Which smartphones should I be looking at?

[Treynolds416]

I'm going to get a new phone for christmas because my contract is up (AT&T, if it matters). For the last two years I've had an iPhone 4S, and my experience with it has been pretty good but not perfect. Since I'm getting a new phone regardless, I was wondering if you guys could help me figure out which phones I should be looking at, including the 5S

What I usually use my phone for:
- Regular phone stuff (calls, facetime/skype, texts)
- Heavy web browsing
- Video watching
- Music
- Posting on various forums
- Asking siri for directions (voice control is a must)
- Moderate camera use
- Checking email

What I don't care about/use my phone for:
- Social media
- Heavy app usage

What I don't like specifically about the 4S:
- Occasional freezing due to cpu overload
- Always opening links in safari
- Has to be jailbroken to get full freedom
- That fucking voicemail password message

What would be nice to have in a phone:
- A reasonable price
- Higher resolution
- Longer-lasting battery
- Lots of storage (I only have 16GB currently, which is not nearly enough)

I can add more details if necessary

 

[ControlD]

Note 2 / Note 3.

It has a SD slot so you have as much storage as you want and the big screen is perfect for what your usage seems to be. The battery is quite large as well which fits another of your requirements.

 

[mnewsham]

I just moved from an AT&T 4s to an AT&T LG G2. I have been extremely satisfied, beautiful screen, 32GB storage, crazy powerful SoC, and an amazing camera. And the battery lasts all day and then some.

If you like the Samsung Note 3 is also a good option but i find its a bit too big to 1 hand it. (Which i can do comfortably on the G2)

 

[zerogear]

Current generation, in no particular order:

Sony Xperia Z1 (if you can find an LTE one)
HTC One
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
LG G2
Nexus 5
iPhone 5S

 

[jacktesterson]

Lg g2

 

[lopri]

My current favorites are (also in no particular order):

Moto X
G2
Note 3
Nexus 5

Since it sounds like you enjoy the freedom of unfettered access to your hardware, I would say give a shot to Nexus 5 first. If anything, it should be easier to return it to Play store than going through AT&T in case you find it lacking. It meets your requirement of reasonable price, high-res screen, and longer-lasting battery (than iPhone 4S for sure). And it is certainly easier to hack away at it than any other phone. Unfortunately the storage options are limited to 16/32 GB.

I enjoyed the Nexus 4 coming from the iPhone 4. I think the Nexus 5 will be a very enjoyable experience, coming from the iPhone 4S. I liked my iPhone 4 a lot, too.

About being on AT&T - just remember they stopped offering early upgrades (1 year). There might be some wiggle room but it's their official stance. You can save the upgrade for the next big thing or whatever else comes along if you choose the Nexus 5.

I do not know much about voice controlling, though. Google's voice recognition can be scary good sometimes, but I do not use it for Google's services.

 

[s44]

Note 3 if it fits your hand/life/pockets.

Otherwise, Galaxy S4. Lots of music+video watching (plus AT&T data cap) makes the microSD obligatory.