This is the best Android phone you can buy
Android phones come in all different sizes and styles, and dozens of companies from Motorola to LG and Samsung are putting out new phones each year.
But with all that choice, it can be difficult to come down to a final decision.
For most shoppers, the Samsung Galaxy S6 is the best choice. With its S6, Samsung improved on everything we wanted to see refined in the S5.
The design is much more elegant and premium - Samsung has done away with the cheap-feeling plastic and dimpled back that resembled a Band-Aid. The S6 feels just as nice as an iPhone, with smooth metal edges and a glossy glass back.
It's not just about the design, though. While I do like the way the S6 looks and feels more than any other Android phone, it's really the fact that the S6 can simply do more than most other Android phones. And, the software makes it really easy to use, too - it's not longer cluttered with unnecessary apps and convoluted.
The Galaxy S6 comes with a fingerprint sensor in the home button that instantly unlocks your phone. You just need to hold your finger on the home button, just like you would on the iPhone.
Other competing Android phones, such as the HTC One M9, new Moto X, Nexus 6, and recently announced LG G4 don't come with all of those features.
The S6's screen, which comes with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, is the best I've seen on a smartphone. Colors look bright and bold, and the detail is great. Here's a photo of what the Marvel logo looks like on the Galaxy S6 versus the iPhone 6 Plus:
To be fair, I haven't had the chance to test the Galaxy S6's camera against other Android phones just yet, like the LG G4 or second-generation Moto X, although the last time I tested the Moto X's camera it didn't hold up well against the competition. The LG G4 seems like it has a lot of promise to be the best smartphone camera yet, but that still wouldn't prompt me to call it the best Android smartphone.
Battery life is fair, too. During my testing I got a full day of usage out of it, sometimes a little more than that depending on how I was using it. That's about the same as the iPhone 6 and HTC One M9.
I chose the Galaxy S6 because I think it's the best mass-appeal Android phone. People that want a bigger phone will probably look at the Galaxy Note 4, the Nexus 6, or LG G4 (if they don't mind feeling for the power and volume keys on the back of the phone, that is). The Galaxy S6 Edge is really nice, too, but in my opinion it doesn't seem worth the extra $100. It doesn't really do much that the regular S6 can't - it's more of an aesthetic preference.
I also really like the second-generation Moto X - mostly because it runs a really clean version of Android, it's a great size, it's well-built, and offers decent battery life. But the camera quality stops me from calling it the best Android phone. And, I still prefer the Galaxy S6's design to the Moto X's, too.
And, for those wondering, here's how the S6 stacks up to its competitors in terms of hardware:
