The Best Android Smartphones of 2014

[Scorpus]

It’s coming to that time of the year where you might want to consider grabbing a new smartphone for yourself, or as a gift for someone during the holiday season. Most of the phones that will be coming out this year have been announced and launched, so now is the perfect time to pick some favorites.

Throughout this year I have reviewed and had hands-on time with a large number of smartphones, especially from the Android camp. I’ve used all the flagships from HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony and more. Here are my thoughts on what's currently the best out there.

Read the complete article.

 

[theruck]

It's like comparing top vacuum cleaners of 2014. all the same, no difference, they all vacuum well

 

[Axiarus]

The Oneplus One is the top Android phone and is not on this list. What?

 

[Scshadow]

The Oneplus One is the top Android phone and is not on this list. What?

To be fair, the author is only reviewing phones that he has had hands on time with. I feel like the author didn't have anything better to write about. After all we are just around the corner to the release of the Nexus 6. This article should've been written about a month from now.

 

[Scorpus]

The Oneplus One is the top Android phone and is not on this list. What?

Only listed devices I've actually used. I contacted OnePlus multiple times about a review of the One but they weren't particularly helpful in getting something organized. So it doesn't make the list.

As for the Nexus 6, if it's any good, I will edit this list and put it in. By the time it's released and I've had hands-on time with it we could be well into November, which can be a bit late for people planning gifts/purchases for this holiday season.

 

[Julio Franco]

I should add to Tim's comment, we've listed devices we've reviewed/tested (almost if not all key Android releases) and devices you can actually buy -- good luck getting a OnePlus One without going through a bunch of trouble.

 

[Steve]

I enjoyed the read, thanks for the roundup.

 

[Micro Watt]

The Oneplus One is the top Android phone and is not on this list. What?

Specs wise though, the Z3 is slightly more equiped than the Oneplus One but when it comes to price there's no comparison!

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Should try a xiaomi mi4.
#1 phone easily.

 

[Arris]

Should try a xiaomi mi4.
#1 phone easily.

Don't think I can get a Xiaomi in UK
Although have to say I've been impressed with my 7 hour screen on time I've gotten from the Sony Z3. Very impressive. Nexus 5 gave up after 3 or so hours.

 

[Kibaruk]

Should try a xiaomi mi4.
#1 phone easily.

Don't think I can get a Xiaomi in UK
Although have to say I've been impressed with my 7 hour screen on time I've gotten from the Sony Z3. Very impressive. Nexus 5 gave up after 3 or so hours.

Then test drive the LG G2 or G3, both amazing phones with great battery life.

Btw this was almost a list of Android flagships, how about an all-rounder like the Moto G or whatnot, it's an amazing phone on the entry level range it should have it's space in the list.

 

[Nobina]

Every flagship on the pic is good. Maybe HTC One M8 cause of build quality. Even if OnePlus One was on the list It would be the worst phone in this group cause Cyanogenmod is full of bugs, phone itself has screen issues and whatnot. It's only hyped cause it's cheap and called "the flagship killer" or something like that.

 

[Arris]

Then test drive the LG G2 or G3, both amazing phones with great battery life.

Btw this was almost a list of Android flagships, how about an all-rounder like the Moto G or whatnot, it's an amazing phone on the entry level range it should have it's space in the list.

I contemplated the G3 (since I'd had a Nexus 5 which was made by LG), but I was pushing dimension limits with the Sony at 5.2inch. 5.5 is just too big for me otherwise I'd have seriously considered it. Looking up the dimensions it's not that much bigger (146.3H x 146H, 74.6W vs 72W), but the Sony was already a few mm wider than the Nexus 5 and didn't want anything bigger. And most web content is still 1920x1080 and always looks best on a screen at it's native resolution. Going higher and having it upscaled would mean more battery usage, plus bandwidth of mobile data connections in UK is not really ready for streaming UHD.

Oh, and the Moto G does get a mention at the end of the article.

 

[Kibaruk]

Oh, and the Moto G does get a mention at the end of the article.

True... my bad!

 

[RustyTech]

Tim, regarding your 2 dislikes for Sony Xperia Z3, I'm not sure that those qualify. Being on a 6 month release cycle and not having a "killer" feature could also mean that they have blended things together so well, that no one feature is overshadowed by another.

...and I got a Note 4 this past Friday...it's awesome!!! very very happy
bloatware? yeah, but you can uninstall a few items and Turn Off a whole lot more - which makes for a very good phone

 

[niklabs]

LG G3 is my choice for best phone of 2014. Performance hit due to 2k screen is not that huge at all and you really can't say G3 has a bad battery life!

 

[niklabs]

I forgot Note 4 :/ ^That being said before Note 4 was reeased, now both phones are on par, but may be Note 4 over G3 because of the huge xda support and a little better battery it has.

 

[tomkaten]

Should try a xiaomi mi4.
#1 phone easily.

Word, I just got the Redmi 1S for small change and it's unbelievable for its price. I just can't see myself buying a high-end phone for 3 times the price any time soon. Plus, MiUi is awesome, like a polished iOS with Android's insane customization... It's just great.

IMO, these Chinese phones just show what kind of hardware a modest sum can get you. The bigger brands should revise their profit margins soon (it's not like their phones aren't made in China as well). Xiaomi is already number 4 worldwide in unit sales and the company was founded in 2010.

 

[VitalyT]

It's like comparing top vacuum cleaners of 2014. all the same, no difference, they all vacuum well

Did you mean they all suck?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Don't think I can get a Xiaomi in UK
Although have to say I've been impressed with my 7 hour screen on time I've gotten from the Sony Z3. Very impressive. Nexus 5 gave up after 3 or so hours.

Surely you can get a real one, WCDMA version.
Also Vivo X5L is pretty awesome too and has really nice speakers/audio chip, it's the sleekest phone I've seen at 6.3mm.

$~300 in china gets you absolute top notch hardware if you notice spec wise it's better than the s5 in every way and half the price to boot. Plus I would say MIUI is better than samsung touchwiz but that's debatable.

 

[Guest]

Both Moto's for me are the standouts for being able to deliver high end hardware with AOSP software at an affordable price. They are pretty much Nexus's (Nexi?).

The Z3 compact is also very appealing to me as an alternative to pretty much all high end devices being the size of a readers digest.

 

[Guest]

I couldn't be happier with the Samsung Note 4. It's just outstanding in every way. I am beyond happy I didn't go iOS this time around.

 

[Guest]

You lost me at Android. It's like comparing the best American Idols.

 

[Tanstar]

You lost me at Android. It's like comparing the best American Idols.

One of the best Guest comments.

 

[tonylukac]

I wouldn't fork over $500 especially when internet land lines cost four dollars a month and I bought 2 cordless uniden phones for $10 which have lasted eight years.