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Best Android Phones list sees resurgence of 2014 flagships as next-gen devices near

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With Mobile World Congress and new flagship devices right around the corner, you might think that last year’s handsets would see fading interest. Our latest update to Phandroid’s Best Android Phones list proves otherwise. Several of 2014’s best phones saw a slight resurgence in our rankings after staff votes were cast and tallied.

Perhaps all the talk of the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 provided reason to reevaluate the current generation of handsets, sparking some renewed interest in devices that have been on the market for nearly a year. Speaking of the One M9 and Galaxy S6, we’ve rounded up the latest rumors on those devices, plus we have a look at the most highly-anticipated Android smartphones slated to launch in the coming weeks.

So how do you find the latest rankings? Easy — navigate to our Best Phones landing page to see the full list and more. Then come back here to share your thoughts. Where did your favorite phone rank? Did we get it right or wrong?

And don’t forget to check out our best Android tablet rankings!

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41 Comments

  1. Thinking of ditching my S5 and buying a Moto X off contract with their recent discount code. Then maybe getting an M9 later in the year.

    1. wait for the M9. The Moto X is not as good as all of these lists seem to rate it. The battery life is next to horrible and the camera….oy vey. You get a good sized phone with cool customizations and a cool UI, sure. But those first two faults drop that phone deep in my list in my book.

      1. The Moto X is completely overrated. Sub-par battery life, boring design, lackluster camera, etc.

        1. so much so….

        2. I completely agree. Never liked them at all

          1. They love Moto because they use Stock Android. IMO, Moto sucks balls.

  2. This list is a JOKE!

  3. 1. Z3
    2. Note 4
    3. Z3 Compact
    4. Nexus 6
    5. OnePlus One

    This is a way more accurate Top 5 Android phones list.

    1. Dude this list looks really good! I would have to say, that’s how mine would look

      1. Thanks, that’s cool. At least some people know which Android phones are the best. What’s your current phone?

        1. I have two: the One Plus One and Lg G2. I got rid of my Nexus 5 for the OPO.

          1. Cool. I just got the Z3 and I’m loving it.

          2. Sweet! Man I wanted one so bad… I would go to the T-Mobile store just to play with it. LoL The only thing was I didn’t want to drop $520 on one. I have never paid that much for a device. My OPO was $349 and G2 was $207 both brand new. But that Z3 is top notch.

          3. It definitely is.

    2. Thats why you’re not a paid tech writer.

      1. Why gives a #@&* if their a paid tech writer. They’re list sucks and is completely wrong.

        1. They are list does not suck.

  4. I own a Nexus 6….but here is my list

    1. Note 4
    2. Nexus 6
    3. M8
    4. 1+1
    5. LG G3
    6. Moto X (phone is no bueno in a few ways)

    The Droid Turbo should not be on this list, especially above the 1+1 and Z3, makes no sense.

  5. The Nexus 6 is so close to being a great phone, but that dim screen and color reproduction are terrible. Nexus 6 258 nits, Z3 600 nits, I mean come on!!!! Did they have to dim the screen that much to achieve decent battery life? I really wanted to like the Nexus 6, but low brightness and poor color are totally unacceptable

    1. I’ve heard that battery life can range from fine to horrible on the Nexus 6.

      1. I’ve found it to be pretty good, but it should be with such a dim screen.

        1. I have to say my Nexus 5 screen is pretty dim too. I think they underestimated how much battery life both phones would suck for those big lcd screens. I can barely see anything on my phone without auto-brightness if there’s a moderate amount of light somewhat close to it.

  6. Every time one of these lists are published Phandroid fails to put the Note 4 in its rightful spot at the top. There is absolutely no way that an objective observer can put the Moto X in front of the Note 4. No matter how much you personally dislike Touchwiz.

    1. It’s kind of hard to have a completely objective ranking when half of the criteria of grading a device are subjective categories.

  7. I’ll give my list for kicks and giggles:

    1) Sony Z3 (has literally everything that people should want in a phone with two sizes)
    2) HTC One (M8) (pretty damn close to being a Z3)
    3) Moto G (price/performance is unmatched)
    4) LG G3 (great camera, removable battery, design)
    5) Samsung Galaxy S5 (Verizon already has Lollipop)

  8. My list would be as follows
    1. Nexus 6
    2. Note 4
    3. LG G3
    4. M8
    5. 1+1

    List are very opinion based… The reason I like the Nexus 6 may be the same reason someone hates the phone. But that is my list IMO

    1. I respect your opinion but like you said your reason to like the Nexus 6 might be someone else’s reason to hate it. I see absolutely nothing in the nexus 6 personally. In fact, if someone has $650 I cannot understand how they would spend it on a nexus 6. But again I respect your opinion. My top 5
      1. M8
      2. Note 4
      3. OnePlus One
      4. Moto X 2014
      5. Galaxy S 5

      G3 lags too much

      1. Everyone is always saying the g3 lags. Can someone please tell me what they are doing when it lags? I’m honestly asking because mine never seems to lag unless I’m just not seeing it.

        1. Well on xda, at some point they had like 4 different busy threads with users complaining about the lag on the G3. It’s a fact that it lags for many. Lag, stutter whatever you wanna call it, it’s there. Some people don’t really care about it but when you use a phone like the M8 or an iPhone then you will notice it big time.

          1. I guess I am just lucky then, I’ve had 2 g3 and neither has lagged out stuttered. I don’t play games though really so maybe I’m not pushing it hard enough? My friends m8 on the other hand had a horrible problem with YouTube constantly buffering. I think all phones have individual problems with different apps on certain phones if you look hard enough. But it’s not necessarily representative.

  9. I love having a keyboard on my droid 4. But given Motorola hasn’t built them in almost 2 years I highly doubt it’s a top Amazon seller that’s gotta be a typo.

  10. How does the HTC M8 rank higher than the Z3, Note 4, and G3? I smell some huge bias here!

    1. Probably but they’re all good!

  11. Why not include the list in this article as well as the link to the ongoing list? Without the actual list here, this is just clickbait.

    1. Why does click bait bother you in this case?

      1. Extra clicks are just a general annoyance. This includes articles where the story isn’t sufficient for the headline, multi-page articles, and slideshows or anything without a view all option. Save the clicks!

  12. M8 should be 1st but will take s-off over the dot view case any day!

  13. This guy put two Motorola devices at the top, What a joke that is. I see nutten but pure bias here. This is how the list should’ve been……

    note4/edge
    HTC m8
    1+1
    LG G3
    nexus 6
    Moto X

    There’s no way any phone of 2014 should be infront of any note.

    1. Note is way too big and too touchwized. Moto X and Nexus 5 are still my favorite two.

      1. I agree, and so do many other publications. There just is no way that the Moto X and Nexus 6 aren’t the best Android experiences. Samsung is VERY good at hardware and they probably have the best overall hardware of any of the phones. But they ruin it by bastardizing Android. Samsung might be the worst thing about Android right now. There needs to be a better overall Android experience not 10 different kinds of Android experiences (skins) out there.

    2. I agree, and so do many other publications. There just is no way that the Moto X and Nexus 6 aren’t the best Android experiences. Samsung is VERY good at hardware and they probably have the best overall hardware of any of the phones. But they ruin it by bastardizing Android. Samsung might be the worst thing about Android right now.

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