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Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE vs HTC M8 vs Sony Xperia Z2 specs comparison

posted by Luis D. / Jun 18, 2014, 6:31 AM

Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE vs HTC M8 vs Sony Xperia Z2 specs comparison

There's nothing like a triple threat match between today's smartphone heavyweights. In one corner, we have the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A. This South Korean pretender has an impossibly dense display, thick hardware muscle, and represents an established legacy of champions. Is this enough to announce it as a winner, though?

Think hard, because you won't be a fool to bet on the HTC One (M8) - a mighty fighter from Taiwan that comes clad in a metallic armor and carries two cameras that deliver photographic punches in style. Third, coming all the way from Japan, we have the Sony Xperia Z2 - a fiery warrior known for heated battles. While its fists are capable of devastating fury, this happens to be the Z2's weak spot - sometimes the heat gets too intense, and that's when its opponents choose to deliver their lethal blows.

So, which one do you choose?

Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A vs HTC One (M8) vs Sony Xperia Z2

Display

Display size

5.1 inches

5.0 inches

5.2 inches

Resolution

1440 x 2560 pixels

1080 x 1920 pixels

Pixel density

576 ppi

441 ppi

424 ppi

Technology

Super AMOLED

S-LCD 3

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body ratio

69.76 %

66.71 %

69.17 %

Colors

16 777 216

Camera

Rear

Yes

Main camera

16 megapixels

4 megapixels

20.7 megapixels

Hardware Features

Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Phase detection autofocus

Autofocus

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Sensor size: 1/2.6"

Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 28 mm; Sensor size: 1/3"; Pixel size: 2 μm

Aperture size: F2.0; Sensor size: 1/2.3"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Second camera

4 megapixels

Hardware Features

Depth information

Flash

LED

Dual LED

LED

Software Features

Manual focus, Digital image stabilization, Touch to focus, Smile detection, Face detection, Voice activation, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Burst mode, HDR, Panorama, Scenes, Effects

Digital image stabilization, Manual focus, HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Burst mode, Night mode, Macro mode, Effects, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Geo tagging

Digital image stabilization, HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Smile detection, Burst mode, Effects, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Touch to focus, Digital zoom, Geo tagging

Video recording

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

MPEG4

MPEG4, 3GPP

Features

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Digital image stabilization

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Video light, Video sharing

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR)

Front

2.1 megapixels

5 megapixels

2.2 megapixels

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches (142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm)

5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 inches (146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm)

5.78 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches (146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm)

Weight

5.11 oz (145 g)

5.64 oz (160 g)

5.75 oz (163 g)

Materials

Back: Plastic

Back: Aluminum

Back: Glass

Resistance

Water, Dust

Splash

Water, Dust

IP certified

IP 67

IP X3

IP 58

Biometrics

Fingerprint (swipe)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 APQ8084

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AB

Processor

Quad-core, 2500 MHz, Krait 450, 64-bit, 28 nm

Quad-core, 2300 MHz, Krait 400

GPU

Adreno 420

Adreno 330

RAM

3 GB LPDDR3

2 GB LPDDR3

3 GB LPDDR3

Internal storage

32 GB

16 GB

Storage expansion

Slot Type

microSDXC, microSDHC, microSD

OS

Android (4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI

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)

Battery

Capacity

2800 mAh

2600 mAh

3200 mAh

Talk time

15.00 hours

Stand-by time

28.8 days (690 hours)

Talk time (3G)

20.00 hours

19.00 hours

Stand-by time (3G)

20.7 days (496 hours)

30.8 days (740 hours)

Music playback

120.00 hours

Video playback

10.00 hours

Cellular

GSM

850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

UMTS

850, 1900, 2100 MHz

850, 900, 1700/2100, 2100 MHz

LTE (FDD)

Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 17

Bands 3, 7, 8, 20

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20

Data

LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, UMTS

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

Multimedia

Screen mirroring

DLNA, Wireless screen share, MHL, MirrorLink

FEATURED VIDEO

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23 Comments

1. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Samsung will always have a smartphone that reigns supreme on the market. After months, the Note 3 has finally been dethroned.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:38 AM 5

2. tech2

Posts: 3487; Member since: Oct 26, 2012

I was really hoping for LG G3 will knock GS5 out of the park. But when it comes to the display its just dull and awful. Nor is their camera any better. LG G2 was great but G3 turned out to be a bit of a disappointment really. Not even water or dust resistant. Z2 on the other hand has an IPS display but far from being the best IPS on the market. Nor is their camera any better then GS5's.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:48 AM 7

7. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

The camera on the Z2 is inferior to the one on the S5.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:53 AM 4

9. buccob

Posts: 2944; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

That is what tech2 said in his final sentence

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 7:29 AM 2

11. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

And I agreed with him...

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 7:43 AM 0

20. StraightEdgeNexus

Posts: 3689; Member since: Feb 14, 2014

More like you stressed it more to envy sony fans... :-D

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 12:21 PM 0

14. fanboy1974

Posts: 1345; Member since: Nov 12, 2011

It's a fail in my book if you can't put a flagship on the most reliable carrier in the US; Verizon. The last phone worth talking about was the 2 year old Xperia play and at that time the phone was crap. I have no faith in Sony.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 8:29 AM 0

13. fanboy1974

Posts: 1345; Member since: Nov 12, 2011

Have to agree. I would have sold my Note 3 if this was the S5. Samsung should have waited but if you know your phones you would have never bought the current S5. You just knew better spec'ed phones are going to come out in the fall. Sucks but it could be the other way around with how slow Apple takes to refresh their phones. Apple will let that crappie iPhone C sit on the shelves to rott and iPhone 5s sells will just get dwindle until iPhone 6 comes out.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 8:23 AM 0

19. Supraman21

Posts: 467; Member since: Jun 09, 2010

Not really. HTC One and the G2 were better phones than the GS4. The cameras on the G3 and S5 is pretty much a wash. The G3 has better and louder audio quality plus a louder speaker. It also has a bigger and more lasting battery. The only thing the S5 has over the G3 is screen quality but then again thats kind of subjective because I hate OLED screens.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 11:34 AM 0

3. buccob

Posts: 2944; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

Well the new Samsung definitely surpass the rest in every department... (except probably battery life)... Not the phone for me... but definitely the best all around right now.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:50 AM 1

5. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

If the S5 has stellar battery life, I can only imagine this one is better due to better power consumption regardless of the number of extra pixels it's pushing.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:51 AM 4

8. buccob

Posts: 2944; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

Yeah, that is true, I forgot about the better optimization on the 805... Lucky south koreans. And Lucky Japanese... They all get the best devices... Here I am wishing for the ZL2 to hit globally...

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 7:02 AM 1

4. smallworld

Posts: 517; Member since: Jul 13, 2012

It's still funny when I see 4 megapixels between 16 megapixels and 20.7 megapixels. Poor HTC.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:50 AM 6

6. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

My M8 takes decent photos. I don't expect to crop them anytime soon though.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 6:52 AM 5

10. true1984

Posts: 859; Member since: May 23, 2012

honestly after seeing some of the z2's photos on here, the m8's camera looks a little better

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 7:37 AM 2

12. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

The M8 beat the Z2 on the last blind camera comparison lololol.

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 7:44 AM 1

15. pyradark

Posts: 895; Member since: Jun 10, 2012

My z ultra 8mp beat all those crappy 2014 flagship!!! Wahahahaha

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 8:46 AM 2

17. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Lets not get to ahead of ourselves...

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 9:50 AM 1

16. medtxa

Posts: 1655; Member since: Jun 02, 2014

htc is just ridiculously stuborn and bad at strategy. at least make it 8 ultrapixels?

posted on Jun 18, 2014, 9:11 AM 0

18. Joshua9007

Posts: 94; Member since: Jun 08, 2012

I agree, I had an EVO 4G LTE and still look back at that as the best pictures I've taken on a phone. My GS4 is ridiculously bad unless its an outdoor still image, I have an 11mo old who has been walking for over 2 months and I had to go and buy a real camera because even sports mode is a joke on my GS4. My old 8MP camera on the EVO was able to take really clear quick shots, burst mode was awesome, the HDR worked great, and overall it was my favorite camera especially considering it had a dedicated camera button. If HTC could have taken that camera and increased the pixel size, added the 2nd camera for the easy after effects (without having to go into a setting before the shot) they would have had a winner. Better yet, they could maybe work with a 13MP ultrapixel for their next camera. They are right that sensor size and pixel size are important, but since there is not zoom option on a phone, people often use cropping a picture to get the shot they want. I would not mind if the camera was a larger circle on the back of the phone and slightly protruded as long as it worked perfectly and got great shots.