What to say about the HTC One M8? They
often say the second album is the hardest, but the follow up to the
all-conquering HTC One takes the best of that phone and yet still
re-invents things enough to make it a massive recommendation over the
old model.
We love the speed of the camera, the Duo
Camera is smart as a tack, the Boomsound upgrade is impressive and the
design... well, you have to hold it.
The Snapdragon 801
processor has boosted battery dramatically compared to the 600 of last
year, and that means that photos also process much more quickly as well -
even the front-facing camera is much better.
Gaming,
movies, photography, browsing all work really well, and in a phone that
that's easily going to destroy whatever anyone else can design, unless
Apple or LG have got some dark sorcery up their sleeves when the iPhone 6
or LG G3 appear later in the year.
Quick Verdict
If
we were to criticise the One M8, it would be the camera's lack of a
megapixel upgrade, which means pictures are a little less sharp than
they might otherwise be.
That said, it's a minor point in
a phone that has barely any flaws. The lower megapixel camera means
faster shutter speeds, and if you don't want to zoom in a lot, most will
enjoy the depth perception and background de-focus ability to make some
pro-looking snaps.
We urge you to hold this phone for a
few seconds and try not to feel at least a small flicker of smartphone
attraction. It's got great specs, a splendid design and some clever
hardware innovation where the competition is relying on software to do
the same thing.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2 failed to take the top spot, and we honestly don't know if the iPhone 6
will be good enough to head straight to the top of the pile when it
appears? It looks like you're going to be spoilt for choice in 2014.
2. Sony Xperia Z2
Sony has something of a slump last year, following up the impressive Xperia Z with the lacklustre Xperia Z1 just a few months later.
The
camera, which was supposed to be the headline feature, didn't impress
as much as we'd hoped, and the screen was still lacking the IPS clout
that the Xperia Z Ultra managed - meaning muted colours and poor viewing
angles.
Anyway, enough about last year - Sony's back in
2014 and comes with an excellent phone in the shape of the Xperia Z2.
Tipped to be the third of the stellar smartphone triumverate, alongside
the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) we were intrigued to see how it
shaped up.
And the good news is it's impressive. Really
impressive. The industrial design is a little chunky but oozes premium
quality in a way that Samsung's plastic shell doesn't, and it's a little
more robust than its Galactical and Primary rivals thanks to being IP58
rated.
Great battery life, strong power and a good
camera all are present and correct with our new top three phones, but
Sony steals second simply by being a great all-rounder. It doesn't have
the polish of the HTC One M8, nor the more functional UI, but it does
what's asked with top-end specs. That's what we like.
Quick verdict
What
did Sony need to do to impress? Not a lot, but that screen and camera
needed a fix as well as adding in some other features.
Front
facing speakers, a new screen with better colour reproduction, 4K video
recording and inbuilt noise cancellation all make a great device that
should be right on your possible upgrade list.
Make sure
you check it out in-store before purchase, as some won't like the
larger build, but for a good all-round experience the Xperia Z2 excels.
3. Samsung Galaxy S5
2014 is turning out to be a
stellar year for the prospective smartphone user, as the HTC One (M8)
was joined by the Samsung Galaxy S5 in our 'best smartphone' list, and
now the Xperia Z2 enters the fray too.
There was a lot of
hype around the new Galaxy, and rightly so: it's by far the best phone
Samsung has ever produced, with a blazing fast core, a strong result in
the benchmarks and a larger 5.1-inch screen.
Then there's
the fact that with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU the Galaxy S5 is one
of the best phones on the market when it comes to battery life, besting
the already impressive One M8 in the power stakes.
Samsung
has also dropped the 'innovation' of the air gestures from last year
(well, they are in there but not the main focus) and improved the
hardware with a better camera, fingerprint scanner and heart rate
monitor too.
The last addition is pretty pointless... but hey, it's fun for down the pub.
Quick verdict
The
Samsung Galaxy S5 is a good phone, apart from the design. It's
something that needs to be updated sorely, and while it doesn't have to be an all-metal shell, it needs to evolve.
The
next generation of smartphones is a cut above last year's models - that
said, the LG G2 still impresses even with a few miles on the clock -
and if you're looking for a new phone, you should check out one of the
top three first.
The S5 has a clear UI, powerful innards
and is also waterproof... the rivals might edge it slightly overall, but
it's very, very tight at the top and whichever handset you end up with
won't disappoint.
4. LG G2
Wait, an LG phone in at number two? Believe
it people; LG has made a phone that not only impressed us but ran the
HTC One very, very close for the top spot in 2013 - and holds that place
into 2014 too.
We don't know where to start in terms of
extolling the virtues of this new handset from the South Korean firm:
it's got an insanely good screen, quality camera, the best audio pumping
out from its speakers and headphone jack... the list goes on.
We
even came to tolerate, then love, the power and volume buttons being
placed on the rear. These aren't ideal, but the ability to knock on the
screen makes it really easy to interact with this impressive device.
Verdict
There's so much on offer here that we can't help but recommend it to anyone looking for the best smartphone powerhouse.
The
only things that we dislike are the cluttered UI (pull down the
notifications bar and you'll see why) and the plastic casing, which
drops the premium feel of the phone a lot, especially compared to the
handset that sits one place above.
But launching at £400
on PAYG (and even cheaper with a few third party retailers), along with
comparable contracts older phones, is a really nice touch from LG, and
we reckon it's going to pay dividends.
5. Google Nexus 5
So we've updated our review with
the new phone software, and thankfully things are a lot better now. The
battery is improved, the camera a little more stable, and the low cost
is still in place.
You already know we like Android 4.4,
the clever implementation and the £299 price tag. We love the high power
CPU, the quality screen; even the rubberised outer shell.
You
can get the LG G2 for around the same price now though, and that offers
a far superior camera, better battery life and a huge slew of extra
features - it really depends if you're a fan of the stripped-down
experience.
Quick verdict
We're glad to put this smartphone higher up in the rankings, as it's one of the cheapest out there in terms of bang for buck.
It's
a great phone that hits the marks well - it lacks something in terms of
innovation, but that's not a problem for those that want to be able to
run all manner of apps and games at a decent price. It doesn't come in
at the same price point as previous Nexii, but it's still jolly cheap.
6. Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
Hey Sony...what's this? A phone without a 1080p screen? A smaller battery? Are you MAD?
Wait,
we get it. This is the mildly-nonplussing Xperia Z1 shoved into a
smaller frame, with almost nothing compromised (the above two points
aside).
With
a 4.3-inch screen it's one of the most easy to use devices in the hand,
coming in next to the iPhone 5S, but it does it with a much lower cost and a great battery life to boot.
On top of that it's waterproof and has expandable memory, plus a superb screen. It's been usurped in some ways by the Xperia Z2
insofar that if you want that Bravia-powered IPS screen, the G Lens
camera or just general access to Sony's tight band of media apps, this
is no longer the best Sony phone on the market and has dropped a couple
of places as a result.
However, if you're more about size
then this is still the best of the mid-range players... check it out if
you want to save a bit of cash over the bigger brother flagship too.
Quick verdict
Want
a great phone that's just a little bit smaller without losing all the
power? If so, then we've found your ideal device. Strong CPU, great
battery and expandable memory are traits we love to see.
It's
not got the same screen sharpness as some of the others on show here,
and the camera can oddly throw in a little noise here and there, but
these are minor gripes indeed.
It's been launched with a
palatable price tag as well - so head on down to your local emporium and
throw it in some water. Because it's waterproof too, not because you're
a vandal.
7. iPhone 5S
Did you see this one coming? The iPhone
5S behind five other Android phones in our rankings? Some think it
should be higher, some think lower - it depends on your level of Apple
love.
Never has a company polarised opinion in the
smartphone world like Apple - and with the iPhone 5S, so many are quick
to decry it while others know it to be the smartphone they've been
waiting for.
And let's make no bones about it: this is a
stunning phone, with a gorgeous two-tone finish, a high-res screen with
good colour reproduction, a 64-bit chip and that all-powerful TouchID
sensor that lets you unlock your phone with a simple fingerprint.
The iOS 7
update is one that we sorely, sorely needed and does bring a lot more
power and control - as shown by the impressive and pervasive Control
Center.
We really like TouchID, the 64-bit processor
might be a little useless now but definitely brings a touch more zip to
things, and the M7 chip gives developers something to play with in terms
of fitness, with the likes of FitBit taking advantage already.
The
issue of price is starting to diminish somewhat - but many vendors are
still charging the same for this older phone as the likes of the HTC One
M8 despite being a few months older.
Quick verdict
Let's
not beat around the bush here: the iPhone 5S is still one of the great
smartphones in the world thanks to a great package of technology, design
and UI intuition.
iOS 7 is the update we've needed for a
while, and does a lot to help keep Apple current at the sharp end of
the market - but we still can't wait to see what the iPhone 6 will bring, as essentially this is still the same phone as the iPhone 5 but with a better engine under the hood.
8. HTC One
It's quite a tumble from the top spot for
the HTC One, especially given it was our top smartphone for so long.
However unless you're desperate to pay a little less per month, the
newer One M8 does everything the original did, but so much better.
It's
nothing to do with the quality of the One – which is still one of the
outstanding phones on the market – but more the fact that if you like
Boomsound, and Ultrapixel camera, a sharp and bright screen or a
powerful processor, the M8 has improved in every way there.
But
let's not forget what made this phone so great: the supreme aluminium
chassis, the Full HD screen and the simplified version of Sense 5.0
sitting now on top of Android KitKat means it's still a pleasure to use
and recommend this handset - but again, only if price is your main
driver and you simply must have a One.
The
innovations are also more than just marketing gimmicks; Zoe
functionality allows the creation of delightful video highlight reels,
and the Ultrapixel camera means you've got a much wider range of shots
available thanks to being stunning in low light - and none of that is
diminished with time.
Quick Verdict
With power,
poise and beauty all combined in this innovative phone, HTC has proved
it can more than still cut it with the big boys when it comes to
bringing out a lust-worthy flagship smartphone - and the One deserves to
stay in the top ten.
However, remember that this has one
year fewer in terms of HTC promising to keep it upgraded, so if you
pick it up now you might not get the newer versions of the software in
12 months time. The battery is also not as strong as on the One M8 - but
it's still got a lot to offer.
9. Moto G
Motorola's back, and it's kicking off its
global smartphone revival with the keenly priced Moto G handset. A
mid-range handset with a low-end price tag - we're talking around £100
in some stores.
On paper the Moto G looks like an excellent handset for the price, and in practice it lives up to the billing.
As the Nexus 4
did with the mid-range market, the Moto G has turned the budget end on
its head with features found on handsets double its cost.
It
exceeds its rivals in several key areas, from the well defined 4.5-inch
display to its 1.2GHz quad-core processor and the early Android 4.4 KitKat update. There's a lot to love about the Moto G for its price.
Quick verdict
Motorola
must have cut some corners to get the price of the Moto G so low, and
the camera is one area which has seen the compromise, but that's one of
the only gripes.
So here's the upshot: Motorola is back
folks, it's official. It may not be the return we would have predicted -
there's no flagship phone stuffed full of the latest tech - but
arguably what the now Google-owned firm has done is even better.
The
Moto G is a top notch, low cost smartphone and we wholeheartedly
recommend this as the best budget mobile currently on the market.
10. Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung managed to hold off HTC at the top in 2012, but in
2013 the supreme stylings of the HTC One proved too strong against a
phone that's a slightly-better-version of its predecessor, especially
when you consider the design.
There's a lot, a lot, to
love with the Samsung Galaxy S4 though: whether it's a powerful camera,
a brilliant screen, a long-lasting battery or just a fluid experience,
there's a lot you could want in a smartphone right here.
The
cost is a tad higher than on other smartphones, but still cheaper than
iPhone level and is descending as the S5 appears. If only it was made
out of something a little more premium...
LG, Sony and
Google have come out with some attractive propositions and overtaken the
best the South Koreans can manage, but that hasn't stopped this being
one of the most popular phones of 2013 and the price is ever lower.
Verdict
There's
no doubt that, despite the design criticism, this is one of the best
smartphones ever made - it's clear, powerful and does everything we'd
expect a flagship phone from Samsung to do.
It's just a
shame that the perceived 'innovation' doesn't really add anything:
motion gestures, smart scroll and it's other non-contact bedfellows
didn't take smartphones to the next level, which is what we needed in
the face of Ultrapixels and BoomSound.
Make no mistake
though: you'll love the Samsung Galaxy S4 if you choose to go for it, as
it's a decent phone with some really cutting-edge features - but
remember there's something better thanks to the Galaxy S5.
10 best mobile phones in the world
Reviewed by Unknown
on
04:59
Rating: 5
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