There have been hundreds of smartphone launches since January 2014, and
as with all product categories, some have been more noteworthy than
others. This year, we saw a lot of action especially in the budget
space, with products launching at unbelievably low price points and
changing all our expectations. At the other end of the spectrum,
companies have also dutifully refreshed their flagships (sometimes more
than once) and set new set of standards for top-end performance.
With
so much activity, it was almost impossible to choose only ten phones
for our list of the most notable phones of the year, but that's just
what we've done. These cover the gamut from practical to gimmicky and
budget-friendly to downright indulgent. Here are the 10 smartphones that
made the biggest impact in 2014.
1. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
In a sea of oversized smartphones, the Xperia Z3 Compact stands
out, and it proves that you don't have to deal with a 5-inch (or
bigger) screen if you want a powerful phone. With a great camera and
battery life, this was perhaps our favourite Android smartphone of 2014.
2. iPhone 6 Plus
Not
everyone will be pleased with this stretched-out iPhone, and even we had
some concerns about its software. That aside, the iPhone 6 Plus (Review | Pictures) has
perhaps the best camera of any smartphone we've tested this year, and
its optical image stabilisation results in unbelievably good low-light
performance.
3. Xiaomi Mi
3
Motorola and Asus set the
stage for affordable smartphones, but Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi
redefined disruptive pricing with its flagship smartphone, the Mi 3. The
Xiaomi Mi 3 (Review | Pictures) offered powerful specs at just Rs. 13,999, rivalling a few
smartphones that cost more than twice as much. Xiaomi relied solely on
word-of-mouth and social networking to promote these phones and still
wound up causing virtual
stampedes week after week.
4. Oneplus
One
Nicknamed the "flagship
killer",
the OnePlus One (Review | Pictures) made a lot of noise when it launched in India. A lot of
this was because Cyanogen OS, one of the device's USPs, would not be
available in
India.
OnePlus is now working on its own Android fork based on Android 5.0
Lollipop. Adding to the frenzy, OnePlus launched the phone through a
single e-commerce channel and in very limited quantities. We liked the
OnePlus One and think that it gets really close to being a flagship
killer, mostly thanks to its unbeatable price.
5. Blackberry
Passport
Modelled
around an actual Passport, the Blackberry Passport (Review | Pictures) smartphone had one of
the most unique and distinct personalities of any phone we tested this
year. The only problems we had with it were its bulkiness and
inconsistent third-party app support in the Blackberry 10.3 OS. The
conclusion of our review of the phone still sums up our feelings
perfectly: "After many, many long years, BlackBerry might finally have
done something completely right."
6. Motorola Moto
E
At face value, the
Motorola Moto E (Review | Pictures) might look like a normal smartphone with no noteworthy
features. However, the Moto E was one of the most important releases in
India this year because it ushered in a wave of budget smartphones with
great performance. It can do a lot of things that only high-end
smartphone could do before, and that too without breaking a sweat. Even
so, the Moto E doesn't have a very good camera and the 'small' 4.3-inch
screen might put off some prospective buyers.
7. Asus
ZenFone 5: Asus has had a
spotty history in the smartphone market but it is back full-strength now
with the ZenFone series. All three siblings offer exceptional
performance at their price points and are very easy to recommend. The
ZenFone 5 (Review | Pictures) stands out in particular because of its good camera and smart
positioning.
8. Samsung Galaxy Note
4
Of all the
phablets we've reviewed, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Review | Pictures) stands out thanks to its
impressive combination of hardware and software. Samsung has really
worked on ways to let users get more out of the big screen and stylus,
going well beyond the capabilities of stock Android. Plus, the good
camera and battery life make it an all-rounder.
9. Yota
Devices Yotaphone
We have to give Yota Devices credit for thinking of something radically
different, and the secondary e-ink screen is exactly that. In practical
terms, the YotaPhone (Review | Pictures) is a bit too bulky and expensive, and not enough apps
can take advantage of the e-ink screen. We hope the second-generation
Yotaphone,
already announced internationally, is an improvement.
10 Intex Cloud FX and Jolla Smartphone
We've
grouped these two phones together because the Intex Cloud FX (Review | Pictures) was one of
the first smartphones in India featuring Mozilla's Firefox OS and the
Jolla Smartphone (Review | Pictures) gave us a glimpse of what Sailfish OS is like.
Both
operating systems, Firefox and Sailfish, are fresh new takes on what a
mobile operating system should do for the user. It will be an uphill
battle against Android, and these bold new operating systems have a long
way to go.
These were the ten phones which made the strongest
impression on us in 2014 - they aren't necessarily the best phones of
the year, but in many ways, these handsets broke new ground, and helped
make the year more interesting. Others that almost made the list include
the Motorola Moto G (Review | Pictures) and the Xiaomi Redmi 1S (Review | Pictures).
Which were your favourite phones of 2014? Let us know via the comments.
BlackBerry Black Friday Sale Is Already Live With Big Discounts on Smartphones25 November 2016
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