Smartphone ads will tell you all about megapixels, processing power, and shiny things, but if you’ve ever used a phone for more than taking photos of your lunch, you know the specs don’t tell the whole story.
The real magic lies in features that rarely get the spotlight, like little conveniences and technologies that make your device more durable and efficient. The following smartphone features have the power to make your device better but are often overlooked and underrated.
1. Water resistance
Thanks to consumer expectations, water-resistant phones are now a staple for flagship models. Although few phones are truly waterproof, many can resist water extremely well. Water-resistant phones can withstand splashes and survive a fall into a kitchen sink with running water. Some can even survive being dunked under water at a shallow depth for a limited period of time.
It’s the IP rating that determines how much water a phone can withstand. For example, phones rated IP67 or IP68 can withstand splashes and short submersions. But protection against water also helps resist dust, sweat, and humidity. Although a water-resistant phone is important, you still need a rugged case to protect against shocks and drops – especially if it’s a more expensive model. For example, a durable iPhone 17 case will add extra layers of protection to your device.
2. Adaptive charging
You probably know that lithium-ion batteries have a finite lifespan, and how you charge and discharge your battery impacts its longevity. Lithium-ion batteries degrade fast when they’re fully charged. It’s best to charge your device between 80-85% and run it down no lower than 20% to maintain battery health. But who has time to check their screen every 10 minutes to make sure you’re within that range? And when you need to charge your phone overnight, you don’t have a choice. That’s where adaptive charging comes in to save the day.
Adaptive charging prevents full charges by automatically slowing and cutting power to the phone before it hits 100%. By slowing the rate of charging overnight and stopping short of a full charge, the battery experiences less wear, extending the phone’s life.
3. Amazing haptic feedback
Haptic feedback is one of the most satisfying features that comes with using a smartphone. Those tiny vibrations are designed to make your digital interactions feel natural. Today’s phones allow you to adjust the intensity of haptic feedback to lower the intensity if the standard setting is too much.
Research shows that tactile feedback improves typing speed and accuracy because your brain gets a physical signal alongside visual cues. Haptic feedback is also an essential component in gaming where vibrations are used for realism and mimicking controller vibrations.
4. Water ejection features
Moisture muffles sound and can cause long-term damage to your speakers. Getting waterlogged speakers is a drag, but you can blast it out with a simple frequency. You can either download an app that will play the frequency or just navigate to YouTube and play one of the frequencies provided.
5. Subtle vibrational alerts
For those who need to receive silent alerts but don’t like the full force vibration, most phones allow you to adjust the pattern of the vibration so you can distinguish between a phone call, text, or app alert without looking at the screen. Some phones can even sense when they’re in your pocket or on a table and will adjust the vibrations accordingly. With silent alerts that don’t vibrate loudly, you’ll be informed of potentially important alerts without disturbing the room.
6. Variable refresh rates
Variable refresh rates dynamically adjust based on what you’re doing. This feature preserves battery life and phone performance. Dropping to 1-10 Hz while you’re reading email or text messages saves significant battery power. When you start scrolling through social media or gaming, the phone will crank back up to 120 Hz for smooth animations and reduced input lag.
7. Simple AI assistance
Everyone knows about the new generative AI and AI-powered editing features that comes with the recent iPhone lineups. But AI is good for more than just generating backgrounds and removing unwanted objects from photos. It can learn your usage patterns and adjust background activity to save power, screen spam calls, and transcribe voicemails in real time.
The true value of a smartphone lies in the details
Smartphones are marketed based on impressive features like cameras and processors, but the overlooked features often make the biggest day-to-day difference. If you’re dropping $1,000+ on a new phone, the small conveniences might just be the features that make the phone worthwhile.
