Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One

Oct 07, 2013, 3:44 AM

Ray S.

99+

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.

Display measurements and quality

	Maximum brightness Higher is better	Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better	Contrast Higher is better	Color temperature (Kelvins)	Gamma	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Samsung Galaxy S4	289 (Poor)	9 (Average)	unmeasurable (Excellent)	7316 (Good)	2.16	5.52 (Average)	7.31 (Average)
HTC One	460 (Good)	14 (Poor)	1:1758 (Excellent)	8008 (Poor)	2.21	5.89 (Average)	5.33 (Average)

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The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.

	Maximum brightness Lower is better	Minimum brightness Lower is better	Contrast Lower is better	Color temperature Lower is better	Gamma Lower is better	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Samsung Galaxy S4	58.5%	55.6%	unmeasurable	19.9%	0.9%	63.8%	74.4%
HTC One	84.8%	85.7%	77.2%	24.4%	1.8%	3.6%	27.8%

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The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.