• Paul
• On April 24, 2019

Practically everyone has a mobile phone. Nearly all of these people enjoy the wonderful tool that is the smartphone, with technologies embedded that we could scarcely imagine carrying in our pockets two decades ago. But there’s a huge understanding gap when it comes to the technology that resides within our portable devices – how they operate, how they can get broken, and how we can tix them. This article aims to demystify, slightly, the inner machinations of the devices that we use on a daily basis, explaining what’s going on in the mysterious innards of our cherished smartphones.

Electronics

The basis of all smartphones is the electric capabilities that they embody. It’s the complex motherboards of electronic and digital sequencing that ultimately enable us to use high-quality cameras, text friends, and navigate our daily lives instantaneously every day of the year. All of this is managed through well-designed circuit boards, which you’ll be able to understand that bit better by engaging with programs such as CircuitStudio, which help you map out the circuits that transmit electronic messages between functions on your phone.

Add-Ons

Your smartphone operates some extra functions that are run through hardware and software contained within your device. The most obvious of these if your camera, which is its own in-built system of hardware that connects to your phone’s operating system. New phones, released in the last two years, are rivalling the major camera manufacturers in the quality of the images they’re able to capture. The simultaneous rise of social media app Instagram has meant that millions of individuals are photographing their lives in high-quality and posting the results online. Meanwhile, touch screens are managed through their own unique hardware boards, as well as the thumb-print sensors that grant you access into your phone.

Applications

The other add-ons that you use on your phone come in the form of applications. You’re able to download from app stores a healthy plethora of apps that can manage, enhance or boost all areas of your life. These applications are saved onto your phone’s memory, and act in much the same way as your computer programs which are saved into your computer’s network. Their code is aligned with your phone operating system – be that Android or Apple – so that all you have to do is press ‘download’ from your app store of choice in order for the app to pop up, working and responsive, as soon as it’s saved to your device.

Physical Damage

While the inner workings of our portable phones are incredibly well-made, durable and high-quality, they can never mitigate for the inevitable wear and tear that humans will put their devices through. Usually, your phone will start playing up if its physical hardware has been damaged in some way – usually either by water damage or by being dropped on the floor. The former can lead to motherboard issues, with water compromising your circuits, while the latter cracks the screen, compromising the primary hardware that you use to navigate through your phone’s functions.

This guide introduces you to a small window of phone technology, helping you understand how it all works and what can go wrong if your phone is in some way broken. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to take better care of your vital device.