Myths spread like wild fire. So, it’s very important to know what the actual truth is. Today, we have covered 30 such myths about technology that people still believe.
1. More megapixels mean better picture quality
Cameras are mostly judged on the number of megapixels they have, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The only benefit of having more megapixels is that it gives you the ability to crop, zoom and print big posters.
2. More RAM means better performance
There are a lot of people who think that a higher amount of RAM in device results in a great performance, and end up buying the wrong device. However, for smooth performance there are several factors responsible.
Hence, a device can’t be judged based on the amount of RAM it has. Actually, a higher amount of RAM can hold more applications in the background when compared to a device with less RAM. So, while selecting your next smartphone compare things like SOC and GPU.
3. Bigger battery means better battery backup
It’s obvious that a bigger battery can hold more power, but does it mean that it also gives a better battery backup? A simple answer is ‘No’. Though a bigger battery can hold much more power, battery backup depends upon how it’s being used by the system.
What does that mean? A device having a small battery can last longer if its OS is well optimised as compared to a device with a bigger battery and an unoptimised OS.
4. Turning Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off when not in use can save power
It’s true that if you are actively using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, turning them off will save your battery. However, if they are idle (not connected), turning them off won’t affect the battery life.
The latest hardware used for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is so power efficient that you don’t need to turn them off every time you don’t use them.
5. More bars mean better network quality
Most of us still think that if our phone is showing the maximum number of network bars, it means that the quality of the network is excellent. But that’s not the actual case here. The network bars only indicate the network strength and not its quality.
For instance, if you are near a mobile network tower, your phone will show maximum network bars but if a lot of people are connected with that same network, the quality of the network will be poor which may result in call drops and slow internet speeds.
6. Installing antivirus software gives you 100% protection against viruses
As soon as we buy a new computer, we install the latest antivirus thinking it will protect us against viruses. Although these softwares are effective in removing viruses from your computer system, you can’t rely on them completely as every day a new type of virus tries to attack our system.
Thankfully most of these viruses are filtered and blocked but if your antivirus program is not up to date, it won’t block the virus and your system will be infected.
7. Jailbreaking/rooting your smartphone is illegal
Rooting or jailbreaking is a process where the user removes restrictions to overcome the limitations set by manufacturers on their OS. Though the process is legal, a user must know the complete process before attempting it.
8. Clearing background apps leads to better performance
It’s a common myth that clearing background apps will make your smartphone work faster. However, your smartphone’s operating system works differently. The OS present in your smartphone is smarter than you think, it automatically closes apps from the background as soon as it needs more resources.
On the other hand, when you clear apps from the background, your device takes even longer to open it again. Don’t believe it? Try it yourself.
9. Overnight charging leads to a battery explosion
This myth came to existence after a few smartphones exploded while charging. This common misconception was all over people’s mind because of which they stopped charging their smartphone overnight. But is it the case? The simplest answer to this question is ‘No’.
The modern smartphone comes with smart circuits that cut off power as soon as the battery hits 100% mark. So, it doesn’t matter if you charge your phone for 2 hours or 20 hours, your phone’s battery will not explode because of overcharging.
10. No one can track you if you use Incognito mode while browsing
Many people think incognito mode can save them from getting tracked, but you should know that it’s a myth. When you turn incognito mode on, you can easily find a message which tells you that your browser will not save history, cookies and site data and information entered in forms.
But at the same time, it also says that authorities and websites that you use will be able to track you. So, next time keep in mind that you are not hidden from the world while you are browsing in incognito mode.
11. Radiation from cell phone causes cancer
You must have heard about this common myth that says radiation from cell phones can cause cancer. People also questioned the SAR values of different smartphones, saying that the radiation emitted from them can cause cancer. However, no study was able to prove that.
12. We need antivirus software in smartphones
What’s the best way of preventing your devices from viruses? An antivirus software, one would say. But does your smartphone need an antivirus? Probably not. Android OS is built in such a way that viruses can’t affect them the way they affect your computer systems.
13. Using smartphones at the petrol pump can lead to an explosion
You must have seen several signs at the petrol pumps which says using the phone in this area is prohibited. The reason for this caution is that a spark caused by your phone’s battery can lead to an explosion. While there was a slight chance of this happening, this is not the case anymore with modern smartphones.
14. Apps from the Play Store and App Store are 100% safe
To ensure your security, smartphones don’t allow you to install apps outside your app store. But that does not mean that apps you install from the app store or play store are 100% safe.
There were many instances when these app stores removed apps from their platform because they were not secure. So, you should never install apps from unknown developers.
15. Virus can’t attack Mac computers
It’s a common myth that many people still believe. Many Mac users think that a virus can’t attack and affect their system but this is not true. A virus can affect both PCs and Mac computers.
However, PCs are targeted more often compared to Macs because the number of windows users are much higher than mac users.
16. Always update your smartphone to ensure great performance
We think updating our smartphones regularly will ensure that we get the best performance out of our device. But that’s not the case every time. A buggy update can ruin your experience. So, don’t rush to update your smartphone as soon as it arrives.
17. Charging your phone on Airplane mode leads to faster-charging speeds
‘Charging your smartphone in Airplane mode can make your phone charge quicker as it stops all the communication services.’ You must have heard people talking about it, but is it true? Well, not exactly. While turning on Airplane mode does stop all the services, it does not affect the charging speed much.
You may see a difference of 3 to 4 minutes but don’t forget that doing this will stop all your communications. So, the price you have to pay is greater than the benefits that you receive, the decision is yours.
18. Refreshing your PC will make it run faster
This myth is very common among people and most of the users still believe that refreshing their computer will make it run faster. But if it’s a myth, what does the refresh button do? So, it turns out that hitting that refresh button does not refresh your whole computer.
It only refreshes the screen you are on and it only looks if something is added or removed from that particular screen. For instance, if you copied something on your desktop and it’s not showing you that file, refreshing the desktop will make it appear there.
19. Services like Google, FB, Whatsapp, etc are 100% free
If you are also one of those who think that social services like Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, etc. are free to use, you were living your whole life with a lie. These services may appear free to use at first but they use your data and tracks your activity to show you ads which generate revenue for them.
20. Turning your phone off, or Turning on the Airplane mode will prevent you from getting hacked / tracked
Hackers need a medium to communicate with your device to hack it. So, will turning Airplane mode on or completely switching off your device will prevent it from hackers getting into it? Probably not. If your device is already been hacked, switching off or turning on Airplane mode may not help.
21. Fast charging is bad for your phone’s battery
There are a lot of people who think fast charging is bad for their phone’s battery and their battery will lose its capacity after some time. But this is not the case exactly, modern day batteries are capable of receiving power at a much faster rate.
Modern-day chargers can also deliver a high amount of current to charge the battery faster. This does not mean that there will be any adverse effect on the performance or life cycle of the battery.
22. Always use chargers that come in your smartphone box
Do you always use the same charger that came in your phone’s box because you think that using another charger may damage your phone? Well, that’s a myth. You can use any charger from a known brand, just make sure that the output voltage on both of the chargers remains the same.
23. Magnets will delete your data on hard drives
If you are a 007 fan you must have seen things like deleting hard drive data with a magnet. But if you think this is possible, let me tell you that it’s a myth and small magnets are not capable enough to mess with your hard drive.
However, strong magnets like the ones in a CT scanner can surely damage your hard drive and can even corrupt the data in it.
24. Charging your battery with power banks will hamper battery life
Some people think that if they will charge their device with a power bank it will hamper the phone’s battery life. But this is also a myth, which means you can charge your phone with a wall socket or a power bank without any worries.
25. Frequently charging your battery degrades your battery performance
This myth says exactly the opposite of what is true. Modern-day batteries are made in such a way that they perform better when charged frequently. So, every time you feel like plugging in your smartphone, do it without any worries.
26. Larger file size means better video/audio quality
Let’s admit it, while downloading video or audio files we always look for large files thinking that the larger file will have better quality compared to smaller files.
But this is not true as the size of files depends upon the compression and not the quality. So, a small file can also be of high quality, on the other hand, a large file can be of bad quality.
27. More cores in processors mean better performance
If you are one of those people who think that higher core numbers mean better processing power, let me tell you, it’s a myth. The performance of a processor mostly depends upon what kind of technology is used in manufacturing that processor.
So, a quad-core processor can perform even better compared to an octa-core processor.
28. Entering ‘http’ address manually can save you from a phishing attack
A phishing attacker dupes a victim into opening a malicious mail or website to steal personal data. This is why a lot of people think that entering http addresses manually can save them from such attacks.
But this is also a myth as an attacker can also inject a malicious code which may redirect you to a harmful website.
29. Always charge your battery from 0% to 100%
Before the invention of lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries, it was advised to charge your battery from 0% to 100% to maintain its life cycle. However, for modern-day batteries, this charging cycle is not only harmful but can even reduce its life.
So, what is the best way of charging your battery? If you want your battery to last as long as possible, you need to give it small top-ups and never let it drain completely.
30. Removing USB devices without using a safe removal process will corrupt your USB device/computer
Plugging a USB device in your computer enables the ‘safe remove’ option, but is it really important to safely remove your USB devices and what if you don’t do it? Well, it doesn’t matter if you use this option or not as long as you are not transferring data while unplugging it.
So, if your USB device is idle, you can remove it directly without any worries.
These were some common myths which people still believe but now you know that they are just myths.