Top Android Phones of 2015 (so far)

We’ve certainly had our fill of exciting Android releases thus far in 2015.  When I look at all the differentiation between each manufacturers’ offering, I get reminded of Android’s newly established motto, “Be together. Not the same“.

Each flagship presented to us have strengths and weaknesses, making the designation of the “best phone” only apparent when resolving what best suits you.  It is in this respect that we’ve compiled a rundown of the top phone options at the halfway point of 2015, in impression and comparison.  Let’s get started!

New Flagships

Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge

I think we can all agree this iteration to Samsung’s flagship brought the biggest change to design and build.  And it was about time!  Last year’s Galaxy S5 proved that Samsung could not keep recycling the same design and remain successful.

From the front, you’d be hard-pressed to tell that anything has changed.  Samsung has retained the same button, earpiece, and sensor layouts as before.  It’s only until you look at the sides and back where you notice a serious makeover.  The metal frame around the device is a bit more refined than what we saw on the Note 4 last year, with subtle curves and a soft finish.

Gone is the plastic, removable backing we’ve always known.  Samsung has succumbed to sealing the back for the sake of a premium build.  A flat glass back is now present, with a neat color-shifting reflection effect as you tilt the device.

Samsung also took this opportunity to take the curved edge concept from the Note 4 Edge a step further and put it on both sides.  Although it adds little to functionality, no one can deny it is certainty neat to look at, especially as content falls off the screen.

Under the hood we got another surprise, a home-brewed Exynos processor instead of the usual Qualcomm Snapdragon.  The 16 MP sensor was upgraded to a f/1.9 aperture lens, resulting in great low light performance.  Samsung’s TouchWiz UI has been toned down, and those lags and stutters are yesterday’s news.  This thing is quick.

 

HTC One M9

HTC has taken quite a bit of flak for what they delivered to us this year, and I won’t say it wasn’t well deserved.  It’d make more sense to look at the One M9 as a One M8+, we don’t have much change.

It pains me to see that HTC is sticking with 5″ for the display.  It is simply too small for a flagship in this day and age.  And what makes it worse is that HTC shortly released the One M9+ with a 5.2″ display overseas soon after the M9 launch in the US.

It is also painful to see the infamous black bar (surrounding the HTC logo) still present.  Bezel should be a sensitive subject when the speakers add so much of it.  HTC should have worked to reduce it (perhaps a larger device could have provided the extra space for the circuitry).

But whatever negativity may befall the One device, it is still a solidly built, sexy slab of metal.  This time around, HTC added a two-tone finish, for flare and jewerly-like attractiveness.  The speakers underwent a dolby-surround upgrade.  The Sense UI is still one of the quickest and is now on version 7.0, although the biggest software updates were home screen app location switching and control over theming.

The camera got both an upgrade and a downgrade.  Upgrade in megapixel count, downgrade in quality.  Reviews found that the Toshiba-manufactured sensor isn’t where a flagship should be.  Not having OIS results in grainy shots, low light shots are fuzzy, and light balance is iffy (whites get overexposed in shots with dynamic ranges).  It’s like HTC flipped their ideals from a couple years ago, when they held quality over MP count.

And where is that phablet!?

 

LG G4

It’s a funny thing that LG has been creeping their flagship launches closer and closer to the Spring each year.  They’ve refined the G-series into a very competitive device and want to play with the big boys.  Like HTC, LG took the route of minor design changes.  The G4 bears a striking resemblance to the G3 last year.  The big differences to the design are the back covers, where we have either a diamond-texture plastic shell or leather.  The plastic build is here to stay (perhaps to maintain the removable back cover for battery and microSD card access).  Also, although subtle, the G4 got a little influence from the Flex line, with a slight curve on the chassis.

You start to see where the changes are when you breakdown the components.  Although the screen is still a 5.5″ QHD display, the quality has been bumped up quite a bit, at least on paper.  LG is using a brillant IPS “Quantum” LCD panel, with improved vividness, contrast, and color gamut.  This is flagged as the LCD screen to rival Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen.

The other larger improvement was the camera.  LG packed a lot of technology here to go with the 16 MP camera:  OIS (in all three axis of movement, x, y, and z), laser autofocus, color-spectrum sensor (helps light balance), and tons of manual controls in the camera app.

 

LG G Flex 2

The LG G Flex 2 had a quiet launch at beginning of the year.  It predictably turned out to be a mash up between the original G Flex and the G3.  What surprisingly took dominance was the screen size, reduced down to 5.5″ from the mammoth 6″ of the original Flex, not something we see happen often.  LG has a sweet spot for 5.5″.

The banana-shaped chassis of course made a return, along with the self-healing backing.  The internals got bumped up to our first spotting of the Qualcomm’s new octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC.  The camera and laser autofocus were retrieved from the G3.  However, the screen was toned down slightly to a 1080P Plastic OLED screen, rather than the QHD IPS LCD of the G3.

 

Sony Xperia Z4 / Z3+ / Z4v

We weren’t sure if we would get anything from Sony in the first half of the year, as they were reportedly cutting down their mobile division and failed to make a usual flagship showing at Mobile World Congress this year.  The Xperia Z4 got announced overseas, without a word on availability in the US.  Then the Xperia Z3+ got announced, for the European market.  The difference in naming prompted a head scratch.  Did Sony think other parts of the world would be outraged to see this minor iteration be called the Z4, but it was okay in Japan?

So what changed versus last year’s Z3?  Even more subtleties than we’ve witnessed before.  The main upgrade was the SoC, to the latest Snapdragon 810.  There were minor tweaks to the chassis:  Front speakers were moved closer to the top and bottom frames, the charging port flap is gone, and thickness was reduced by 0.4mm.  The battery was downgraded to 2,930 mAh (from 3,100 mAh on the Z3).

And to add to the messy fragmentation, Sony just announced a continuation of partnership with Verizon, with the Xperia Z4v.  This variant tacks on a 3,000 mAh, wireless charging, and bump in resolution to QHD (I thought Sony made a stance against going higher than 1080P?).  These additions expectedly took a hit on the sleekness, adding some weight and thickness, and to further tone down the appeal, Verizon has Sony throw in a plastic build.

Xperia Z4 / Z3+

 

Xperia Z4v

 

Still Relevant

Moto X / Droid Turbo

Motorola did a great job last year delivering a successor to the original Moto X.  They up’d the specs to “flagship” status and boosted customization with Moto Maker, where you could choose from three different back cover materials (plastic, real wood, or real leather) and a multitude of color accents around the phone, something no one else yet offers.

The screen size was a modest 5.2″ (AMOLED panel, 1080P), the latest Snapdragon 801 SoC for the time, and a very near stock Android experience.  But alas, 2014 Moto X suffered from an Achilles heel, the camera.  Although on paper it sounded decent, at 13 MP, f/2.25 aperture, and dual LED ring flash, in practice the image quality often left to be desired.  So much so that Motorola admitted the fault and vowed to bring it next time.  The battery capacity was also unreasonably low for the day and age at 2,300 mAh.

Soon after the release of the 2014 Moto X, Verizon debuted their exclusive Droid Turbo, which was essential a Moto X on steroids, without Moto Maker and with some pre-set Droid-themed materials and colors.  Compared to the specs on the Moto X, the Turbo up’d the processor to the high-end Snapdragon 805, screen resolution to QHD, the camera to 21 MP, and the battery to a considerable 3,900 mAh.  And they threw in wireless charging for good measure.  It was certainly a top dog, but only for Verizon customers.

Moto X

Droid Turbo

 

Note 4 and  Note 4 Edge

Samsung’s Galaxy Note series will always be highly regarded.  The first Note started the phablet trend, back in 2011, when a 5.3″ screen was considered enormous.  In the following years, screen size in other flagships began to grow aggressively, and soon the Note found itself in a good place, as the leader of the pack of pocket-busting phones.

The Note 4 brought the build improvement that Samsung started with the Galaxy Alpha and fully evolved to the S6 this year, with metal surrounding the phone.  Else-wise, we got subtle refinements from the Note 3, still a 5.7″ display and a removable faux-leather back (sans the stitching).  Samsung upgraded their brilliant Super AMOLED screen resolution to QHD, toned down the color saturation that had plagued their panels for quite some time, and backed it behind the latest Gorilla Glass 4.  The Note 4 is still a speedy beast, with the Snapdragon 805 SoC on-board and 3 GB of RAM.

Samsung also took this opportunity to debut the curved screen we had been seeing in prototype form for quite some time.  They curved one edge of the display down to the frame and called it the Note 4 Edge.  This offering turned out to be more proof-of-concept, as it didn’t really add much value (and for a hefty price tag), but it was a start and great to see something different come to market.  As for functionality, the Edge could treat the edge portion of the screen separately and give you different controls than on the main screen or tidbits of information.

 

Nexus 6

The Nexus 6 made such a stir in the Android community when it was announced.  How could Google turn the Nexus line into a phablet-only club!?  For better or worse, Google wanted you to just be open-minded.  But then another aspect took a turn for the worse, the price.  Since LG took the reins starting with the Nexus 4, the Nexus became the phone for everyone through its affordability.  The Nexus 6 brought us back to the reality that if you want a premium smartphone, you gotta pay for it.

In terms of design/build, the Nexus 6 was essentially a blown-up Moto X, which wasn’t a bad thing at all.  The curvy-ness of the Moto X served well for a phablet variant in the hand.  Motorola nailed all the upgrades we would want from the Moto X:  High-end Snapdragon 805 SoC, check.  QHD display, check.  13 MP camera with OIS, check.  Dual front-facing speakers, check.  Qi wireless charging, check.  Let’s just say, as long as you didn’t mind the price and ginormous size , this was a dream phone.

But not all was rainbows and unicorns (that is, other than the 64 GB White version at launch).  The display looks great, but the visibility is poor outdoors.  The Lollipop pain-points have been addressed with the 5.1 update, but the battery life still isn’t where it should be.  And the camera could only be said to be decent at best, with struggles in low-light situations and an iffy camera app.

 

Cost Friendly

Asus Zenfone 2

Asus has been in the smartphone scene for quite some time…it just wouldn’t be necessarily known because they have never made much of a dent in the Android world.  That is, until the Zenfone 2.  Asus has shifted their smartphone focus to value.

Similar to the Oneplus One strategy, the Zenfone 2 can be seen as a flagship at a budget price.  We have a common 5.5″ IPS LCD display at 1080P, quad-core 64-bit CPU (Intel Atom Z3580 SoC), 4 GB of RAM, 13 MP rear camera with dual-LED and dual-tone flash, 3,000 mAh battery, 64 GB of on-board storage with microSD expansion, and Android 5.0 Lollipop, all for $300 (available via Amazon).  Killer deal if you ask me.  There is also a cheaper variant with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of on-board storage for $200 as well.

But do expect to see some some compromises.  The quality of the display is just okay, the camera is not on par with the greats, and the Asus software is undesirable.

 

Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3

Acaltel is not a house-hold name in the smartphone world, but they have been around, slowly building their presence.  They debuted the OneTouch Idol 3 this year, with very respectable specs for the asking price.  Be sure to check out our review here.

Like the Asus Zenfone 2, we’re looking at a 5.5″ 1080P IPS LCD display, 13 MP rear camera, and plastic build.  We start to see differentiation when we look more closely.  The Idol 3 is powered by a more-common Qualcomm SoC, the Snapdragon 615 (octa-core, 64-bit, 2 GB RAM).  The screen quality on the Idol 3 is unarguably bests the Zenfone 2, with more accurate colors and wider viewing angles.  Acaltel put some focus on sound, with dual front-facing speakers (powered by JBL audio), something we never see on budget phones.  The Idol 3 falls slightly cheaper than the Zenfone 2, at $249 (available via Amazon).

 

Moto G (2015) and Moto E (2015)

Motorola made quite a name for themselves in the budget sector, first with the Moto G, then followed by the even cheaper Moto E.  At sub-$200 price tags, they wanted to cover a range of low budgets, with phones that only had what you needed to get the job done, without thinking poorly of them.  Hence, the review process is different when you take a tour around the devices, and the question becomes, how much am I getting for my money?

Turns out, you get quite a bit.  At $180, the 2015 Moto G gives you a 5″ screen with 720p resolution, quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, 8 MP f/2.0 aperture rear camera, dual front-facing speakers, microSD expansion (up to 32 GB), and stock Lollipop (something you don’t see often).

At $120, the Moto E gets you a 4.5″ with 540×960 resolution, quad-core Snapdragon 200 SoC, 5 MP f/2.2 aperture rear camera, mono front-facing speaker, microSD expansion (up to 32 GB), and stock Lollipop.  In addition, unlike the Moto G, the Moto E has the option for a better model, with LTE and a Snapdragon 410 SoC, for $150.

Something to note is that neither phones have NFC, so you won’t be able to utilize Android Pay to make in-store purchases with your phone.

Moto G

 

Moto E

 

OnePlus One

I don’t think it’d be right not to include the OnePlus One.  It almost falls in its own category, both a flagship and budget offering.  When we first heard about this venture for OnePlus last year, we weren’t sure if it’d be successful.  Not to mention that awful invite system.

Fortunately, OnePlus managed to make quite a name for themselves and a large fan base.  The One was everything OnePlus promised.  Well…except for all those different StyleSwap back cover options.  Nonetheless, over time it has become proven to be able to stand up with all the rest, for half the price.  And with recent price drop, it is made that more a consideration, especially when compared to new budget phones at about the same price.

To recap, we’re looking at the still capable Snapdragon 801 SoC, 5.5″ 1080P IPS LCD, 3 GB RAM, 13 MP f/2.0 (Sony IMX 214) rear camera, 3,100 mAh battery, and Android 5.0 Lollipop with either Cyanogen 11S or OxygenOS.

 

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