Reader Ratings And Advice: Flagship Smartphones

[Gurg]

Maybe I'm just too old, but the following features are most important on smartphone by order: phone/message, camera, text (family thread), google maps, internet/gmail.

I would never waste time gaming on it as it is so far behind my desktop. At 16mp I get good enough photo quality on my phone that I leave my camera at home.

 

[Sonny73N]

Bravo TH! I'm so glad TH didn't list those Sony junks. Sony mobile displays are awful.

 

[Sonny73N]

If TH review any Sony phone, I hope they'll have a careful look at the display because I just bought a Z3 Compact and its display is the worst I've seen. Colors are funny, DeltaE is probably way off. No anti glare or anti fingerprint coatings. Touch panel electronic patterns are visible. It's just awful.

 

[marclee37]

i

 

[marclee37]

i am a fan of samsung phone. the true black AMOLED screen is unbeatable.

S5 should be good if it is
- 1440 screen
- 3GB ram
- 32GB/ 64GB built in storage.
- dual sim.

current S5 do not sell well simply because it missed all such key points.
it is not because of the look, the casing. the overall look is fine so far, it is the signature of samsung phone, no need to change.

i would not care if it is not metal case. lighter, economical, heat/ electricity resistant, softer plastic is fine for me. do not make the battery non removable please. i hope S6 is not a disappointment

 

[marclee37]

i am a fan of samsung phone. the true black AMOLED screen is unbeatable.

S5 should be good if it is
- 1440 screen
- 3GB ram
- 32GB/ 64GB built in storage.
- dual sim.

current S5 do not sell well simply because it missed all such key points.
it is not because of the look, the casing. the overall look is fine so far, it is the signature of samsung phone, no need to change.

i would not care if it is not metal case. lighter, economical, heat/ electricity resistant, softer plastic is fine for me. do not make the battery non removable please. i hope S6 is not a disappointment

 

[Woody87]

I don't understand why people think there is a problem with battery life. I usually go about two days between a charge with occasional use and never have a problem getting through the day with heavy use. I wonder if people are messing with the stock power settings or turning up the screen brightness.

I can leave WiFi tethering on for hours at a time and still get through the day on a single charge. My wife has a Galaxy S4 which has lousy battery life. I don't have an iPhone to compare but the G3 outlasts my iPad3 during similar use.

This is the most amazing phone I've ever had and I'm so glad I went with it instead of the S5. It's totally smooth, great call quality, an amazing camera (I['m a pro photographer and this phone's camera was it's major attraction for me).

 

[Woody87]

What are you talking about on the G3 battery life?....it's actually very good and the hardware specs blow away the iPhone 6. I never have to top off my G3 during the day and it usually goes two days on a charge. I'm always commenting on how good the battery life is on the G3 so I don't understand why some people have problems....maybe they're using it wrong or running the screen on max bright all day.

 

[rpgplayer]

Where is the Nexus 6 at? IMO a much better phone than the S5 and Note.

 

[grumpigeek]

I have a Galaxy S5.

Pros: Good battery life, hardware reliability, excellent screen, good camera

Cons: Crapware/bloatware that Samsung insist on installing.

It is not just the fact that the bloatware slows down the device, the worst thing is that you cannot uninstall most of it and can't even disable half of it.

The only way to be truly rid of the Samsung crapware is to root the device and install a custom ROM. I can't be bothered doing that, nor do I want to void my warranty.

 

[DasBoot]

I have a few Oneplus One invites that expire tonight at midnight 1/6 EST.
PM me your email if you want one now.

 

[kogut]

This is a fantastic collection of reviews from people who aren't even verified as owners of the phone they're reviewing. There is no context here, and I'm sad to see this type of article on TH.

 

[AndrewJacksonZA]

This is a fantastic collection of reviews from people who aren't even verified as owners of the phone they're reviewing. There is no context here, and I'm sad to see this type of article on TH.

It's sometimes good to be skeptical kogut.

I've had my Xperia Z3 for about two months now. It has been a really significant upgrade over the Xperia T that I had. I was really wrong about high resolutions and high PPI values on cellphones (the Z3 is 1080p and has 424ppi), as well as quad-cores on cellphones and glass backs. I had to eat humble pie and apologize to my colleague who's an Apple fan and say that they were right about ppi and glass on their phones. Like I said earlier, I also find using the small smattering of UI changes that Sony has implemented to be much more intuitive and logical than any other Android device that I've tried using.

The only downside that I've experienced with it is that the internal storage is only 16GB. However, I bought a 64GB micro SD card and the problem is now solved.

Ummm... I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but another down side was a really horrible hissing noise when using the speakerphone at full volume, but that has now been fixed in the latest software update.

 

[envain]

Thanks for using my Review!

 

[webguynj]

Not sure why a windows phone 930 or HTX One M8 wasn't included here, except that WP8.1 isn't popular? But the devices are among the best anywhere. The 930 with a 20 Megapixel camera takes incomparable photos. The displays are vivid and battery life is excellent. When we're just talking about hardware quality these can't be beat.

 

[UKG]

The Galaxy Note 4 is awesome (just bought one for my daughter) no real contest with the iPhone6 really once you factor in the AMOLED screen, size, resolution, popping colours, proper blacks and not to mention, swappable battery, SD card slot, even if you don't want to use the S pen! Before I get a load of reaction from apple lovers, each to their own, live and let live! You have to choose what is right for you.
Anyway the point of this post is that I have just bought a Galaxy Note Edge to replace my Note 3. It is in 99% of respects the same as the Note 4 but the Edge screen is added. I (and many commenters on the Interweb) are not sure whether it is the future or just a gimmick. I personally find it very useful. The night clock is great - not too bright (or battery munching) to be annoying. The other options are great - especially if they are intergrated into apps - such as the camera controls and shutter button being moved to the egde screen - it really works well.
Samsung have issued an SDK so app makers can use it, and with the upcoming S6 slated to have one (maybe two!) it doesn't look like it will become unsupported and more apps should use it as time goes on.
Is it worth an extra 100 pounds? Well time will tell ,but if you want everyone to notice your new phone - it has attracted more attention already than any other phone I've ever had (and I am an 'early adopter' so usually have the latest) and some really useful extra functionality - then the Edge is the winner in my book.