Buying Guide The best smartphones compared: what phone is best for you?
We've all got at least one mobile phone each, right? We've probably got about three or four nowadays, and that counts giving your old Nokia 3310 to your Mum a few years ago.
But while you used to be able to just bank on the new Nokia or always get the next Sony Ericsson because it had a half-decent camera, there are now so many great options out there from loads of manufacturers.
The trouble is, how do you decide which is the best one for you?
Well, this is where we make it easy: we've played with nearly every device on the market and have found the ten best you can spend your money on. It needs to be good, after all, given it will reside in your pocket for the next two years.
Our ranking of the best mobile phones available in the UK today celebrates the brilliance of the smartphone: we love handsets that add in functionality to enrich our lives in so many different ways.
We also partially take into account the price of the phone too - meaning a low-price handset doesn't always need to have high-spec functions to be in our top 10.
The HTC One was the star of last year, staying at the top of the charts for nearly 10 months, seeing off the challenge from the likes of Nokia, Sony, LG and Samsung (namely the Galaxy S4) - showing the smartphone market still has a fair few players.
The iPhone 5S proved to still be a little too pricey with a smaller screen, and the iPhone 5C was cheaper but with some ageing hardware. And now Google is playing fast and loose with consumers' wallets, thanks to offering the ultra-cheap Nexus 5 and the even ultra-cheaper Moto G - could those be the phones for you?
But now we're in 2014, and the game has changed. Relentless design reimagination from HTC has led to the excellent HTC One M8 landing right at the top of the tree, but now the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 are here - can either take the crown?
Not so good news if you can't wait for the iPhone 6: that's not coming for a few months, so if you want something shiny and new from Apple now, you'll either need to go for the iPhone 5S (which is still a decent phone) or one of the plethora of high end Android handsets.
If that still doesn't help, well, there's always our extensive mobile phone reviews pages as well - or check out our personally crafted smartphone buyer's guide:
And when you've decided which new phone to buy (and checked out the best mobile phone deal), why not cash in your old one with our phone recycling price comparison service?
Here are our rankings for the best mobile phones around, currently available in the UK.
10. Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung managed to hold off HTC at the top in 2012, but in 2013 the supreme stylings of the HTC One proved too strong against a phone that's a slightly-better-version of its predecessor, especially when you consider the design.There's a lot, a lot, to love with the Samsung Galaxy S4 though: whether it's a powerful camera, a brilliant screen, a long-lasting battery or just a fluid experience, there's a lot you could want in a smartphone right here.
The cost is a tad higher than on other smartphones, but still cheaper than iPhone level and is descending as the S5 appears. If only it was made out of something a little more premium...
LG, Sony and Google have come out with some attractive propositions and overtaken the best the South Koreans can manage, but that hasn't stopped this being one of the most popular phones of 2013 and the price is ever lower.
Verdict
There's no doubt that, despite the design criticism, this is one of the best smartphones ever made - it's clear, powerful and does everything we'd expect a flagship phone from Samsung to do.It's just a shame that the perceived 'innovation' doesn't really add anything: motion gestures, smart scroll and it's other non-contact bedfellows didn't take smartphones to the next level, which is what we needed in the face of Ultrapixels and BoomSound.
Make no mistake though: you'll love the Samsung Galaxy S4 if you choose to go for it, as it's a decent phone with some really cutting-edge features - but remember there's something better thanks to the Galaxy S5.
9. Moto G
On paper the Moto G looks like an excellent handset for the price, and in practice it lives up to the billing.
As the Nexus 4 did with the mid-range market, the Moto G has turned the budget end on its head with features found on handsets double its cost.
It exceeds its rivals in several key areas, from the well defined 4.5-inch display to its 1.2GHz quad-core processor and the early Android 4.4 KitKat update. There's a lot to love about the Moto G for its price.
Quick verdict
Motorola must have cut some corners to get the price of the Moto G so low, and the camera is one area which has seen the compromise, but that's one of the only gripes.So here's the upshot: Motorola is back folks, it's official. It may not be the return we would have predicted - there's no flagship phone stuffed full of the latest tech - but arguably what the now Google-owned firm has done is even better.
The Moto G is a top notch, low cost smartphone and we wholeheartedly recommend this as the best budget mobile currently on the market.
8. iPhone 5S
Never has a company polarised opinion in the smartphone world like Apple - and with the iPhone 5S, so many are quick to decry it while others know it to be the smartphone they've been waiting for.
And let's make no bones about it: this is a stunning phone, with a gorgeous two-tone finish, a high-res screen with good colour reproduction, a 64-bit chip and that all-powerful TouchID sensor that lets you unlock your phone with a simple fingerprint.
The iOS 7 update is one that we sorely, sorely needed and does bring a lot more power and control - as shown by the impressive and pervasive Control Center.
We really like TouchID, the 64-bit processor might be a little useless now but definitely brings a touch more zip to things, and the M7 chip gives developers something to play with in terms of fitness, with the likes of FitBit taking advantage already.
The issue of price is starting to diminish somewhat - but many vendors are still charging the same for this older phone as the likes of the HTC One M8 despite being a few months older.
Quick verdict
Let's not beat around the bush here: the iPhone 5S is still one of the great smartphones in the world thanks to a great package of technology, design and UI intuition.iOS 7 is the update we've needed for a while, and does a lot to help keep Apple current at the sharp end of the market - but we still can't wait to see what the iPhone 6 will bring, as essentially this is still the same phone as the iPhone 5 but with a better engine under the hood.
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