HTC U Play vs Honor 8 vs Samsung Galaxy A5: specs comparison

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So, the U for U teaser was all about two new smartphones by HTC — the flagship-grade U Ultra and the midrange U Play. Now, while the “big brother” here looks awesome and has a high-powered hardware to keep it competitive among other top-shelf devices, we're a bit curious if the U Play will have enough going for it to make an impact.

See the U Play is powered by a Mediatek Helio P10 SoC — the lowest of the Helio series — and its 2,500 mAh battery doesn't inspire confidence either. Still, it's expected to cost around $400 at launch, probably because that shiny liquid-like finish makes it look like the price is justified.

So, let's compare internals — let's pit the HTC U Play against similar midrangers like the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) and Honor 8. Both of these cost around the $400 mark and have metal-and-glass builds. The Honor 8 even has that fancy dual camera!

HTC U Play Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) Honor 8

Design

Dimensions
5.75 x 2.87 x 0.31 inches
145.99 x 72.9 x 7.99 mm
5.70 x 2.80 x 0.29 inches
144.8 x 71 x 7.3 mm
5.73 x 2.80 x 0.29 inches
145.5 x 71 x 7.45 mm
Weight
5.11 oz / 145.0 g 5.47 oz / 155.0 g 5.40 oz / 153.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Glass
Frame: Metal
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Pink, Blue, White Black, Gold, Pink, White Black, Gold, Pink, Blue, White

Display

Size
5.2-inch, 70.01% screen-to-body 5.2-inch, 72.39% screen-to-body 5.2-inch, 72.02% screen-to-body
Type
S-LCD Super AMOLED IPS LCD
Resolution
1920x1080px, 428 PPI 1920x1080px, 424 PPI 1920x1080px, 424 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Hardware

System chip
MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755 Snapdragon 615 8939 (28 nm) HiSilicon Kirin 950 (16 nm)
Processor
Octa-core
2000 MHz
ARM Cortex-A53
Octa-core
1600 MHz
ARM Cortex-A53
Octa-core
2300 MHz
ARM Cortex-A72 and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU
Mali-T860 MP2 Adreno 405 Mali-T880 MP4
Memory
3GB (LPDDR3)/32GB
4GB/64GB
2GB/16GB 4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB
3GB/32GB
4GB/32GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 2000 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB
OS
Android (7.0 Nougat) Android (5.1 Lollipop) Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow)

Battery

Type
2500 mAh, Li - Ion 2900 mAh, Li - Ion 3000 mAh, Li - Polymer
Charging
Fast charging Fast charging Fast charging

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Dual camera
Main camera
16 MP (OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.0
Focal length: 28 mm
Pixel size: 1 μm
13 MP (OIS, Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 28 mm
12 MP (Laser and PDAF, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 35 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.9"
Pixel size: 1.25 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Black and White, Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal Length: 35 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.9"
Pixel size: 1.25 μm
Flash
Dual LED LED Dual LED
Video recording
1080p (30 fps)
Hyperlapse, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
1080p (30 fps)
Video calling
1080p (60 fps), 720p (120 fps)
Time-lapse video, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
16 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR)
Video capture: 1080p
5 MP 8 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.1 4.2
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n
b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot
802.11 b, g, n, ac
USB
Type-C, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 Type-C, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share Wireless screen share,MHL Wireless screen share
Radio
FM
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 40 40 38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands
5, 8, 2, 1 5, 8, 2, 1 5, 8, 4, 2, 1
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes
VoLTE
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 24, 2015
FCC ID value: A3LSMA510FD
Date approved: Sep 20, 2016
FCC ID value: QISFRD-L04
Measured SAR
Head: 0.23 W/kg
Body: 0.38 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 0.98 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.77 W/kg
Head: 1.07 W/kg
Body: 0.24 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.17 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 12, 2017 Dec 02, 2015 Jul 11, 2016
Prices (MSRP)
$440 $499


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