I do not even know. The Xperia Z2 is my top pick, but not available in America through a major carrier. The OnePlus One is just difficult to get. Samsung is evil (,but would get a note cause pen). M8's camera sucks. Oppo Find 7 is similar to the OnePlus One. Windows phones because Cortana. iPhone cause per core performance and optimization. I just need help.
What is your list of priorities use that as a guide line, guaranteed your phone won't have everything you want but you should be able to get close. I personally think people make too big of a deal out of the camera on phones, at least for me I rarely use it maybe 2 to 5 photos in a couple months.
Really as a M8 user the camera isn't that bad unless your a photographer. For the "normal joe" it's fine.
I have heard good things about the LG G3
Both the M8 and M7 camera are fine, the MP of those cameras is plenty enough to go beyond 1080p quality. They both have a strong image processor and the software more than makes up smaller # of MP. I use an M7 and the pictures are great, the M8 camera is a step up from an M7
Dont get an iphone. make sure there is a google play edition device so you can go to a very stable rom. id say htc one m8
wait for 1+ One (best option)
or
get an Oppo or geeksphone with preloaded CyanogenMod.
If you care don't care for flashing custom ROMs & potentially losing your warranty i would suggest to stay-away from Samsung HTC LG etc. Their preloaded android versions are usually horrible and do not get updated(well mostly)
I would completely rule out the Iphone because they pull every trick to lock you in their ecosystem. Don't go there unless you have a donkey that shits gold bricks.
I also would rule out WindowsPhone unless you want to buy a Nokia (Now Microsoft) Lumia for the sole purpose of having the best smartphone camera. But honestly Windows-phones usually don't get any 3rd party software love. I highly doubt Microsoft will be able to reach a market share large enough to be relevant again. Certainly not in the lifespan of the phone you buy today.
Honestly you want the Smartphone that runs an Operating system with a large community making awesome stuff and CyanogenMod is exactly that.
My experiences with my Xperia Z1 have been horrible, with a locked bootloader and Sony's build of android being horrible unstable (random reboots throughout the day, camera crashes when I take pictures) and my first Z1 wasn't actually waterproof.
Luckily, I have an extended warranty and eventually will be able to send my phone in when the Z1 is off the shelves. It could be an issue isolated to the Z1 or to the batch my store got, but I've been having general bad experiences with Sony despite my loyalty up to this point.
However, the camera in the Z1 and Z2 is absolutely phenomenal, and I am a fan of the beautiful build. You could look towards the LG G3, only con is *shudders* plastic build.
I heard the z2 is much better
I'd go for the Moto G if you're on a budget
Gorilla Glass 3, direct android updates from google, bang for the buck
I like the Note series for the pen and size. I have the Note 2 and love it, but it really needs rooting and custom work done to get the best.
The camera on the M7 and M8 are some of the best out there. It is a shame so many people play number, It may only be a 4MP sensor but it is also a lot higher quality than many of the others. Camera sensors benefit hugely from having large sensor pixels, they take in more light and for photography light means detail. The M7/M8 have an unrivaled ability in phones to take in huge amounts of light and therefore detail.
It is a similar problem with the LG G3. It has a 1440p resolution crammed into a 5 inch screen. and all the mass market sees is "Wow it has a totally better resolution than your crappy old phone, mine is WAY better!" and the reality is that a 1080p screen over the same size has no less observable definition at 8 or so inches away from the eye. The pixels are effectively resolved and you cannot tell one from the other. So another marketing trumped up claim to sell benefits that the end user will not see. And worse again is that it has the down sides of increased battery usage and heat output. Some of the G3s are having a problem with heat output and the phone is having to forcibly dim the back light to cool the phone, and removing one of the benefits of the screen because the phone can't effectively run it.
I recently got the HTC one M8 and i absolutely love it! Its fast as hell, looks amazing, has a fantastic screen, true multitasking, decent battery life and the camera is pretty good. Its not the best camera but it has some cool software features and has very good depth to the pictures it takes. I also love that i has a headphone amp built into the 3.5mm audio out and the "Boomsound" speakers are actually quite loud and sound much better than a phone usually does. Also im pretty sure that Tmobile has the Xperia X2 but im not 100% sure.
Also check out the one plus one and maybe wait and see what the HTC one M8 prime ends up being. Just stay away from the Galaxy S5. My friend has one and in less than a week its locking up and crashing.... Just like my old S2 (Best and worst phone ever!)
Get an HTC One M8 or a BlackBerry Z30/Z10
I bought a Note 3 off of Craigslist for $550 - brand new, the guy unsealed the box in front of me. The best phone I've ever used! And I believe still is, at least until the OnePlus One is officially out! It's a great phone all around, specs are still on par with current phones (they might have a slightly faster CPU but Note 3 has 3 gigs of RAM). And there are a ton of great Roms available for it, both Touchwiz and AOSP based - currently running SlimKat W03 with Lean kernel. Aside from the OnePlus One, there aren't really any phone that interest me that much. None that would replace my Note 3. If I still had my Nexus 4, I'd probably get the Sony Z2 as well, or wait for the LG G3.