Samsung Galaxy S5 (T-Mobile)

Function over form. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is America's best-performing smartphone, bringing excellent voice quality, a terrific camera, speedy performance, and the best screen we've seen on a handheld yet.

Dr. Ray Soneira of DisplayMate Labs put it best: The Galaxy S5 has the best screen we've seen yet on a smartphone. It's brilliant, vibrant, and highly customizable, appearing brighter and punchier than competing displays in almost every circumstance.

The Galaxy S5 still has an uncomfortable relationship with its own materials. At 5.85 by 2.85 by .31 inches (HWD) and 5.1 ounces, it's a big phone, but that's par for the course nowadays.

Samsung simply can't figure out premium design, at least from an American perspective. I spoke to the designers behind the S5, and they declared its plastic form to be "modern glam" with a "warmth and softness" (as well as a removable battery) that isn't available on glass-and-metal phones.

It's all plastic. The back is a stippled, textured faux-leather, borrowed from the Galaxy Note series, which is a major step up from the slick, fingerprint-collecting casing on the Galaxy S4.

The camera is one big reason why this phone is an Editors' Choice. The 16MP shooter's UI marks an important step back towards simplicity from the GS4's ridiculous array of camera modes; all the ones you won't want to use are buried under "Shot & More," and you won't have to see them again.

On the bottom, a large micro USB 3.0 port promises fast charging and fast data transfer in exchange for needing to be covered by a silver plastic door.

I couldn't complete our standard single-long-call test, but the 2,800mAh battery was still at 41 percent after 11 hours, 15 minutes of calling. In a week's worth of use, it lasted out the day every time.

This case for the Galaxy S5 replaces the entire back, integrating the case in with the phone.

The S5 (left) versus last year's S4 (right).

The plastic-clad S5 (left) versus the new, aluminum-clad HTC One (M8) (right).

The S5 (left) dwarfs the iPhone 5s (right).