HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Nexus 4

[s44]

HTC ONE. This is a tech forum with tech people and I don't see how some of the advantages play out in the coming months for the other two phones. IMO of course.

Because you left out the screen and the camera.

 

[AMDZen]

The most obvious advantage the S4 has over the One is the bigger screen in a smaller and lighter package. Also the physical build thing depends on who you ask. I again see the S4 having the advantage here as metal is prone to very easy scratching.

It depends

http://blogs.computerworld.com/smar...hands-on?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2013-04-24

"The Galaxy S4's AMOLED screen has deeper blacks but less pure-looking whites than the One's LCD display. It's also significantly harder to see in sunny or otherwise glary conditions."

I have read nearly every review around the net on the HTC one and a lot of them see the LCD3 screen on the ONE as better than the S4's in a lot of area's.

 

[AMDZen]

Because you left out the screen and the camera.

I did but not on purpose. I just touched on the screen in the last post. And on the camera:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6914/samsung-galaxy-s-4-review/9

"The One's camera delivers better low light performance, while the Galaxy S 4's camera delivers better performance in well lit (e.g. outdoor) scenarios."

I have read comparison's and I take more of my pictures indoors. I'm an indoor's person and regularly take them in low light conditions because I'm a night person so the ONE's camera is better for me from everything I've read. Again, better for me but if you are an outdoor'sy hiker then maybe the S4 is better for you

 

[AMDZen]

I will also touch on another nitpick of the ONE that has been given a lot of light. The two buttons versus 3.

XDA has figured out that the logo in the middle is a capacitive button: see the second link for direct info

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2194315

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2244620&page=9

And before too much longer will have all the bugs worked out so you can go back to 3 button configurations for those that want that

 

[Red Storm]

I did but not on purpose. I just touched on the screen in the last post. And on the camera:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6914/samsung-galaxy-s-4-review/9

"The One's camera delivers better low light performance, while the Galaxy S 4's camera delivers better performance in well lit (e.g. outdoor) scenarios."

I have read comparison's and I take more of my pictures indoors. I'm an indoor's person and regularly take them in low light conditions because I'm a night person so the ONE's camera is better for me from everything I've read. Again, better for me but if you are an outdoor'sy hiker then maybe the S4 is better for you

Outdoor was just an example, they said the One is better in low light, and the S4 is better in well-lit. So basically the One is better at night, and the S4 better during the day. That goes to individual preference, for you it's night, for me it's day.

The screen though, I said the S4 has a bigger screen in a smaller and lighter device. Honestly that's the number one compelling reason to go S4 for me.

 

[slag]

I can't decide between the One and GS4. On one hand, there's the bigger screen that is also OLED on the GS4, but then there's my innate human attraction to shiny objects for the One. The One does have a pretty darn good screen, though. And of course there's the build quality.

Something that worries me about the One is that none of the pictures from the camera I've seen are really impressive. It looks like a downgrade from my iPhone 4 for pictures taken with good lighting.

The GS4 only has 16GB of storage for the cheapest variant, and I would probably want to go for 32 GB. But I feel dirty paying $100 or $50 for 16 extra GB of NAND. Does anyone know how much it is? I suppose I could use a microSD, but that has its disadvantages. I am confounded that 32GB isn't the standard minimum for flagship smartphones by now.

I think 32 GB is overkill. My S3 has 16 GB and I have a ton of space left on it still (10.7 gb). I consider myself a power users as well and use my phone daily as a multi media device. I don't know very many people who put more than about 10-15 apps on their phones they regularly use and have an ipad or other tablet for gaming and their other entertainment apps/movies.

 

[AMDZen]

Outdoor was just an example, they said the One is better in low light, and the S4 is better in well-lit. So basically the One is better at night, and the S4 better during the day. That goes to individual preference, for you it's night, for me it's day.

The screen though, I said the S4 has a bigger screen in a smaller and lighter device. Honestly that's the number one compelling reason to go S4 for me.

And as I said:

"The Galaxy S4's AMOLED screen has deeper blacks but less pure-looking whites than the One's LCD display. It's also significantly harder to see in sunny or otherwise glary conditions."

So you are an outdoors person with your camera but you can't use your camera if you can't see your screen. LOL.

I'm not nitpicking your selection but the HTC ONE screen is better in the sunlight. And I've seen the pictures and to me the outdoors pictures on the HTC one aren't that much worse then the ones on the S4, where as the low light pics on the HTC are substantially better.

 

[s44]

I suppose I could use a microSD, but that has its disadvantages.

Only real one is that apps-to-SD has been removed, but that's not going to be an issue unless you DL/install like every game out there. (Most put supplemental files on the SD anyway.)

It's actually much better for file transfer than on-board storage, since MTP can be a pain.

"The Galaxy S4's AMOLED screen has deeper blacks but less pure-looking whites than the One's LCD display. It's also significantly harder to see in sunny or otherwise glary conditions."

That's one review, not gospel truth. GSM Arena found the opposite. And as you've apparently never owned an AMOLED device, I'm not sure you realize how awesome perfect blacks really are for indoor reading and the like.

 

[you2]

I was being facetiousness that reception quality or sound quality/volume were not even considered among the pro/cons. To be honest I don't know much about the s4; i know the s3 had weaker reception than the note2 and htc-dna. The nexus 4 has rather crappy battery life (relative to the note2 or s3); the note 2 has fantastic sound (no clue about the s4; the htc-one reviews I've seen suggest sound quality is quite good on the htc-one; but the s3 to me didn't sound very good at all).
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I'm not saying these are the most important aspect of a phone but when evaluating them i would think about what you use daily. To me personally the nexus 4 is the worse of the bunch mostly due to battery life - historically the galaxy line bootloader can be unlocked (not clue if this is true for the s4) but if it is you have the option of changing it to stock. The htc-one is locked so if you don't like sense that is a bit of a negative (i tend to prefer twrp to sense myself - or perhaps I should state that i find sense more obstructive than twrp).
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Anyways I see very few reviews talk about sound quality/volume/reception - instead it seems that a huge number of reviews get caught up on camera et all and it rubs a irritation point - sorry about that.
---
btw one thing to consider is if you use a phone outdoors and if the screen will be visible out doors (the note 2 for example has very weak visibiilty outside; no clue about the s4 or htc-one - i've heard back things about the nexus 4 here but don't know first hand).

Which of the phones there can't receive a signal?

 

[Imported]

Should add the Sony phone on the list up there too..

I went with the One. I'll check out the S4 in person before finalizing it, but so far, I don't think I'd switch.

 

[gevorg]

currently have N4, thinking about switching to S4 mainly for the physical home button and expandable storage

 

[Crono]

I want to emphasize aside from the body, screen, low light camera performance, and other features that are usually highlighted first, that the One's speakers are awesome. Clearer and louder than any other phone I have used. They should have called it the HTC Beatbox, would have been a good way to market them vs some of the gimmicks other manufacturers are touting. I don't know what hardware they used for the "Beats" branding (equivalent of headphone amp?), but it actually does help the lows especially when hooked up via aux in my car, and the flat wired/noodly earbuds they included aren't half-bad.

Also, I accidentally put a podcast on speaker at my office yesterday and it sounded like the person speaking was right in the room. Granted, they aren't high end independent speakers, but pretty damn good for integrated cell phone speakers. If you listen to a lot of music like I do you'll probably appreciate them.

 

[Crono]

Only real one is that apps-to-SD has been removed, but that's not going to be an issue unless you DL/install like every game out there. (Most put supplemental files on the SD anyway.)

It's actually much better for file transfer than on-board storage, since MTP can be a pain.

That's one review, not gospel truth. GSM Arena found the opposite. And as you've apparently never owned an AMOLED device, I'm not sure you realize how awesome perfect blacks really are for indoor reading and the like.

I have to agree with the bolded part, AMOLED really is good for black level. I had a Dell Venue Pro, loved how contrasty it was (especially with Windows Phone) and yes running something like the Kindle app on it at night with black background made it easier to read.

The One's LCD isn't that far off, though, even if isn't AMOLED. There are tangible benefits to both. Apparently the S4 can't run at maximum brightness for long without overheating?

In any case, the One and S4 are different approaches, I don't think you can go really wrong with either. I thought about getting the Nexus 4 a few months ago, too, it really is the best bang-for-your-buck off-contract.

 

[QueBert]

Only real one is that apps-to-SD has been removed, but that's not going to be an issue unless you DL/install like every game out there. (Most put supplemental files on the SD anyway.)

It's actually much better for file transfer than on-board storage, since MTP can be a pain.

That's one review, not gospel truth. GSM Arena found the opposite. And as you've apparently never owned an AMOLED device, I'm not sure you realize how awesome perfect blacks really are for indoor reading and the like.

Yeap, nothing like reading the blackest text on a strange blue'ish background. AMOLED is t3h sux.

 

[jacktesterson]

I had a HTC One and Xperia ZL in my procession most of Monday.

I chose the Xperia ZL as my keeper - I've posted about this a lot.

I absolutely love the phone. I came from a Note 2 from a Nexus 4. The Xperia is my favorite.

The One camera is great in low light for a Smartphone but still not very good for any use other than Social Media in my opinion. I'm not sold on the camera. In good light though the ZL is much better and I'm sure the S4 will be too.

The One speakers are better than the ZL for sure.

The ZL has a better screen too head on if the viewing angles are not a concern in my opinion. It also has a microsd slot

I'm not a fan of touchwiz or Led screens, never have. , I do like Sense better but liked the more stock feel of the Sony best. Plus the Sony has the smallest foot print.

I went with the ZL and love it

 

[RedRooster]

In five months they'll all be piles of dog poop anyways, when newer faster stuff comes out.
If the new N4 adds LTE, that's my pick. I'll take non-jimmy-rigged software updates everytime over eye scanning.

 

[RedRooster]

I had a HTC One and Xperia ZL in my procession most of Monday.

I chose the Xperia ZL as my keeper - I've posted about this a lot.

I absolutely love the phone. I came from a Note 2 from a Nexus 4. The Xperia is my favorite.

The One camera is great in low light for a Smartphone but still not very good for any use other than Social Media in my opinion. I'm not sold on the camera. In good light though the ZL is much better and I'm sure the S4 will be too.

The One speakers are better than the ZL for sure.

The ZL has a better screen too head on if the viewing angles are not a concern in my opinion. It also has a microsd slot

I'm not a fan of touchwiz or Led screens, never have. , I do like Sense better but liked the more stock feel of the Sony best. Plus the Sony has the smallest foot print. I went with the ZL and love it

I'm buying what you're selling, sir. It sounds like a beauty.

 

[Seven]

Just looking at the S4 software makes me vomit. 19 toggles, clunky apps with wasted space, over saturated LCD.. Am I suppose to go custom route when buying a $640 dollar phone? I've had enough messing with my S2. Removing the battery multiple times when freezes, installing crappy ROMs.. No, thanks, I'll stick with my N4.

 

[MD90]

The htc-one is locked so if you don't like sense that is a bit of a negative (i tend to prefer twrp to sense myself - or perhaps I should state that i find sense more obstructive than twrp).

The One's bootloader is unlockable through HTCdev. Possible exception of the AT&T model.

Pretty much all phones come with locked bootloaders (yes, even the Nexus line). What matters is that the manufacturer allows you to easily unlock it.

 

[Imported]

The One's bootloader is unlockable through HTCdev. Possible exception of the AT&T model.

Pretty much all phones come with locked bootloaders (yes, even the Nexus line). What matters is that the manufacturer allows you to easily unlock it.

The AT&T version is also currently unlockable through HTCDev. Mine is unlocked, rooted and running a new rom.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The AT&T version is also currently unlockable through HTCDev. Mine is unlocked, rooted and running a new rom.

Oh wow that is good info.

Man there are some good smartphone options this year.

 

[Crono]

Oh wow that is good info.

Man there are some good smartphone options this year.

Agreed, and not even just on Android. I was cross-shopping all the platforms, and the flagships for nearly all the manufacturers are getting good. Platform and hardware maturity plus competition.

With Linux and Firefox phones and Tizen... well, by year's end it might even be harder to choose, though those have some growing to do.

 

[Roland00Address]

Seriously people are complaining that you can access all the toggles in one place instead of them being located in separate sections of the settings and thus a bitch to toggle?

 

[WelshBloke]

Seriously people are complaining that you can access all the toggles in one place instead of them being located in separate sections of the settings and thus a bitch to toggle?

I think it's more that people don't understand what they are looking at.

The S3 had 15 option in that menu and I don't remember people freaking out about that.

It's a small section in a sub menu of the options. It's not what you see in the notification shade.

 

[dguy6789]

GS4. Total no brainer