Galaxy S4 vs HTC One

[KOA789]

Well, after waiting a whole month for Verizon's announcement on the 22nd, hoping they would get the HTC One, and being disappointed with the fact they didn't even mention anything about it, I decided to not leave VZW and instead just get the S4. I can not believe how amazing this phone is. It literally does everything. I actually like it better then the One, but I will say the One does have a better frame, but the fixed battery and no external storage capabilities are a big draw back. Anyone have one or the other, and what are your opinions. The only thing I don't like about this phone is that it doesn't have auto correct on the keyboard, you actually have to hit the word when it pops up... I know it's minor, but hey, had to find something to bitch about.

 

[Baird403]

Well according to my opinion the Galaxy S4 is the best phone because it have many features which make it better then HTC One.. I also like that but if you talk about which is better then I will say Galaxy S4 because of its 8 cores processor and 13 MP camera.... and many other which makes S4 better.

 

[KOA789]

^ We got the quad core Snapdragon 600 @1.9Ghz in the US. The rest of the world got the octa-core 1.6.

 

[rubbaVdub]

I was trying to make the same decision myself and decided to buy another HTC EVO 3D (my current phone) instead. As great as both phones are, neither warranted upgrading from my current Android at the $280+ (early upgrade on my plan) price point. So for approximately $155 CDN I bought a brand new EVO 3D.

I personally prefer the HTC One. It is a better quality product all-in-all. The construction is far superior, with a much better look & feel. The phone is on par with the iPhone 5 in terms of sleek looks. The Samsung S4 simply looks cheap, its made entirely of plastic with dated round edges... blah

If you're going by numbers, the S4 should in theory be a better phone. However, real world tests seem to be saying the opposite. The One has been widely reviewed as feeling more responsive and less laggy than the S4.

Some things to consider:

Performance: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has more CPU cores than the HTC One - however, more cores means lower frequency per core - which equates to lower performance in applications not optimized to utilize the extra cores. This is only an issue during this transitional period of duocore to hexacore and octacore configurations.

Display: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a larger screen than the HTC One - however despite being .3 inches larger, the Samsung's PPI (pixel per inch) resolution is lower than the S4, resulting in less clarity and color definition.

Camera: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 13 megapixel camera, the HTC One doesn't - HTC has yet to publish the actual resolution of their 'ultrapixel' camera in any publications... The camera is effectly 4 megapixels. However, the term 'ultrapixel' is used to identify HTC's new optical CMOS sensor, which is effectively 4X larger than the CMOS used in any other smart phone camera. The sensor is so large it compares to entry level digital SLR cameras. It is capable of capturing substantially more light and detail than its 8+ megapixel counterparts. In all, it effectively captures better images than the S4.

Interface: For those who have never had to privilege to use HTC's Android UI 'HTC Sense', please do yourselves a favor. It is by far the cleanest, easiest to you use, Android UI on the market. The amount of well-thought out and high quality widgets is amazing. HTC has taken every great feature of the Android OS and beautified it into a simple and intuitive interface called Sense. I've tried both the Samsung UI and HTC's, the difference is night and day IMHO.

 

[dpham00]

Camera Review from DPReview:

Looking at the samples on the previous pages and above it is clear that not even these high-end smartphones can keep up with decent dedicated compact cameras. Nevertheless there is no doubt that mobile devices are getting better at capturing images with every generation and the phones in this comparison are arguably among the best you can currently get for this purpose.

None of the devices in this shootout are good at everything. So, if you're planning to take a lot of pictures with your smartphone, you should be clear about where your priorities are. With its 13MP sensor the Samsung Galaxy S4 clearly produces most detail in good light and shows a good overall performance. In low light the S4 tends to opt for higher ISOs than the competition, but in turn that gets you faster shutter speeds and the sensor still captures more detail than the rivals. Having 13MP to start with also means that at equalized viewing sizes the Samsung's higher noise levels will be much less noticeable than at a 100% view. That is important to keep in mind considering that almost all smartphone images are reduced in size for editing and/or sharing. The Samsung's flash performance is decent too and exposure is usually spot on.

The iPhone 5 is still a good option for mobile photographers, with good detail capture and pleasant image rendition in both bright and lower light. However, we were not impressed by the blown highlights in both our sunlight and flash portraits. The Apple device also tends to select very slow shutter speeds in low light which, given the lack of an optical image stabilization system, can lead to shaky images.

The HTC One has put a lot of focus on camera performance and while it generally produces pleasant exposures, the lack of resolution in bright light might be too much for some users. That said, it did very well in capturing the highlights in our sunlight portrait.

The fast lens combined with optical image stabilization means the HTC is a good device for capturing low light scenes -- if you can live with the 4MP output. You also need to keep in mind that the slow shutter speeds in low light won't be useful for capturing moving subjects. Flash performance is definitely one of the HTC's strengths. It did well in our comparison but we've also taken a number of flash exposure while working on our upcoming full review and found its performance impressive. The HTC is arguably the best mobile device for flash photography we've seen so far.

We weren't particularly impressed by the Nokia Lumia 920's image processing in any lighting condition but, like the HTC, its fast lens and optical image stabilization mean the Lumia's strength lies in low light capture. However, some of that advantage is diminished by the Nokia's very strong noise reduction which results in very soft images. That said, like the HTC, the Nokia is a device to look at if you are taking a lot of flash images as it did very well in that comparison.

http://connect.dpreview.com/post/92...axys4-vs-htcone-vs-iphone5-vs-lumia920?page=4

 

[dpham00]

I

I was trying to make the same decision myself and decided to buy another HTC EVO 3D (my current phone) instead. As great as both phones are, neither warranted upgrading from my current Android at the $280+ (early upgrade on my plan) price point. So for approximately $155 CDN I bought a brand new EVO 3D.

I personally prefer the HTC One. It is a better quality product all-in-all. The construction is far superior, with a much better look & feel. The phone is on par with the iPhone 5 in terms of sleek looks. The Samsung S4 simply looks cheap, its made entirely of plastic with dated round edges... blah

If you're going by numbers, the S4 should in theory be a better phone. However, real world tests seem to be saying the opposite. The One has been widely reviewed as feeling more responsive and less laggy than the S4.

Some things to consider:

Performance: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has more CPU cores than the HTC One - however, more cores means lower frequency per core - which equates to lower performance in applications not optimized to utilize the extra cores. This is only an issue during this transitional period of duocore to hexacore and octacore configurations.

Display: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a larger screen than the HTC One - however despite being .3 inches larger, the Samsung's PPI (pixel per inch) resolution is lower than the S4, resulting in less clarity and color definition.

Camera: The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 13 megapixel camera, the HTC One doesn't - HTC has yet to publish the actual resolution of their 'ultrapixel' camera in any publications... The camera is effectly 4 megapixels. However, the term 'ultrapixel' is used to identify HTC's new optical CMOS sensor, which is effectively 4X larger than the CMOS used in any other smart phone camera. The sensor is so large it compares to entry level digital SLR cameras. It is capable of capturing substantially more light and detail than its 8+ megapixel counterparts. In all, it effectively captures better images than the S4.

Interface: For those who have never had to privilege to use HTC's Android UI 'HTC Sense', please do yourselves a favor. It is by far the cleanest, easiest to you use, Android UI on the market. The amount of well-thought out and high quality widgets is amazing. HTC has taken every great feature of the Android OS and beautified it into a simple and intuitive interface called Sense. I've tried both the Samsung UI and HTC's, the difference is night and day IMHO.

You are referring to build material rather than build quality. Yes, I agree that aluminum is a better feeling material. But while my Note II and the S4 may feel cheap, it does not indicate poor build quality. I have a case on my Note II, and honestly, it doesn't really bother me. I have also dropped my Note II several times a week for the past few months...no cracked screen, cracks or anything. Not that it matters since I have insurance with unlimited claims and no deductible.



In terms of performance, I haven't used the S4, but my Note II uses an older CPU and it runs pretty smooth. On the S4, some of the motion items do slow down the system, so you can disable them.

Your performance info isn't really right, it is two quad cores:

The 5410's eight processing cores are set up in ARM's trademarked big.LITTLE architecture style: it has four energy-efficient Cortex-A7 cores for lighter tasks, along with four high-performance Cortex-A15 cores that are designed to kick in for duties that require more processing power. Jobs that tax the processor up to 1.2GHz will be taken on by the A7s, but the A15s will turn on (shutting off the A7 cores in the process) as soon as more power is needed.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/06/samsung-galaxy-s4-octacore-review/



With regards to the display:


" Galaxy S4 pros

richer contrast and deeper blacks
wider viewing angle
generally brighter, with saturated colors
various Screen Modes
HTC One pros

whiter whites
more realistic colors
sharper display
reflects less light"


http://m.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-vs-htc-one-screen-display-comparison-212438/

 

[07mkvgti]

HTC One, Nexus Experience!

 

[Bodhi]

I just ordered the HTC one and it'll be here on the 5th.

I'm switching from an iPhone 4, I will post my findings.

 

[07mkvgti]

you'll be happy. I'm waiting for my Nexus 4 to get here, and i'll be trying it on t-mobile for a month, but i don't know if i should upgrade my GNex to a One or S4. hard choices, being that i absolutely love the Nexus line

 

[Bodhi]

I got the HTC one and I have had it for just about a week now.

So far, I love it.

The ONLY major gripe I have is the group text messaging. I didn't like the stock messaging app, so I got a different one (there are alternatives to all the stock apps, like firefox instead of chrome, etc...) but the aftermarket one doesn't support group messaging, yet. Where as the stock one does, but you MUST enable it in the settings, otherwise it won't. I know some of you are saying "just use the stock one then" the design of the stock app isn't bad, but it could certainly be cleaner.

The phone itself is fantastic, all of my friends who have iPhones are a little jealous, but they're too invested in the Apple world with their iPads and iMacs to switch.

The external speakers are amazing, beats audio is great.

For those of you who are concerned about battery life, I have had it on for the past 8 hours and i've been on it a fair amount throughout the day sending texts back and forth and making a couple of phone calls, it's still at 80%.

The screen is unbelievable.

I don't miss my iPhone at all.

you'll be happy. I'm waiting for my Nexus 4 to get here, and i'll be trying it on t-mobile for a month, but i don't know if i should upgrade my GNex to a One or S4. hard choices, being that i absolutely love the Nexus line

If the nexus 4's layout and operation is the same as the Nexus 7, I agree that it is an easier system to use. I love my nexus 7, but the deal I got on my HTC one was too good to pass up. I sold my iPhone 4 with a shattered front screen and broken lock button for almost $80 more than I paid for my HTC one.