There are some smartphones that are designed so well, they really catch people's eyes. At the same time, however, there are also those devices which are designed so badly, users immediately considered the device boring and uninspired. What's particularly ironic is the fact that a good number of these otherwise bland devices came from tech firms which are known for being the best in the smartphone business.

Let us look at three of the most boring phones of recent years.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Among the crazy number of smartphones coming from Samsung, the Galaxy S series is widely considered as the South Korean tech firm's flagship device, featuring the best that the company could offer at the time. Sadly, for Samsung, however, many users took issue with the Galaxy S5, which was, well, very boring in design.

While its internals was indeed flagship-worthy, the device was unapologetically plastic all throughout. Thus, what was supposed to be a premium device ended up looking almost exactly like the dozens of other cheaper phones Samsung was putting out. Thankfully, Samsung has taken the S5's lesson to heart, resulting in the S6 Edge and the S7 Edge being considered as one of the most inspired phones to date.

Microsoft Lumia 950

There was definitely potential in the Lumia 950. After all, Microsoft, arguably the largest tech firm in the world, just acquired Nokia during that time. Thus, the Lumia 950 actually had the potential of having Microsoft's nigh-unlimited funds and Nokia's strong branding. Instead of an exciting new phone, however, users were greeted with basically a rehashed Nokia Lumia 920.

Just like the Galaxy S5, the Lumia 950 boasted very robust specs. However, its non-flagship build quality, its very uninspired design, as well as problems with its software, ultimately made this potentially awesome phone into pretty much a failure.

Apple iPhone SE

From the inside, the iPhone SE is a great phone, featuring the internals of an iPhone 6S in a small, 4-inch form factor. From the outside, however, there is no denying that Apple basically scraped the bottom of the design barrel on this device, featuring a design that is exactly the same as the iPhone 5S, and the iPhone 5 for that matter.

What really aggravated a lot of Apple fans with the SE was the fact that Apple could so easily have done way better. After all, iPhones, save for the failed experiment known as the iPhone 5C, are widely considered as featuring the best design in its class. Instead, Apple seemed to have just gotten all their space iPhone 5 and 5S parts, taken them together, and released a new phone. 

Tags: smartphones boring smartphones Samsung Galaxy s5 iPhone SE Microsoft Lumia 950