Best Smartphones: Spring 2014

The major product launches for this spring are now behind us. This gives us the opportunity to evaluate the current smartphone market and identify the best smartphones in that market. We’ll break this down into a few categories, as well as cover Android and Windows Phone separately. If you’re on iOS, or leaning that way, then there’s not much to say as clearly the iPhone 5S is the current high-water mark for iOS phones. Only devices that are currently available will be on this list. Those devices that have been announced but not yet released will be eligible for the next version. We’re hoping to add this as a regular feature going foward, so please don’t hesitate to send us feedback. Timing of course will depend on product launches and appropriate test time with the devices.

We test a lot of smartphones at AnandTech, and as far as I can tell there has yet to be a perfect product. Generally compromises are made on some aspects of the device. There is no way we can cover every single way anyone can use a device, so when it’s named the best, that doesn’t mean it’s the best for everyone, but hopefully it’s the best for the majority. Devices named the best will always have their flaws, and if those flaws fall right into your requirements, it may not be the best device for you.

We’ll break each operating system group into four segments which are flagship, phablet, mid-range, and low cost. Flagship models will be the ultimate device from each manufacturer, and in theory should have no compromises. The phablet category is for the extra large screen phones, generally at or around 6″ in display size. Mid-range phones will be compromised somewhat to reach a lower price point, but should still be a powerful, fully featured device. Finally, the low cost segment will be for the phones which are low cost, but still deliver a good smartphone experience.

Android

Let’s start off the discussion with Android. This year there has been another move to the next biggest and best SoC, which in this case is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. While only a speed bump in actual clock speeds of the four Krait cores, the entire SoC got many small improvements, including eMMC 5.0, and a new silicon revision which resulted in a SoC which was more powerful, but also easier on the battery.

Flagship Device: Samsung Galaxy S5

This was likely the hardest category to choose right now, and for all of the wrong reasons. It was a close competition between the HTC One (M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5, but right now the edge is going to Samsung. The HTC is far and away better in the design department. It also has much better speakers and audio amplifier than the GS5, but unfortunately the HTC camera is only OK, and on a flagship device, that’s not good enough. The display accuracy of the HTC is also still a disappointment, especially when the competition is starting to calibrate their displays. So enough about HTC. What gives the edge to Samsung right now? Obviously the display is better calibrated. The camera, at 16 MP and with ISOCELL, takes better overall images, but does lose to the Ultrapixel on the M8 in low light scenarios. The GS5 can also shoot 4k video, which while not important to everyone, it’s a tick box that’s unfilled on the HTC with only a 4 MP rear shooter. And while I’m not a big fan of plastic doors on charging ports, the door does factor into the IP67 rating of the GS5 for dust and moisture protection. Add in the bonus of a removable battery, and the GS5 just squeaks past the HTC One.

Like I said – it was very close, but only because neither device has it all. If the speakers on your smartphone are more important to you, then the HTC wins hands down.

Phablet: Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Samsung has another win here with the Galaxy Note 3. The S Pen is a key feature of the Note series, and it’s well executed. While the Note hasn’t been refreshed to the latest Snapdragon SoC, it still packs in a Snapdragon 800, and with everything else you’d expect from a device like this – 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a good (but not amazing) camera, and of course the 5.7” 1080p display. Following in Samsung tradition, the back panel is removable which gains access to the microSD and removable battery.

Mid-Range: LG Google Nexus 5

It’s tough to compete against someone who’s not out to make money. That’s certainly the case here, and Google’s Nexus 5 wins for best midrange phone. It’s a lot of phone for the money, with the 5” 1080p display, Snapdragon 800, and a decent camera. Google might have some competition in this space though with another company that’s decided it’s not out to make money, but the OnePlus One is not officially available yet so we won’t compare it right now.

Where else does the Nexus 5 do well? The display is well calibrated out of the box, there is 16 GB of internal NAND with an inexpensive upgrade to 32 GB, and it’s fully unlocked.

Low Cost: Motorola Moto G

Affordable is the name of the game here. Motorola has proven you can get a good smartphone for a low price with the Moto G. For $179 off contract, you get a 4.5” display at 1280×720, Snapdragon 400, 8 GB of NAND, and all in a very nice chassis that feels great in the hand. If you’re willing to spend another $20, you can get bumped up to 16 GB of NAND. It’s a lot of phone for the money, and clearly you are giving up features on a device with a price like this, such as a great camera, but battery life is good, performance is good, and the price is low. The LTE version costs $219, but drops the NAND back to 8 GB, however it does offer microSD expansion whereas the regular Moto G doesn’t offer expandable storage.

Windows Phone

On the Windows Phone side, things are a bit easier. Although Microsoft is trying to change this, right now the market is Nokia, and pretty much nothing else. Luckily for Windows Phone fans, that’s not really a bad thing since Nokia has made some nice devices. The Windows Phone side is generally behind Android on hardware specs, although with the latest releases it’s only slightly behind with the best devices offering Snapdragon 800 rather than the 801 of the most recent Android devices. Let’s take a look at the picks.

Flagship Device: Nokia Lumia 930 (Icon)

Right now, the flagship Windows Phone is an easy choice. The Nokia Lumia 930 is a 5” 1080p phone packing a quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800. This phone is sold as the Lumia Icon in the USA, but globally it’s known as the 930. As with most Nokia high end phones, the camera is excellent, with a PureView 20MP rear shooter which can deliver lossless zoom and high quality photos. It also contains four patented High Amplitude Audio Capture (HAAC) microphones for high quality stereo recording. The device comes with 32 GB of internal storage, but unfortunately has no microSD card support. With 2 GB of RAM, Qi wireless charging, and a svelte polycarbonate body, this device almost has it all when compared to other Windows Phone devices with the one glaring omission of no Glance Screen support despite the AMOLED display. Still, it’s an easy pick.

Phablet: Nokia Lumia 1520

Also an easy selection is the Windows Phone phablet. The Nokia Lumia 1520 was the first Windows Phone device to utilize the Snapdragon 800, and with it’s also the first 6” device running Microsoft’s phone operating system. Since the only other 6” device is the lower spec Lumia 1320, we have a clear winner. The 1520 shares a lot in common with the later released 930 including the SoC, but as an added bonus the 1520 supports microSD cards in addition to the 16 or 32 GB of internal NAND. The display on the 6” phone is LCD rather than AMOLED on its smaller brother, but it does support Nokia’s Glance screen for notifications when the display is off. All 1520s other than the ones sold by AT&T also include built in Qi wireless charging.

Mid-Range: Nokia Lumia 1020

There is more competition in this range of devices than anywhere else. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any updates to any mid-range devices since summer last year, so now’s not a great time to buy a mid-range Windows Phone. The HTC 8X was a launch device for Windows Phone 8, and has a fantastic feel in the hand, and Nokia launched a couple of successors to the Lumia 920 which could be considered as well such as the lightweight 4.5” Lumia 925, but my selection (bearing in mind I already said it’s not a good time to buy) is the Lumia 1020. Launched in July 2013, there is still no other phone on the market that packs as much camera into a smartphone, so if this is your price range, you may as well go for that. The Lumia 1020 comes with a massive camera both in size, as well as pixel count. At 41 MP, and 1/1.5”, it’s simply way larger than any other smartphone camera on the market today. Internals though are decidedly last generation with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (dual-core Krait, 1.5 GHz), 2 GB of memory, and 32 GB of storage with no expansion options. The AMOLED screen is a 1280 x 768 resolution and supports Nokia Glance. Wireless charging is absent on this model, but can be added with a case. It’s not the most powerful phone in the world, but it does have a fantastic camera.

Low cost: Nokia

The low cost segment is also tricky, but it basically boils down to two devices. First is the Lumia 520. The Lumia 520 kind of took the Windows Phone market by storm last year. With an asking price often times well under $100 off contract, it quickly became the number one selling WP8 device by a large margin. However, I’m giving the pick to something that’s slightly less compromised, and only slightly more money. The Lumia 630 is a just launched phone, packing a Snapdragon 400 quad-core Cortex A7 at 1.2 GHz, a 4.5” display with ClearBlack (a polarizing layer on the screen to improve both sunlight readability, and overall black levels), and an optional dual-SIM model. Internal storage is 8 GB, with microSD expansion. RAM on this device is a lowly 512 MB, which will restrict some apps from running on the device, and there is no LTE available on the 630. You can get LTE on the slightly more expensive 635. At $159 MSRP for the 630, or $169 for the dual-SIM model, it’s a great way to get into the Windows Phone world for a low price. I’m picking it over the 520 for a few reasons. First, it’s got a better SoC even though they have the same amount of RAM. Second, it has the ClearBlack polarizer, which is missing on the 520 and really makes a big difference in black levels as well as readability outside. Third, it’s only slightly more money.

Please note that all prices quoted are either MSRP, or current sale prices from major retailers. All prices are quoted off-contract, and local prices may vary.

HTC Hits a Lower Price with the One (E8)

Today, HTC announced the HTC One (E8), a phone that is effectively aimed at providing the One (M8) spec at a lower price point. While the phone doesn’t keep everything, all the key features are still present. The major changes are effectively a move from the Duocam 4MP+2MP camera module to a single 13MP module. Based upon the F/2.2 aperture of this module, it’s likely that this is the same module found in the One mini 2 with OmniVision’s OV13850 sensor. In addition, the materials are changed, with a new plastic unibody design. This is one of the more logical areas to cut costs, as while metal is good from an MD/ID perspective, the cost can easily be an order of magnitude greater than plastic designs.

HTC has also taken the right direction by making two colors with matte finish plastic (Maldives Blue and Misty Gray in the photo above), which can go a long way to improving in-hand feel of the phone. Realistically, matte finishes tend to look better in the long run as well, as glossy finishes have more obvious scratches and tend not to show oil streaks and similar patterns from use. Unfortunately, the one area where HTC cut too deep was the loss of 802.11ac WiFi capabilities, which means that this shares a WiFi module with the One mini 2. This is likely to be a Qualcomm WCN3660 part. I’ve put a table of the specs below to compare the E8 with the M8.

There are some other changes, such as moving the power button to the top-center position rather than top-left or top-right, which is probably the best compromise for ergonomics. The phone also ends up lighter than the One (M8) by 15 grams, which is mostly due to the weight of an aluminum unibody. The headphone jack and USB port remain on the bottom, and the volume rocker is still on the right side of the phone. The same sensor hub and pedometer remains, which means motion launch gestures will be available along with FitBit integration. The barometer also stays for weather information and faster time to lock for GPS. HTC is emphasizing that this phone retains the hardware that makes up the One (M8) while moving it to a lower, more competitive price point for those that don’t care for the metal unibody. This may prove to be an effective strategy, as it would offer a great value for the money in places where the One (M8) is priced around the same as the Galaxy S5 and other high end flagships, and bring price parity to areas where the One (M8) is priced above most flagships.

HTC has stated that China will be the launch market for this phone, but to expect worldwide availability for this phone at a later date. Pricing is around $447 USD / £267 / €329 based upon the price in China but may vary based on other markets.

A Closer Look at the G3’s IR Laser Auto Focus System

Earlier today LG announced its 2014 flagship: the G3. Based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801, the G3 features a 5.5″ 2560 x 1440 display and a host of other improvements over last year’s G2. Although the front and rear facing cameras don’t change in terms of resolution compared to the G2, the imaging system did see some upgrades. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) is back for the G3, but it now includes stabilizing along the z-axis as well (hence OIS+). The big new feature however is the IR laser rangefinder that aids in improving focus time for the rear camera. LG claims the G3 can grab focus in 276ms. It’s clear that the G3’s AF system is one of the most interesting that I’ve seen in smartphone imaging, full stop. While PDAF (Phase Detect Auto Focus) is standard on dSLRs, laser rangefinders are generally rare and from another era. 

While some guessed that this system was a method of assisting with auto focus by projecting a grid of lasers that would assist with detecting maximum contrast, LG uses accurate timing of emission vs reflection to determine the distance to a target. Looking at the IR window with an IR sensitive camera, the beam emitted is extremely thin in angle, much more focused than the average laser pointer. This means that the chance of multiple returns is greatly reduced compared to most situations. 

LG emphasized the hybrid nature of its system, which explains how the G3 compensates for conditions where the laser auto focus fails. It appears that LG compensates for multiple returns, transparent and reflective surfaces with contrast-based AF detection as needed. LG also stated that the greatest benefit to the laser system is for nearly instant detection of distance to subject for the first two feet, and in cases where contrast detection is used the laser system allows the AF algorithm to automatically skip this distance to speed up focus. LG also says that the greatest benefit is seen in low light. I suspect that in outdoors situations the signal to noise ratio drops significantly. All of these claims will need verification, LG has definitely made a very interesting system for their camera, an interesting trade off between the larger sensor size and PDAF of the GS5 and the OIS+ and laser AF of the G3.

It’s not quite clear how the laser AF is implemented in the software though. Based upon some casual inspection there is no clear reference to a laser or IR outside of TV. It is likely that the entire implementation is done through a single camera driver which obscures just how the rangefinder is treated. At any rate, all of this will require further investigation in a full review.