I was talking with a friend of mine, and I told him there are several phones that are better than the iPhone. Once I started naming some, I realized the iPhone isn't even in the top 10. In no particular order, here are 10 phones I rank ahead of the iPhone.
- Galaxy S4
- Galaxy Note 2
- HTC One
- Nexus 4
- Optimus G Pro
- Optimus G
- Galaxy S3
- Razr Maxx HD
- Galaxy Note
- HTC One X+
Whilst I can agree that there are certainly more impressive options hardware wise in terms of smartphones. The term " better " I believe is subjective to the user and the overall experience of the phone and real world usage is what matters most to the majority of smart phone users.
With phones having so many different options, sizes, resolutions, price ranges, screen technologies etc.. and the list goes on, it's hard to actually say what's the best. Sometimes you'll get a screen with a better resolution, but doesn't produce blacks as well.
Perhaps the build quality is stunning .... yet the device is unfixable. Perhaps the build is completely out of aluminum so it may be prone to denting and overheating. Perhaps the phone has a quad core of octa core - great, these are completely irrelevant to many of the apps that are actually being downloaded.
These things used to matter to me, things like what processor, what gpu, benchmarks etc.. but they do not matter anymore. What matters is real world usage, and I have seen quad core phones lag to buggery, excellent 1080p screens crack and break from a toilet brush, battery life last 4 hours & all the other wonderful things that come with the territory of smartphones.
"Better" is simply a preference, and benchmarks mean nothing other than to the people who benchmark for fun, or to the people who simply want to say their phone is faster.
Now here's where I sound like a hypocrit, recently I bought a HTC one, at first I was all about the build quality, jsut like everyone else. Then as I began to use the device more and more in my personal and work life ( in which smart phones play a little part ) I began to realise that this device required more and more effort for it to do what I wanted. And Although it's an incredible device and being announced by many as the " best android smartphone " I ended up with a windows 8 phone and I'm very happy.
So why would I trade in a brand new smart phone for the older & less impressive Nokia Lumia 920? Well, using windows 8 live tiles in my work & personal life is absolutely simple, I can take it on site with me, I can take it out to the pub, I can use the amazing camera and nokia's inbuilt apps. I have a kick ass screen, a dual core processor and windows 8 makes calling and texting too simple, it's beautiful. I no longer have graphs and icons organised like the old days of iOS and android and even older windows. I have a beautiful flowing colourful subtle screen of tiles that I have organised & arranged to display nicely and easily.So really, the Lumia 920 is "better" than any other phone for me. I have a custom built PC, I love technology, but I also love easy to use, solid & simple fluent technology and the Lumia makes other smartphones seem difficult and tiresome. I don't want to have my face in my phone at dinner doing benchmarks, or performing speed tests or always playing apps. I want my phone to be a tool, a communication device and every now and then have a bit of fun on. I also use this device as my camera and I'm not a serious photographer but the Carl Zeiss lens is beautiful and perfect for use at the pub, outside at the beach, inside with friends or family.
Good luck with the whole " My smartphone is better than your smartphone " debate, there is no winner there I'm afraid. And I think you and your friend could make a " 10 phones we like " list.
Realistically, most higher end smartphones will do the job and it's down to preference. I feel enlightened to the fact that I can be Tech Savvy and know what cpu is in my phone, yet be perfectly happy with a slower dual core, if it means my phone performs excellently and without lag.