HTC One (M8) vs Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Sony Xperia Z2: specs comparison

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HTC One (M8) vs Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Sony Xperia Z2: specs comparison
Oh, boy, are you at the right place at the right time!

The time has come for HTC to come forth with its new One flagship, and remove whatever lingering doubt there is about the exact specifications of the hard-hitter. In abidance with an old PhoneArena tradition, this means it's also time for a quick spar between Taiwan's new hotshot and Samsung's and Sony's still minty-fresh Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2. 

That's obviously an explosive line-up to pit against each other, not least because this trio is being released in a very similar time window. This means no advantages owed to newer technology. But make no mistakes -- there are nuances, and where one may excel, another likely only follows. At least from a purely hardware standpoint. 

So, for example, the Galaxy S5 comes with the most potent bin of the newly-christened Snapdragon 801, but its camera sensor is not quite as big as the one found on the Xperia Z2, and the One has the smallest one (but with the biggest pixels). The Z2 also comes with the biggest, 5.2-inch display, and the largest, 3200mAh battery, not to mention that it sports 3GB of DDR3 RAM, whereas the Galaxy S5 is trailing behind with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, while the One M8 comes at the very bottom with less-speedy 2GB of DDR2 RAM. 

Of course, the differences don't stop here, and you can study the specs sheets side-by-side for as long as you want, but do yourself a big one and wait for a more thorough and complete review comparison before making any rash decisions. These are just dry specs and nothing more. Experience has sure taught us to distrust their word. With that in mind, do take a look.

HTC One (M8) Samsung Galaxy S5 Sony Xperia Z2

Design

Dimensions
5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 inches
146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm
5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches
142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm
5.78 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches
146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm
Weight
5.64 oz (160.0 g) 5.11 oz (145.0 g) 5.75 oz (163.0 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum Back: Plastic Back: Glass
Resistance
Splash; IPX3 Water, Dust; IP67 Water, Dust; IP58
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys, Interchangeable covers, Notification light
Keys
Right: Volume control Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver, Pink, Blue, Red Black, Gold, Blue, White Black, Purple, White

Display

Size
5.0-inch 5.1-inch 5.2-inch
Resolution
1920x1080px, 441 PPI 1920x1080px, 432 PPI 1920x1080px, 424 PPI
Technology
S-LCD 3 Super AMOLED IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
66.71 % 69.76 % 69.17 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC (28 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AB
Processor
Quad-core
2300 MHz
Krait 400
Quad-core
2500 MHz
Krait 400
Quad-core
2300 MHz
Krait 400
GPU
Adreno 330 Adreno 330 Adreno 330
RAM
2GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR3) 3GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
32GB, available to use: 24 GB 32GB 16GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.3, 4.4), HTC Sense UI Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2)

Battery

Capacity
2600 mAh 2800 mAh 3200 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Camera

Rear
Dual camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
4 MP (Autofocus)
Aperture size: F2.0
Focal length: 28 mm
Sensor size: 1/3"
Pixel size: 2 μm
16 MP (BSI sensor, PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 31 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.6"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
20.7 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Aperture size: F2.0
Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Second camera
4 MP (Depth information)
Flash
Dual LED LED LED
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
HDR, Video light, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)
HDR, Continuous autofocus, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD)
HDR
Front
5 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2.1 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2.2 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band 802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 3.0 microUSB, USB 2.0
HDMI
Yes Yes
Location
GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Pedometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture, Barometer, Step detector, Step counter Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer
Other
NFC, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, SyncML, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback, Music recognition
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL,MirrorLink MHL DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL,MirrorLink
Radio
FM, Stereo, RDS FM, RDS
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 3(1800), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM Micro SIM Micro SIM
VoLTE
Yes Yes

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
FCC ID value: NM80P6B100 Date approved: Jul 23, 2014
FCC ID value: PY7PM-0745
Measured SAR
Head: 0.94 W/kg
Body: 0.87 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.89 W/kg

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Mar 25, 2014 Feb 24, 2014 Feb 24, 2014

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