My main priorities from the most BASIC smartphone is battery life, durable hardware, stable OS/software, and call quality. Camera and gaming is actually much lower on my list. I generally use my phone for Wi-Fi browsing, texting, and making a few calls throughout the day. That's why batt life is important to me. The longer it last, the longer I stay connected.
The only other smartphones that interest me are the Xiaomi Mi 4 or Sony Xperia Z2. Others like the OnePlus One are too large. I've read the OPO had poor reception as well. Most lower end devices will never last that long with battery, and if they do, probably powered by inferior specs. I once got into a midrange device like the water/dust resistant Sony Xperia acro S (2012) but my interest for it waned quickly after seeing flagship specs get priced under $300. Snapdragon 800 & 3000 mAh minimum for me just because how power efficient that 800 SoC was compared to its predecessors. Standby time is fantastic on the 800/801 SoC and they run cooler too. Nexus 5 and its 2300 mAh battery was the only battery life disappointment from that SD800 generation.
Not into MediaTek as they never release their source code which means most phones carrying their SoC never get updated. And generally no LTE and poorer graphics performance. I used to think Qualcomm were overrated, Adreno GPU was garbage, and Snapdragon overheated more than MediaTek's. But ever since the Snapdragon 800/801, my perception has changed. Like what Haswell did to laptops for 10+ hr screen time, a Snapdragon 800 & 3000+ mAh capacity with good battery optimization settings is finally pushing Android well beyond the typical 5-6 hr avg screen time. If iPhone 4/iOS4 was the pinnacle for me when it came to battery life for iOS, then Mi 3/MIUI 5/KitKat has become my pinnacle for Android.
Snapdragon 800
LG G2
LG G Flex
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Sony Xperia Z1
Google Nexus 5
Xiaomi Mi 3
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
*excludes the Samsung Galaxy S4 SD800 variant only found in S Korea.
Snapdragon 801
HTC One (M8)
Samsung Galaxy S5
Sony Xperia Z2
OnePlus One
LG G3
Xiaomi Mi 4
Best value
Xiaomi Mi 3
OnePlus One (64 GB)
Xiaomi Mi 4
Google Nexus 5
With the exception of the Nexus 5 and the unreleased Mi 4, most of them listed have generally very good battery life. Z1 Compact only has 2300 mAh, but only a 4.3 inch/720 display to power. Best value is really between the Xiaomi vs OnePlus if you can get them. Better value than a Moto G, Moto X, and Nexus 5.Their custom ROMs are more useful and customizable to keep things fresh. The availability to more continents and their limited stock is what really prevents Nexus, Mi, and OnePlus from becoming truly popular brands. Google's Nexus needs to go beyond US, Xiaomi needs to go beyond Asia, and OnePlus needs to go beyond a limited invite system. Never settle. I would never settle for lower end specs when Chinese brands with flagship specs are only priced slightly higher. More forward thinking if you can get the best specs for the lowest price. Adreno 305 & 1GB RAM would start to suffer sooner than Adreno 330 with 2 GB & Wi-Fi ac.
The only other smartphones that interest me are the Xiaomi Mi 4 or Sony Xperia Z2. Others like the OnePlus One are too large. I've read the OPO had poor reception as well. Most lower end devices will never last that long with battery, and if they do, probably powered by inferior specs. I once got into a midrange device like the water/dust resistant Sony Xperia acro S (2012) but my interest for it waned quickly after seeing flagship specs get priced under $300. Snapdragon 800 & 3000 mAh minimum for me just because how power efficient that 800 SoC was compared to its predecessors. Standby time is fantastic on the 800/801 SoC and they run cooler too. Nexus 5 and its 2300 mAh battery was the only battery life disappointment from that SD800 generation.
Not into MediaTek as they never release their source code which means most phones carrying their SoC never get updated. And generally no LTE and poorer graphics performance. I used to think Qualcomm were overrated, Adreno GPU was garbage, and Snapdragon overheated more than MediaTek's. But ever since the Snapdragon 800/801, my perception has changed. Like what Haswell did to laptops for 10+ hr screen time, a Snapdragon 800 & 3000+ mAh capacity with good battery optimization settings is finally pushing Android well beyond the typical 5-6 hr avg screen time. If iPhone 4/iOS4 was the pinnacle for me when it came to battery life for iOS, then Mi 3/MIUI 5/KitKat has become my pinnacle for Android.
Snapdragon 800
LG G2
LG G Flex
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Sony Xperia Z1
Google Nexus 5
Xiaomi Mi 3
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
*excludes the Samsung Galaxy S4 SD800 variant only found in S Korea.
Snapdragon 801
HTC One (M8)
Samsung Galaxy S5
Sony Xperia Z2
OnePlus One
LG G3
Xiaomi Mi 4
Best value
Xiaomi Mi 3
OnePlus One (64 GB)
Xiaomi Mi 4
Google Nexus 5
With the exception of the Nexus 5 and the unreleased Mi 4, most of them listed have generally very good battery life. Z1 Compact only has 2300 mAh, but only a 4.3 inch/720 display to power. Best value is really between the Xiaomi vs OnePlus if you can get them. Better value than a Moto G, Moto X, and Nexus 5.Their custom ROMs are more useful and customizable to keep things fresh. The availability to more continents and their limited stock is what really prevents Nexus, Mi, and OnePlus from becoming truly popular brands. Google's Nexus needs to go beyond US, Xiaomi needs to go beyond Asia, and OnePlus needs to go beyond a limited invite system. Never settle. I would never settle for lower end specs when Chinese brands with flagship specs are only priced slightly higher. More forward thinking if you can get the best specs for the lowest price. Adreno 305 & 1GB RAM would start to suffer sooner than Adreno 330 with 2 GB & Wi-Fi ac.
