With all the talk about the Galaxy S4 being an iPhone killer, it’s
easy to forget that Samsung’s flagship faces serious competition from
other Android phones. To me, the HTC One
belongs at the top of that list of adversaries. From its jaw-dropping
aluminum design and bold new Blink Feed interface to its Ultrapixel
camera, the One is ready to challenge the S4 for smartphone supremacy.
Then again, the Galaxy S4 has so many “wow-inducing” innovations stuffed into its slim frame that it redefines cutting edge.
So which superphone will win this battle? The S4 hasn’t even hit the
market yet, so it’s too early to call a definitive winner. But I’ve
spent enough hands-on time with both handsets to predict which device
will likely win the hearts and minds of more shoppers.
Design
The HTC One is absolutely gorgeous, sporting a zero-gap aluminum
design that rivals the iPhone 5. The curved back makes the device easy
to hold, even if this 4.7-inch handset is on the hefty side. Add in
polished chamfered edges, spun metal volume controls and etched antennas
on the back and you have the most beautiful Android phone yet.
With its polycarbonate (plastic design), the Samsung Galaxy S4 simply
doesn’t have the same premium look for feel as the One. However,
Samsung’s device is thinner and lighter than HTC’s phone, even though it
has a larger display (5 inches versus 4.7 inches). The S4 measures 5.38
x 2.75 x 0.31 inches and weighs 4.6 ounces, while the One weighs 5.1
ounces and measures 5.4 x 2.68 x 0.36 inches.
Early Winner: HTC One. The Galaxy S4 is slimmer and lighter, but the HTC One rules in terms of aesthetics and overall build quality.
Display
Now that full HD (1080p) screens are practically standard on high-end
phones, device makers need to make their wares stand out in other ways.
Still, the pixels per inch can make a difference in terms of how sharp
that display looks. Here, HTC has the edge, because it crams 1920 x 1080
pixels into a 4.7-inch Super LCD 3 screen; that translates to 468 ppi,
compared with 441 ppi for the Galaxy S4′s Super AMOLED panel.
The HTC One outshines the Galaxy S4 in another way: brightness. When
we hit both phones with our light meter, the One registered 463 lux and
the S4 mustered only 258 lux. The Samsung’s number is lower than the
smartphone category average of 299 lux. What the S4′s screen has going
for it is deeper black levels and more saturated colors, which some
users prefer when viewing photos and videos.
Early Winner: HTC One. Not only is the One brighter than the S4, making the screen easier to see outdoors, it provides a slightly sharper picture.
Audio
If you’re going to market your phone with a name like BoomSound, you
had better back it up. The HTC One does just that with dual-stereo
speakers powered by Beats Audio. In our testing, the handset provided
amazingly loud and clear sound at just a little over half-volume.
Seriously, an external speaker is almost redundant when listening to
your favorite tunes on Spotify or Pandora. Plus, because the speakers
flank the display, you’re unlikely to cover them up with your thumbs
when gaming.
The Galaxy S4 has just a single speaker on its back, but it pumped
out plenty of volume in our hands-on testing. However, the sound could
get muffled when you place the phone on a desk or when holding it in
your hand. The audio quality also wasn’t nearly as rich.
Early Winner: HTC One. If sound quality matters to you, the One will rock your world.
Interface
On the surface, the Galaxy S4′s software doesn’t look much different
than the S3′s, but how you interact with this device has changed
dramatically. Using Air Gestures, you can change music tracks, flip
through photos and answer the phone just by waving your hand in front of
the S4′s camera. Meanwhile, Air View allows users to preview info by
hovering your finger above the display (no pen required).
Not impressed? The S4 can also track your eyes to pause videos (Smart
Pause) when you look away from the screen and you can scroll content
(Smart Scroll) by tilting the phone in your hand as you view a Web page.
S4 owners can easily toggle these and other features via a drop-down
option in the enhanced notification menu.
The new interface on the HTC One concentrates more on the look and
feel than how you control the phone. A new BlinkFeed UI on the home
screen streams headlines and social updates, so you’re always in the
know. There’s no question that there’s some Windows Phone interface
here, combined with a sprinkle of Flipboard. If you find BlinkFeed too
busy, you can always opt for a traditional-looking home screen, but
assuming you customize the feed the way you want, I think most One
owners will like it.
The HTC One has another small advantage over the S4 with its
proprietary recent app menu. You can see up to nine apps at once, versus
a few for the Samsung.
Early Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4.
While HTC’s BlinkFeed is sleek and can help keep you in the know, the
S4′s sheer innovation and easy access to important settings helps it win
this round.
Camera
HTC and Samsung took vastly different approaches to their cameras for
the One and Galaxy S4. The former smartphone emphasizes better
low-light performance with its Ultrapixel camera, while the latter
focuses on higher resolution and a bevy of clever features.
Let’s start with the One, whose 4-megapixel Ultrapixel shooter uses a
larger sensor than other phones to capture up to 300 percent more
light. While we didn’t have a chance to compare the One and S4 side by
side, we noticed that the One generally did a better job capturing
brighter images indoors in dim conditions. However, when you zoom in or
crop images, you’ll see less detail than what other phones deliver.
HTC also included a fairly unique feature in Zoes. A dedicated Zoe
button in the camera app lets you capture 20 still frames along with 3
seconds of video. Plus, the camera starts a second before you press the
button and finishes 2 seconds after you press stop, which means you’re
less likely to miss that moment. From there, you can share your Zoes on
social networks, but they’ll redirect to zoeshare.htc.com.
The Galaxy S4 comes to this round bearing a 13-MP back camera and
2-MP front camera. It’s not really about the resolution, though, but how
Samsung is attempting to redefine the picture taking experience.
For example, with Dual Shot and Dual Recording, you can shoot images
and videos using the front and back cameras at the same time. The idea
is that the photographer can insert themselves into the shot, and they
can choose from multiple fun themes. Another highlight feature is
Eraser, which lets you remove unwanted subjects who have wandered into
the frame as a photo bomb.
There’s more. Sound and Shot records 6 seconds of audio along with
still images, and Drama Shot lets you capture multiple shots of the same
moving subject in the same image. The HTC One offers a similar feature,
but it’s buried within the editing menu of Zoes.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4. The HTC One produces brighter images, but the Galaxy S4 pulls ahead with a ton of fun and compelling photo features.
Specs and Performance
The U.S. Version of the Galaxy S4 and HTC One both feature Qualcomm’s
latest quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, promising 40 percent better
performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. The S4 will house a
1.9-GHz CPU, and the HTC One’s processor runs at 1.7 GHz. Both handsets
come with 2GB of RAM.
| HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S4 | |
 |
 |
|
| Screen Size (inches) | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Pixel Density (ppi) | 468 | 441 |
| Processor | 1.7-GHz Qualcomm quad-core |
1.9-GHz Qualcomm quad-core, 1.6-GHz Exynos octa-core |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB |
| Internal Storage | 32GB, 64GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB |
| Battery | 2300mAh | 2600mAh |
In our testing, the HTC One notched an overall score of 23,488 on the
AnTuTu benchmark, which measures CPU, GPU, RAM and I/O performance.
That’s faster than the Galaxy S4′s score of 21,089.
We also ran Geekbench on the HTC One, which measures integer,
floating Point, memory and stream performance. The device turned in a
score of 2,632, which is lower than what Android Authority recorded for the Galaxy S4 on the same test (3,163). By comparison, the iPhone 5 notched 1,647 on the same test.
Uniquely, the S4 will offer expandable memory with a microSD Card
slot and a replaceable battery. The HTC One offers a sealed design with
32GB of memory to start, while the Samsung will start with 16GB. The S4
also has a higher-capacity battery, packing a 2,600 mAh battery compared
with 2,300 mAh for the One.
Early Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4.
Although the HTC One outperforms the S4 on one benchmark, the S4 soundly
beat it in another. More importantly, you can add more memory and swap
out the (larger) battery in the Samsung.
Special Features
Couch potatoes, rejoice. Both the Galaxy S4 and HTC One ship come
with an IR blaster on the top and software from Peel to help control
your TV. Samsung goes the extra mile, though, by adding Samsung Hub
integration for downloading movies or shows you might want to watch.
The HTC One also features Sense Voice, which leverage the two mics to
compensate for ambient noise and boosts in-call voices. Other features
unique to the One are covered elsewhere in this face-off, including
BlinkFeed, BoomSound and Zoes in the camera.
Samsung piles on the features in the Galaxy S4. S Translate can
translate text and voices into nine different languages, while S Health
can keep tabs on your steps taken and calories burned, as well as your
diet and even the comfort of your environment. S Health will sync with
Samsung’s own accessories, such as the S Band (think Fitbit) and a
scale.
There’s a lot more the S4 offers, including an improved ChatOn client
that supports three-way video calls and Group Play for blasting a tune
on multiple S4 phones at once.
Early Winner: Samsung Galaxy S4. Samsung’s phone
almost does too much, but the good news is that most users will find at
least a couple of features that will resonate with them.
Overall Outlook
To a certain degree, the verdict is already in on the HTC One. Based
on our review of the international version, the phone boasts a better
design than the Galaxy S4, a more impressive low-light camera and a more
dynamic interface that’s great for snacking on content. Plus, the One’s
dual speakers deliver louder and richer sound, and you get a brighter
display. We’re just waiting to see how long the U.S. version’s battery
lasts on 4G LTE networks.
On the other hand, it’s hard to compete against the S4′s bevy of
features. While some may consider Samsung’s eye controls gimmicky, the
motion gestures really do come in handy. We also love the way the S4
leverages the front and back camera at the same time. And while the
design doesn’t inspire, Samsung deserves credit for offering a bigger
screen than the One in a thinner and lighter design. Features like S
Health and a revamped S Hub demonstrate that the Galaxy S4 phone isn’t
just a phone. It’s the center of a robust ecosystem.
The bottom line is that both the HTC One and Galaxy S4 are shaping up
to be two of the best smartphones of the year. It’s up to you to decide
which advantages and features resonate with you more. But if I had to
make a call on one or the other, I’d give the edge to the S4 because of
its many, many talents.
