Reference
Tech Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the specs and tech jargon you'll meet across our reviews and spec sheets - from AMOLED and mAh to UFS and Wi-Fi 7.
0 terms and counting- plain-English definitions for the specs and jargon you’ll meet across our reviews and spec sheets.
A
- Always-on display
- A mode that keeps a low-power slice of the screen lit while the phone is idle, showing the time, date, and notifications without waking the whole panel.
- AMOLED
- A display type where each pixel emits its own light, giving true blacks, high contrast, and vivid colour while saving power on dark content.
- ANC
- Active Noise Cancellation - headphones that use microphones to detect ambient sound and play an inverse wave to cancel it, hushing engine drone and background hum.
- Aperture
- How wide a camera lens opens, written as an f-number (e.g. f/1.8). A lower number lets in more light, helping in dim scenes and blurring backgrounds.
- aptX / LDAC
- Bluetooth audio codecs that squeeze more detail into the wireless stream than the basic SBC standard. LDAC and aptX HD aim for near-CD quality on supported gear.
- ARM
- The power-efficient processor architecture used in nearly all phones and tablets, and increasingly in laptops. Contrasted with the x86 architecture used in most older PCs.
B
- Bezel
- The border or frame of solid material around a screen. Thinner bezels mean more display in the same body and a more modern, immersive look.
- Bluetooth
- A short-range wireless standard for connecting accessories like earbuds, keyboards, and watches. Newer versions add range, efficiency, and audio features.
C
- Chipset
- The main processor package (also called an SoC) that combines the CPU, GPU, and other components. It largely determines a device's speed and efficiency.
- Codec
- A format for compressing and decompressing audio or video so it takes less space or bandwidth - for example AAC for music or H.265 for video.
- Colour gamut
- The range of colours a screen can show, measured against standards like sRGB (web baseline) or the wider DCI-P3 used for HDR film and pro work.
- CPU
- The central processing unit - the general-purpose 'brain' that runs the operating system and apps. Core count and clock speed affect performance.
D
- DAC
- Digital-to-Analog Converter - the component that turns digital audio into the analog signal your headphones can play. A better DAC means cleaner, more detailed sound.
- Dolby Atmos
- An audio format that places sounds as objects in three-dimensional space, including overhead, for a more enveloping effect on supported speakers and headphones.
E
- eSIM
- A SIM built into the device that's activated digitally, with no physical card. It lets you switch carriers or add a plan without swapping hardware.
- Ethernet
- A wired network connection over a cable, offering steadier speeds and lower latency than Wi-Fi. Gigabit ethernet runs at up to 1,000 Mbps.
F
- FPS
- Frames per second - how many images a game or video shows each second. Higher FPS (60, 120) looks smoother and feels more responsive in games.
G
- Gorilla Glass
- A brand of toughened cover glass from Corning, widely used to make phone and tablet screens more resistant to scratches and drops.
- GPU
- The graphics processing unit, which renders games, video, and animations. A stronger GPU means smoother gaming and faster visual tasks.
H
- Haptics
- The small vibrations a device produces to confirm taps, typing, and alerts. Precise 'haptic feedback' motors make these buzzes feel sharp rather than mushy.
- HDR
- High Dynamic Range - content and displays that show a wider range of brightness and colour, for more lifelike highlights and shadows.
- Hz (refresh rate)
- How many times per second a screen updates, measured in hertz. Higher rates (90Hz, 120Hz) make scrolling and motion look smoother.
I
- IP rating
- A two-digit code (e.g. IP68) certifying resistance to dust and water. The first digit is dust, the second is water; higher is better.
- ISO
- A camera setting that controls light sensitivity. Raising ISO brightens dim shots but adds grain or 'noise', so cameras balance it against shutter speed.
L
- Latency
- The delay between an action and its response - for example between a tap and the screen reacting, or your input and an online game. Lower is better.
- LTPO
- A display technology that lets the refresh rate scale down (even to 1Hz) on static content, saving battery while still allowing high rates when needed.
M
- Macro
- A camera mode or lens for shooting tiny subjects up close - flowers, insects, textures - with sharp focus at very short distances.
- mAh
- Milliamp-hours - a measure of battery capacity. A higher number usually means longer life, though efficiency and screen size matter just as much.
- Megapixel
- One million pixels; the count (e.g. 50MP) describes a camera sensor's resolution. More megapixels can mean more detail, but sensor size and processing matter more.
- microSD
- A tiny removable memory card used to expand storage in some phones, cameras, and handhelds. Card 'classes' and ratings indicate read and write speed.
- mmWave / Sub-6
- Two flavours of 5G. mmWave is blazing fast but very short range; Sub-6 uses lower frequencies that travel farther and through walls, covering most real-world 5G.
- Modem
- The component that connects a device to mobile or broadband networks, handling the cellular (4G/5G) signal. Its quality affects reception and battery use.
N
- NFC
- Near-Field Communication - the short-range tech behind contactless payments and quick device pairing by tapping.
- Nit
- A unit of screen brightness. Higher peak nits mean a display stays readable in bright sunlight and shows HDR highlights better.
- NPU
- Neural Processing Unit - a chip block built to run AI and machine-learning tasks efficiently, such as photo enhancement, voice features, and on-device assistants.
O
- OIS
- Optical Image Stabilisation - hardware that physically steadies the camera lens to reduce blur from shaky hands, especially in low light and video.
- OLED
- An emissive display family (including AMOLED) where pixels light themselves, enabling perfect blacks, thin panels, and strong contrast.
P
- Periscope lens
- A telephoto camera that bends light sideways through a prism so a long lens fits inside a thin phone, enabling much higher optical zoom.
- Ping
- A quick measure of network latency - the round-trip time for a small packet, given in milliseconds. Lower ping means a snappier connection, key for online gaming.
- PPI
- Pixels Per Inch - a measure of pixel density, or how tightly packed a screen's pixels are. Higher PPI looks sharper, with less visible pixelation up close.
- PWM
- Pulse-Width Modulation - a method of dimming OLED screens by flickering them rapidly. Low-frequency PWM can cause eye strain for sensitive users.
Q
- Qi
- The common standard (pronounced 'chee') for wireless charging. Set a Qi phone on a Qi pad and it charges through the surface, no cable plugged in.
R
- RAM
- Random-access memory - fast temporary storage the system uses for active apps. More RAM helps with multitasking and keeping apps open.
- Ray tracing
- A graphics technique that simulates how light bounces in the real world, producing more realistic reflections, shadows, and lighting in games - at a performance cost.
- Refresh rate
- See Hz: how often the display redraws per second. Higher rates feel smoother but can use more power unless paired with LTPO.
- Resolution
- The number of pixels making up an image or screen, like 1080p, 1440p, or 4K. More pixels mean a sharper picture, especially on larger displays.
S
- Satellite connectivity
- A feature on some phones that links to orbiting satellites to send emergency messages or texts where there's no mobile or Wi-Fi coverage.
- SoC
- System on a Chip - the single package combining CPU, GPU, modem, and more. The same thing reviewers often call the 'chipset'.
- Storage (UFS/NVMe)
- The built-in space for your files and apps. UFS (phones) and NVMe (laptops) are fast flash standards; newer versions read and write quicker.
T
- Telephoto
- A camera lens that zooms in optically to capture distant subjects, compressing the scene. It's the lens behind 2x, 3x, or 5x optical zoom on phones.
- Thunderbolt
- A high-speed connection (over a USB-C port) for fast data, external displays, and docks - common on laptops for one-cable setups.
- Titanium build
- A frame made from titanium alloy instead of aluminium or steel - lighter than steel yet stronger and more dent-resistant, used on premium phones and watches.
- TOPS
- Tera-Operations Per Second - a measure of how much AI work a chip's NPU can crunch. Higher TOPS suggests faster on-device AI features.
U
- Ultrawide
- A camera lens with a very wide field of view, fitting more into the frame for sweeping landscapes, tight interiors, and group shots from close up.
- USB-C
- The reversible, universal connector used for charging and data on most modern devices. Capabilities vary by the standard behind the port.
- UWB
- Ultra-Wideband - a short-range radio that pinpoints location very precisely, used for finding tagged items, smart car keys, and accurate device-to-device handoff.
V
- Vapor chamber
- A flat, sealed cooling part that spreads heat away from the chip using an evaporating-and-condensing fluid, helping high-end phones and laptops sustain performance.
- VRR
- Variable Refresh Rate - lets a display sync its refresh to the content, reducing stutter and tearing in games and saving power on static screens.
W
- Wattage (charging)
- The charging power in watts (W), like a 30W or 120W charger. More watts generally means faster charging, as long as the device and cable support it.
- Wi-Fi 6 / 6E / 7
- Successive Wi-Fi generations that add speed, capacity, and lower latency. 6E and 7 use the 6GHz band for less congestion.
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