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YugaTech’s Top 5 Smartphones of 2013

Name: YugaTech’s Top 5 Smartphones of 2013
Brand: YugaTech’s
Rating: 4.1 (1 reviews)

Bob Freking December 23, 2013 · 3 min read

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For the past year, we had a great time of smartphone launches, demos, reviews & more. Before we enter 2014, the YugaTech team voted upon ourselves our very own top 5 smartphones for 2013 & we combined them with our readers’ very own best smartphones poll earlier this year. So without further ado, here are the top 5 smartphones for the year.

iphone5s-review

5. Apple iPhone 5S – five for five, Apple takes the award for refreshing last year’s iPhone 5 by adding an A7 CPU, a gold color option, dual tone LED flash, slow motion video, Touch ID & more. It ranked #4 in our readers’ choice poll and it would have ranked differently here too if only we didn’t favor better phones in this list.

xperia_z1_1_1

4. Sony Xperia Z1 – up on number four, the waterproof Xperia Z1 tops with its premium build quality matched with high-end internals. The Snapdragon CPU will never cease to impress, plus Sony’s own camera is really one to marvel at. Apart from the display, there’s no reason why we can’t include the Z1 in our top smartphone list. After all, it ranked #3 in our reader poll.

2.5. DRAW: LG G2 & HTC One

Looks like we have a draw guys. Happening backstage, the HTC One was supposed to be our own choice for the top smartphone, but it didn’t rank so high on our readers’ choice poll. On the other hand, the LG G2 was supposed to be our readers’ top smartphone, but we preferred much more handsets than it. All of that made it result in a draw.

The HTC One is fast, sleek & is just drop dead gorgeous in all ways – the display is breathtaking, the BoomSound speakers are the best in the industry, the camera works well & Sense packs a very good UI paired with fast internals.

lgg2

The LG G2 on the other hand is basically a champion all around the spec sheet, from the display & the camera to sheer performance. The buttons on the back may take some time to get used to, but nonetheless it offers that certain element of uniqueness to the device.

And our best smartphone of 2013 is…

It won’t come as a surprise to most people, but our best smartphone of 2013 is none other than the Galaxy Note 3! The device packs an amazing set of internals and is for the most part a no compromise phone from the 1080p display, the large battery, the camera that’s capable of 4K video to the 3GB RAM. Not to mention, stylus functionality works very well.

That’s it for our top smartphones this 2013. If you wanted to know, somewhere out there, the Lumia 1020, the Nexus 5 & the Galaxy S4 hanged before reaching the top 5. We can only wonder how different things will be next year; it’s a long wait for sure – but stay tuned for more to come this upcoming 2014!

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Bob Freking

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Bob Freking occasionally contributes articles to the website. He is a UST Graduate of Commerce & Business Administration, Major in Marketing Management, and a full-time Sith Lord with three dragons.

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86 Comments

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lllbenjolll · 12 years ago

1. Note 3 the boss!
2. S4 well balanced
2 note 2 LTE for the stylus yet old processor
3 z1 waterproof with micro sd but non removable battery
3 lg g2 near bezel but non removable battery
4 htc 1 premium look plus beats audio but non removable battery and bad 4 ultrapixel crap
4 nexus 5
5 iphone 5s for the fingerprint scanner bit same old same old whatever
6. Nokia great specs running on windows that lacks apps.

Kit · 12 years ago

Yay for note3!

Ryan · 12 years ago

G2 is the new boss. Discover why…

Gary · 12 years ago

For me the best smartphone is iPhone 5S… Wala lahat yang mga smartphones na yan ngayon kung hindi sa iPhone. Lahat yang mga yan ay copycat lang.

APPLE COPIED LG · 12 years ago

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BARKING FOR!

FOR YOUR INFORMATION LG
ang kauna unahang gumawa ng FULLY CAPACITIVE TOUCH SCREEN PHONE IN THE WORLD!( LG-Prada Dec. 12, 2006)

AT LG-Display rin ang major supplier ang Screen/Display sa Apple’s IPhones …
i pity U!

wew · 12 years ago

lumia 1020 should be on the list on my opinion =)

testUser · 12 years ago

sa mga nagsasabing bat di kasama yung ganto, ganyan, nahiya pa kayong itanong nasaan yung phone nyo.. sige, simulan ko na..

asan yung myPhone ko?? may tv ba kayo? may dualsim? kung features at innovation rin lang, myPhone na ako.. kung gagawa ako ng list MyPhone, Cherry, Lenovo..

jed · 12 years ago

smartphones are of personal preference. the blogger has created this ranking objectively so let us respect that. as for me my preference is still with the g2 because i might win it for free.. hehe

you can still win the LG G2 with Yugatech’s index finger challenge

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=QsSode7AMNU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQsSode7AMNU%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

knives809 · 12 years ago

I think fair naman ang list.
5. IP5S – well it’s should always on the list. Lol.
4. Z1 – well from the list it is the only waterproof smartphone.
2.5. HTC1 -it’s obvious. Design and build quality is its asset not the internals.
2.5. G2 – don’t forget its 1 of the first snapdragon 800 phone and only 1 with revolutionary rear key
1. SGN3 – best internals plus the s-pen.
Pansinin niyo, di lang naman iisa ang target consumers ng mga phones nayan. Yung iba jan baka ip5s pa ang number 1 sa list. And i doubt if lahat satin natry yung lima na yan for a couple of days or weeks. The blogger feels this should be the ranking according to his tests and reviews.

Kei · 12 years ago

I know there are lots of HTC One haters out there but I believe it deserves its spot right now. Ultrapixel may not have delivered the hype but I definitely love Zoe and video highlights. The build quality, sound and screen are really top-notch and Sense 5.5 feels good. This comes from someone who used to own S4 and IPhone. To each his own na lang siguro. Don’t flame me.

Leo Rances Garcia · 12 years ago

pag dating sa mga app talo yan 4 n yan, iphone 5s p rin ang the best smartphone

tmcr7 · 12 years ago

Anong apps nga ba yung nasa iPhone na wala sa Google Playstore? Sapat bang dahilan ang mga apps na ito para magtyaga sa maliit na screen at mamahaling presyo?

Nino · 12 years ago

I have the HTC One and I will rank it the lowest because of the camera’s purple tint issue that requires you to send the phone for warranty repair if you want it fixed.

randy · 12 years ago

the Z1 doesn’t deserve a place there, the camera is bad compared to the G2, they updated the firmware but its still bad. Plus coming from a Z, the heavier weight and screen is not worth it since the flaps easily gets loose making the waterproof feature useless.

Sony has a lot of improvements but still their competitors are a step ahead like LG and Samsung

Trust me, the waterproof feature, only last around 8 months max until the flaps gets loose

abuzalzal · 12 years ago

Exactly. SONY came up with a gimmick, but fell short…waterproofing feature is a nice addition, but it is NOT needed.

Why would anybody let their phones get soaked in the pouring rain or in the pool/bathtub? lol…things like that can be easily avoided as long as you have the IQ of a toddler.

In all my years of owning a phone since the Nokia glory days, Never akong nakaranas na mabasaan ng phone, kase marunong akong sumilong sa kahit anong may bubungan :-D

jejefrek · 12 years ago

Wag kayo magtalo guys, dork’s pov to :)))

wew · 12 years ago

@abuzalzal d mo katulad ung ibang tao n ginagamit ang phone para kumuha ng photo o video habang nagsasaya sa pool…o nagtatrabaho habang nasa bathtub…

Anonymous · 12 years ago

1. Nokia Lumia 1520
2. LG G2
3. Samsung Note 3
4. Sony Z1
5. HTC One

rc · 12 years ago

LG G2 pa rin! Rear key, full hd ips dsplay p lng, panalo na. Pati battery. Kung innovation lng ang pag uusapan, sorry samsung, but the no. 1 spot should be for LG G2!

abuzalzal · 12 years ago

Hindi nga, kasali ang HTC One?
Kahit nag marked-down pa yan, I don’t think it’s worth it.

I really loathe at companies who overpromises and under-delivers. Ultrapixel FAIL

abubakar · 12 years ago

I agree. :)

Buwaya · 12 years ago

Ows wla lang kayo HTC One. Try nyo magkaroon.

Yummy · 12 years ago

TOP 5 for me
1 – Note3
2 – G2
3 – S4
4 – HTC1
5 – IP5S

Troy Halili · 12 years ago

Did I miss Yuga’s review of SGN3?

better · 12 years ago

4 of the smartphones mentioned in this list make the cut…

Except for one outdated handset…
Yes the HTC one doesn’t belong here…
compared to the other four handsets, HTC one has the inferior specs,camera and features out of the 4 in this list…

The Nexus 5 should have came out instead of the HTC One..

Yusuf · 12 years ago

I agree!

tmcr7 · 12 years ago

I think this is a fair ranking.

Windows iDroid · 12 years ago

Did anyone forget Samsung Galaxy S4? Kung ako ung mag li-line up ng Top 5 Note 3> LG G2> Sammy S4 > Z1> HTC One & iP5S tie.

better · 12 years ago

Note 3 = Snapdragon 800
LG G2 = Snapdragon 800
Xperia Z1 = Snapdragon 800
iphone5s = A7
HTC one= Snapdragon 600

And your mighty galaxy S4 sits just under the HTC one for 6th place why? Snapdragon 600 ka iho…di ka tatapat sa snapdragon 800…same nga kayo ni HTC one ng CPU pero mas premium materials gamit nya…So yeah..How dare you rank it above the Z1 and i5S

Yusuf · 12 years ago

There’s no point really. You can just get the Galaxy Note 3 any time.

meh · 12 years ago

Phablet ang Samsung Galaxy Note 3 bakit nakasama pa diyan sa Top 5 Smartphone. #feelingmeh

mehmukhamoh · 12 years ago

A phablet is still a SMARTPHONE with around 5-6 inches in screen size.

ojneb · 12 years ago

don’t be such a smartass

Mali John · 12 years ago

HTC One is No. 1.

abuzalzal · 12 years ago

You must be one of the dumbasses who bought HTC’s hype. How’s the super innovatuve “Ultrapixel” goin for you?

Zobel · 12 years ago

^Dapat may like buttons dito. lolz

wew · 12 years ago

@zobel oo nga tulad ng sa topgear ph website :-)

Yusuf · 12 years ago

Whilst I’d pick the Galaxy Note 3 for being the top smartphone, I’ll disagree for everything else. The only android phones that matter today besides the Note 3 is the Moto X and the Nexus 5.