7 Exciting Android Smartphones for 2014

With the year winding down, those in the market for a new Android smartphone are going to have to choose from what’s available at the moment as companies have exhausted their pipelines for the year and are now looking toward the future. Those who can wait to buy likely have their eye on that future, on the Android smartphones of 2014. Unsurprisingly, 2014 Android smartphone rumors have started to sprout up, teasing users with what’s to come.

This year was a very solid year for Android smartphone enthusiasts. While we didn’t see flagship Android devices launch with the same kind of frequency, we did see companies make up for it with quality. In the case of HTC, it released three big name smartphones in the HTC One, HTC One mini and the HTC One Max, the latter of which is the companies latest.

LG surprised some people with its LG G2, an extremely sleek, powerful piece of hardware that features buttons on the back of the phone rather than on the side. It’s arguably LG’s best smartphone in awhile and it’s a device that has given the company a little bit of steam in the United States, a market that is dominated by the likes of HTC and Samsung.

We finally started to see the fruits of the Google-owned Motorola as the company pushed out its most exciting smartphone in some time, a device dubbed Moto X. Sure, it was joined by the usual Droids for Verizon but the Moto X is clearly the future of Motorola smartphones and it has helped to bring Motorola back into the conversation.

Sony unleashed a number of high-end smartphones including the Sony Xperia Z and Sony Xperia Z Ultra. And while it saw success in places like Japan, it clearly did not live up to expectations in the United States as the company claims that it will be shifting focus away from the U.S. in the future.

And finally, we saw the usual assortment of Samsung Galaxy smartphones, including the flagships Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3, and devices like the Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy S4 Zoom. We also saw Google release the LG-made Nexus 5 late in the year. Suffice to say, it has been a big year for Android users and 2014 is shaping up to be a pretty big year as well.

Already, we’ve heard a number of rumors about potential 2014 smartphones. And given the successes and histories of some of these manufacturers, it’s fairly easy to predict some of the other devices that consumers will want to keep an eye on. Here, we take a look at seven Android smartphones that we think are the most exciting prospects, heading into the new year.

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