10 best smartphones in the US

OnePlus One was the surprise smartphone of 2014 thanks to the Chinese manufacturer that no one had ever heard of a few months ago. It's fast, large and, importantly, inexpensive.

Moto X is the most stylish and customizable smartphone within our best of list. That's thanks to Motorola's sophisticated Moto Maker website that made its debut with the Moto X 2013.

The Z3 is a brilliant phone with a few rough edges - if you like a powerful camera that rewards learning the intricacies and want a really bright screen (with Remote Play on top) then the Z3 is very much worth looking at.

The biggest smartphone on the list is the Nexus 6 from Google and Motorola. At a whopping 6 inches, the Nexus line finally pack a half-decent camera.

The best of Sony in a smartphone - if that's what you're after, this is the phone to go from. It's the ergonomics and the price that impress, and while it's not quite got the spec sheet of the main Z3, it's a lot more polished for some reason.

On top of that it now packs Remote Play to make it a real winner if you're a PS4 owner - definitely one to check out if you fancy your power a bit more portable.

iPhone 6 Plus is the only phablet-sized smartphone that runs iOS 8, so if you're tied into apps like iMessages and iCloud, this is your best and only bet for going big with Apple.

While it's got a big hold over the LG G3 in many ways, it can't compete on price with the South Korean rival - and that's the big drawback for this phablet.

But it's the closest phablet to the 'average' smartphone we've seen so far, and it packs the most into that limited palm space. Well done Samsung - here's hoping the Galaxy S6 is even more impressive.

If you want the best display out there with a good enough battery and strong camera, this is your next phone.

iOS 8 is so easy to use that you can operate an iPhone with one hand. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 the best among Apple devices.

It puts everything at our fingertips reach without requiring that "reachability" feature (though, it does have it just like the larger iPhone 6 Plus), and it's $100 cheaper than Apple's phablet.

Easy to hold and easier to pay for. What doesn't it have? You miss out on the 6 Plus' camera OIS and the screen resolution isn't quite 1080p when most Androids are exhibiting Quad HD.

Gaming, movies, photography, browsing all work really well, and in a phone that that's easily going to destroy whatever anyone else can design. LG ran it close with the G3, and the iPhone 6 still suffers on price and, inexplicably, a lower-res screen.