Apple is about to drop a new iPhone on the hungry consumer masses. Lots of people will love it, whether it is any good or not. It’s Apple, after all. This is what it does.
But what if you don’t want an iPhone? Turns out you’re in luck. This has been a great year for smartphone buyers, especially those who don’t want an iPhone. Just about every smartphone maker has upped its game in 2013. The screens are brighter, the processors are faster, the gimmicks are more interesting and the features are more functional.
Here are five smartphones that rival the newest iPhone and give consumers some excellent alternatives as they decide what gadget they want in their pockets for the next couple of years.
HTC One
Why You’ll Like It
HTC is second to none when it comes to industrial design. The HTC One has a full metal unibody case that a short study of potential consumers said they prefer over the Samsung Galaxy S4. It runs Android and runs it well, and has a customized skin/launcher in HTC Sense 5 that does a great job in making the features of the phone shine. Released in April, the HTC One is still probably the best phone launched this year.
Why You Won’t
Unless you’re getting the “Google Nexus” edition of the HTC One, there are some quirks you might not like. First among them is the “Blink Feed,” a news aggregation feed that you can’t get rid of without installing a third-party launcher.
HTC also likes to do odd things with photo sharing with its “Zoe” features in the camera. Then there’s the camera itself. HTC calls the technology behind its camera “ultrapixels,” as opposed to the classic megapixels. The camera works well enough, especially in low-light conditions but it’s not the best smartphone camera on the market this year.
Nokia Lumia 1020
Why You’ll Like It
Speaking of smartphone cameras, the one on the Lumia 1020 is the best of the best. At 41 megapixels, with killer optics and advanced software, the Lumia 1020 camera is awesome in just about every way. If you want a change of pace from the Android and iOS duopoly, the Lumia 1020 runs Windows Phone 8, a respectable operating system that is the epitome of “flat” design with its Hubs & Tiles interface.
Why You Won’t
Outside of the camera, the Lumia 1020 is kind of mediocre. The body is fairly big and the 41-megapixel camera on back creates a bit of a bump. Then there is Windows Phone 8. It’s a decent operating system, but it can sometimes be difficult to find what you’re looking for (like basic settings). In terms of apps, the Windows Phone Marketplace lags both Android’s Google Play store and Apple’s App Store in volume, quality and number of top app publishers using the platform (there’s no Instagram app, for instance).
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