Writing a top five list for all of the Android smartphones out there is a rather ambitious task. I mean, there are so many options in any price range. For example, you’ve got Karbonn’s Android One line, Micromax and Spice vying to be your smartphone pick below $100. Mid-range we’ve got heavyweight entries from Sony with the Xperia E3, the Moto G, HTC Desire 820 and Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha and the Lumia 830 all for between $200 and $400. For the big spenders looking to drop between $500 and $1000 for a phone, you’ve got the Lumia 1020, Motorola Moto X, Oppo Find 7, Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, LG G3, and the HTC One M8. This doesn’t even include the new breed of smartphones that are nipping at the heels of the well known flagship smartphones. These bad boys boast spec sheets that are equal to or better than their better known flagship counterparts, but do so with a smaller hit to your wallet. These phones include entries like the Oppo N1 and Find 7A, Lenovo Vibe Z2, Xiaomi Mi4, Meizu MX4, Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and Ascend P7 and of course the Oneplus One. With so many Android options to choose from, it can understandably be overwhelming to try and navigate the smartphone market. So, I thought I’d offer my humble opinion and help you get a handle on the unwieldy Android smartphone selection by giving you my top 5 choices. Any and all smartphones were up for so my only criteria were which phones would be the most value for your dollar and which would be easy to find in stores. Enough explanation, let’s get down to business!
5 – OnePlus One
Ah yes, we start with the OnePlus One. The phone that had smartphone fans angling for invites before it was made available to the public. So why were smartphone aficionados clamoring for this $300 to $350 ‘flagship killer’ phone? In addition to the impressive specsheet that includes a Snapdragon 801 quad-core Krait that clocks in at a blazing 2.5 GHz with 3 GB of RAM and a 5.5 inch display packed with 1080 x 1920 pixel display. You’ll also get a 3100 mAH battery and the option of 16 or 64 GB onboard storage with a 13MP rear facing camera. This camera comes fully loaded with a dual LED flash, auto focus, touch focus, facial detection, geotagging, HDR and is even capable of shooting video. The OnePlus One’s video capabilities are rather impressive with the rear facing camera able to shoot video at 2160 pixels at 30 frames per second, 2160 pixels (DCI) at 24 FPS, 1080 pixels at 60 FPS, 720 pixels at 120 FPS all with HDR and stereo sound. The front facing camera is a hearty 5MP that can shoot at 1080 pixels at 30 FPS. As if the specs weren’t impressive enough, the OnePlus One also has an ace up its sleeve. The OnePlus One comes with CyanogenMod, the powerful ROM that comes installed on top of Android which will allow users an incredible amount of customizable options. Not bad for a moderately priced phone with specsheets that compare to pricey flagships like the HTC One M8 or the Samsung Galaxy S5. Flagship killer indeed.
4 – Samsung Galaxy Note 4
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is big. It’s got a big display, a big price tag, and of course, big sales numbers. So is bigger always better? Well, in this case I would have to say yes. Besides the nice design of the phone, Samsung has also tricked out the Galaxy Note 4 with with a 5.7 Super AMOLED screen which is among the nicest you’ll find on the market today. So with a hefty price of $750, what will you get? Well, the aforementioned 5.7 inch Super AMOLED display comes with a substantial 515 ppi and 1440 x 2560 and a biometric fingerprint sensor. The Note 4 comes with either the Samsung designed Exynos 5433 CPU that boasts an octa core configuration or the Snapdragon 805 that clocks in at 2.7 GHz. If you get the Exynos chip, you’ll get the Mali-T760 GPU and the Snapdragon 805 will come with an Adreno 420 to handle the graphics. And the memory to go along with that horsepower? You’ll get 3 GB of RAM for your 32 GB of expandable onboard storage. As for your snapshot needs the Note 4 has you covered with a 16 MP rear camera that comes loaded with an LED flash, optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual shot, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, HDR, face and smile detection, geo-tagging, and panorama. It also comes with a 3.7 MP camera on the front. So yes, it’s safe to say that the specsheet is definitely worthy of its price. Beyond the specs you’ll also get the TouchWiz overlay which means that you’ll get the most from Android with the countless apps and features that have been customized specifically for use on the Galaxy Note 4 and its super handy Pen stylus. The biggest thing is, you’ll probably have to get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with a contract unless you’ve got an extra $750 laying around to snag an unlocked one.
3 – LG G3
The LG line up has a loyal fanbase, and with good reason. Their customized UI Android overlay and solid hardware have earned their loyalty. With that said, the reason that I’ve got the LG G3 coming in at number three is because it is LG’s most effective utilization of Android. The G3 boasts a True HD 5.5 inch display that comes with 534 ppi and 2560 x 1440 resolution. It’s got the Snapdragon 801 powering it at 2.5 HGz with the Adreno 330 GPU doing the heavy lifting for the graphics with a mighty 3,000 mAH Li-Ion battery to keep things running. The G3 comes with 16GB/32GB internal storage with a microSD card slot that can take up to 128 GB extra memory and 2 GB or 3 GB RAM. Beyond that, the LG G3 has earned the approval of many Android fans because of it’s moderate price of $500, solid specs and a screen that rivals the mighty Galaxy Note 4.
2 – HTC One M8
The HTC One M8 has tech reviewers singings its praises. Why is that? Well, it is a sturdy and beautifully designed smartphone that is more than just a pretty face. It also has a solid 4 MP camera and awesome specs beneath its slick exterior. Beyond that it really is a well built phone that has a reputation of surviving some abuse despite not having water and dust proofing. At the same price point as the LG G3, the One M8 edges it out for a few key reasons. One of them being the BoomSound speakers which are front facing that will play your tunes loud and clear. The HTC One M8 will also please Microsoft fans as you have the option of either getting a Windows version or the Android version. So beyond the external bells and whistles what do you get under the hood with the HTC One M8? It comes with an a quad core Snapdragon 801 CPU and an Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. You have the option of either 16 or 32 GB of storage that can be expanded using a microSD card. You’ll also get a rear mounted 4MP dual camera that comes with a depth sensor and a 5 MP for your front facing selfie camera. With all that you can see why the HTC One M8 has tech reviewers and Android fans alike jumping with joy.
1 – Huawei Ascend Mate 7
Remember those new line up of phones that are threatening to take the throne away from the mighty flagships? The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 gets my vote for the top Android smartphone pick because it is by far the best value for your hard earned cash. For about $500 you get powerhouse specs, beautiful design and one of the most impressive screens; all in a package that rivals the most costly Galaxy Note 4. So let’s get into the nitty gritty of just why this phone earned my number one spot. The Ascend Mate 7 is powered by the octa core HiSilicon Kirin 925 CPU that teams up with a Mali-T628 GPU to handle the graphics. You also get 3 GB of RAM along with 32 GB onboard memory that is also expandable. In terms of battery you get a staggering 4100 mAH battery that will power the 6 inch IPS LCD screen. Speaking of the 6 inch display, it has 1080 x 1920 resolution with 368 ppi density to display your best pictures. You also get a fingerprint sensor that is supposed to be among the best on the market. And to snap those photos you get a 5 MP front facing camera and a 13 MP rear camera that that features autofocus and an LED flash, face detection, HDR, geo-tagging, and panorama. As for the OS, the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 comes with the Emotion UI 3.0 Android overlay that will feel like home for iPhone users at it shares some design similarity to iOS 7. Beyond that, the bezels on the Mate 7 are among the thinnest out there. As you can see, the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is one of the most solid smartphones on the market today. I guess the thing that I really appreciate about what Huawei is trying to do, is that they are making competitive phones so that everyone can enjoy flagship performance and specs without having to drop $1,000 bucks on a phone.
Honorable Mention – Sony Xperia Z3
So I figured that the Sony Xperia Z3 deserved an honorable mention because despite its lackluster design, its battery life means business. Seriously, the Xperia Z3 has probably the best battery life on the market today and will keep going with moderate use for two days. The Z3 also comes with a solid camera set up and an IP68 certification which means it can take some abuse. Sony’s UI overlay on Android is also clean and simple. It’s got a quad core Snapdragon 801 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU with 3 GB of RAM. You’ve got the option of either 16 or 32 GB onboard storage that you can expand via microSD. As for the rear camera you get a massive 20.7 MPs and a 2.2 MP camera for your selfies. You’ll also get a 5.2 inch display with 424 ppi density and a 1080 x 1920 resolution. As much as the Sony Xperia Z3 deserves this honorable mention, it seems like Sony has some serious contenders on the horizon.