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Best phones of 2014: last year's phones prices have fallen, here are the best deals

By Victor Hristov

Updated: Nov 13, 2015, 7:15 AM

25comments

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Best phones of 2014: last year's phones prices have fallen, here are the best deals

Last year's flagship Android phones remain fairly competitive to this day.

Last year's top phones are now much cheaper

And they come with one important advantage over the 2015 crop of Android top dogs: they are much cheaper. Smartphone makers have slashed prices on the most alluring devices in their last year's portfolio, but how much of a price cut have they received and are the savings enough to convince budget buyers to look at these phones?

We've looked through the most popular and important Android phones of 2015, starting with a look at their original price and comparing this to the way the phone has aged in price at both carriers and if you want to buy it unlocked. Here is what we found.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

Release date: September 1st, 2014 (it's been 1 year, 2 months and 12 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $613

Prices now:

Unlocked at Best Buy: $295

AT&T: phased out

Verizon: not available

Savings to date: $318, or 52%

Samsung Galaxy S5

Release date: April 11th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year, 7 months, 2 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $650

Prices now:
Unlocked at Best Buy: $450
AT&T: $17.34/mo with 30mo instalment plan, $520 goPhone
Verizon: $23/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total retail: $550
T-Mobile: $20/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $480

Savings to date (using T-Mobile prices): $200 (31%)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Release date: October 14th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year and 30 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $700 (Verizon) - $720 (T-Mobile, Sprint) - $826 (AT&T)

Prices now:
Unlocked at Best Buy: $560
AT&T: $22.86/mo with 30mo instalment plan, full retail: $686
Verizon: $26/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $624
T-Mobile: $22.92/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $550

Savings to date (using T-Mobile original prices): $160 (22%)

Motorola Moto X (2014)

Release date: September 5th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year, 2 months and 8 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $499

Prices now:
Unlocked at Motorola.com: $299
AT&T: $18.90/mo with 30mo instalment plan, full retail: $567
Verizon: $18.74/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $450
T-Mobile: not sold

Savings to date: $200 (40%)

LG G3

Release date: July 8th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year, 4 months and 5 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $600

Prices now:
Unlocked at Best Buy: $340
AT&T (refurb only, web-only!): $12.73/mo with 30mo instalment plan, full retail: $384
AT&T version at Best Buy: $14.97/mo with 30mo instalment plan,
Verizon: $18/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $432
T-Mobile: $11.67/mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost: $280

Savings to date: $260 (43%)

HTC One M8

Release date: April 11th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year, 7 months and 2 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $650

Prices now:
Unlocked at HTC.com: full retail price of $500
AT&T: full retail price of $500
Verizon: full retail price of $500
Sprint: full retail price of $500
T-Mobile: full retail price of $500

Savings to date: $150 (23%)

Sony Xperia Z3

Release date: September 26th, 2014 (it's been 1 year, 1 month and 18 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): €650

Unlocked (European price at Amazon.de): €454

AT&T: not available

Verizon: not available

T-Mobile: not available

Savings to date: €196 (30%)

Nexus 6

Release date: October 29th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year and 15 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $650

Prices now:
Unlocked (at Amazon): $340
AT&T: $19.97mo with 30mo instalment plan, total cost $599

Verizon: $27mo with 24mo instalment plan, total cost $648

T-Mobile: not available

Savings to date: $310 (48%)

BlackBerry Passport

Release date: September 24th, 2014 (it’s been 1 year, 1 month and 20 days since)

Full retail price at launch (in 2014): $700

Prices now:
Unlocked (at Amazon): $470
AT&T: $16.67/mo with 30mo instalment plan, total cost $500
Verizon: phased out
T-Mobile: phased out

Savings to date: $230 (33%)

Conclusions

It's clear that some phones have aged better than others and while there are hundreds of different aspects to explore, we'll just focus on one: price.

For users, the best savings on last year's top phones are as follows:

Samsung Galaxy Alpha: savings of $318, or 52% off its original price
Nexus 6: savings of $310, or 48% off
LG G3: savings of $260, or 43% off
Moto X (2014): savings of $200, or 40% off
BlackBerry Passport: savings of $230, or 33% off
Samsung Galaxy S5: savings of $200, or 31% off
Sony Xperia Z3: savings of €196, or 30% off
HTC One M8: savings of $150, or 23% off
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: savings of $160, or 22% off

Put simply, if you are after the best deals and cost is an absolute priority, you should feel the most satisfaction if you purchase one of the first devices on the list.

Buying a phone is about much more than just a deal, though: curiously, devices like the BlackBerry Passport have already been largely phased out and despite being a fairly good value, we do not recomment you buying one. Then, there are considerations like size: the Nexus 6 might be too large of a phone for many people out there.

The rest of the phones, though? While each one of them has its minor niggles, there are no huge issues to be too concerned about and you can safely pull the trigger knowing you are getting a great phone at a great price.

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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.