Fun fact: there are roughly seven different model Android phones per human on the planet. While that statement isn't actually true, it seems close. Since you've got things to do, here's what matters when buying a new Android phone.


We've said it before and we'll say it again: there is no "best" Android phone. At this point, you can think of buying a phone a bit like buying a laptop. Get the one that's best for your needs and does what you want. If the software doesn't do what you like, it's possible to change most of it, but you can't change terrible battery life, or how it feels to hold it every day. Everyone's needs are different, so don't be worried about there being a "better" phone out there. Get the one that you will be happy with until your next upgrade.


When (and How Often) Should I Upgrade?

Not everyone upgrades their phones on the same schedule. And for good reason. These suckers are expensive. However, carrier subsidies and payment plans have made it possible to maintain an upgrade cycle of every two years or so, which means that phones aren't necessarily built to last as long as computers or even tablets.

There are a few ways to get your hands on a new phone and it all depends on how often you want (or can afford) to upgrade:

Two-year upgrades with your carrier: Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint still use two year contracts and offer upgrade pricing once your contract is up. This gives you a discount on the price of the phone in exchange for sticking with your carrier for two more years. If you're happy with your carrier, this is a smart option, but if you might want to switch, consider other options.

Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint still use two year contracts and offer upgrade pricing once your contract is up. This gives you a discount on the price of the phone in exchange for sticking with your carrier for two more years. If you're happy with your carrier, this is a smart option, but if you might want to switch, consider other options. Carrier payment plans: T-Mobile's default method of buying phones is payment plans, though most major US carriers have adopted the model in some form. The details of these plans differ widely from carrier to carrier

T-Mobile's default method of buying phones is payment plans, though most major US carriers have adopted the model in some form. The details of these plans Buying phones outright: High end phones can typically cost $500-600 or more, depending on the model. Most people don't want to drop that much money at once. However, the market for cheaper phones has been steadily improving. You can often find solid contenders for $400 or less dirt cheap

High end phones can typically cost $500-600 or more, depending on the model. Most people don't want to drop that much money at once. However, the market for cheaper phones has been steadily improving. You can often find solid contenders for Buying used phones: One of the upsides to having such a huge collection of phones to choose from is that they sell used fairly cheap. You can often find used flagship Android phones for half the price buy used smartphones without getting screwed here good back then


If you want a new phone, you have plenty of options. While it's still easiest to wait until your carrier will offer you steep discounts, you can still end up shelling out $200 or more on new devices anyway, so no option is clearly better than any other. What you need to determine is whether your current phone will keep working, and if the phone you replace it with will be a solid improvement.

Of course, no one wants to buy a new phone only to find out that the company released the new version a month later. While manufacturers and carriers have frustratingly unpredictable release schedules, there are certain times of the year that bring plenty of news:

Spring (Samsung, HTC, Google): Over the last couple of years, HTC, Samsung, and Google have all announced major products between February and May. The former two just announced their newest flagships, the Galaxy S6 HTC One (M9)

Over the last couple of years, HTC, Samsung, and Google have all announced major products between February and May. The former two just announced their newest flagships, the Fall (Motorola, LG, Google again): Motorola and LG have planted their flags in the Fall for new releases. Google has also released new Nexus devices around October or November. In 2014, that included a new Nexus phone, but it's still unclear if that will be a consistent pattern. Either way, if you're a fan of any of these companies, wait it out until the snow starts falling before committing to a purchase.


Of course, if you're waiting on all companies to hear everyone's announcements, that rules out pretty much everything from January to December. The better solution is to find a manufacturer you like, wait to see what their new stuff is this year, and then buy shortly after that.

What Features Really Matter in a New Phone?


Unless you're using your phone for hardcore gaming, chances are most of the spec wars don't concern you. Mobile processors are fast enough to do just about everything you'll ever need, and 2-3GB of RAM is becoming standard. Even displays are so over-engineered that we've started arguing about whether or not the human eye can even see that many pixels. It's safe to say some things matter more in a phone than others.


Here are some of the things that can actually differ wildly from one phone to another:

Battery

This one is getting bumped up higher than it's been in the past because it's one of the biggest problems that still hasn't been solved. While some phones will improve battery life by tossing in a massive one, others aim to make more efficient use of what they have. Unfortunately, even reviews of battery life can be off the mark, since they only have limited amounts of time to use a device. However, benchmarks can help you get an idea of which phone is beating the competition. It's also worth mentioning that quick chargers are becoming more common Put simply, these are chargers that can fill up your phone's battery in a much shorter amount of time. If you're interested in this, be sure to check to see if your phone supports it and which chargers you need before you buy.


Camera

When manufacturers advertise their phone, they're likely to tell you how many megapixels it has. Which sucks because that's barely relevant. Camera performance is affected by how the device handles low-light, how it's calibrated, extra software processing that's done to the image, and a wide variety of other factors. The best way to tell whether a phone's camera is good is an old-fashioned comparison review. Of course, don't forget that how you take your pictures will have an effect, too. If you're going to do it, may as well do it right.


Display

When we last left our heroes, we were discussing whether or not a 1080p display really mattered in a smartphone. And while you probably don't unless your phone is larger than 5", many major flagships have just gone ahead and made their phones bigger than 5" anyway. Regardless, much like with cameras, there are many other factors that go into how a display looks. AMOLED vs. LCD, viewing angles, performance in sunlight, color calibration. Making a good-looking display is just as complex and as subjective as a good camera is. Rather than worry about specs, go to your local carrier chain and take a look at the phones in person. It's the only way to know if you'll really like what you see.


Manufacturer Skins

Every manufacturer wants to put their own spin on Android, and for good reason. They're not competing much on battery life, after all. However, manufacturer skins can drastically change your Android experience, so it's important to know what you're getting with a different interface.


Each manufacturer has a few features that stand out. While we could not possibly do a comprehensive comparison of each, here are a few that are notable on each device:

HTC Sense: Blinkfeed and Unbundled Apps. HTC's custom launcher aims to do on your home screen what you're probably already doing with your phone: mindlessly scroll through feeds. Not everyone loves it, but some do. Also, HTC has followed Google's lead by unbundling many applications

HTC's custom launcher aims to do on your home screen what you're probably already doing with your phone: mindlessly scroll through feeds. Not everyone loves it, but some do. Also, HTC has followed Google's lead by Samsung Nature UX: Samsung Pay and Curved Edge displays. Samsung experiments wildly with its phones, and many cool (or less cool) features are tied to hardware. Samsung has announced a mobile payments processor that promises to use regular old magnetic card readers—as opposed to NFC payments—which means you might actually be able to use your S6 to pay at most places you already go. And the Edge version has a curved display that wraps around the side. Which the company uses to add a few extra swiping gestures that are more thumb-accessible

Samsung experiments wildly with its phones, and many cool (or less cool) features are tied to hardware. Samsung has announced a mobile payments processor that promises to use regular old magnetic card readers—as opposed to NFC payments—which means you might actually be able to use your S6 to pay at most places you already go. And the Edge version has a curved display that wraps around the side. Which the company uses to add a few extra swiping gestures that are Motorola: Voice Activation and Smart Controls. Motorola's skin is perhaps the least invasive, but the company still makes some changes. For example, it allows you to control the phone with your voice without touching it. You can customize voice triggers in the new version, and it can intelligently change how it treats notifications when you're driving, sleeping, or in a meeting. Of all the manufacturers, it's the most subtle, but perhaps some of the most helpful as well.


These are just some samples, and every manufacturer has dozens of features it stuffs into Android. The key takeaway, though, is that if you have some special feature you really like on your phone right now, try to check and see if it's coming from Google or your manufacturer before you change to a different company. You may find that Android is an entirely different beast when you switch.

Android OS Updates


We've talked before about how Android OS updates aren't necessarily as important as Play Services. By removing much of the compatibility framework and updating it separately, Google has made it possible to get much of the same experience, even if you have an older version. However, Google has also recently launched Android Lollipop and that's a pretty major revision.


Unfortunately, the situation hasn't changed much over the years. If you want a device that gets fast updates and won't get left behind, the Nexus phones are for you. Motorola is the only manufacturer that's stayed close on Google's heels, but it also does this by minimally altering the interface. The company has also been sold to Lenovo and it's unclear how that will affect long-term plans. Even more unfortunately, Google seems to have quietly killed off its Google Play Edition devices (it no longer sells older phones on the Play Store, and no new versions have been announced for the current flagships), so your options are limited. If you want to get at least some hope of getting updates without going Nexus, stick to the most popular flagships. Historically, these are the ones most likely to get updated at some point, solely due to market pressure.


What if I Care About Rooting?


Rooting Android phones isn't as necessary as it used to be, but there are still arguments to be made in favor of doing so. Not all phones make it easy, though. If you want to crack open your device and give it the custom treatment, here are some guidelines for what to consider:

Nexus devices: Google's reference devices also double as its developer platform. For that reason, it's stupid easy to unlock your device. While most unofficial root methods use an exploit of some kind to gain access, Google gives it to you properly. This is the one guaranteed way to avoid hassles and get developer support for your device from the root community.

Google's reference devices also double as its developer platform. For that reason, it's stupid easy to unlock your device. While most unofficial root methods use an exploit of some kind to gain access, Google gives it to you properly. This is the one guaranteed way to avoid hassles and get developer support for your device from the root community. Popular phones: The more people trying to work on a device, the more likely it is that you'll be able to gain root access if there's not an easy way already. Of course, nothing is a guarantee, and you'll still have to deal with carrier shenanigans, but if you're one of three people who want to buy the Samsung Obscure A42, don't count on someone else making a tool to give you one-click root access.


There are also certain things you should actively avoid if you want to root your phone:

Obscure devices with low specs: It might be possible to get root access on your Kyocera Whatever the New One's Called, but you shouldn't count on a lot of ROM support in a timely manner.

It might be possible to get root access on your Kyocera Whatever the New One's Called, but you shouldn't count on a lot of ROM support in a timely manner. Devices with locked bootloaders: Locking a bootloader won't guarantee that you can't get root. However, with so many options available for phones that make root easily available, or at least don't lock bootloaders, developer attention isn't going to be as strongly focused on these devices as it has been in the past.

Locking a bootloader won't guarantee that you can't get root. However, with so many options available for phones that make root easily available, or at least don't lock bootloaders, developer attention isn't going to be as strongly focused on these devices as it has been in the past. CDMA devices (when possible): The one rule that can negate all the others here is CDMA. Nexus owners on Verizon and Sprint in particular have felt the sting of slow updates and minimal support because their devices are the CDMA variant of otherwise very open phones. It's not a guaranteed curse of no support, but if you want to raise your chances if getting in the fun developer party, stick with GSM phones like those on T-Mobile and AT&T.


If you've read all this and you're still stressed out, don't be. Most Android phones on the market right now are actually pretty awesome. Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and even LG have all managed to crank out devices that will make any moderately savvy smartphone user happy. And even if they don't, you can download most of the apps you need to replace the skinned experience anyway. Leave the arguing about which phone can beat up whose dad for the flame wars.

Photo by Maurizio Pesce .