Holiday Gift Guide: 10 Premium Smartphones We Want This Year

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Price: $300 (w/two-year contract, AT&T/Verizon) 

Faster, more powerful, and still massive in size, Samsung’s phablet is a favorable upgrade that brings over the hottest features of the GS4 and houses more advanced specs. The Note 3 crushes benchmarks thanks to a commanding Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU that pushes graphics and UI performance to a higher echelon. A beautiful 5.7-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED display, stunning 13MP rear shooter with 4K shooting capabilities, and tablet-like features (Multi-Window Mode) complete the superior smartphone/tablet hybrid.

Price: $200 - $400 (w/two-year contract, AT&T/Sprint/Verizon) 

The next-gen iPhone proves to be the fastest and swankiest Apple smartphone yet—offering up an enhanced camera and next-gen processor, along with hi-tech amenities like a fingerprint sensor and M7 motion-tracking chip—enclosed in an opulent, metallic chassis flaunting gold, silver, or space gray coloring. An unmatched operating system spearheaded by iOS 7 and vast app selection solidifies the 5S elite status.

Price: $350 (16GB) - $400 (32GB) (Unlocked)

Amazing performance at a steal value, Google’s flagship handset translates to the most pure Android experience available. Processing excels behind dominant hardware consisting of Qualcomm’s zippy 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core and Adreno 330 GPU, which in unison makes games, media playback, and UI navigation seamless. Android KitKat welcomes sweet software enhancements in the form of a cleaner interface, Google Now support, and  Hangouts integration. Google’s also made some huge improvements to the Nexus 5 camera via software update, adding a great sense of focus to lighting and noisy environments. 

Price: $300 (w/two-year contract, Verizon) 

If multimedia and screen real estate are your precedence, HTC’s phablet more than fits the high-priced bill. A 5.9-inch LCD panel is plastered on the front generating full HD 1080p resolution, sharp imagery, and wide viewing angles. Sound quality is just as superb with the company’s patented BoomSound dual front-facing speakers bumping out phenomenal audio. Stacking the same hardware as the standard One model, the Max assures prominent performance on the data speed and processing end as well.

Price: $100 (w/two-year contract, AT&T)

Nokia set out to change the mobile photography landscape and superseded expectations with the Lumia 1020. Balcony shots and selfies never looked so good courtesy of the insane 41MP shooter with 6X digital zoom, capturing incredibly detailed and sharp images at any distance. It’s truly the best mobile camera phone ever created. The combination of Microsoft’s dynamic OS and Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor only heightens the WP8 experience.

Price: $200 (w/two-year contact, Verizon), $100 (w/two-year contract, AT&T/Sprint)

Spoiled with a powerful spec sheet highlighted by dominant hardware and lots of productivity-centric features, the Galaxy S4 still remains one of the fastest-performing handsets on the mobile scene. A gorgeous 5-inch FHD Super Model display promotes beautiful visuals and the monstrous 1.9GHz Snapdragon quad-core makes multitasking instant. Sammy's motion-gesture system brings touchless interaction via Air Gesture and View, allowing you to execute commands like open texts and screen calls by hovering your finger or hand over the screen.

Price: $600 (Unlocked) 

Take the same premium components and design found on the original One, mate it with vanilla Android and you have the Google Edition version of HTC’s flagship phone. Stripped of its skin-heavy Sense UI, the handset moves noticeably faster with a workhorse 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor and refined software running the show. Consider it the perfect option for stock Android conformists seeking an an HTC phone that looks just as good as it performs.

Price: $200 (w/two-year, AT&T/Sprint/Verizon), $550 (no contract, Boost Mobile/Virgin Mobile)  

A plastic, vibrant exterior doesn’t make the lower-cost iPhone any less superior, as Apple’s industry-leading ecosystem and powerful internals serve as the handset’s true fancies. The inclusion of a new front-facing 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera featuring low-light capabilities combined with faster wireless speeds and the more responsive iOS 7 give the 5C a premium edge over its discontinued predecessor.

Price: $100 - $150 (w/two-year contract, AT&T), $100 (w/two-year contract, Verizon) 

Motorola presents the most adapt and stylish mobile out, offering users a novel touchless experience driven by an updated version of Google Now, along with a customizable chassis that owners can pimp out with new color shells, accents, and other materials like wood casing. The combination of a fast 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU and Moto’s new energy-conserving X8 processor keeps the handset moving at fast operating speeds. Improved battery life and a KitKat software update should also appease the Android faithful.

Price: $280 (no contract, Virgin Mobile) 

The pre-paid smartphone market is growing at an exponential rate and offering up some of the most wanted handsets at cheaper price plans. Virgin Mobile subscribers have the luxury of copping the budget-friendly sibling of HTC’s flagship device—boasting the One's Sense UI features including BlinkFeed and Zoe camera mode, as well as its popular BoomSound speakers. The Desire also supports midrange hardware such as gorgeous 4.5-inch qHD display and fast 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU. All that, contract-free!