GSMArena smartphone shopping guide: June 2014

Over €500

All new Android flagships are already out, offering a range of cool new features. The iPhone and Windows Phone updates are a few months away, while the Androids came out recently, at almost the same time so they cost the same too. This makes the competition even more fierce.

HTC was the first to put its flagship on sale this year and it carries forward the highlights of the much-loved flagship from last year. The HTC One (M8) has a premium aluminum unibody and a beautiful 5" 1080p screen, flanked by front-facing stereo speakers.

Where the One (M8) disappoints is the camera - the dual-camera is certainly unique, but its depth of field effects can be replicated by several apps on just about any Android. The 4MP still resolution is clearly insufficient, keep in mind that a single frame of 2160p video is an 8MP image.

Also, since this is last year's sensor, image quality hasn't progressed as much as the competitors while the optical stabilization has been lost. The new HTC flagship is a fairly large device too and it might not offer enough of an upgrade for owners of last year's HTC One.

HTC has a version called One (E8), which swaps the dual-camera for a traditional 13MP shooter. That version, however, has a plastic body and isn't available in stores just yet (soon though!).

Samsung took steps to improve the camera from last year and the Galaxy S5 uses a fairly big 1/2.6" 16MP ISOCELL sensor that also records 2160p video. The screen grew only slightly but under-the-hood improvements reduced power usage and improves color accuracy to the best on the market.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 also uses the faster Snapdragon 801 version, which runs the quad-core Krait 400 processor at 2.5GHz instead of 2.3GHz.

The new flagship steps on Xperia's with an IP67 certification (dust tight, water resistant up to 1m) and on iPhone's toes with a fingerprint scanner (PayPal-certified, usable by third-party apps to secure purchases). It's also the only phone with a built-in heart rate monitor.

The Sony Xperia Z2 has a lot of common ground with the Galaxy S5 but tops it in several key areas. Its screen is a hair bigger, a 5.2" IPS Triluminos display with 1080p resolution, and the camera features a 1/2.3" 20.7MP sensor. That's better on paper but our head-to-head comparison revealed image quality doesn't quite live up to that.

The Xperia Z2 can also dive deeper - the IP58 certification lets it go below 1m of water - and features front-facing stereo speakers like the HTC One (M8). And like it, its bezels are a bit too large.

Anyway, it uses the 2.3GHz version of Snapdragon 801 but it packs 3GB RAM, while the Samsung has 2GB. Sony's software modifications are also lighter and better liked than TouchWiz, which has some very vocal opponents (same goes for the metal/glass design over faux leather).

The LG G3 is practically the same size as the HTC One (M8) and the Xperia Z2, but fits a massive 5.5" screen (if there's one thing LG does well, it's stunning bezels). The company also upped the stakes by going to QHD resolution, that's 1,440 x 2,560.

The 13MP / 2160p camera doesn't have a large sensor like the Samsung or Sony (it's a regular 1/3" sensor) but it's optically stabilized, making it the only one of the current roster of flagship phones. The metal-like plastic on the back is attractive and resistive to scratches. It lacks stereo speakers, but has one beefy 1W (1.5W in boost mode) speaker on the back.

The LG G3 is powered by the same version of Snapdragon 801 chipset with 2.5GHz CPU as the Galaxy S5 but with 3GB RAM. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat with a new generation of LG Optimus UI - while clearly not stock, it flat and much more attractive than LG's previous attempts.

Finally, the phone some people will buy whether we recommend it or not. Don't get us wrong, the Apple iPhone 5s is an exquisite device but it has an official price of €800 for the 32GB version. We did manage to find a cheaper offer from a different store, but is still the most expensive device here.

A 4" not-even-720p screen just isn't enough anymore. Yes, the design is beautiful and iOS is still king in terms of fluidity (but not features), but at that price range you buy the iPhone 5s because you want to not because of bang for the buck.

Be aware that the iPhone 6 is just months away and now would be a bad time to buy an iPhone 5s. If nothing else, it's price is bound to drop €100 the moment its successor goes official.