HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Introduction:

A lot of users out there who are considering buying the new HTC One X are probably wondering if it's really better than the Galaxy Nexus, which is a device that has an almost identical footprint. Well, of course a lot of users will be torn between these two powerhouses, seeing that they feature displays that are almost exactly the same in terms of size, and both run Android 4 ICS, although in a slightly different form. But never fear! We're here to compare these two beasts and see which one gains the upper hand!

Design:

It doesn't come as a surprise that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy Nexus are about the same size. After all the X has a 4.7” screen and the Nexus – a 4.65” one. However, Samsung's device is significantly more comfortable to hold, due to the fact that it's slightly narrower and doesn't have the sharp side edges of the One X.


When it comes to materials and construction, though, the One X is much better, as it uses a higher-quality type of plastic, compared to the cheapo one of the Nexus. Yeah, the Nexus allows you to remove the back cover and battery, but that's not really a great benefit considering the more solid build of the One X.

Display:

As we said, the displays of both handsets are about the same size, and the little difference is actually unnoticeable. Resolution is also the same – 720x1280 pixels, so image clarity and overall readability are great on both phones. There are some fundamental differences, though. While the Galaxy Nexus uses the Super AMOLED technology, the One X has decided to stick around in LCD territory. However, HTC has made some tweaks to the good-old LCD technology, introducing some improvements and naming it Super-LCD 2. The result of all this? The screen of the One X is much brighter and vivider compared to the one of the Nexus. To top it off, the One X also has the more natural-looking colors.

Interface:

In the software category, the One X and Galaxy Nexus are as similar as they are different. The similarities actually start and end with the fact that both devices run Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Where the handsets part ways is the user interface, as the One X is running HTC's Sense UI 4.0, while the Nexus, of course, sticks to the clean, stock ICS look. Which GUI will appeal to you more in terms of look and general philosophy depends on your taste. We're not going to argue which is the better-looking UI, but we do have some thoughts to share regarding the behavior of the software running on each phone.



In short, although both handsets run very smoothly (the One X may have a slight edge, probably thanks to its quad-core Tegra 3 processor), the software of the One X is certainly the glitchier one. Small problems/bugs with Sense are still observed here and there, while the Nexus manages to be visibly more stable overall.

Other than that, both devices have pretty much the same capabilities. The One X has some nice built-in personalization options due to the preloaded Scenes and Skins.

Messaging:

We actually prefer the messaging experience of the Galaxy Nexus more, due to the better QWERTY keyboard. The design of the keys is simpler, not as cluttered as on the One X, and there's more empty space between keys.


Internet and Connectivity:

Browsing the internet is another area where the Galaxy Nexus scores a win. Overall, Samsung's handset presents us with a more intuitive experience with the stock web browser, as it zooms the way it should, with no nasty slowdowns. It doesn't end there, though. Flash Player performance is also better on the Nexus. Meanwhile, the One X's internet browser is not very pleasant to use and tends to crash every once in a while.



Both phones have the same capabilities when it comes to connecting to a mobile data network, as they can achieve HSPA+ download speeds of up to 21.1 Mbit/s, and HSUPA speeds of up to 5.76 Mbit/s. One difference is Bluetooth, since the One X supports version 4.0, while the Galaxy Nexus supports version 3.0.

Camera:

When we started doing this comparison, we thought that the HTC One X will have an easy win in the camera department. Little did we know that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will actually outclass its opponent!

In terms of their camera applications, the One X is the better-equipped handset, seeing that it presents us with some cool features such as having a camera shutter and video recording button displayed at the same time, meaning that you won't have to switch between photo and video mode. In addition, the One X has the Best Shot feature which allows you to pick the best looking picture among a series of quickly taken shots. Both cameras are also very fast, but the One X has a slight edge, allowing you to focus, take and save a photo in a shorter amount of time, compared to the Nexus.



The tweaks that HTC has done to the camera software, however, somehow lose their significance when you take shots from both handsets and put them next to each other. This is when it becomes apparent that the Nexus, which isn't among the greatest camera phones out there, manages to produce more detailed photographs, along with more natural-looking colors (the ones from the One X often have a purple shade to them). The only aspects where the Nexus is slightly worse than the One X is exposure, as sometimes the brightly-lit objects in its images come out a bit overexposed.

1080p video recording with both phones is about the same. The Nexus has a very slight advantage in terms of smoothness, while the One X has a very slight advantage in terms of image quality. The One X, however, has the better sound capture.

HTC One X Sample Video:



Samsung Galaxy Nexus Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Multimedia consumption is the area where having a large screen real estate really pays off. In this respect, both the Galaxy Nexus and One X are wonderful phones to watch video or play games on. We do think, though, that the One X is a bit better, because of its higher-quality display and louder speaker. Really, the One X probably has the best phone display to watch video on!

Performance:

There's no clear winner when it comes to phone call quality. Both handsets sound OK on the incoming end, and fine on the outgoing one. Nothing unusually good here, but all in all, you'll have a stable performance no matter which phone you choose.

Unfortunately, HTC hasn't release official talk-time and stand-by times for the One X's 1800mAh battery, but during our testing, we came to the conclusion that it's good enough to last through a whole day, not unlike the Galaxy Nexus.


Conclusion:

There's no doubt that both the One X and Galaxy Nexus are incredibly strong opponents to come out against. It's quite interesting, though, when you think about how your overall impression of a handset changes with time. When one approaches the One X and Galaxy Nexus for the first time, it looks like a very easy decision – they would lean towards the One X's premium and eye-catching design. However, once you've actually used the handsets for a while, things no longer look so simple.

Looking beyond the solid polycarbonate body and jolly Sense 4.0 UI of the One X, we find a phone that has some quite important things done wrong. In its quest to greatness, the One X has gone off the beaten ICS path... a bit too much, and as a result, has found itself lost in the wilderness. Yes, it has some terrific assets on its side, like the beautiful 4.7” S-LCD 2 screen and future-proof quad-core Tegra 3, which will help it survive out there in the wild, but it doesn't look like it will make it to the top of the food chain.

Meanwhile, without being too puffed up, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has managed to put itself ahead of the HTC One X, thanks to its competitive number of features, better camera, as well as more reliable and intuitive software experience.

HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus: