Top 5 smart phones of 2014

I'm going to remember 2014 as the year phone makers got most things right. Oh, sure, the Amazon Fire phone, Asus PadFone X, and a few other models from the Department of What Were They Thinking had us scratching our heads for the brief time they were with us.

But on the whole, this is the year Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola, and others dropped or downplayed some of the eye-blinking, file-beaming, photo-tweaking features nobody asked for, and instead focused on the issues that frustrated users most, including battery life, durability, and ease of use.

And Apple, which has been playing it safe with barely noticeable updates to its iPhones in recent years, caught up to the competition with two refreshing models boasting larger displays and decent battery performance.

Here are Consumer Reports' picks of the best models of 2014, in alphabetical order. 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Apple begins with the letter "A," so we'll kick off our Top Five with the iPhone 6 Plus. This phone's "phabulous" dimensions may limit its appeal to portability-focused users, but its excellent-quality 5.5-inch, high-definition (1080p) display is a fantastic showcase for multimedia and makes document details harder to miss. And despite the 6 Plus's palm-prying width, its slim design and smooth, rounded edges, reminiscent of earlier iPhones, make this model relatively comfortable to hold. The battery, a traditional weak spot for iPhones, provides more than twice the talk time of any iPhone that came before it.

The iPhone 6's fingerprint reader, familiar from last year's iPhone 5s, is much more potent now, enabling a significant step forward in mobile payments. When set up with Apple's iCloud service, it lets you safely and quickly unlock the phone's screen or authorize an iTunes purchase with just a light press of your finger. On the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the system can also authorize purchases at store registers via the Apple Pay mobile payment system.

LG G3

The LG G3 has a 5.5-inch quad HD display, whose 2560x1440 resolution presents photos, videos, web pages, and other content with more than 530 pixels per inch of detail. Not everybody will notice those extra pixels in everyday use, but you'll certainly notice the virtual keyboard, one of the best we've seen. Its height and layout can easily be adjusted to the user's liking, and you can even split it in two to access items behind it. Of course, you also get Dual Window and other LG multitasking tools that let you conveniently access multiple apps without leaving the screen, an IR Blaster for controlling home-theater setups, and a great camera that can record video with Ultra-HD resolution. However, LG put the power and volume controls on the back of the phone instead of the top or sides, which some users may not like.

Check out our coverage of trends in smart phones, and advice on how to shop for a new plan.

Motorola Droid Turbo

The Motorola Droid Turbo has some of today's most appealing smart-phone features, including a mammoth battery that provides more than 24 hours of talk time on a single charge. What's more, a near-dead battery can be resurrected to roughly 30 percent in about 30 minutes using its included charger and cable. Droid Turbo is always ready to respond to spoken commands even if you don't touch it or wake up its screen. And you can easily program the phone to automatically change settings, notifications, and other items based on where you are and the time of day. For instance, hold all but the most important calls after midnight or automatically switch to silent mode when you're in a meeting or at a museum. See one of life's precious moments unfolding before your eyes? Just a flick of your wrist launches the camera.

Samsung Galaxy S 5

This is the Android world's Most Valuable Player, blending toughness  (it can survive a 30-minute dunk in about 3 feet of water) with superb performance in all the important ways people use their smart phones. For instance, its terrific 15.9-megapixel camera has an impressive number of options for tweaking photos and videos to anyone's liking, yet it has simplified access to controls and effects people use most. And there's a mode that can stretch the phone's already great battery life even more in case of an emergency. The phone's simple operation belies the fact that it's brimming with the latest technology, including a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone or authorizing purchases as well as a heart-rate monitor mounted next to the main camera's LED Flash. Like a Swiss Army knife, the Galaxy S 5 has features to address any situation, such as split-screen app access for multitasking, an IR blaster for controlling entertainment gear, gesture controls for when you can't touch the phone, a ton of options for wirelessly beaming content to and from the phone, and even a "panic button" that can automatically send for help if you get into an accident.

Sony Xperia Z3

This phone is an all-around winner, beginning with its excellent-quality 5.2-inch, high-definition (1080p) touch-screen display, which is easy to see in bright light. But its true standout qualities are water resistance and camera performance. Our tests confirmed the Xperia Z3 could handle immersion for up to 30 minutes in up to about 5 feet of water, while the camera takes excellent still images, even under low light conditions, and very good video—a rarity for phone cameras. This phone, which supports Sony's PlayStation 4 console and accessories, is also smart enough to launch or shut down apps or features at just the right moment. For instance, it will launch the music app when you plug in headphones, or turn off Bluetooth and the phone's ringer after 10 p.m.

—Mike Gikas