Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are the best Android phones on the market right now along with Sony Xperia Z.
Here we are going to compare the two phones on 6 different fields in a crash test to let you decide which one to buy.
[bq_right]Winners:
Shape: Samsung Galaxy S4
Design: HTC One[/bq_right]
Body
The two phones look almost the same at the first look but they are not. There are some crucial differences that you can see.
Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 5 inches screen, a bit bigger than the screen of 4.7 inches of HTC One.
As the screen is bigger, Samsung’s phone is a bit longer (difference of 0.8mm) but remains slimmer (difference of 1.4mm). So Samsung’s phone is really slim and weights less (difference of 13g).
On the other side, HTC One has a beautiful unibody design that really is different from other phones. The design on HTC phones is much better the last 2 years and that can make the difference.
[bq_right]Winners:
Bigger screen: Samsung Galaxy S4
Better screen: HTC One[/bq_right]
Screen
Both phones have great screens. The difference between the screen of the two phones is 0.3 inches so Samsung Galaxy S4 has a bigger screen.
Although there is a small difference on the size, the two phones have the same resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. As a result, as the screen of Samsung Galaxy S4 is bigger, it has less pixels per inch.
HTC One has 469 pixels per inch compared to 441 for Samsung Galaxy S4. As you can see in the table, HTC One has the better pixel density we have seen in an Android phone till now.
Samsung Galaxy S4 has the latest Gorilla Glass technology, the Gorilla Glass 3 compared to the Gorilla Glass 2 of HTC One. Even if it’s Gorilla Glass, never use these phones without case.
[bq_right]Winners:
Primary camera: Samsung Galaxy S4
Second camera: HTC One[/bq_right]
Cameras
Camera is a big controversial issue as HTC changed the technology it uses. HTC has a new technology that can take better photos with lower MP.
So the camera of HTC One is 4MP compared to the camera of 13MP of Samsung Galaxy S4.
Both phones have also a lot of camera features that we like a lot. Dual Shot is our favourite function on Samsung Galaxy S4 that gives a lot of points to the phone.
Both can take HD photos and HD videos simultaneously, they have smile detection and can take 1080p videos at 30fps.
Although the technology between the phones are different, Samsung keeps the award of the best camera overall (low light, sunny days, close ups etc). HTC One made a good effort but is far from the first place. The 4MP camera is good but is far from the competition.
As for the second front camera, there is a small difference of 0.1MP between the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 with HTC One taking the lead. Both phones can take 1080p videos at 30fps but Samsung Galaxy S4 can take dual video call. Let’s give a point on the software side to Samsung Galaxy S4 and keep the second camera point to HTC One as it is a hardware comparison
[bq_right]Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4[/bq_right]
Speed
It’s is difficult to compare two phones at that level. Moreover Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in two models, a quad core version and an octa-core version.
If you are going to buy the quad core version of Samsung Galaxy S4, then there is no difference with HTC One as they have the same processor. They also have both 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 320 GPU and run smoothly. There is no difference between them as we can see from the benchmark tests.
If you buy the Octa version, then Samsung is much faster as the Exynos 5 Octa CPU is the best processor on the market this time. So Samsung is the winner because it gives you that option.
[bq_right]Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4[/bq_right]
Battery
These two phones have different batteries. Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 2600mAh battery and HTC One a 2300 battery.
Although the difference of 300mAh is not so big, there is also a software side for the battery. Both phones give you a lot of options to make your battery last longer. We also have some tips to follow.
Other specs and details
Memory: There are different versions of the phones on the market. Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in 16/32/64GB versions and HTC One in 32/64GB versions. The big difference between them is the microSD option you have on Samsung Galaxy S4. Samsung has a card slot that can take a microSD card up to 64GB so you can double your memory and that’s really a great difference between the two phones. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4
Android version: Both phones have now Android 4.2.2, the latest version of Android. Samsung Galaxy S4 has this version from scratch but HTC One was updated from Android 4.1.2. There is also a UI war between TouchWiz and HTC Sense. Both give you a lot of options and customizations and we love them both for different reasons each. We give the winning point to Samsung because it started with the latest Android version and maybe will go farest on the update road. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4
Options & Apps: Both phones come with a lot of features and add ons. Samsung Galaxy S4 has more because Samsung has a bet on the software side. So you will find Air View, S Voice, S Health, S Translator, Samsung Hub and Group Play to make your life easier. On the other side HTC gives you 25GB on Dropbox, a good gift but not enough to cover the lack of microSD. Both have TV out and all the Google apps. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4
Final verdict
Here we are talking about two great phones, premium smartphones that can do everything you want to do. So the winner is based on small differences. Samsung Galaxy S4 is a lighter and slimmer monster with bigger and durable screen, a lot of features around the camera, great apps and if you buy the octa version, then you have a real beast. On the other side HTC One looks more expensive and elite, the design is beautiful and deserves to be called a smartphones as it has a lot of smart features along with better call quality and loud speaker. We love HTC phones but Samsung Galaxy S4 is a step ahead. Call it software advantage or octa power.
Total Wins
[two]Samsung Galaxy S4
lighter
slimmer
bigger screen
more durable screen
better camera
many camera features
faster processor (Octa version)
bigger battery
microSD slot
more pre installed apps[/two]
[two_last]HTC One
design
quality screen (PPI)
second camera
call quality
loud speaker[/two_last]
Specs rating of Samsung Galaxy S4
| Spec | Samsung Galaxy S4 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 7.9 | Sony Xperia Z Ultra | 6.5 | 78% | |
| Weight | 130 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 70% | |
| Screen PPI | 441 | HTC One | 469 | 94% | |
| Camera MP | 13 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 32% | |
| 2nd Camera | 2.0 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 91% | |
| Processor | 8 * 1.6 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 8 * 1.9 | 84% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 3000 | 67% | |
| Battery mAh | 2600 | Huawei Ascend Mate | 4050 | 64% | |
| Android | 4.2 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.3 | 83% | |
| SAR | 0.85 | - | 0.00 | 75% | |
| Release Date | 2013-04 | Today | 2013-09 | 90% | |
| Our view | 90% | - | 100% | 90% | |
| AVC rating method | Date Rated: | 2013/09/24 | Total Rating | 75.3% | Best price |
Specs rating of HTC One
| Spec | HTC One | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 9.3 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 78% | |
| Weight | 143 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 57% | |
| Screen PPI | 469 | HTC One | 469 | 100% | |
| Camera MP | 4* | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 10% | |
| 2nd Camera | 2.1 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 95% | |
| Processor | 4 * 1.7 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 53% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | HTC One | 2000 | 100% | |
| Battery mAh | 2300 | Samsung Note 2 | 3100 | 74% | |
| Android | 4.1 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 83% | |
| SAR | 0.83 | - | 0.00 | 59% | |
| Release Date | 2013-03 | Today | 2013-03 | 100% | |
| Our view | 90% | - | 100% | 90% | |
| AVC rating method | Total Rating | 74.5% | Get a better price |