Sunday, June 02, 2013

Quick Comparison of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S 4



The two hottest Android phones for 2013 duke it out for people's hard earned cash.

Hardware
CategoryHTC OneSamsung Galaxy S 4 (SGS4)Brief Rationale
WeightWinThe SGS4 is lighter at 130g while the HTC One weighs 143g
DimensionsWinThe SGS4 (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm)is shorter and thinner but a tad wider than the HTC One (137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm)
Build MaterialWinMany reviewers complain that the SGS4 plastic build is cheap compared to the HTC One's aluminum unibody
Manufacturing QualityWinThe SGS4 has a lower defective return rate and gaps are smaller than the HTC One.
ErgonomicsWinHTC One has odd button placements compared to other Android phones has a difficult to reach power key, flush volume keys, and slippery body.
CPUWinBoth HTC One and SGS4 use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 but SGS4 is clocked at 1.9GHz while HTC One runs at 1.7GHz. The difference is very minimal in real life usage.
RAMBoth have 2GB but SGS4 has faster RAM with DDR3 (HTC One uses DDR2)
Display SizeWinThe SGS4 fits a 5 inch display in a body that isn't much wider than the HTC One. Both are 1080p displays but the HTC One has a higher pixel density but you can't tell the difference between the two with your naked eye
Expandable MemoryWinThe SGS4 supports microSDs up to 64GB and includes 16gB onboard memory while the HTC One is usually found in 32GB variants (a AT&T and developer version are available with 64GB)
BatteryWinSGS4's battery is larger and software better optimized to last longer
Camera (Daylight)WinSGS4's 13MP camera captures much more detail
Camera (Night)WinHTC One's large sensor captures more light
LTEIf you're in Canada, only the SGS4 supports band 7 LTE (2600MHz) providing up to 100Mbps.  Otherwise it's equal for both phones.
SpeakerWinHTC One has front facing stereo speakers
FM RadioWinHTC One has a FM radio while the SGS4 does not
WiFiBoth support 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
NFCBoth have NFC
GPSBoth support GPS and GLONASS
Software
CategoryHTC OneSamsung Galaxy S 4Rationale
SkinLighterHeavierThis is subjective of what you like more.  The SGS4 is more cartoony while the HTC One is more flat and modern. But the HTC One is missing some functionality like clearing all applications in the multitasking window
Included SoftwareWinThere is more usable included software with the SGS4 like a file browser, task manager, better video format support, and notification toggle out of the box.
Speed of UpdatesWinHTC is known to update their phones more quickly.
Longevity of UpdatesWinSamsung issues updates for longer time for their flagship phones such as their former flagship, Galaxy S 2.
Price and Availability
CategoryHTC OneSamsung Galaxy S 4Rationale
PriceWinThe HTC One MSRP used to be $579 USD, now $599.99, which is cheaper than SGS4's $649.99 USD. On contract prices are currently still a $50 difference in HTC One's favor.  On top, HTC has also been running a trade in program that will give you $100 or more back for your old phone.
AvailabilityWinSGS4 is more widely available on various carriers such as Verizon.

From a check list comparison, the SGS4 heavily wins against the HTC One.  I personally chose the HTC One over the SGS4 because of the look of the phone.  You really can't go wrong going with either phone.