You should never skip checking the Audio feature of your smartphone and here's how to do it

When we set out to buy a smartphone we know exactly what is it that we are looking for, right? It could be the camera, the screen size, the memory, battery-life, what have you but we almost never ask about the audio feature of the ‘phone’. There could be many reasons for it but it’s mostly because maybe you think it’s a given or it’s probably too technical to understand or maybe it’s because smartphone makers spend a lot of time telling you about how good their selfie camera is! But again it’s not just calls that you need your audio feature for, your phone is practically a portable media device with your songs, movies and videos ready to play on the go and audio is important for all of it.

So here’s every single detail you need to know in order to help you check the audio feature of your brand new smartphone, and you must.


Audio Trends in Smartphones
By Faisal Siddiqui, President, HTC South Asia

Most smartphone shoppers make their purchase decision based on screen size, memory, camera quality, battery life, processor, software and maybe a few other features. But none or very few check out how good it may `sound’. Yeah, that’s right, how good is the audio. Surprising, isn’t it? That’s one area smartphone users should also pay lot of attention to, for some very good reasons.

Call quality begins with how good is the audio output. Users take it as given that for any brand this should be a non-issue. The reality is different. Very few brands like HTC, Apple focus a lot on audio quality. Just check across brands for quality of the call (the audio you hear) —the lows, the mids, the highs, bass—it varies across brands and models. Does it sound flat or digital. How does it respond when you switch to the speaker mode or are using a hands free or a headphone jack.

Even the position of the speaker can be vital to a great audio experience. Is it front facing, bottom mounted or on the back? Once you know the position of the speaker you will be careful not to block it to ensure optimum output. Most users will give this a miss. Besides most phone reviews might skip this, hence while buying a smartphone this doesn’t naturally occur to people. But buyers forget that what they are buying is not a customized product but a mass produced off the shelf device for personal use. That’s a very good reason you got to pay attention to where speakers are placed, how the smartphone sounds and more.

When checking out a new phone do check out: speaker placement, audio settings, volume, use of headphones, ways to boost volume without audio distortions, noise cancellation options and clarity of sound. Another important point that should be part of checklist is screen guard. Ensure that the screen guard doesn’t obstructs the speakers (particularly if you are buying a third party cover and manufacturer does not supply them). Same goes with a smartphone case—if you are using one, ensure it doesn’t block the speakers.

These are not just check points for those who are hard of hearing, but for all users as smartphones are your portable movie theatre, music system, video camera and a gaming console all rolled into one. Without high quality sound output you will neither enjoy the music, games or the video you made or even a basic call.

If the inbuilt audio options are not enough you could download audio apps, that enhance performance. Apps like Equalizer Pro and Poweramp come with an assortment of tweaks that will help get a desirable audio output.

Those really concerned about good quality end up buying their own set of external headphones instead of relying on the pair that comes in the box. Check out the best headphones and ensure that they sync up with the smartphone settings. Go for models that spend a lot on smartphone R&D—you are likely to get better bang for your bucks. There are a range of headphones like the XB (extra bass) series, besides Senheisser, JBL, Phillips. Also, look for smartphone manufacturers which embed the best speakers and pay lot of attention to sound. If you are buying a low cost phone don’t expect great sound quality. Chances are that at high volume, sound in low cost devices will be distorted.

There are also manufacturers putting a lot of hard work in ensuring great audio quality. Models of Apple, HTC, Xperia are notable options. There are smartphone models with built in Harmon Kardon and Beats Studio audioware. Apple’s music app is good and their earphones more than compensate speaker’s output.

Different phones have different layout and hence audio can vary considerably from one model to another. You can also do adjustments within the smartphone like update the music player, adjust equalizer according to need and so on.

Next time when you are checking out the RAM, HD display quality and megapixels in your smartphone camera, do spare some thought for sound quality as well. High speed, buffer free downloads, HD image quality doesn’t go well with poor audio. Happy listening!