With recent success to use them in almost every aspect of our lives, smartphones are not fully adapted to be the main trading platform. They offer almost desktop-level functionality and everything can be viewed, analyzed, and traded from today’s mid-range smartphones. Despite this, they still fall behind in a few departments. In this article, we will try to compare the smartphone trading experience versus the desktop one.
Desktop vs Smartphone Trading
The main disadvantages when using a smartphone when compared to a desktop are their small screen size and lack of indicators. When trading from smartphones, the availability of trading indicators is of great importance. Indicators can be used to analyze markets and make assumptions about price action and overall market direction. On smartphones, there are fewer indicators available than on desktop platforms. Especially when it comes to custom indicators, smartphones fall back considerably.
But this is not always the case. For Tradingview there is the same number of indicators on the mobile app as on the desktop and any indicator can be accessed similarly. But for other platforms like MetaTrader, this is different. These platforms on smartphones are severely limited when it comes to custom indicators and the number of in-built indicators as well. Compared to desktop versions, MetaTrader 4 and 5 mobile apps have much-limited functionality and fewer indicators.
Another aspect that smartphones are lacking is decent-sized screens. This is an inherent flaw for smartphones, since they are designed for mobility and must fit inside a pocket. Screen size is one of the most important aspects of trading to see all the necessary information traders need. Everyone has seen traders’ screen setup, a desktop pc with multiple screens full of various asset prices and tools. This is not always the case, as one big screen is enough to see enough candles on the chart to make conclusions and predictions.
But smartphone screens these days are around 6 inches, which is not enough to see all necessary information simultaneously. This one is huge since the screen size could potentially affect trading performance.
There are cases when smartphones are better than desktop software. Smartphones are great when it comes to controlling trades and trading activities when outside. They could offer a quick solution when not with your trading computer and need to close or manage an already opened trade. So when traveling, mobile apps could be a game changer, since it is more convenient to use a much more compact device rather than a laptop.
Let’s not forget tablets as well, they could somehow replace a laptop for trading but are still not as comfortable to carry around as mobile phones, and they have similar software and often fail to offer a desktop-level experience. Since more people use smartphones for day-to-day tasks, it is more convenient for traders to use smartphones as their trading gadgets on the go.
Current technology developments offer a solution for the screen with foldable phones introduced to the market. It is becoming more and more convenient to use smartphones as a main trading device. In the near future, it will be better and more comfortable to trade from smartphones. But now, the desktop offers a better overall experience when trading.
Conclusion
Some new traders are actually using smartphones solely for trading, but it will require extensive research and extra effort. Smartphones are better when traveling because of their compact size and flexibility to trade on the go. While PCs offer a full trading experience with features such as custom indicators and enough screen size to see all indicators and important information about price action, smartphones enable trading from almost anywhere in the world if there is a network or Wi-Fi connection.
The screen size and overall functionality may be limited on smartphones. While for the screen it is impossible yet to solve the issue, for indicators there is only better software needed. Tradingview actually offers the best mobile trading platform with desktop-level functionality.
