Trading Forex From Your Phone

Trading Forex from a smartphone, or “mobile trading”, has really taken off in the last few years.

It’s easy to see why. Fitting Forex trading around a busy schedule isn’t always easy. Between work, family, and your social life, finding time to trade can be a challenge.

But trading Forex from your smartphone allows you to trade around a busy schedule.

Over the last three years more and more brokers and charting providers have begun releasing software for mobile trading.

So now all you need in order to trade Forex is a smartphone or tablet, and a stable internet connection.

Best Smartphone OS for Trading

OS is short for operating system, it is the software that the phone uses to operate its core functions. The two most common ones are Android and iOs (iPhone’s OS), but there are others such as Windows 10 mobile and BlackBerry 10 which surprisingly still exist.

Right off the bat I am going to eliminate both Windows mobile and Blackberry.

This is not to say that there are no trading platforms on Windows and Blackberry, but the choices are limited, and trading from these devices is not easy.

The dying market share of both these OS’s means Forex brokers and charting providers do not support them. If you have one of those OS’s then it is time to get something new for trading.

So it all comes down to Android vs. iPhone.

2017 saw iPhone catch up to Android so that in 2018, both operating systems were neck and neck which continued into 2019.

In late 2018, we saw an app launch for TradingView on iOs which helped close the gap between iOs and Android.

However, 2019 saw a dedicated Android app for TradingView which levelled out the playing field in 2020.

It is fair to say that in 2021, both Android and iPhone are great OS’s for trading Forex. It will simply come down to trader preference.

Battery Life So You Can Keep on Trading

Battery life is another vital factor, you don’t want your battery to die mid trade.

As you can see in the chart below, over the last five years battery life has been increasing at a surprising rate.

Average Smartphone Battery Life

In 2020, the average battery life of smartphones went up to over 13 hours of charge. This time is based on web browsing which uses about as much resources as mobile trading.

2021 will continue to see improvements and with wireless charging becoming more common, it will be easier for you to charge on the go.

Anything above 10 hours should be enough for trading, but some phones are able to go for much longer.

The age of your phone will also influence your battery life, as software improves and battery quality declines with time.

Personally I prefer at least 13-14 hours of battery life, especially if I am trading whilst abroad.

Don’t be fooled by battery sizes – a bigger battery does not mean longer battery life!

Below are 2021’s top picks for mobile trading!

1 Samsung S20

I am a fan of Android over iOS, so it is no surprise that the Samsung S20 is at the top of my list of the best smartphones to trade with in 2021. The quality of this phone is about as good as it gets, with a strong battery life and amazing quality screen, boasting a 120 Hz refresh rate, making it one of the smoothest smartphones to trade with.

The battery has improved over its S10 predecessor, but there is still room for improvement here, which we may see in the new Samsung smartphone later this year.

This all does come at a price though – this is not a budget phone and you will need to pay a decent amount of money. If you can afford it, this is the one I would go for.

But you may prefer iOS over Android, in which case…

2 iPhone 12

The iPhone 12 offers iOS users upgrades across the board from the iPhone 11 whilst still remaining similar and familiar.

Upgrading to an OLED screen is great to see, though the refresh rate is still sitting at 60Hz. The battery life has upgraded but it does not quite compete with the longest lasting smartphones on the market.

If the price tag on the iPhone 12 is a bit much for you, the iPhone 12 Mini stands as a fantastic alternative that gives you great specs for a lower price.

3 OnePlus 8 Pro

Making its way onto my top list in 2021 is the OnePlus 8 Pro. OnePlus have for some time been alternatives to the premier smartphones, but the introduction of the 8 Pro has catapulted them into the big leagues.

Whilst the battery life isn’t quite as impressive as Samsung, it is just behind it and will give you charge for the entire day, alongside their Warp charge which lets you get a full charge in 30 minutes.

The screen has a 120Hz refresh rate as well, so this phone will offer you a smooth experience. Lookout for OnePlus in the future – the flagship killer has officially become a flagship itself.

4 OnePlus Nord

For those of you that can’t afford the price tag of the OnePlus 8 Pro, the OnePlus Nord offers a fantastic alternative at a much lower price.

OnePlus is known for its affordable smartphones and are seen as flagship killers. This is their newest iteration of that flagship killer.

Whilst the battery life doesn’t challenge the top tier smartphones, there is plenty of power and a smooth experience that means this affordable phone is worth your time.

Want more options?

If you want to take a look at some other smartphones suitable for trading, below is a small table showing current popular smartphones, it shows their screen sizes and battery life.

Tablets, Laptops, & Notebooks – What’s The Difference?

Traditionally a tablet is a device with a touchscreen and no keyboard, and a laptop is a computer packed into a small package with an inbuilt keyboard.

Notebooks started as very compact and slim versions of laptops with built in keyboards. They were generally heavier than a tablet, but lighter than a laptop.

Over recent years the distinction between these three devices has become blurred.

Now you can get tablets with removable keyboards, these are called 2 in 1’s. A 2 in 1 acts as both a slim lightweight tablet, and a powerful notebook when the keyboard is attached.

For trading, 2 in 1 tablets are best. A portable tablet combined with the functionality of a keyboard make 2 in 1’s the ultimate device for a trader on the move.

All the tablets I discuss below are 2 in 1’s, but I will be referring to them as tablets.

The choices I have made below are my personal picks. The reality is there are hundreds of tablets available these days, and dozens of new choices being released each month.

It is impossible for me to test and keep track of every tablet that hits the market. I am a trader first and a tech enthusiast second.

The Best 2-in-1 Tablets For Trading

1 HP Elite Dragonfly

Taking the top spot in my standings is the HP Elite Dragonfly. If you are a travelling professional, this is the premier laptop to go for and it is well worth the price, even if the starting point of around $1,600 is expensive.

This 2-in-1 is lightweight and thin, ideal for being on the move, but packs a punch with its battery life and power.

It is safe to say that the Dragonfly is the best 2-in-1 your money can buy right now. On top of the great specs, this laptop looks great and is LTE compatible so you can get internet almost anywhere you go.

2 HP Spectre X360

Second in my list is another HP with the HP Spectre x360. Updated from its predecessor, the Spectre boasts upgrades in pretty much everything.

With an updated CPU, double the amount of RAM, and beautiful graphics with 4K viewing possible. This doesn’t quite take the top spot because the battery life has taken a small hit, but you can’t go wrong with this 2-in-1.

Similar in price to the Dragonfly, either of these options is going to give you a 2-in-1 that is powerful, great for on the go trading, and a decent battery life.

3 Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook

The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook has reached the third spot in my rankings and for good reason. If you are a trader on a budget, this is the 2-in-1 for you with a very low price tag compared to its competitors.

There are payoffs for this – the keyboard is small and the charger shares a port with headphones. Fortunately, the battery life is fantastic so for the price of this 2-in-1, I think it is worth this small drawback.

4 Dell XPS 13

Returning from the 2020 rankings, the Dell XPS 13 is still a fantastic option when it comes to 2-in-1 laptops.

With an amazing display that is incredibly responsive, the XPS performs similar to its top tier competitors and has an elegant design to boot. You will not be left wanting for power if you purchase this choice.

The battery life is nothing to write home about and neither is the speaker quality, but these don’t take it out of my top 5, not even close.

5 Microsoft Surface GO 2

Finally, another return from my 2020 list is the Microsoft Surface Go 2. Surfaces have featured a lot in my rankings over the last two years but 2021 has upped the stakes.

You will still get a great bang for your buck with this affordable 2-in-1. Performance is great, the design is smooth and the battery life is better than a lot of its competitors in these rankings.

If you are on a budget, this is still a great choice, especially if you don’t want to use Chrome OS in Lenovo’s Chromebook.

Conclusion

With the 2-in-1 market improving upon 2020, it really is a no brainer these days to purchase over having either a laptop or tablet, or even both! The technology and design improvements that are apparent in this year’s rankings mean that you can get the best of both worlds.

Pricing is also improving year upon year. You can still shell out a lot of money on a 2-in-1 but the budget versions are competing strongly with the top tier options and offer a great amount of battery life and power. Safe to say, 2021 is going to be a good year to buy a 2-in-1 so I am pretty excited to see what 2022 will bring us. If you haven’t bought yourself one yet and you trade on the go a lot, I strongly recommend looking into buying one this year!

When I first wrote this article in 2015 there were few good options to choose from for mobile trading platforms.

These days things have changed and we are drowning in mobile platforms. There are still some standout platforms, but in many cases they might not be worth using.

How to Choose a Mobile Platform

More likely than not your broker already offers a mobile trading platform. Depending on your broker this will be their own proprietary platform, or they will probably offer you options like MT4, MT5, or cTrader.

The truth is, using your broker’s platform is almost always the easiest and best option. Trying to connect to your broker through other platforms can be tedious and unreliable.

So when it comes to recommending the best mobile trading platform, the answer is often to just use what your broker provides.

Now, you might be thinking “what about Trade Interceptor!” which was known as one of the best mobile trading apps, if not the best. Well they were purchased by the broker ThinkMarkets, so they no longer connect to any other broker’s.

cTrader has always been a great option but very few broker’s support cTrader so it’s not widely used.

TradingView is consistently getting better on desktops and tablets and with their recent addition of an Android app, we could be seeing TradingView taking both app stores by storm. There are still improvements to be made to the app, however.

This is why I recommend using whatever platform your broker provides.

Hopefully in the next update I will have some exciting mobile trading platforms to share though.

Disclaimer: all links in this article are amazon affiliate links. This means I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you!) if you make a purchase through my links.