HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Nexus 4

[lopri]

The S4 does have a bigger screen, but get this: I don't actually want a bigger screen. The One is actually pushing it for me at 4.7", as any higher and it's a stretch (literally) to use it one-handed. I don't want a phablet. I think 4.3 - 4.5" is probably ideal, and 4.7" is acceptable, but I don't want 5" or higher. If you like the S4's size, that's fine, but it's not the ideal screen size for me.

You see, but the thing is HTC One is bigger than the S4. You probably are misinformed of the size of the S4, just as I was. The S4 is smaller than both the One and the S3, and is just about the same size as the Nexus 4. Which is why I was later impressed by its 5" screen. Your hand need not be bigger to deal with the S4 than the One. It's probably the opposite because HTC is noticeably taller and have thicker bezels.

Personally, the ideal size of phone for me would be the screen size of the N4 + no bezels on sides + 1/4" shorter from top and bottom. That'd be perfect size for my hand.

 

[lothar]

The case thing is an assumption, unless you are talking about certain individuals. Not everyone uses cases. I don't, as it doesn't guarantee protection of the screen from shattering, unless you want to add a big bulky case. Which negates some of the lower weight (which I see a lot of people mentioning) if you are doing so with the S4.

Also, the S4 beats One in terms of daytime shooting, but not at night. I haven't seen video/microphone comparison, though.

Internal specs of CPU/Memory for S4 might be higher, but in terms of actual usage is it faster? Like noticeably faster in terms of running apps? If not, I wouldn't say it "crushes" the HTC One. I haven't noticed any lag on my One. I think quad core with Jellybean or higher (Project Butter is what made the difference) has made Android pretty smooth on any quad core Android smartphone. Talking about how good the S4 is specs wise - unless you are running some high end apps - is like comparing the i5 to the i7 or 8GB DDR3 to 16GB DDR3 if all you are doing on a desktop is web browsing. Is 1.9 GHz vs 1.7 GHz making a huge difference when you probably aren't truly multitasking video apps and games? I don't know, maybe that's just me.

The S4 does have a bigger screen, but get this: I don't actually want a bigger screen. The One is actually pushing it for me at 4.7", as any higher and it's a stretch (literally) to use it one-handed. I don't want a phablet. I think 4.3 - 4.5" is probably ideal, and 4.7" is acceptable, but I don't want 5" or higher. If you like the S4's size, that's fine, but it's not the ideal screen size for me.

If you want the greatest specs, go ahead, get the S4. Personally, I'm not competing to have the best paper specifications. And one feature you did mention - the speakers - is far more important to me than .2 GHz advantage or eye scrolling or whatever else is unique to the Galaxy S4. If that's what matters to you, that's fine. I understand chasing specs. But if you are "Not sure why anyone would get the HTC One" you must not be reading any of the reviews comparing the two phones, or reading what people are posting in this thread. There are plenty of reasons to get either phone over the other. Or even the Nexus 4, or Xperia ZL.

I paid $200 with contract for my 32GB HTC One. I'm very happy with it. I'm getting a S4 for my brother when it comes to Verizon, but I doubt I'll regret buying the One even after playing with the S4.

It's most certainly an assumption but it's still accurate. I'd say overall 75% of the people I've seen out there with smart phones have cases on them.
For me, it depends on the materials...
Glass? It gets a case ASAP. iPhone 4, Nexus 4, LG Optimus G.
Aluminum? It gets a case. iPhone 5 and HTC One.
Plastic? Nope. Galaxy S II.
Kevlar? Nope. Numerous Motorola phones.

Nothing is ever guaranteed but it doesn't mean you shouldn't use a case if you feel the benefit of using one outweighs the risk.
TPU cases are more protective than most of those other "feel good" looking fluff cases. If buying a case, I make sure it's TPU.

If all what one will do on a phone is browse, then one does not need to waste time looking at a One or Galaxy S4. Get the One S or Galaxy S III/IV Mini equivalent or less. No need for top end fluff since there's little difference.

i5 to i7 is a big difference for me...Dual core with HT vs Quadcore with HT?
8GB vs 16GB? Not so much...

The S4 may have the bigger screen but are the dimensions still almost the same?
In other words, is the One's 4.7" screen with massive bezels or the S4's 5" screen with little to no bezels the same size comparatively? Which is bigger and which is smaller?
Or are you automatically assuming that because the S4 has a bigger screen, it's a bigger phone than the HTC One?

Those reviews talk about the build quality of the HTC One and front facing speakers...That's it.
I have little interest in "build quality" or "design" since it's aluminum and I'll probably end up putting a case on it anyway like I described above.
Sense and TouchWiz? I don't care about any of their features or gimmicks because at the end of the day, I will root it and either install a custom ROM to get rid of the Sense/TouchWiz or freeze their bloatware. Most of those Samsung gimmicks won't work with custom ROMs anyway and I don't care for it.

If I'm paying the same $200 price, then I want the phone with the most features I can use(read: not gimmicks), performance, and will last me for at least 2 years.
Two ways to extend phone life:
1.) Android updates by the manufacturer. HTC doesn't have the resources to compete on this aspect. Their 2012 flagship phone has now essentially been shitcanned and won't see the next Android update if the rumors are true which they probably are.
2.) Custom ROM scene. This remains to be seen, but if history is any indication, Samsung(the non-Exynos versions at least) will be ahead here.
Galaxy S4 is more likely to have more custom ROM support and see much quicker Android updates than HTC can ever hope to deliver.

It's being mentioned that HTC has abandoned their flagship from last year and won't see KLP and will stop at Android 4.2.2...Meanwhile, my Samsung flagship from 2011 will get Android 4.2.2
HTC could come next year and say KLP is the only Android update the HTC One will ever receive. I don't want to get burned by that.

I've been spoilt by "Nexus" pricing. I will never spend more than $400-450 on a phone ever again as long as this "Nexus" program still exists.
Oh, and I no longer do carrier contracts.
Now that I think of it, arguing over these two phones which I know I won't ever get seems a bit silly.
I'm not getting either phones, but if you held a shotgun to my head telling me to decide, it would be the Galaxy S4 no question.

 

[Crono]

You see, but the thing is HTC One is bigger than the S4. You probably are misinformed of the size of the S4, just as I was. The S4 is smaller than both the One and the S3, and is just about the same size as the Nexus 4. Which is why I was later impressed by its 5" screen. Your hand need not be bigger to deal with the S4 than the One. It's probably the opposite because HTC is noticeably taller and have thicker bezels.

Personally, the ideal size of phone for me would be the screen size of the N4 + no bezels on sides + 1/4" shorter from top and bottom. That'd be perfect size for my hand.

I'm not talking total height, I'm talking vertical size of the screen. I don't hold the phone at the very bottom - I hold it somewhere in the middle so my finger can move from top to bottom as needed. And in side-by-side the S4 does look bigger:

 

[krumme]

I'm not talking total height, I'm talking vertical size of the screen. I don't hold the phone at the very bottom - I hold it somewhere in the middle so my finger can move from top to bottom as needed. And in side-by-side the S4 does look bigger:

Yes it looks bigger. But it is smaller and judging froms the s3 the rounded corners and sides makes it feel quite smaller. You will perciewe it as the smaller phone. And on top of that you get a larger screen.

Weight matters here too imho. There is quite a differens imho holding an ip5 to an gs3 and i would certaily feel the weight difference from gs4 to one.

 

[Crono]

It's most certainly an assumption but it's still accurate. I'd say overall 75% of the people I've seen out there with smart phones have cases on them.
For me, it depends on the materials...
Glass? It gets a case ASAP. iPhone 4, Nexus 4, LG Optimus G.
Aluminum? It gets a case. iPhone 5 and HTC One.
Plastic? Nope. Galaxy S II.
Kevlar? Nope. Numerous Motorola phones.

Nothing is ever guaranteed but it doesn't mean you shouldn't use a case if you feel the benefit of using one outweighs the risk.
TPU cases are more protective than most of those other "feel good" looking fluff cases. If buying a case, I make sure it's TPU.

If all what one will do on a phone is browse, then one does not need to waste time looking at a One or Galaxy S4. Get the One S or Galaxy S III/IV Mini equivalent or less. No need for top end fluff since there's little difference.

i5 to i7 is a big difference for me...Dual core with HT vs Quadcore with HT?
8GB vs 16GB? Not so much...

The S4 may have the bigger screen but are the dimensions still almost the same?
In other words, is the One's 4.7" screen with massive bezels or the S4's 5" screen with little to no bezels the same size comparatively? Which is bigger and which is smaller?
Or are you automatically assuming that because the S4 has a bigger screen, it's a bigger phone than the HTC One?

Those reviews talk about the build quality of the HTC One and front facing speakers...That's it.
I have little interest in "build quality" or "design" since it's aluminum and I'll probably end up putting a case on it anyway like I described above.
Sense and TouchWiz? I don't care about any of their features or gimmicks because at the end of the day, I will root it and either install a custom ROM to get rid of the Sense/TouchWiz or freeze their bloatware. Most of those Samsung gimmicks won't work with custom ROMs anyway and I don't care for it.

If I'm paying the same $200 price, then I want the phone with the most features I can use(read: not gimmicks), performance, and will last me for at least 2 years.
Two ways to extend phone life:
1.) Android updates by the manufacturer. HTC doesn't have the resources to compete on this aspect. Their 2012 flagship phone has now essentially been shitcanned and won't see the next Android update if the rumors are true which they probably are.
2.) Custom ROM scene. This remains to be seen, but if history is any indication, Samsung(the non-Exynos versions at least) will be ahead here.
Galaxy S4 is more likely to have more custom ROM support and see much quicker Android updates than HTC can ever hope to deliver.

It's being mentioned that HTC has abandoned their flagship from last year and won't see KLP and will stop at Android 4.2.2...Meanwhile, my Samsung flagship from 2011 will get Android 4.2.2
HTC could come next year and say KLP is the only Android update the HTC One will ever receive. I don't want to get burned by that.

I've been spoilt by "Nexus" pricing. I will never spend more than $400-450 on a phone ever again as long as this "Nexus" program still exists.
Oh, and I no longer do carrier contracts.
Now that I think of it, arguing over these two phones which I know I won't ever get seems a bit silly.
I'm not getting either phones, but if you held a shotgun to my head telling me to decide, it would be the Galaxy S4 no question.

Okay, so basically the S4 is a better fit for you, even though you aren't getting it? Because I get the case argument, but even if it's only 25% of people who don't use a case, I'm one of those people (and a lot of Galaxy fans love to point out that it has removable battery, but far less than 25% of the people I know who have an Android phone swap batteries). And part of case use is for decoration/customization (I know a TON of iPhone users do this because otherwise their phone looks like the million other iPhones out there), whereas I'm happy with the clean industrial look of the One (or other phones like the Lumia 920).

As for the specs, again, what are you running - or rather, what would you run, since you aren't getting either phone - on the S4 that wouldn't run just as well on the One? Because if it's just about specs, there is always a better phone in the not-so-distant horizon. For instance, I would wait for the Nexus 5 (or whatever Nexus is next) announcement rather than looking at the S4 at all.

As for updates and custom roms, I get your point about support from Samsung's side. I will concede Samsung has a better history and better chance of delivering. It doesn't matter so much to me, as I would rather upgrade my phone on a yearly basis.

I'm not saying the S4 is a bad phone, or that the HTC One is better overall. I'm asking how you or anyone else can't comprehend that it's the same caliber, clearly better in some regards, even though it may not be the absolute highest in specifications. Certainly HTC and Samsung have taken different approaches on things like display, build, camera, and UI. But it still makes no sense to say, "Galaxy S4 crushes HTC One in everything else.
Not sure why anyone would get the HTC One over the Galaxy S4."

Are you really not sure? Or are you just saying your personal priorities are exactly the same as everyone else?

I'm not a HTC fan, per se, I like individual products from companies, not necessarily the companies themselves, and I don't dislike Samsung. But a lot of what people are saying - mostly regular forums users and site commenters - doesn't jibe with what reviewers are saying when they actually use the One and compare it to the S4. You can chalk it up to naivety or bias, but again, there isn't any reason to think that the S4 is the obvious choice for everyone.

 

[krumme]

I can understand that you as reviewer, having all those phones in your hands, want something new. Reviewers also tend to favor more odd movies. No wonder. You get tired of all the same. You get tired of the Android plactic, especially Samsung. And the One just delivers the new look for Android.

I have noticed some reviewer like Brian, also wants to feel their phone. They like to get this cold, heavy metal, that is harsh to the skin, in their hands. Then they can feel it. LIke the shift from IP3 to 4.

I know from my older phones that subjective feeling of solid. But i am just so tired of heavy squared metal phones with small screens. But the handling of the S3 is just so damn nice. This light and soft feeeling is just so great for everyday use. And then they serve it with this huge screen. Thats just perfect for heavy usage. Unfortunately S4 seems to tone the roundness down, but ofcourse its to get better size/screensize ratio.

 

[dawheat]

Battery life on all these phones (esp the Nexus 4) don't seem great. I thought initial reviews showed both the One and S4 to have battery life as good or even exceeding the Note 2 which made me excited. However, I'm seeing more stuff now where it's a bit better than the S3, but not as good as the Note 2.

I can't go backwards on battery life - always remembering to keep my S3 charged up during the day was tiresome (on poor cellular signal/no wifi for most of the work day). You forget how freeing it is not to worry about it and still have charge at midnight after a full day of heavy use (like an iPhone).

 

[CrystalBay]

I wish the GS4 had a good speaker setup like the One.

 

[Dari]

They still are rumors. There are reports of Samsung trolls all around the internet. Didn't realize we had so many of them here.

Be careful, or those trolls will start adding you to their ignore list...

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

The only benefits HTC has are:
1.) HTC is only better in it's "build quality" and "appearance". But once you shove it in a case, build quality and appearance becomes irrelevant.
2.) Front stereo speakers.

Galaxy S4 crushes HTC One in everything else.
Not sure why anyone would get the HTC One over the Galaxy S4.

Crushes?
That's like saying a lambo is faster than a Ferrari to 60 by a tenth of a second and hence "crushed" the Ferrari.
Both phones are sufficiently fast for everyday usage.
If u really want to nitpick, the reviews have mentioned noticing lag on the s4 due to all the bloat and gimmicky features.

 

[MBentz]

Crushes?
That's like saying a lambo is faster than a Ferrari to 60 by a tenth of a second but the Ferrari is faster to 100 and the 1/4 also by a tenth and saying the Ferrari "crushed" the the lambo.
Both phones are sufficiently fast for everyday usage.
If u really want to nitpick, the reviews have mentioned noticing lag on the s4 due to all the bloat and gimmicky features.

Someone is drowning in the kool aid, let him be. Some of the Samsung loyalists sound just like the bad iPhone junkies.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Someone is drowning in the kool aid, let him be. Some of the Samsung loyalists sound just like the bad iPhone junkies.

Eh, some of those who are propagandizing on the "solid feel" of the One sound a lot more like that.

"Well, it might have lesser components but it feels like a premium product" is literally what people used to say about the iPhone when compared to any Android.


"Solid-feeling" isn't going to be higher priority than "not break when dropped" for me which is why I'd put a case on my phone no matter what (and the reason why everyone has a case on their iPhone 4's) negating the "metal feel" advantage altogether. Even my One X, which has a plastic unibody that won't dent or fracture easily, was placed into a case.

 

[MBentz]

I was refering more towards the statement of the S4 crushes the One in every category comment.

But I do agree with you. Feel of a phone shouldn't matter when it's being placed in a case, which is what most of us do.

 

[dawheat]

Yeah I don't get why people need to exaggerate either way - both phones look to be quite good. I suppose it's natural to want to feel like you've made the "best" choice.

The S4 doesn't crush the One in performance. The S4 isn't a plastic POS. Some will value with larger screen in a thinner/lighter body, some will value the aluminum body, some will value cheap expandable storage, some will value better sound, some like Touchwiz, some like Sense, some are worried about HTC's support history, some want a brighter screen, and so on.

Personally I'm glad there are several flagship phones that are similar, but distinct enough to good everyone truly different choices. It feels like the whole PC vs Mac thing back in the 90s/early 2000s.

Oh why isn't the Sony Xperia in the list?

 

[QueBert]

Eh, some of those who are propagandizing on the "solid feel" of the One sound a lot more like that.

"Well, it might have lesser components but it feels like a premium product" is literally what people used to say about the iPhone when compared to any Android.


"Solid-feeling" isn't going to be higher priority than "not break when dropped" for me which is why I'd put a case on my phone no matter what (and the reason why everyone has a case on their iPhone 4's) negating the "metal feel" advantage altogether. Even my One X, which has a plastic unibody that won't dent or fracture easily, was placed into a case.

Don't forget with the "lesser components" iPhones still outperformed Android devices. So specs aren't obviously that important. The One feels solid, Samsung phones don't, I'm not limiting it to the one this thread's about. Samsung phones period don't feel solid in your hand. Many people don't care about that, they want something they can drop a bunch of times without damaging, which I totally understand.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Don't forget with the "lesser components" iPhones still outperformed Android devices. So specs aren't obviously that important. The One feels solid, Samsung phones don't, I'm not limiting it to the one this thread's about. Samsung phones period don't feel solid in your hand. Many people don't care about that, they want something they can drop a bunch of times without damaging, which I totally understand.

I didn't make a statement about how it runs. From reports, Samsung's bloat is making the S4 laggy so it's literally exactly the same between GS4 vs One and Android vs iOS (i.e., out of box, the One is smoother right now).

Nonetheless, I find it hypocritical to use the argument when it suits you when earlier the same folks would be poopoo'ing the same argument. I brought it up because MBentz mentioned bad iPhone junkies.



Also, with the possibility Samsung is locking the ATT GS4 and the One being quite easy to develop for despite no S-OFF, the software side is starting to balance out (from the landslide victory for Samsung in the One X vs GS3 era) again. If Htc would give a good indication that they'd keep software up to date it'd even be slightly in Htc's favor IMO but right now Samsung still holds the edge since they do updates better (my One X, RIP, is still stuck on 4.1 with no indication of when we'll get 4.2 although it's looking good that we'll at least get that).

These updates are important even with the existence of Cyanogenmod because they provide much needed updated drivers which are faster and more stable.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Also, with the possibility Samsung is locking the ATT GS4 and the One being quite easy to develop for despite no S-OFF, the software side is starting to balance out (from the landslide victory for Samsung in the One X vs GS3 era) again.

Yup.

The whole locked bootloader just makes me HATE Verizon. From what I understand Samsung basically perfected locking down the bootloader on their Verizon phones and got better each time (aka the S3 was less locked than the Note 2) so this device might really be locked for a while/forever.

We will see. Hate you Verizon for giving them practice and giving AT&T the idea.

 

[ChronoReverse]

It's interesting to note that locking is starting to become really hard to defeat as more and more exploits have been patched out of Android. It took a full year to get s-off for my One X (but it was patched in the 4.1 update so you better s-off before updating) and the Tegra3 International version still doesn't have s-off (probably never will).


I wish Google did a better job with their Nexus phones. I can understand why they'd want non-removeable storage but if you're going to do that, then you'd better have LTE speeds and superior battery life to handle it.

 

[blairharrington]

It's most certainly an assumption but it's still accurate. I'd say overall 75% of the people I've seen out there with smart phones have cases on them.
For me, it depends on the materials...
Glass? It gets a case ASAP. iPhone 4, Nexus 4, LG Optimus G.
Aluminum? It gets a case. iPhone 5 and HTC One.
Plastic? Nope. Galaxy S II.
Kevlar? Nope. Numerous Motorola phones.

Nothing is ever guaranteed but it doesn't mean you shouldn't use a case if you feel the benefit of using one outweighs the risk.
TPU cases are more protective than most of those other "feel good" looking fluff cases. If buying a case, I make sure it's TPU.

+1. Glass is super prone to cracks plus slippery as hell. Can't speak for the HTC One but my iPhone 5 was going to hell in a short amount of time with no case and extra care. The aluminum they used is prone to wear and tear from zero drops. Kevlar IMO is the very best material for phones. Plastic is second. People are so misguided by saying aluminum and glass provide a premium look and feel to phones and therefore are superior materials. In fact I get disgusted when I read S4 reviews and they shit on the choice of plastic.

 

[ChronoReverse]

I feel that kevlar is probably the best backing material. If Motorola's phone didn't have their huge bevels and completely locked bootloaders they'd be a serious contender for me especially since their battery lives tend to be so good.

I'm hoping whoever is handling Motorola at Google has a strong vision for the future phones.

 

[QueBert]

+1. Glass is super prone to cracks plus slippery as hell. Can't speak for the HTC One but my iPhone 5 was going to hell in a short amount of time with no case and extra care. The aluminum they used is prone to wear and tear from zero drops. Kevlar IMO is the very best material for phones. Plastic is second. People are so misguided by saying aluminum and glass provide a premium look and feel to phones and therefore are superior materials. In fact I get disgusted when I read S4 reviews and they shit on the choice of plastic.

why? I'll take a metal phone that gets wear and tear over a plastic one that looks newer for longer. Aluminum and glass do provide a premium look and feel. I like iOS more than Android but I bought a Nexus 4 because of the look and feel, glass imho is the best for phones. I loved my iPhone 4 to death and was sad when it finally passed away.

 

[AMDZen]

I love how Samfans are now making plastic out to be a good thing. LOL.

And these same phandroid people would be criticizing Apple fanboi's.

"OH look apple goes from a 4 to a 4s, that isn't an update'd phone its a refresh. Apple sucks"

Meanwhile the GS4 is just the GS3 incarnate with a few upgrades a la Apple.

Samfan phandroid's are becoming worse then Apple fanboi's

 

[Yongsta]

I went to a store and the HTC One felt good but I noticed some issues with the capacitive buttons seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uvxi6KUR-WA

Kept pushing some buttons and they wouldn't work, very annoying if this is a common occurrence.

 

[AMDZen]

I went to a store and the HTC One felt good but I noticed some issues with the capacitive buttons seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uvxi6KUR-WA

Kept pushing some buttons and they wouldn't work, very annoying if this is a common occurrence.

I noticed it on my ONE a little bit until I added the middle capacitive button tweak I already posted elsewhere in this thread. For some reason that makes the other two buttons much more responsive. I think XDA did some tweaking with the capacitive response levels throughout.

I hear HTC is releasing an update within the next 3 weeks to address it as well as tweaking the Camera and a few other things.

 

[ChronoReverse]

For Htc phones, the capacitive buttons are actually part of the capacitive sensor on the main screen. It's because of this that they can add the third button as well as increase the size of the target area for the buttons (which Htc tends to make too small).