I don't see it that way..., the process goes
Price bracket... If it doesn't fall within the price range I'm looking for, then it doesn't exist as an option... so no matter how nice that Wakandan vibranium diamond encrusted s9 special edition is, its not a phone i'm going to look at.
Then how likely it is to be supported... that Chinese import specphone may have numbers to die for... but no warranty, unlikely support, no dev community, would strike that off the list too.
Minimum storage/ram thesholds have to be met... throw out those that don't meet it.
Then we fall into having an acceptable camera, screen size, battery life etc....
Skins etc, aren't a problem.... its going to run my Nova Launcher themes anyway....
And finally... I want to hold the thing.. and see how nicely it feels in the hand.