Lesson 309 · 3 min
Choose a phone or laptop with AI
AI is a good advisor for working out what you need in a phone or laptop, and a poor source for the newest models and prices.
Shop websites throw specs at you: RAM, storage, refresh rate, chip names. A chatbot can translate these into what they mean for you, such as "enough memory for Zalo, photos and banking apps for several years".
Start with your needs, not models. Who will use it, for what, how long you want it to last, and your budget. Ask the chatbot to turn that into a short list of features that matter and ones you can skip.
Be careful when it names specific models or prices. Its knowledge stops at a cutoff date, so it may not know this year's phones and can state specs that are wrong. It may also agree with whichever choice you seem to like. Ask it to point out the downsides of your favourite.
Check specs on the maker's official website, compare prices at a few authorised shops, and read the warranty terms. If you can, hold the device in a shop before buying.
Do it now
Turn your needs into a checklist
- 1. Write who the device is for and what they do on it each day.
- 2. Use the prompt below to get a checklist of features that matter.
- 3. Take the checklist to official websites and shops to compare real models and prices.
I need a [phone or laptop] for [who and what they use it for]. I want it to last about [years] and my budget is around [amount] VND. Do not recommend specific models. Instead, give me a checklist of features that matter for me, with plain explanations, the features I can skip, and questions to ask in the shop. Then tell me the most common mistakes people make buying one.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Keep family photos safeWords from this lesson
- Hallucination
- When an AI states something false with confidence, such as a made-up fact, quote or source.
- Knowledge cutoff
- The date after which a model learned nothing new. Unless it can search the web, it may not know recent events.
- Sycophancy
- An AI's tendency to agree with you or flatter your ideas instead of telling you where you are wrong.