Celebrating 10 years of Android.

[pc747]

2013

We had some interesting phones in 2013. Let's start with one of the all time favored nexus phones, the nexus 5. I remember when it first came out, there were compliant about the speaker motor and other QA issues. But after awhile those issues phased out as we got to the latter batches. The phone came in black, white, and red-orange. I still have my nexus 5. That truly was an awesome phone. LG made this phone for Google. They were chosen after the job they did with the nexus 4. Unlike the nexus 4, this phone had LTE (but no CDMA radios).

Then we have to talk about the moto X. Motorola had been bought by Google and they were looking to cut all the excess flagship phone releases. And one of the phones to do that was the Moto X. Now the moto x was unique in that it tried to offer a way to truly customize the phone. Phones that were made in America, caught flack for being dual core in a quad core generation. It wasn't until the price dropped for the moto x (on black friday) that the phone had a surge in purchases. The style of the moto X became so popular that it would influence the style of future android phones (including the Nexus 6). This phone also introduced to the world breathing notifications, and "Hello Moto", which would give birth to Google Now.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3: By this time everyone knew what the note was. It was a very popular device and more manufacturers, including Apple, wanted to create their own large phone. The Note 3 tried to step it up as far as being (somewhat) premium. The metal band and leather back (feel). This phone caught flack for its cheap feeling back.

Galaxy S 4: Samsung started increasing the size of their Galaxy S phone display. And we saw that with the S4. Coming off of the popularity of the S3, the S4 had a lot of momentum. And we started to see the divide form to where it was beginning to be Galaxy and Apple, then everyone else.

HTC One: Those of us who like our Pixel phones because of the front facing speakers should be thanking this phone. Dual front facing speakers, metal build, and with beats audio, this was a solid phone put out by HTC. This was the phone that caused people to look at Samsung funny, especially after putting out the Note 3. Samsung ended up having to change their design language to feel more premium.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra: Remember when people felt Sony could be the next big thing in phones? This was due to what Sony did with this phone. People liked the design and feel of the device. It had a solid display, was dust and waterproof (IP58), and was powered by Sony's Bravia.

Android Silver: Google released the Google Play edition S4 and HTC One. At this time there were talks about Google dropping the nexus line and starting an Android Silver program. This program would enlist manufacturers to make their popular phone a Google Play Edition device. Allowing customers to buy a clean version of the hardware with up to date software from Google. Basically GPE devices would get updated right around the time nexus phones would get updated. Unfortunately this didn't pan out. Like the Nexus One, this idea was just done too soon. As people hadn't warmed up to the idea of paying full price for a phone. We were still hooked to buying a phone on contract at a subsidized price. GPE phones would not be continued.

Samsung Mega: If the Note phones were not big enough you could get a Samsung mega. A phone that was just too big but scaled back slightly on the specs, compared to the Note 3. This was the phone for grandma.

LG G2: LG was gearing up to take on Samsung and Apple. And they believed they could do so with their own flagship line, the G series phones. This phone was unique in that the buttons were on the back (vs the sides).

Droid Ultra & Droid Maxx: Just because Motorola wanted to do one flagship, didn't mean they were off the hook for Verizon's droid phones. So they put out the Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx. Take your Moto X, add with it the same software features (touchless controls, active notifications, and quick camera actions (gestures), make it a Droid phone, and add a kevlar back. The Droid Maxx had almost twice the battery capacity as the ultra. There were some complaints about all the bloat and the display quality (from some).

What was your favorite 2013 phone?

 

[Sajo]

To me there is no more revolutionary phone than the Moto X (and associated Droid Ultra / Droid Maxx). A phone made in the USA, with all those Moto Maker options, pretty much stock Android, with the Moto App and all those cool Moto features that have become part of stock Android since 2013. Every new Moto App feature of the Moto X (and Droid Ultra / Maxx) have become part of stock Android, except Driving Mode. This is the phone that brought us Google Now, hands free from the lock screen, Do Not Disturb, Trusted Devices & other Trusted unlock options, Active Display, and several others. The Moto X and all the new functionality it introduced was just plain awesome.

As far as the Droid line goes the Droid Maxx from that year was my favorite Droid branded phone so far. That thing was a sweet beast, with all the same cool features as the Moto X.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[LoudRam]

I went back and forth trying to decide between the Moto X and the HTC One. I looked at all the reviews and visited the VZW store a few times. At that point I had only owned HTC's. I got the Moto X but it was a tough decision however I never regretted it. That was an awesome phone for all the reasons Sajo pointed out. I became a Motorola fan at that point and I still am.

 

[pc747]

Additions to 2013: I forgot about the LG Flex. I somehow thought it was a 2014 phone, but it was actually 2013. This phone had enough of a fan base to warrant a flex 2.

2014:

By 2014 smartphones were finally getting LTE phones down. We started seeing more phones with larger displays, better cameras, and better batteries. And we also learned about never settling.

The Moto X got another run at it. Despite the lack of quad core, the phone was a fan favorite. And it made us look at more than just specs on paper. The Moto X 2 stepped it up a little with wood and leather back designs, camera ring, and fast charging.

Speaking of fast charging, we have a Verizon fan favorite here with the Droid Turbo. A phone by Motorola with a QHD Display, 3GBs of Ram, 20 MP camera, and a 3900 mAh battery. Finally a Droid that could truly compete with the other phones on the market, something that hasn't happened (arguably) since the Droid X.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Samsung was now 4 years into the Note line, and was continuing to build up the Note army.

Samsung Galaxy S 5: Samsung wanted to roll out all the stops for this phone as well as try and be more geared toward health software. The phone was IP67 water and dust resistant, had a heart rate monitor, home button finger printer sensor, and the "band-aid" back. This phone was famous for Samsung not wanting to honor warranties for phones that were actually damaged by water.

Moto G: Motorola took a different approach with phones. They realize the fight for the high end market was over saturated and business wise didn't really benefit them as much. So they starting shifting focus to the mid and low end market. The Moto G was their mid end phone that had a flagship field. Having purchased several (later editions) for family members, I highly recommend this phone. Especially for people on a budget, people who can care less about the phone "food chain", or for a relative who are not as tech savvy but want a smart phone.

HTC One M(8): HTC went another year just copying and pasting last year's design. Yes, if it is not broke don't fix. But people want to see these phones continue to evolve. HTC even used this exact phone and loaded it up with windows software to sell it as a Windows Phone. It returned with dual front facing speakers, and it came with the Ultra pixel camera. Note: When I google this I am seeing reviews of the GPE HTC One M8, but I thought it was the original HTC One that was GPE. Someone can correct me.

Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 compact: With phones chasing the note line, trying to be larger, some were missing the days of the compact phones. Sony tried to fill that with the Z3 compact. What people liked about the Z3 compact was that it was smaller without a compromise in specs. At the time, and arguably still the case now, smaller phones had a drop somewhere in the spec department. Both the Z3 and Z3 compact was favored for the design, and received high marks from publications.

Nexus 6: Shamu. I remember asking Google for a phone like the Note back when I had the Nexus 5. Leading up to this phone was the maker of the OG Droid and Google getting together to make a Nexus. People could not wait. And when we finally got it, there were complaint about the size, the cost (which I disagreed with the complaint), and the process to get the phone. Google struggled to handle the orders for those not wanting to but the phone through carriers, as this was the first Nexus sold in carrier stores for ATT, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. This meant people could buy a phone on a plan. But people feared that carriers would interfere with OTAs. Google addressed those concerns by dropping the updates online. And I can not forget the carrier logos branded on the back of the phones, that did not go over well with Nexus fans.

One Plus: A new manufacturer entered the ring with a phone that wanted to challenge the other manufacturers. One Plus One would bring a flagship phone without the flagship prices, while promising not to skimp on specs. This phone would appeal to rom fans early as it was loaded with CyanogenMod and was a phone that was designed to be rooted an modded. And the back was that sandstone black. One of the criticism with One Plus early on was the invite system. In order to be able to purchase the phone you had to receive an invite.

LG G3: 3rd generation of the LG flagship. Lg wanted to deal with criticism of LG G2 by making the G3 look more premium.

 

[pc747]

2014 honorable mention: Note Edge would change Samsung phones forever.


2015: Bring your cameras and your fast charger. Fast charging was becoming a standard feature in flagship phones.

Android was so hot that Blackberry decided to switch. The Blackberry Priv would bring the physical keyboard back to android. Problem was we were just too far away from using physical keyboards, that people didn't need them anymore. What hurt Blackberry was the price.

Moto X Style/ pure edition: In a world of phones with a fingerprint scanner, Motorola decided not to put one in the pure edition. Other than that the phone, software wise, was pretty much a nexus.

Nexus 6P: Huawei needed more exposure for the American customers. Up until then they were mainly known for being the phone for non contract carriers like Cricket. A partnership with Google could help with that. So we got the Nexus 6P. This would be one of the last Nexus phones ever made by Google. The 6P brought the premium metal design, distinct camera hump design), a better camera (compared to nexus phones in the past), and a fast fingerprint sensor (one of the best). Despite it failing a few bend tests, the phone was a nice design overall. It was a large phone, but was thinner (than the Nexus 6). Google would show that they were heading on the right path toward becoming a flagship competitor. This is the first Nexus that I did not root/unlock the bootloader. Google was finally getting their software to a point where I did not feel the need to want to modify it.

Nexus 5X: LG continues to be the go to for Google. Wanting to bring back the fan favorite, Nexus 5, they sought LG to make an updated Nexus 5, the 5X. This would be a smaller nexus with less premium material. Unfortunately this phone would suffer from reboot issues late in its life. Google/LG were subjected to a class action lawsuit because of it.

LG G4: Buttons still on the back, now a signature of the phone, LG wanted to appeal to the customers. With basically every phone going to non removable batteries, LG decided to make their batteries removable. This also allowed them to offer an option to purchase a leather back panel to add a more premium look and feel.

Galaxy S6/S6 edge: Samsung experimented with the Note edge the year before. This year we would see it manifested in a Galaxy S with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The S6 edge was the more expensive version of the S6, but with less bezels on the side. Samsung stepped up their design for both the S6 and S6 edge by going with the premium glass backs. The phone was beautifully designed, bringing back the fingerprint sensor in the home button, heart rate monitor, and the option for those wanting a larger phone without the S Pen (ie S6 Edge +). Samsung would remove water resistance and expandable storage. Moves that Samsung would backtrack on in future phones.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5: Design wise, this was one of the best looking note phones up to that point. The premium glass back from the S6 made its way to the Note. This phone had one of the best cameras in a smartphone and ended up being my choice phone for 2015 ( I would later give it to my brother a few months later and picked up a Nexus 6P after Samsung and AT&T's lack of updates.

HTC M9: sigh.... Another copy and paste job by HTC. By this point people were tired of HTC. They had begun their fall and it was starting to show in their phones. The camera took a hit from the year before. And Samsung was beginning to lap them.

One Plus 2: Never settle was settling on no NFC, removable battery, SD Card slot, or wireless charging (to be fair, flagships this year had all abandoned removable batteries and expandable storage). The 2nd phone for the One Plus 2 was met with some criticism but they still maintained a fan base.

LG V10: 5.7 inch quad HD, secondary display, removable 3000 mAh battery, this was an awesome looking phone overall. It kept the buttons on the back but added a fingerprint scanner. This phone would start LG's live of premium designed V phones.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (released Dec of 2015): Only reason I am bringing this phone up is because it was basically the same phone used to make the Pixel phones the next year.

 

[Sajo]

There were some great phones in 2014. I had the Turbo while the other 3 family members all had the Moto X 2014 aka Moto X 2. Both were stellar devices.

I think you forgot one important phone in 2015....the Droid Turbo 2. The first shatter proof screen ever put in a phone. It may have had a few hiccups early on, but I personally think Shattershield was revolutionary.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

There were some great phones in 2014. I had the Turbo while the other 3 family members all had the Moto X 2014 aka Moto X 2. Both were stellar devices.

I think you forgot one important phone in 2015....the Droid Turbo 2. The first shatter proof screen ever put in a phone. It may have had a fresh hiccups early on, but I personally think Shattershield was revolutionary.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

You are correct. I knew I forgot something. But yeah that was revolutionary. Sadly that trend did not continue. I liked the idea of a phone that I could confidently rock "raw dog". And I was hoping the market would have continued that trend. Instead, we get phones that are 1000+, that are glass. And it cost more than half the amount to fix them.

 

[pc747]

What were the terms and vernacular that threw off your fam & friends when you first started talking to them about android?

I remember trying to explain rooting and bricking of a phone to people. I loved the response I would get like, "so you bury your phone?"

 

[pc747]

2016: More companies threw their hats in the ring. And one big company continued to drift. Oh we also had a "situation" with a phones that changed things.

Let's get started:

I actually want to start with the Droid Force/Moto Z Force: Motorola wanted to change things up using Moto Mods. Basically it was taking Project Ara and making it work for a smartphone. The concept was actually a great idea, and I am sad that it has not caught on with more manufacturers. The ability to add more battery life, a better camera, game controller, screen projector, or a speaker by clipping it on the back. Personally, I think the reason this has not caught on is because manufacturers are not interested in making a phone that will truly go beyond 2 years. Outside of Apple and Google, majority of the manufacturers stop updating their phones 6 months after you purchase them. "Your phone feels laggy and slow, great, hopefully that send you back to us so we can sell you another phone that will be laggy and slow after 12-18 months".

LG G5: Speaking of project ara, one company did it the wrong way. And that would be LG. No one really cared for the LG G5 or their friends. This phone really set them back. Thankfully another company's whoas pushed the friends to the back burner. And for LG, it couldn;t have happened at a better time.

One Plus 5/5T: One Plus started an annoying trend that continues until today. They would release one phone. Then 6 months later another phone with slightly better specs, and addressed the complaints with the phones released in the Spring. This process hurt the value of their phones, and frustrates their loyal customer base.

Huawei Mate 9/ZTE Axon 7: Two phones that really made an impression on the community. Huawei and ZTE are mainly known for their budget phones. But this year they showed that they can make a good flagship phone as well.

HTC 10: While Huawei and ZTE were movie up the food chain, HTC was continuing to move down. This phone, however, received praises from several publications.

LG V20: Where LG choked with the G5, they made up for it with the V20. LG wanted to make a phone that could appeal to music lovers. Their HiFi Quad DAC provide one of the best (if not the best) sound quality you could find in a phone. Add in a removable battery, top of the line specs, and you have a phone that could compete with the big boys.

Google Pixel (XL): Down with the Nexus line and rise of the Pixels. Google was ready to make a smartphone that could compete with the top tiered flagships. And they were going to do it with the best camera on the market and Google's software. It did however lacked water resistance and had a huge chin. And this caught criticism because phones were shrinking the bezels and adding in water resistance as a standard feature (i.e Samsung and Apple).

Galaxy S7/S7 Edge/S7 Edge Plus: Samsung just continued their dominance of the market with their top of the line hardware. They had surpassed every other android manufacturer and Apple to become the top smartphones on the market. They were the reason people looked at the Google Pixel sideways. Samsung continued to improve their hardware by giving people more screen and options. Oh, and they brought back the SD Card slot, which was a crowd pleaser. Samsung was riding high, and they were looking to continue.

Note 7: Samsung wanted to align their note numbering system with the Galaxy s line, as the note was a year behind. So in 2016 they skipped a number and released the Note 7. Overall, the Note 7 was the best smartphone that year. Sporting one of the best cameras, great hardware, a larger battery, sd card, and best display. People truly loved this phone, so much that when it had to be recalled they did not want to give it up. I do not need to go back over the history of what happened with the Note 7. This forum had thread after thread talking about the issue. It was literally ran to the ground. This phone changed aviation. Now planes are equipped with gloves and a fire bag to contain a phone that happens to catch fire.

So what your favorite phone of 2016?

And if there are any phones I missed, please post them.

 

[Sajo]

Moto Z/ Z Play and Z Force baby! And Moto Mods.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[LoudRam]

The Droid Moto Z is still one of my favorites phones. I miss it.

 

[pc747]

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

2017:

2017 was an interesting year. At the beginning of the year we were excited about a new edition, only to have that fade thanks to a tweet. But we do owe something to that phone. So let's recap 2017.

Essential PH-1: Andy Rubin had returned with a phone that could challenge the industry. A phone that would be pretty much stock android. And would get updates near the time of Google phones. They also had an awesome looking design. The body was titanium and ceramic. And the display had a notch, done right, and a radical idea connecting peripherals with the magnetic pins on the back. But a tweet went out showing off that camera and that pretty much done them in. I would have really liked to see Essential take another crack at it. I want to see an Essential 2

Motorola Z2 Force: Continue the phone with the mods, Motorola release the Z2 Force. A phone that feels like a tank. Motorola also released a few more clip on mods for the phone.

LG G6: Rumors were surfacing that LG would be making the Pixel 2 XL. So eyes were on the LG G6 to see what the Pixel 2XL might look like. After falling on their faces with the G5, they needed a phone to redeem themselves. Packed with their own POLED panel, they brought the waterproofing this time.

HTC U11: We bash HTC because they haven't had a hit in years. But we have to give it to them for some of the ideas they brought to the table. One such idea is the squeeze function, which made its way to Pixel phones. HTC could not get much love for the U11. And they are still struggling to come up with a hit.

One Plus 5/5T: OP is really making a name for themselves. They are doing enough to stick around in the conversation for flagships. In fact, one could argue that they jumped past HTC. Just wait until Fall to purchase their phones if you want the best variant. Oh, can't forget to mention their fast charging, and the price.

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+: No more edge, just a phone that is edge to edge. Samsung wanted so badly to get the Note 7 fiasco cleansed from their palate. Samsung continues to be one of the trend setters when it come to hardware. Just a beautiful phone overall. Cleaning up the bezels allowed them to put a 5.8 inch screen in a small phone, well small compared to the Note.

Note 8: After the Note 7 fiasco, there were rumors that Samsung may drop their Note line of phones. Well Samsung brought it back, with a little precaution. For one, they dropped the battery capacity. They also honored the agreement to hook up those who had the Note 7. And despite this phone being on the high side, people bought it. If ever there was a comeback story for a phone, it would have had to be for the Note 8. To go from recall to phone of the year for 2017 was big.

Pixel 2/2XL: Google's second Pixel XL was met with some controversy. The display on the 2XL had early complaints of ghosting, being grainy, looking washed out, and having a blue tint. Google ended up extending the warranty another year and trying to explain the blue tint. But if you can get past the display, the phone had the best camera of 2017. For once Google had the camera to beat. Words never said about a nexus phone. The Pixel 2 had a better display but the overall design had even more bezel (it seemed), compared to the Pixel.

Razer phone: The famous computer manufacturer was ready to shake things up in the smartphone arena. They had purchased Nextbit Robin and turned their phone into a beast of a phone for gamers. That 120 Hz display refresh rate was the talk for months. They did a lot right with the phone, but like the Essential Ph-1, they forgot to add a camera.

What phone did you end up choosing last year?

And what phone did I miss that deserved to be mentioned?

 

[bruben7886]

Chose my z2 force. Man! Love this thing! Awesome camera, looooong battery life, smooth, mods..... What's not to love?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

Last day before the big day.

We know majority of the phones that had been released this year. And we still have phones left to be released. So far what are the phones that stuck out the most (either good or bad)?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk