Looking for a new Android phone

[StepW]

Hey! Sorry in advance if this is the wrong place to ask about this kind of thing.

Basically I might be looking into buying a new Android phone. I'm currently on a Samsung Galaxy S4 which has served me well for around a year and a half, but I'm starting to get a little annoyed by its lacklustre battery life, TouchWiz, and the general wear and tear that inevitably starts to show after a while. I'm looking for a new Android phone and these are the top things I want out of it:

* Large screen (ideally phablet size) - Smallest I'd go is around 5 inches, but I do like large screens.
* Fairly powerful specs - I don't need the cream of the crop as I won't be playing intensive games on it but what I'm mainly looking for is a smooth user experience with little to no lag when using applications.
* Great battery life - This is a MUST. I need it to last me a full day of heavy usage. I use my phone a lot for communicating, watching videos, doing work-related stuff, etc... so I need a powerhouse of a battery. It needs to last me a full day, and currently my S4 barely lasts me half a day (Bluetooth may be a contributor to battery drain as I have a smartwatch).

I don't mind having bad camera quality and bad call quality, but those are the three main things I'm looking for. Other pluses include it being waterproof, having expandable storage/removable battery/both, the ability to have two apps sharing screen space, and of course not being too expensive.

I've looked into the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and HTC One Max. It seems like the Note 4 is my best option from what I've seen but it's very expensive and I'm not a huge fan of Samsung phones... I'm still undecided though. Maybe there's a phone I'm missing, as I haven't looked into it enough yet. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

You described the Note 4. What's stopping you from picking one up?

 

[Max Forcey]

I suggest the s5

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Haalcyon]

Either Note 4 or S5. I have both and they're really good devices. Cameras are good on both as well as battery life.

from the S5

 

[dpham00]

Note 4 for battery life. Specs are top notch and camera is one of the best for android.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[StepW]

Thanks for the replies! What's stopping me from buying the Note 4 is the price and the TouchWiz UI mainly. I guess the latter isn't too big a problem, as I can root it or at the very least install a custom launcher, but the price is still pretty hefty, being around €600 - €700.

Are there any other phones similar to the Note 4 that are cheaper? I don't mind somewhat worse specs and a worse camera, but the screen size and battery life are perfect.

 

[Haalcyon]

Have you considered the Mega 2? That's a nice large screened device.

from the S5

 

[dpham00]

Thanks for the replies! What's stopping me from buying the Note 4 is the price and the TouchWiz UI mainly. I guess the latter isn't too big a problem, as I can root it or at the very least install a custom launcher, but the price is still pretty hefty, being around €600 - €700.

Are there any other phones similar to the Note 4 that are cheaper? I don't mind somewhat worse specs and a worse camera, but the screen size and battery life are perfect.

The Huawei ascend mate 2 is €250,and gets excellent battery life. It uses a snapdragon 400, which is what I have in my moto g, not bad, though obviously not as fast as my note 4. If you are looking for even cheaper, the meizu m1 is €130.not sure about battery life but it is a mediatek octacore 64 bit. I would still prefer the note 4, but I understand that price is a concern.

If you can go down to 4.7", the Moto X 2013 32gb developer edition was €130, and performs great.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4