This last year has been a big one for Android. Displays have started moving beyond 1080p, devices keep getting bigger, and Android 5.0brings the most fundamental change the platform has seen in a very long time. Some of the phones that were released in 2014 were huge successes, and other fell short of expectations, but which one was the best? That depends on how you frame the question, so let’s split it up a few different ways and find out.
Best phablet: Samsung Galaxy Note 4
When it comes to making huge phones, Samsung has the whole thing figured out. The Galaxy Note 4 was hotly anticipated after the somewhat boring reveal of the Galaxy S5 last spring, and the company managed to step it up a bit in response. This device still looks like a Samsung phablet, but instead of the characteristic plastic rim, Samsung has gone with a real metal band that gives the device increase rigidity and a more premium feel.
Dominating the front of the phone is a 5.7-inch 2560×1440 Super AMOLED, which is probably the best display you can get on a phone right now. It’s clear, the colors are great, and it gets both very bright and very dim without distortion. It’s a step above the slightly older technology powering displays like the one you’d find on the also very large Nexus 6. Inside, the Note 4 has all the things you’d expect out of a flagship phone in 2014–a Snapdragon 805, 3GB of RAM, a 16MP camera, and a 3220mAh battery.
While Samsung’s TouchWiz Android skin still catches some heat for being too heavy and bloated, it’s much improved in 2014. Most of the extraneous features are gone, and the colors are more consistent. The Note 4 has more of an excuse to be heavily modified because of the S Pen stylus, which is the defining feature of the Note series. This inductive stylus gives quick access to handwriting recognition, search, notes, and more.
When you look at the Note 4 and compare it to other phablets, it’s the battery life that puts it over the top. This phone makes good use of that lithium-ion cell, running for two or three days with modest usage. It can also hit 9-10 hours of screen-on time if you’re using it heavily. That adds up to a great pocket-stretching phone.
Best overall phone: Moto X (2014)
Motorola might not be part of Google anymore, but Lenovo is getting a company that makes amazing phones. We can only hope they don’t screw it up. The 2013 Moto X was very good, but there were a few compromises that kept it from feeling truly top-of-the-line. This year’s Moto X fixes most of that and improves on the fantastic software experience to become the best phone of 2014.
The Moto X is based around a 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED display that looks great. The colors are more accurate than most AMOLEDs, but the brightness isn’t quite as good as the newest Samsung devices. Still, 5.2-inches is a great size for a flagship phone. Inside you’ll find a Snapdragon 801, 2GB of RAM, 13MP camera, and a 2300mAh battery. The real story isn’t the hardware, it’s what the Moto X does with it.
This device runs almost completely stock Android with a handful of very polished, useful features. Moto Display, for example, wakes up the screen when you have new notifications so you can see what’s up without actually waking the rest of the device. The screen also comes on when you pick the phone up or wave a hand over it (thanks to Moto Actions). The improvements to Moto Voice also allow you to set custom trigger phrases that works when the screen is on or off.
There’s almost no OEM and carrier bloat to deal with on this device, and it’s blazing fast. Several versions of the Moto X are already getting their Android 5.0 Lollipop updates, so you don’t have to buy something that’s already behind the times.
One more thing that has made the Moto X the best phone of 2014 is the design — it can look however you want. Moto Maker was launched with support for all carriers this year, unlike 2013. You can get a variety of different back colors, accents, and materials. If plastic isn’t your thing, there’s wood and leather.
It’s an almost perfect phone, and a better overall experience than anything else released in 2014. It’s $499 off-contract or around $99 with one.
Best small phone: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Most device makers equate the size of a phone with its quality, which has lead to phones ballooning in size over the years. If you want a smaller phone that’s easy to use one-handed, you’re mostly looking and mid-level devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Mini variants. Well, 2014 saw the debut of Sony’s new Xperia Z3 Compact (Z3C), which shares most of the specs of its big brother.
The Z3C has a 4.6-inch 720P LCD, which works out to a completely reasonable 319 pixels per inch. It’s easy to operate one-handed and it sips power compared to larger high-res screens. The Z3C can run for more than two days and gets over nine hours of screen time, which is fantastic for such a small device (it has a 2600mAh battery).
The rest of the specs include a Snapdragon 801, 2GB of RAM, and one of Sony’s Exmor RS 20.7MP cameras. See? It’s basically an Xperia Z3 in a smaller package. It runs the same version of Android 4.4 KitKat as the larger Z3, and since it’s unlocked, Sony should be able to get Lollipop out to it faster than the carrier-locked Z3s.
Sadly, carriers haven’t been very willing to take a chance on this smaller-than-average device. You’ll have to buy it direct from Sony for about $530.
Best budget phone: Moto G (2014)
There have always been cheap phones, but you could easily end up spending more on budget devices that break frequently than if you had just bought a nicer phone to begin with. This is not necessarily the case if you choose carefully. Motorola’s new Moto G is a budget-friendly device you can be happy with, and it blows other 2014 budget offerings out of the water.
The screen has been bumped up to a 5-inch 720p LCD, which works out to 294 pixels per inch. Inside is a Snapdragon 400, 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and a 2070mAh battery. This device doesn’t have LTE, but HSPA+ will get the job done most of the time. If the small 8GB internal storage partition isn’t doing it for you, there’s a microSD card slot too.
The specs are modest, but the software on the Moto G is a very clean build of Android. This device too is already getting an Android 5.0 upgrade. Because it’s unlocked, it will continue to get updates for the next year or two without carrier interference.
The 2014 Moto G looks similar to Motorola’s other newer phones, but it has something even the Moto X lacks–dual front-facing speakers. This actually makes the Moto G passable for music and great for game audio. You can also swap out the back cover for different, more colorful shells. All this and the device only costs $179.99 unlocked and contract-free.
