friendly phone at this time could also be tempting as a result of it will get the job and serves your wants. Nevertheless, it’s best to think about the way it will carry out after you have added your apps and media library and obtained some software program updates. Many low to mid-range telephones would possibly work effectively when new, however their efficiency deteriorates when they should tackle demanding apps later or when their reminiscence will get full.

You may keep away from this problem or spending extra money on one other improve by getting a cellphone with good specs from the beginning. Getting a cellphone with a good chipset and at the very least 8GB of RAM for easy processing, and 128GB of storage to accommodate your media recordsdata is advisable for first rate long-term efficiency.

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7 5 years of updates

Enhance your cellphone’s lifespan

Software program updates are vital for prolonging a cellphone’s life and securing it in opposition to threats. As most individuals maintain onto their telephones for longer, it is smart for manufacturers to assist them to make sure they get good worth and the perfect person expertise. Some manufacturers, like Google and Samsung, have risen to the problem and at the moment are providing as much as seven years of system updates and safety patches to make sure their telephones run easily for long-term use.

In case you’re shopping for a brand new cellphone in 2025, it is value contemplating the mannequin’s replace coverage and total longevity. Not all manufacturers provide seven years of updates, however 5 is a good compromise and may cowl you for the foreseeable future.

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