C Scott Brown / Android Authority
Although there are many big phones there, manufacturers are not out of a slight spin, the truth, or the straightforward lie about their products so that they can be erected. Don’t believe me? We covered some sketch smartphone marketing tricks before many moons, and after that we have used a lot of objectionable tactics.
Keeping this in mind, I’m taking another look at some smartphone marketing tricks that you should not fall.
Which marketing tactic do you hate the most?
2 votes
Measurement of suspicious foldable phone
0 %
Claims of misleading camera zoom
0 %
To accelerate the features of AI
50 %
To mislead the claims of protective glasses
0 %
Bouncing about the sparkle of the peak
50 %
Measurement of suspicious charge
0 %
Promoting them before the features are developed
0 %
There is no guarantee of water loss
0 %
1. Foldable phone thickness and weight measurement
Paul Jones / Android Authority
This is a recent tactic on the list, as foldable phone makers are now using two ways to measure the thickness of the device. The first method looks at a folded device measured from the core screen to the core without considering the camera bump. This method is not perfect, but it is usually accepted on traditional phones.
However, the honor measures its foldable without considering the inner screen protective film. It was revealed after a leaker on Twitter that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is considered thinner than the world’s thin foldable phone (Honor Magic V5). In addition, this shows that the OPPO also measures its foldables using this procedure. This is highly objectionable, because this internal film does not mean that users should be removed. As far as we can tell, Google and Samsung use the first method of measurement.
In any way, when you say a manufacturer says that its device is the world’s thin foldable phone, you cannot rely fully. In addition, the honor, Oppo and Vivo measure their foldable weight without adding the inner screen protective film. Once again, this is an objectionable way for your device to look better for users. This is also disappointing because today’s foldable phones are thin and light anyway.
2. Fed to the optical zoom
I have said before, and I will say it again. When you talk about camera zoom, you can’t really trust some manufacturers. Perhaps the most unpleasant example is Huawei’s Pura 80 Ultra. Huawei says the phone has a 50MP zoom camera that switchs between 3.7X and 9.4x “optical zoom”. However, look closely at the special sheet, but confirms that the company is harvesting 2X from 4.7X optical zoom. Our test also shows that we can take a full resolution at 3.7x 50MP shot, but not at 9.4x.
Huawei is not alone in the mud. Google and Samsung are also guilty of suspicious zoom claims. Both these brands are called 2x zooms harvested from their main cameras “2x optical quality zoom”. Saying “optical quality”, they are probably trying to fool people to think that this is a 2x optical zoom or their 2x crops are like 2x optical zoom camera. These 2x images look great and maintain resolution like 1x shots, but they lose the pixel bining benefits such as low noise, brightness increases, and better dynamic limits. In any way, “optical quality” is a vague term that really doesn’t mean. This is a way to claim an impressive sound for manufacturers claiming an impressive sound. My advice? Just assume that “optical quality” means “very good” whenever you face this term.
If you think these examples are bad, I get news for you. Apple goes one step further and describes its 2x crop zoom on the iPhone 16space page as “2x optical in” and “2x telephoto”. No, iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus do not have telephotoes or parasopy cameras. But Apple clearly wants you to think otherwise.
3. Snapi AI features that aren’t really sharp
Another trend is for smartphone companies to show AI features such as Circle to operate devices. These brands often post short clips or GIFS on their product pages, which shows how easy it is to use these features.
However, fine print often includes withdrawal of these clips. In particular, companies like OnePlus and Samsung include excellent print, which is “short and imitation” in the circle. That is, Circle Two Search is less responsible on a real -world phone. This is not a big deal, but it is still a curious marketing tactic. We can understand by using it for Brewery, but it can lead to wrong expectations about the performance of AI properties. And this will not be the first time that Liberties were taken with the Google AI Demo.
Smartphone makers include media, including other features of Google AI, such as Gemini, Gemini Live, and Magic Composes. However, these OEMs contain excellent print, which states that these materials are only for “example purposes”. In other words, don’t surprise if it is shown, it does not work.
4. Comparison of protective glasses. To do with a glass
We have seen more smartphone makers creating alternatives to Gorilla Glass. This is not an easy task, as corning products are considered to be the best protective glass solution in the market. However, some companies are angry .The glasses do not help them compare their solution.
This is a problem because anger. Glasses with massive distances and flagship phone screens have gone out of right. This is the weakest type of protective glass solution. This does not prevent some brands from claiming that their customs safety solution is 2x, 5x, or anger. Oh wow, glass protection in your home is harder than $ 3 screen protector. Get out of here.
The more appropriate comparison would be to present a customs glass solution against any of the corning gorilla glass products. This is just understood because Gorilla Glass is the most popular solution and is the most obvious point of reference for consumers. The credibility of the honor, he told us that his own Nano Crystal Shield Glass, based on ceramic, should improve chemical glasses like Gorlala Glass Victos. Therefore, it is a good condition that all the glass solutions based on the ceramic should be more durable than the old gorilla glass products like Gorlala Glass Victos and 7I. I am sure these manufacturers do not want to threaten their relationships with corning, but I would argue that consumers are more important.
5. Bouncing about the sparkle of the peak
In recent years, this smartphone marketing tactic has become increasingly popular. Many phone makers now promote the brightness of their phone screens. For example, the Galaxy S25 ultra has 2,600 nuts peak brightness while the One Plus enjoys 13 4,500 nuts. However, for the most part, the peak brightness is a trick.
Peak brightness refers only to a very small area of the screen, which is often dynamic for HDR content, but it does not have a real effect on how bright the display looks like a normal look. A more important measure is high shiny format, sometimes called HBM or complete screen brightness. I have also seen Google references to HDR brightness. In any way, this measurement applies to the entire screen and will experience more and more auto -bushy when you are in the sun. This maximum brightness surface kicks for just a few minutes before the phone takes down things to save battery life. But when you step out, it’s still easy.
Some brands such as Apple, OnePlus, Google, and Motorola list full screen brightness on their product and/or specific pages. However, it seems that Samsung is only on the top of the peak. In any case, you should examine reviews and third -party websites if you do not get a full screen brightness data for a particular phone.
6. Some suspicious charging measurements
Ryan Hans / Android Authority
A marketing strategy that we have previously covered has a vague logic around 100 % charging. Many smartphones will show 100 % capacity but will continue to charge until 100 % data “will not be fully charged”.
If you do not want to put pressure on the battery, it makes sense, but dripok OEM can do more to make more impressive claims about charging times. For example, some brands may say that their phone takes less than 30 minutes to reach 100 %, but the truth is that the device may have to charge for another 10 minutes to charge the last bit of the battery.
Another marketing trick related to charging is to measure the phone’s charging time by 1 % instead of zero. This makes some meaning, as many people as their batteries are low when it is hit by zero. Nevertheless, going from 1 % instead of zero allows OEMS to shave more parts than the time of its promotion charging. No need to say, it will take a little longer to charge a completely dead phone than officially claiming.
7. Features before developing their properties
Ryan Hans / Android Authority
Another suspicious marketing trick is to promote features before they are ready for prime time. Perhaps the most notorious example Apple announced the restoration of Sri Assistant in June 2024. Guess what? This upgraded Siri has been delayed and is allegedly launched in 2026. About two years after the initial disclosure.
Apple is not alone in promoting features before developing. Google is also guilty of it, as it announced the Zoom Anemis feature in the Pixel 8 series launch in October 2023. At the time of the disclosure, Google said the feature would come to the Pixel 8 Pro through a “future” pixel drop. Unfortunately, Pixel 8 Pro owners had to wait until August 2024 and launch the Pixel 9 Series to achieve this feature. This is a long time to wait for a feature that was used as one of the phone sales points.
8. It is a water rescue, but your warrant says otherwise
Edgar Survints / Android Authority
The most sustainable marketing strategy includes promoting water -avoiding phones. However, scrolling on fine print, and you will see that the phone warranty has not covered water loss. This is also not a new tactic. I remember that in the mid -2010’s, its water -sparrowing Xperia models were on fire to refuse to respect the loss of water. In fact, Sony also described his phones as “water proof” during this time.
This resort has some logic, because of the rubber seals, gaskets, and water -avoiding coatings, the phones slowly lose their water resistance over time. The demolition of your phone can also result in cracks and other types of damage that compromise on IP rating. Nevertheless, it still feels like a coupout for manufacturers to promote IP67, IP68, and even IP69 rating, but refuses to put money on where their mouth is.
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