Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One

Introduction

This is it, the most epic Android face-off for the first half of 2013. The Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are coming out at about the same time to go ahead and have it out with one another. When the Galaxy S4 and One are in the same room, there sure ain't much love in the air, which is going to make this fight all the more interesting. Which side will you take? Wait till you've read our comparison!

Design

Isn't it obvious? The Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One have a completely different understanding of design. On one hand, we have the light, plastic body of the GS4, and on the other – the heavy, metal one of the One. Both have their pros and cons. The Galaxy S4 certainly doesn't feel like a premium smartphone, but is light, compact and comfortable to hold. In contrast, the HTC One has that expensive feel to it, but is bulkier and not as comfortable to use.


Overall, though, it shows that HTC has paid much more attention to the design of its product. The One has an impressive appearance and every small detail like the physical buttons function like they are part of a quality, expensive product, which they are. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S4 has a blander appearance and none of its physical features manage to be particularly exciting, with the sole exception of the fact that Samsung has managed to fit such a big display in such a compact phone (for today's standards).


Display

Speaking of displays, both devices are equally impressive in this respect. On one hand, there's the enhanced Super AMOLED screen of the GS4, with its high contrast and lush colors, and on the other – the Super LCD 3 display of the One, which is more natural and also quite vibrant. The HTC One is also more visible when used in bright daylight, thanks to its higher brightness. Viewing angles are very good on both devices, but we seem to prefer the HTC One, as it retains the normal tones of its colors, whereas the Galaxy S4 is quick to degrade color quality as we start to tilt the handsets.

At 5 inches, the Galaxy S4's display is slightly bigger than the HTC One's 4.7 inches, but the difference isn't really that noticeable. Activities such as video watching are super-entertaining on both handsets.











Interface and Functionality

Both smartphones come with Android Jelly Bean, but the GS4 has an edge as it features the very latest version, 4.2.2, out of the box, while the One is initially equipped with 4.1.2. That doesn't mean that HTC One users will be missing much in terms of Android features, but the more important thing is the vast difference between the custom user experiences found on both devices.

HTC and Samsung have worked hard to create new features, which they hope to attract the attention of customers with, however, they have once again gone in completely different directions. On the HTC One we have the new BlinkFeed interface, which takes center stage in the new UI. Think a Flipboard kind of interface used to display stuff like news and updates from your social networks. Besides BlinkFeed, you can also have a typical Android UI with icons and widgets.



The Galaxy S4 has a refined version of last year's TouchWiz Nature UX, which is one of the best Android UIs out there. It's a typical Android style interface, with multiple pages, icons and widgets, but it's an especially well-crafted piece of software that runs fluidly and offers numerous unique features like Multi-Window and Smart Stay. To cut a long story short, the Galaxy S4 offers more features and goodies than the HTC One, but it's safe to say that HTC has polished its offerings a bit more, so it's once again up to the user to decide if they prefer the versatility of the Galaxy S4 or the fewer, but more refined offerings in the HTC One.


Messaging

The HTC One has a slightly smaller screen, but its on-screen QWERTY keyboard has a somewhat better layout, as typing on it feels a bit easier compared to the cramped keyboard of the GS4. The GS4's keyboard as a whole is quite spacious, after all there's a big 5” screen, but the keys are too many and are a bit small for our taste. Meanwhile, there's practically no space between the keys of the HTC One, but that makes them bigger. In the end, you can get a wonderful typing experience with each device, as you can always use a customizable third-party keyboard.


Processor and Memory

The Galaxy S4 comes in two versions – one with Snapdragon 600 CPU and one with Exynos 5 Octa CPU, depending on the market. We're testing the one with Snapdragon 600, which is the same chipset in use by the HTC One as well. Both devices are armed with 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 320 GPU, and both run perfectly smoothly, as you would expect from cutting-edge smartphones these days.

The HTC One comes in 32 or 64 GB flavors, with no option to expand that storage through a microSD card. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S4 is once again being more versatile by coming in 16, 32 and 64 GB versions, all of which featuring a microSD card slot for even more storage.



Camera

The GS4 and HTC One are great camera phones, with lots of settings and options for you to tweak. The HTC One has the unique Zoe mode, which captures short video footage along with each shot, making for an impressive multimedia experience when viewing. The GS4 has a bunch of special features of its own, like Drama Shot, Sound and Shot, Story Album and so on, which can prove useful in certain situations. Here it shows once again the difference in the way both companies work. While both the HTC One and SGS4 have photo album creation features, the albums you can create with the One tend to be very cool, while the Galaxy S4's Story Album is simply laughable. At the same time, though, the GS4 offers more goodies, which makes it more versatile and feature-packed than its opponent.



The higher resolution of the Galaxy S4 definitely gives it an edge when it comes to details. You'll be able to see much more in the photos of the GS4 than in those of the One. The GS4 also takes pictures that are a bit livelier, with higher contrast and slightly more saturation. The HTC One, on the other hand, excels when it comes to exposure. There were some shots that we took that appeared overexposed on the GS4, but were alright on the One.


Indoors, the HTC One isn't bad, but is easily overshadowed by the superior resolution and color reproduction of the Galaxy S4.

Both the Galaxy S4 and HTC One record satisfying 1080p video footage. While we prefer the slightly higher sharpness of the HTC One, however, the Galaxy S4 does excel when it comes to noise and overall stability. We tend to like the sound captured by the mic of the GS4 more, as it's louder and cleaner than that of the HTC One, which is quieter and sounds a bit muted in comparison.







Multimedia

Both handsets are perfect for activities like video playback and gaming. The Galaxy S4 has the benefit of the slightly bigger screen, while the HTC One makes up for it with its loud stereo speakers.






Call quality

Call quality is one area where the HTC One easily gains the upper hand with the deeper and more natural tones that it's able to emit through its earpiece. Its microphone also seems to be more capable, as our callers reported a clearer sound with it. As you can imagine, the stereo speakers of the One are much better than the single one of the Galaxy S4, which struggles to reach the same volume and depth levels.



Conclusion

These are the two Android phones of the year, or at least for the first half of the year. While the HTC One X lost the fight against the Galaxy S III last year, it looks like HTC has better chances in 2013.

The HTC One is equal to the Galaxy S4 in many aspects, and where it feels inferior to the Samsung, it manages to make up for it with something else. The HTC One looks and feels like an expensive product, which isn't something we can say for the Galaxy S4.

The Galaxy S4, however, has its own advantages. Its uninspiring design is actually surprisingly comfortable to hold and use. Its dimensions feel significantly smaller, while its weight is lighter.

With the Galaxy S4, Samsung is continuing its quest towards complete domination over the land of Android, transforming the colorful, chaotic jungle into a profitable industrial area. With the One, HTC proves that the former contract manufacturer does deserve its place among the leading smartphone companies. There really cannot be a better phone between these two, as both are successfully countering each other with their own unique assets.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One Video Comparison: