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| Source: shutterstock |
With the holidays upon us, however, we’re ready to bring you a list of the best smartphones that we think will make great gifts this year. We’re going to cover an array of devices here, hopefully tapping some of the best options each mobile operating system has to offer.
Buying a new smartphone for a loved-one can be hard, particularly if they’re locked into a contract, so we’re also going to include some options that can be purchased easily, and for relatively affordable prices, off contract.
Let’s dive in now.
LG G3
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| Source: LG.com |
Released in the first half of 2014, this smartphone holds it's own with amazing hardware design and hardware specifications. Being the first phone to have near zero bezels (top, bottom, and sides) giving the user just a giant 5.5" screen that is quad HD (4 times high definition, twice that of 1080p). Having a 3000 mAh battery, it will last the average user, and even some heavy users, easily a day if not more, freeing the user of having to worry about where the next outlet is. Last great hardware is the camera. The first from any Android phone manufacturer to rival the (at the time of release) iPhone 5s with it's 13 megapixel sensor, dual tone flash for better color accuracy, and OIS (optical image stabilization) for less shaky videos and improved low light picture taking. All four of these specifications make the LG G3 a very hard phone to turn down. One issue with the phone, the power and volume buttons are on the back of the phone, making it an awkward transition from other phones that have the volume and power button on the sides or on top.
Droid Turbo
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| Source: Motorola.com |
Released just last month, the Droid Turbo is the return of the Motorola phone exclusive to Verizon. This phone is a combination of performance, hardware, and a HUGE battery (no, seriously, for a phone it's in a class of it's own). This phone has all the major updated hardware from processor, RAM, 21 mega pixel camera (though there is one down side), and front facing stereo speaker. Starring at the user is a 5.2" QHD (4 times high definition, twice that of 1080p) being powered by a huge 3900 mAh battery. A battery that size will last an average user two days, if not more. To give a good comparison, that is just a hair over the size of TWO iPhone 6 batteries. No outlet to plug in for two days, no problem. A downside to this phone is the camera shutter speed. It tends to lag for a couple of seconds which can be a lifetime if you need to take a quick picture of a sporting event or little one running. Two second shutter speed should have ended with smartphones made back in 2011.
Nexus 6
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| Source: Google Play Store |
Although made by Motorola, the Nexus project is a partnership between Google and Motorola brings a phone that is high end but with Android software made the way Google always wanted it to be. It comes with a 3200 mAh battery that will last the average user almost two days of use. Super fast processor, 3 GB of RAM, 13 megapixel camera with OIS (optical image stabilization), stereo front facing speakers, and a 5.96" QHD (4 times high definition, twice that of 1080p) display. This display is great but leads to the phone's big non selling point. The phone is big, really big. Even with the very small bezels surrounding the screen, this phone leaves a huge footprint and will be very hard for most people to store the phone in your pants pockets, and depending on the size of your purse, there too.
iPhone 6
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| Source: thatgeekdad |
The next generation of a phone that is successful year, after year, after year. This time around Apple has increased the screen size from 4" to 4.7" and improved the quality of the screen to HD quality. With the increased comes an increased battery size to 1850 mAh (up 300 from the iPhone 5s) and the one down side of this phone which I will talk about in the end. Again the iPhone comes with one of the best, if not the best, camera on a smartphone out, Touch ID fingerprint scanner for security, and the best selection of apps from the App Store. The downside is that once again Apple tried to make the thinnest phone out there and as a result missed the opportunity to have bigger battery for longer use. With a battery size of 2500 mAh or more, Apple could have made a all day battery phone for the average user instead, light users will barely make it from the start of their day to the end.
iPhone 6 Plus
A step up in size from the iPhone 6, this iPhone comes with a 5.5" 1080p HD quality screen that is great for media consumption. To go with that bigger size, screen, an phone is a 2910 mAh battery that will last even a heavy user more than a day. Another big difference besides size with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is the camera. They are both 8 megapixel but the Plus comes with OIS (optical image stabilization) which helps keep videos from being shaky and make low light pictures look great. A big down side of this phone, and one could say of the iPhone 6, is how thin it is. This is the first iPhone that I would recommend a case for everyone because it is so thin and slippery from the aluminum design. Whatever troubles you might have holding the iPhone 6, they are magnified at least five fold with the size of the iPhone 6 Plus.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
The original big phone is back in it's fourth iteration and it's best. Samsung has upgraded the 5.7" screen to QHD (4 times high definition, twice that of 1080p), put in a 3220 mAh battery (easily last an average user almost two days of use) to power it, swipe finger print scanner for security, 16 megapixel camera with OIS (optical image stabilization), and of course the (improved) S-Pen. Probably the best thing Samsung has done with regard to the hardware design is use metal banding around the outside of the phone to give it a better feel when holding. The back of the phone is still plastic but without the faux leather stitching look. The one downside of this phone is again the operating system Samsung uses instead of Android that Google originally designed. Touch Wiz (the operating system The Note 4 uses) is so robust and full of options that a new user of a smartphone would feel overwhelmed to the point of passing on this great smartphone.
iPhone 6 Plus
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| Source: thatgeekdad |
A step up in size from the iPhone 6, this iPhone comes with a 5.5" 1080p HD quality screen that is great for media consumption. To go with that bigger size, screen, an phone is a 2910 mAh battery that will last even a heavy user more than a day. Another big difference besides size with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is the camera. They are both 8 megapixel but the Plus comes with OIS (optical image stabilization) which helps keep videos from being shaky and make low light pictures look great. A big down side of this phone, and one could say of the iPhone 6, is how thin it is. This is the first iPhone that I would recommend a case for everyone because it is so thin and slippery from the aluminum design. Whatever troubles you might have holding the iPhone 6, they are magnified at least five fold with the size of the iPhone 6 Plus.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
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| Source: Shutter stock |
The original big phone is back in it's fourth iteration and it's best. Samsung has upgraded the 5.7" screen to QHD (4 times high definition, twice that of 1080p), put in a 3220 mAh battery (easily last an average user almost two days of use) to power it, swipe finger print scanner for security, 16 megapixel camera with OIS (optical image stabilization), and of course the (improved) S-Pen. Probably the best thing Samsung has done with regard to the hardware design is use metal banding around the outside of the phone to give it a better feel when holding. The back of the phone is still plastic but without the faux leather stitching look. The one downside of this phone is again the operating system Samsung uses instead of Android that Google originally designed. Touch Wiz (the operating system The Note 4 uses) is so robust and full of options that a new user of a smartphone would feel overwhelmed to the point of passing on this great smartphone.
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