From the iPhone to a $20 Nokia, every smartphone is made in China. Motorola attempted to bring manufacturing back to the US with the launch of the original Moto X, but that ended up only lasting a year. The inescapable truth is that China keeps costs low, and in the quest for more profits, every little bit counts.

A number of Chinese brands have tried making a splash in the US and UK from Lenovo to OnePlus. While it would be great to see Xiaomi finally offer its smartphones and tablets in the West, the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. Huawei, on the other hand, has already broken out of its shell by launching an online store last June, and selling the Ascend Mate 2 to customers in the US.

Now, Huawei (pronounced WAH-WAY) is back with the flagship P8, and what we'll be covering in this review, its sibling: the P8 Lite. The P8 Lite has a 5-inch, 720p IPS display, giving it a pixel density of 294 ppi. It's powered by a 1.5 GHz octa-core processor, and 2GB RAM. A standard 16GB of internal storage is inside, and there's microSD card support up to 32GB.

On the back is a 13 megapixel (MP) camera and dual LED flash, and on the front is a 5MP camera. Dual SIM card and LTE support offers more freedom, and a 2,200 mAh battery keeps the wheels turning.

Design

At first glance, the Huawei P8 Lite looks almost identical to its flagship counterpart. However, coming in at $249 in the US and £199 in the UK, some sacrifices have been made. Gone is the metal body for a plastic faux metal frame, and the screen is slightly smaller at five inches. It's also a bit thicker at 7.7mm, though does weigh about half an ounce less at 4.62 ounces.

It's very much a block design with ever so slightly rounded corners, and on the bottom front you have a chrome Huawei logo. On the back, the plastic continues with a brushed look. The 13MP camera and single LED flash sits in the top left corner, and another Huawei logo sits in the center below that.

The Huawei P8 Lite feels a little on the thick side, but at 4.62 ounces, is very light. From the faux metal frame to brushed plastic back, every angle provides solid grip, and reassurance it won't say hello to concrete anytime soon. If it does, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 should help minimize the damage. On the top is the headphone jack, and on the bottom is the charging port and two speakers.

Well, there are two speaker grilles, but the reality is that there's only one speaker, which is on the left-hand side.

The power button and volume buttons rest perfectly together on the right-hand side exactly where they should be, and the dual microSIM card slots are located below that. If you want to add a microSD card (up to 32GB), it goes in the first SIM card slot. This means your SIM card will need to rest in the second slot if you plan on adding more storage.

Display

There was a time when 720p was great, but that time has long passed. The 5-inch IPS display does a good job, and offers OK color reproduction, but it clearly lacks the pop of a 1080p panel. You can't help but notice individual pixels throughout apps. One could argue the $249 (£199) price point, but that didn't stop Alcatel from packing a 5.5-inch 1080p display in the OneTouch Idol 3.

Bezels are to be expected, but a rather thick black bezel wraps around the entire display. Tapping on the display requires a little more force than on other smartphones I've encountered, and I frequently found myself having to double tap for something to happen. This was particularly annoying when typing on the keyboard, and noticing the spacebar never registered after creating a blend of words.

There are no two ways about it: Huawei's EMUI skin borrows a lot from iOS. However, before we get into that, let it be known the Huawei P8 Lite is not running Android 5.0 Lollipop like it says on the company's website. You would think so given that the navigation buttons are identical to those found in Lollipop, but you'll actually find the phone is running Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

This could just be a simple mistake by the person updating the product page. After all, it also mentions the processor clocked at 1.2 GHz. However, given there are Lollipop navigation buttons, I can't help but feel like Huawei is trying to trick people into thinking they're running the latest, greatest OS. Not cool.

One of the first things you'll notice with the interface is you can't remove apps from the home screen unless you want to uninstall them. Because of this, there's no app drawer, and you'll have to swipe and swipe to find the app you're looking for. Swiping down from the notifications drawer gives you more evidence of Huawei's custom skin, and you're met with two categories: Notifications and Shortcuts. The first is pretty self-explanatory, and what you see by default. You can swipe away individual notifications or tap on the trash can icon to remove all notifications.

Shortcuts is where you'll find quick access to settings, and the ability to adjust your screen brightness, which you will have to do manually. With auto brightness turned on, it always seemed to be stuck at 3/4 of the way. This was fine outdoors, but too bright indoors.

The settings menu has all the options you'd expect with some minor changes, and extra features. "Data usage" is now "Data traffic management." It's laid out particularly well, and under "Traffic use ranking," I liked being able to see how much data apps used over Wi-Fi as well. However, one major oversight is the lack of an ability to set a data warning and limit.

Under "Privacy & security," there's "Notification center" and "Protected apps." The notification center is where you can turn notifications on or off for specific apps, and Protected apps are apps that you allow to keep running after the screen is turned off. The Huawei P8 Lite lets you know which apps are power intensive, and gives you the option to close them in an effort to save battery.

"Smart assistance" brings some unique features to the table, the first of which involving motion. For example, you can flip your phone over to mute/ignore a call, and if you decide to answer a call, once you pick up the phone, the ringtone will automatically get quieter. There's also the ability to shake your phone to rearrange the apps on your home screen, but only a mad man would enjoy that.

"Navigation buttons" lets you choose from several different fake Android Lollipop buttons. "One-hand UI" is possibly the most useless feature I've ever seen, and only appears to work in one app: the dialer.

Just...why? "Gloves mode" actually worked really well, and "Touch-disable mode" supposedly prevents accidental taps while the phone is in your pocket or purse.

For when you're away from an outlet, and running dangerously low, Ultra power saving mode can step in. When turned on, the phone changes to a black and white layout, and only allows calls, messages or access to contacts.

On the performance side, the Huawei P8 Lite worked like a champ. It's definitely not the fastest phone out there, but apps opened quickly, and transitions and scrolling were smooth with no blatantly obvious jank. In our benchmark test, we run Geekbench three times in a row, and average out the multi-core score. The Huawei P8 Lite averaged a score of 2,660. This is just behind the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but nearly 600 points ahead of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3.

Sound

As I mentioned previously, there's only one downward facing speaker despite the appearance of two. It gets somewhat loud, but taps out at about 3/4 of the way. It's definitely better than having a speaker on the back, however. The earpiece is almost useless, and I found it difficult to hear the other person even with the volume maxed out. In 90% of cases, I either used headphones or put them on speakerphone.

The 13MP shooter on the back uses a Sony sensor, and the Huawei P8 Lite shot good photos in the right lighting conditions. As per the usual, low-light photos were noisy. It takes about two full seconds after pressing the button for photos to process.

The skinned UI once again makes itself known in the stock camera app. There's panorama, HDR, and a "Best photo" mode, which is basically burst mode, and takes several photos in quick succession. "All-focus" attempts to put the entire image in focus, and "Watermark" is pretty self-explanatory.

While snapping a photo took longer than I would have liked, the camera tends to focus very fast, and you can swipe to the left to switch to video mode. One nice feature is the ability to open the camera by simply double tapping the volume button when the screen is turned off. It worked fairly quickly, taking about three seconds.

While not as good as the 8MP front-facing camera on the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, the 5MP camera on the Huawei P8 Lite is good enough for the average person. When you switch to the front-facing camera, the camera app automatically goes into "Beauty" mode, which uses some software tricks to give you more of a glow, and smooth out your skin. Sadly, software can't save all of us.

Battery life

With moderate use, I was consistently able to get around 16 hours with a little over 20% battery left. This was with around 2 hours and 30 minutes of screen-on time. However, it's worth mentioning that I had to manually adjust the display brightness, so with auto brightness turned on, I wouldn't expect to get the same numbers.

In our battery rundown test where we loop video at 100% brightness, the Huawei P8 Lite lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was an hour and 20 minutes less than the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, which has a much larger 2,910 mAh battery.

We liked

Being able to quickly access the camera by tapping the volume button twice was a great added feature. Typically, a manufacturer's skin over top of Android can slow a device down, but Huawei managed to keep things running relatively smoothly.

We disliked

Unfortunately, I found there to be more dislikes than likes with the Huawei P8 Lite. The 720p display, while okay, isn't as good as comparable smartphones, and the fact that a new phone launched with Android KitKat is pretty disappointing.

The Lollipop navigation buttons are in bad taste, and the fake speaker grille, while looks good, just adds to that feel of trickery. The UI has been overly customized, and while may suit other folks, just isn't something I can fall in love with. However, I do have to hand it to Huawei for not letting it affect the performance too much.

Final verdict

With the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 featuring a 5.5-inch 1080p display at the same price, there's really no reason to buy the Huawei P8 Lite. Even with the performance issues of the Idol 3, the better display, dual front stereo speakers, 8MP front-facing camera and better battery life make up for it. Also, there's the OnePlus One, which recently saw a permanent price drop to $249.

However, if a 5.5-inch display is too big for you – which I'd argue to test in person first, as you may just be surprised – the BLU Life One is a very interesting contender for those in the US. At just $100 after its June 19 launch, it'll offer a nearly identical display, rear and front camera, but takes a cut in performance and storage. All considered, the Huawei P8 Lite simply can't keep up with the competition.

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Key Features: 5-inch 1,280 x 720 pixel IPS screen; 
Android 4.4.4 with Emotion UI 2.3; 
Snapdragon 410 1.2GHz CPU

Manufacturer: Huawei

What is the Huawei Ascend G620S?

The Huawei Ascend G620S is the latest stab at updating the vision of the ideal budget phone that Motorola nailed so well with the Moto G. It costs around £120, but has a decent 5-inch screen, 4G and a 64-bit processor.

It’s not too bad for the price at all. We only wish it didn't seem quite so deliberately limited to show it’s a lower-end model. It uses a rather old version of Huawei’s custom UI, making the Huawei Ascend G620S seem a little dated in parts.

Still, for the price it’s not too shabby at all.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Design

The Huawei Ascend G620S looks a bit like how Samsung phones used to look before the company started to really get things right over the last 12 months. That sounds like an insult, and kinda is, but expectations for the design of a sub-£100 are never that high. It's a plastic phone with a texture on the back.

And at least it’s not just a plain black rectangle, at least in the finish we’re looking.

The Huawei Ascend G620S comes in black and white versions, and the white one has a silver trim and silver soft keys. There’s a fake leather texture etched into the plastic back cover too. But it’s fairly subtle, with a fine grain and no fake stitching to really draw attention to the style.

It still feels pretty cheap, but some of you may prefer this finish to the glossy plain plastic you get in some other budget phones.

The rather funny thing about how budget phones have starting using bigger screens in the last year or so is that models like the Huawei Ascend G620S aren’t really any smaller than top-end phones like the Galaxy S6. They feel larger, in fact, because that extra bit of chunky in the screen bezel and thickness makes them seem a bit tubby.

Hoping for a small and easy Android? The Huawei Ascend G620S might seem a bit large. But if a petite frame doesn’t matter too much, it poses no real issues. The buttons, hardware and soft keys, are all quite easy to reach. One obvious budget drawback, though, is that the soft keys don't light-up. They're just shiny silver accents.

It doesn’t have every benefit common to phones with a removable plastic, either. There’s a microSD card slot to let you add to the 8GB memory easily enough, but the battery is non-removable. It’s held in place under a metal sheet.

Other basic hardware elements are more-or-less as you’d expect at the price. 4G is onboard and the usual complement of wireless connections are here. But you don’t get ac-speed Wi-Fi, an IR transmitter and other such bonus bits. There is NFC, though, missing from some budget rivals.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Screen

We’re more than happy to miss out on a few connectivity extras in a phone if the result is a great screen. What we get in the Huawei Ascend G620S is a good one, although not quite at the top of this new budget class.

It’s a 5-inch screen of 720p resolution, getting you decent sharpness, but far enough off the Retina standard to make it clear there’s a bit of compromise going on. The Huawei Ascend G620s offers 294ppi, showing slight pixellation close-up.

This is normal, though: we’re still a way off seeing a 1080p phone for under £100 from a name people have heard of (and yes, we count Huawei in that class). And if you're upgrading from a lower-res budget model, this should seem like a big upgrade. Where the Huawei Ascend G620S drops down a notch is in its screen architecture, which is a bit less advanced than the best.

The display layer appears a little bit recessed beneath the very top-most layer of the screen. As well as just looking that bit less swish, it reduces contrast and outdoors visibility a bit. In very bright sunlight the Huawei Ascend G620S struggles. Higher-end screens merge some screen layers and get rid of air gaps to give the display a bit more pop.

You can get a slightly higher-end screen if you pay about £130-140. But even the £20 saving of the £120 Huawei Ascend G620s matters at this price. Top brightness is pretty potent, and while colours aren’t as vivid as phones higher-up Huawei’s range, they’re also reasonably natural-looking.

There’s an ambient light sensor too, letting the Huawei Ascend G620S judge the level of backlight brightness required.

While there are some compromises for the price, it’s fairly good.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Software and Android

One area likely to put a few people off the Huawei Ascend G620S is software. First, it runs Android 4.4.4 rather than Lollipop 5.x, a kinda dated version at this point.

More importantly, it also uses an ageing version of the custom Huawei Emotion UI that actually dictates what the phone looks and feels like more than the core Android software. It has version 2.3 rather than the 3.x version you get in Huawei’s more expensive phones, such as the Ascend G7.

It does seem to be about putting the Huawei Ascend G620S in the cheapo box too, as phones just as powerful like the (Huawei-made) Honor 4X use the newer version (one possible explanation is the amount of RAM available). Parts of Emotion UI 2.3 look a bit dated now, especially the settings menu.

The basic layout is the same as the newer version, mind, and it’s not going to please everyone. Its big change is that it drops the separate apps menu. All you have are homescreens, just like an iPhone.

What this means is that whenever you install an app, it just finds a spot on one of your homescreens. And version 2.3 of Emotion UI seems to be particularly spotty about exactly where it puts ‘em. Some searching will be required.

It’s only really an annoyance for that initial period when you're constantly installing new apps, though. You can put folders on your home screens, minimising how many homescreens you’ll need, and letting you organise the phone that bit more.

However, thanks to using dated software all-round, the Huawei Ascend G620S definitely lags behind something like the Motorola Moto G in this area. Emotion UI does have a few extras you might like, though.

It uses themes that totally reskin the phone including wallpapers and icons. The default theme is actually one of the best, but there are loads of extra ones you can download from the Themes app if you want something a bit more ‘out there’. Again, Emotion UI 3.x themes tend to be a bit better.

The Huawei Ascend G620S is also a little laden down with extra apps. It’s not Huawei stuff that’s the issue, but all the Gameloft bloat that’s on there. We hope it’s earning Huawei a few quid for preinstalling so many Gamloft titles as it does clutter up the phone’s storage fresh out of the box. There’s only 8GB on there (around 4GB is accessible) so while there is a smidgen of extra space, there's not an awful lot going spare.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Performance

In the past we’ve seen quite a few Emotion UI 2.3-based phones perform quite badly, with general lag making them appear compromised. And a bit rubbish. However, the Huawei Ascend G620S runs really quite well.

It uses the Snapdragon 410 CPU, a 64-bit quad-core 1.2GHz processor, and 1GB RAM. While a low-end spec, it’s still very good for a phone selling at around the £100 mark. We did notice a bug or two, in particular a Calendar-crashing one that seems to be an Emotion UI foible, but using the Huawei Ascend G620S is a largely stress-free experience once you get used to how it rolls. There's some occasional lag, but it's very minor.

It’s also not a bad gaming machine, just like the arch-rival Moto G. It sails through 3D games with only slight frame rate drops in the most challenging (or under-optimised) titles like Asphalt 8. Even if its software may be a bit less-optimised than the latest vanilla edition of Android, the Huawei Ascend G620S is just as good as pretty much any other £100-odd phone for games.

The Geekbench 3 result supports this too. The Huawei Ascend G620S scores around 1330 points, roughly 10 per cent greater than the Snapdragon 400 Moto G.

It would be nice to have more storage to give you extra room to install games and store music, but it’s unrealistic to expect this at the price.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Camera

The Huawei Ascend G620S has an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash and a basic 2-megapixel front camera. At £120, you can’t ask for much more.

Its photos are surprisingly respectable, with punchy colours and none of the red tone-mushing issues we see in many cheap phones. This is partly thanks to a rather clever ‘smart’ mode that not only judges exposure and colour temperature reasonably well, but can focus closer than the Auto mode, handy for macro shots. It’s also good at reducing the amount of noise in low-light situations and bumping-up the exposure so that what’s in-shot is reasonably clear.

Natural dynamic range is pretty poor, but then there’s the HDR mode to help out with that.

What it isn’t, though, is remotely fast. And its slowness does take some of the fun out of using the camera. The Huawei G620S’s camera app takes almost five seconds to load, there’s some shutter lag, and both the Smart and HDR modes are significantly slower than the Auto made. And that’s not fast to start with.

So while the results can be decent if you have patience, the Huawei G620S will probably see you miss a few of those quick-shot photo moments. Oh well.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Battery Life

The Huawei Ascend G620S wins back a few points with its stamina, which is pretty solid. It only has a 2000Ah battery, which is about as small as we’d like to see in a 5-inch Android phone, but it does remarkably well here.

We’re not talking easy two-day stamina, and heavy users can drain it down in a day (we did with all-day WhatsApp, an hour of Netflix streaming and a couple of hours of 3G/4G podcast streaming). However, with ‘normal’ use you should find you have around 30 per cent battery left by bedtime to see you through into the second day without a charge.

Do note, though, that the reflective screen means you’ll need to crank up the Huawei Ascend G620S screen to the maximum brightness when you go outdoors. Its stamina works best for office workers, not outdoors types.

In the looped video test, which involves playing a 720p MP4 until the battery runs dry, the Huawei Ascend G620S lasts for 10.5 hours. That means it comfortably outperforms the Moto G 5-inch, likely down to the aggressive Huawei power management, the 64-bit processor or a less power-hungry screen. Or maybe all three.

Huawei Ascend G620S: Sound Quality

We’re going to have to end this Huawei Ascend G620S review on a bit of a bland note, but we can’t go without mentioning its call quality, even if it is 2015. It’s perfectly fine, and we experienced no drop-outs during calls.

The tone of the speaker goes for clarity by not smoothing out the sound too much or adding too much lower-end warmth. As such, voices don’t sound exactly pretty, but you will be able to understand them. There’s also a secondary mic on the back for noise cancellation.

It’s the same story with the speaker. It’s nothing special, but doesn’t embarrass the Huawei Ascend G620S. You get a single speaker on the back. It doesn’t distort at top volume like some cheaper phones, but isn’t terribly loud and is fairly thin-sounding.

Should you buy the Huawei Ascend G620S?

The Huawei Ascend G620S is a very solid budget Android phone that offers pretty strong value if you can swallow its quirks. Just look at what your get for around £100: 4G, a decent processor and a fair 720p screen. Not bad, is it?

The bad bits include a highly reflective screen, a pretty slow camera and software that’s dated and unusual in parts. As the screen is that bit more reflective than the Moto G, this is not the new king of budget phones.

However, if you find it at a good price and need to save cash, go ahead. While there are some strange bits and some signs this is a real entry-level phone, there are no show-stopping annoyances.

Verdict

A solid budget 4G Android phone with decent battery life and just a few budget-grade bits.

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Facebook is working on a personal digital assistant of its own, designed specifically for use with its popular Messenger mobile software.

Referred to internally as “Moneypenny” after Miss Moneypenny, a secretary to M in the James Bond films, it will reportedly allow Facebook Messenger users to perform tasks like checking the weather, buying products and more.

According to a report by The Information, hidden behind the paywall, one crucial difference will set apart the James Bond-inspired digital assistant from the likes of Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google’s Google Now, Amazon’s Echo and others: it will be human-powered.

This means that Messenger users will be able to ask “real people” for help with researching and ordering products and services, among other tasks.

Facebook could earn a small commission each time you buy something through “Moneypenny”. More important than that, the feature could help Facebook gather more data about users as they would tell “Moneypenny” about the products they wanted to buy, services they were interested in and more.

“Moneypenny” would be particularly valuable as a source of data about non-Facebook users who would sign up for Messenger using their phone number.

Facebook already supports person-to-person money transfers through Messenger and has recently turned it into a platform by allowing mobile developers to write apps that integrate with Messenger.

“Lots of questions remain about how it will work, but Facebook’s budding interest in the category will draw attention from rivals and other startups,” reads the report.

The story makes no effort to explain how exactly “Moneypenny” would parse and process requests beyond hinting that the system may resemble concierge firms which offer lifestyle management services, such as Operator, Magic and Fetch.

Whichever way you look at it, there would need to be a room filled with real people who would take requests submitted to “Moneypenny” to help Messenger users with research, product ideas and what not.

The report adds that Facebook would offer “Moneypenny” on the web and across mobile platforms that can run the Messenger software.

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We check out every phone under the sun, putting the ones that matter through our rigorously vigorous testing process to create our indepth mobile phone reviews.

However, with so many to choose from, we've spent hours whittling them down to a top ten, taking into account the power, specs, design and most importantly: value for money, although we'll always point you in the direction of the latest handsets - after all, nobody wants to be carting around a phone that doesn't get any updates in a year's time, right?

So whether it's one of the many slick Android handsets, the latest iPhone or one from a range of other cool operating systems, we've extensively tested them all so you don't have to!

Here are our rankings for the best smartphones around.

10. Nexus 6

Google's best ever phone is also its biggest ever

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.96-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB/64GB | Battery: 3,220mAh | Rear camera: 13MP | Front camera: 2MP

Google's latest Nexus is a phone that moves away from the usual 'super cheap superphone' and into phablet territory with its latest offering. The good news is the screen is also supercharged: massive at 6 inches, it's also got a stunning QHD resolution.

You'll always be getting the latest updates to Google's Android OS with this one, and while it's certainly something you'd have to use two handed (make sure you're fine with that before buying, as it's put a lot of people off that we've shown it to) it's tremendous display, premium specs and great use of Android 5.0 Lollipop make one of the best phablets to date.

It's not cheap, but it's the best Nexus ever made. And, when you think about it, you're not going to need to hold onto your money, as you'll require both hands to grab onto this two-handed monster.

9. Sony Xperia Z3

A solid phone with a good screen and excellent battery life

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.15-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 16GB/32GB | Battery: 3,100mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 2.2MP

The Xperia Z3 is a phone that offers the best of Sony with some really polished tweaks thrown in for good measure. The screen is one of the brightest around and really benefits from Bravia technology, and the longer battery life embarrasses a number of other big smartphones around at the moment.

We do expect more from the camera, and the black bezels above and below the display ruin the aesthetic somewhat, but the ability to Remote Play your PS4 more than makes up for it - it's a really cool feature and means you can keep gaming while someone else is hogging the TV.

The Z3 is a brilliant phone with a few rough edges - but Sony's also great at bringing the cost of its handsets down, so this represents really good value for money for a flagship.

8. iPhone 6 Plus

Apple's first bigscreen phone is a stunner

OS: iOS 8 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Memory: 1GB | Storage:16GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2,915mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 1.2MP

Put simply, this is the bigger version of the smaller iPhone 6. But Apple's done a bit more with its first phablet, with some increased specs to offset that higher price.

The screen is Full HD and really packs some stunning colour reproduction. The camera on the back host optical image stabilisation, so pictures looks sharp and also brighter, thanks to more light being let in.

The iPhone 6 Plus also has something that's eluded iPhone fans for years: a really good battery, with Apple using that extra space to cram in a few more mAh units.

It's one of the most expensive phones around, and is bettered on spec by a few others - but if you're an Apple fan looking for a 'bigger' experience, this is the phone for you.

7. Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung's latest phablet is the best bigscreen phone available

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.7-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB | Battery: removable 3,220mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 3.7MP

Samsung created the phablet category and continues to lead it, cramming in so much technology into the Note 4 while bringing the S Pen stylus that many love to use.

The main thing we love is the screen though: Super AMOLED technology combined with QHD resolution means a pin sharp display, and one that we just can't take our eyes off, with the bigger size actually working to show off the extra pixels.

It's not cheap, and the interface isn't as clean and clear as on the Samsung Galaxy S6 range, but that could all change soon - in which case, this is one of the most fully featured phones that rewards those willing the pay the premium and put the time in to learn its powers.

6. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

A small Android phone packed with big features

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 4.6-inch | Resolution: 1280 x 720 | Memory: 2GB | Storage: 16GB | Battery: 2,600mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 2.2MP

Less powerful with a lower-res screen than its bigger brother, the Z3 Compact still uses most of the high-end specs, fuses them with things like Remote Play and the 20.7MP camera, and does it all at a really low cost for a phone of this power.

The 4.7-inch display makes this one of the best phones to hold and use in day to day life, and it's also got a brilliantly long-lasting battery too, so if you're not a fan of the gargantuan models on show, there's a lot to love with Sony's mini flagship.

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

5. HTC One M9

Not quite up the 5 star standard, but HTC still has the most beautiful phone around

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5-inch | Resolution: 1920x1080 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB | Battery: 2840mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 4MP

HTC's been used to living at the top of our charts for the last couple of years, and while it's not quite managed it in 2015, it's still a phone with the best build quality out there.

None of the old favourites are missing, so BoomSound enhancement still really turbocharges the audio and the Sense overlay remains one of our favourites, thanks to being sophisticated and really powerful.

The camera has been boosted to 20.7MP, although doesn't have the impressive snapping power of some of the other phones on the market, and the design language still means this is one of our favourite phones to stick in the pocket.

It's a touch more expensive than before, and doesn't take a huge leap forward from last year's model - but then again, that was nearly perfect, so where was HTC to go?

4. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Curving into the future with impressive specs

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.1-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2560 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2560mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 5MP

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has all the power and features of the table-topping S6, but does it with a little extra too, thanks to the curved edges on each side.

They're pretty much aesthetics, as they don't add a huge amount of functionality, but if you're going on looks alone, the S6 Edge has them in spades.

The price is a lot higher though, which is why it doesn't join its twin (non-identical) brother at the top of the chart, but if you're after a phone that's wildly different from anything else with a great feature set and tip-top camera, this is your choice.

3. LG G4

Luxury leather on a smartphone that tries to please everyone

OS: Android 5.1 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB | Battery: removable 3,000mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 8MP

LG has tried to focus on what everyone actually wants out of a smartphone, a great looking design, colour rich display and the great camera for photos - but it doesn't quite deliver as impressively as we'd hoped.

Don't let that put you off though. There's a lot going on with the LG G4, and for the most part it's rather positive indeed. The leather back is much nicer than the plastic option, and it will make your phone stand out among the swath of glass and metal offerings.

Its large, expansive screen is one of the best on the market, the 16MP laser auto-focus camera takes some cracking shots and the rear buttons are easier to hit on a handset this size.

As a complete package, it offers more than the Xperia Z3 and One M9, but it doesn't quite match the slickness and design of the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6.

2. iPhone 6

Bigger, better, sleeker and faster than the iPhone 5S

OS: iOS 8 | Screen size: 4.7-inch | Resolution: 1334 x 750 | Memory: 1GB | Storage:16GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 1,810mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 1.2MP

The iPhone 6 - a real step forward for Apple and a phone that's a real joy to use, hold and feel. It's got all the same ingredients that make iPhones special: while it doesn't excel in any given part of the smartphone recipe, it just works, promoting simplicity over fiddly menus..

The camera has a lower megapixel count than others, but it's fast, bright and easy to use. The screen is too low-res compared to the phones around it, but pops and fizzes with colour and brightness. And that design - we have to keep coming back to it as it feels beautiful in the hand.

The sticking point is it's still one of the most expensive phones on the market, and spec-fiends will note it's not quite got the technology inside to truly back up the cost.

But don't let that put you off: if you're in the market for a handset from Apple, or just been tempted by one in the past: buy the iPhone 6. It's excellent, a pure joy to use.

1. Samsung Galaxy S6

A brilliant phone that shows Samsung still has what it takes

OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.1-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2560 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2550mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 5MP

While last year's Galaxy S5 was nothing special, this year Samsung's started from the ground up to make a truly wonderful smartphone.

The camera is superb, the audio and video quality brilliant and the QHD display crammed into the 5.1-inch screen is the sharpest on the market - although it does suck down the battery rather a lot.

The design is finally something we're pleased to hold in our hand, rather than the plastic cheapness of last year, and the refined TouchWiz overlay is a lot nicer to use.

It's pretty expensive mind, so make sure you're after a truly A-grade experience before buying as you'll be paying handsomely for it - but if you do take the plunge, you've got the best phone on the market.

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HSBC has let slip that Apple Pay will be coming to the UK on Tuesday July 14 – confirming rumours that we'd be seeing Apple's contactless payment method on that date.

When Apple announced Apple Pay was coming to the UK, it was rather vague about dates, simply stating that it would reach these shores in July.

However on Twitter the HSBC UK account replied to a customer asking if we can expect to see Apple Pay in the coming weeks, stating that "Yes! It's due to launch this Tuesday! We're excited too!".

The excitement might have gotten the best of HSBC's Twitter account, as a second tweet from The HSBC UK Help account promptly followed explaining that there is "no set date for launch".
Due date

When we rang HSBC, a customer support representative told us that they had not been given an official launch date. However, staff will be given a pilot of the new service from Monday July 20 until Thursday July 23.

If HSBC is training its staff in the run up to the launch, it could mean that Apple Pay will be launched at the end of next week – as training staff after the service has launched seems a bit risky.

Photos of restaurants and stores advertising Apple Pay have started to appear in the UK, so it looks like the service is coming imminently, but there appears to be a lot of confusion about when.

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