Shootouts

Shootout: The best smartphone of 2015

By James Lu - 31 Dec 2015

Benchmark Performance and Conclusion

Benchmark Performance
 

Sunspider Javascript

SunSpider JavaScript measures the browsing performance of a device when processing JavaScript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is at delivering a high-speed web browsing experience. Two phones did particularly well here, the Galaxy Note 5 and the Apple iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone was the overall winner on this benchmark thanks to Apple’s great optimization between its hardware and software.

 

Quadrant

Quadrant is an Android benchmark that evaluates a device's CPU, memory, I/O and 3D graphics performances. As this is an Android benchmark, the Apple iPhone 6s Plus is not included. Samsung’s in-house Exynos 7420 is the only non-Qualcomm processor in this benchmark, but still ran circles around the competition, with the Note 5 massively outscoring all of its Qualcomm-equipped rivals. The 808-equipped V10 lagged behind everyone else.

 

3D Mark 2013

3DMark 2013 - Ice Storm is designed to test the gaming capabilities of a device, putting its GPU through a rigorous OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark test that uses fixed off-screen rendering with high quality textures and post-processing effects. The Unlimited version of the benchmark disables v-sync, display scaling and other OS factors, making it ideal for chipset comparison.

This gaming benchmark was quite closely contested with the Apple A9, Exynos 7420 and Snapdragon 810 all performing well, with Apple’s A9 leading the pack. Once again, the V10’s Snapdragon 808 was a fair bit behind the leaders.

 

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones involves:

  • Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on, and constant data streaming through email and Twitter

Both AMOLED-equipped smartphones (the Note 5 and Nexus 6P) were able to outlast the competition here, with the Nexus 6P running for 11 and a half hours and the Note 5 lasting just under 15 hours. By comparison, the phones with LCD displays didn’t fare as well, and the Z5 Premium in particular suffered due to its ultra high resolution UHD display, lasting just nine hours.

 

So what's the best smartphone of 2015?

As I said at the start of this shootout, this category is extremely competitive. We can confidently recommend all of the phones tested and each one has its merits.

  • If you’re at the pool or beach a lot, or if you really like the idea of a UHD display, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium with its IP68 build is going to be the one for you.
     
  • For photographers and especially videographers, the LG V10’s camera and software is one of the best combinations out there and the amount of manual control available will be very welcomed (look out for our comprehensive smartphone camera shootout coming soon). 
     
  • Don’t want to spend over 1K and you prefer a bloat-free pure Android experience? The Huawei Nexus 6P is the best Nexus phone ever.
     
  • And if you want a revolutionary feature in your next smartphone, Apple’s 3D Touch display is easily the single best improvement to the touchscreen since it was invented.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

But there must be a winner, and the phone that stood out above the rest was the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. While each of the other phones has some area where it’s not that great (price, performance, battery life etc.), the Note 5 is practically flawless, performing well in each category. It boasts a gorgeous metal and glass build, it has a powerful and more importantly power efficient processor, it (along with the Nexus 6P) has the best display out of all of our compared smartphones, with deep blacks and gorgeous colors, and its S-pen stylus is actually practical and functional. Unless you have specific usage needs, the Galaxy Note 5 is the best smartphone you can buy right now.

Looking for the best smartphone of 2015? Look no further.
 

Ratings Breakdown
Model Design Features User-Friendliness Performance Value Overall
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 8.5 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 9.0
HTC One M9 8.5 8.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 8.0
Huawei Nexus 6P 8.5 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5
LG V10 8.5 8.5 8.5 7.5 8.0 8.0
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 8.5
(adjusted down from 9.0 in original review)
9.5 9.0 9.0 8.5 9.0
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.0
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