Seeking advice: GS4 or HTC One, and 16 or 32 GB?

[kirkhere]

I'm an Android phone newbie, upgrading from an iPhone 3gs that I've had for 3 years. I will probably be keeping my new phone for a long time also. It will be used for a mix of business and personal stuff (outlook integration and exchange server support are very important). It will not be used for extensive gaming, photos, multimedia or social networking. I'm generally a function > form kind of person. After reading many reviews and forums and playing with both phones in the store, I think both are nice, but the GS4 is probably a better fit for me. Just in case I'm overlooking something, I'd appreciate any thoughts from others who have more Android experience than I do. Here are my main decision criteria.

Things that are not important to me:
- Aluminum vs plastic construction. Both have their advantages. My phone will be in a case.
- HTC Zoe and Blinkfeed
- Most of the Samsung "S-features" and extra sensors

Advantages of One:
- Side by side with GS4, the One screen looked better: brighter, sharper, whiter whites, more detail in images.
- 32 GB storage in base model
- Front facing speakers
- Cleaner, more modern-looking UI
- Less "gimmicky" features
- Unlockable bootloader, for future tweaking

Advantages of GS4:
- Physical home button that can wake the phone, instead of having to reach for a small power button.
- Menu button, instead of the ugly menu button bar that appears with some apps on the One. (Yes I know that can be "fixed" with custom ROMs, but I wouldn't want to use a custom ROM right away.)
- Larger screen. Web pages with small text were a little easier to read.
- More versatile notification area
- Overall the UI seemed more intuitive and configurable, even if less "pretty"
- Serviceability. Since this is a long term phone for me, the ability to replace the battery or do other repairs is appealing.

Overall I think the screen quality on the GS4 is "good enough", and overall it wins out in the usability department for me. With that long-winded background in mind, my questions are:

1) Did I miss anything that should sway a user like myself toward the One? For example, a difference in Outlook/Exchange support?

2) If I do go with the GS4, should I spend the extra money for 32 GB? I'd hate to waste money, but 16 GB makes me nervous since apps can't be stored on SD, and the 16 GB GS4 has less than 10 GB of available internal storage. For a 2013 "flagship" phone, I think 10 GB of available space is lame. Realistically though, I'm sure ~10 GB will be enough app storage space for me for the near future, maybe even for the life of the phone. I'm very unlikely to ever get any of the 2 GB games that I've read about. My iPhone has about 6 GB used for apps. On the other hand, since this is a long term phone, I don't want to risk running out of space for the future. I'm assuming that the OS and apps will continue to grow over time as high res screens become more common. If there was an easy way to shift apps to/from SD card, even if they couldn't be run from there, then maybe I'd feel ok with the16 GB model.

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments.

 

[DioramaMaker]

You're doing what I'm currently deciding on as well. I presume you;ve been jumping back and forth as much as I. I have only had integrated battery experience with my 3GS and 4 and both of them have been a let down in the periods I owned them both, you may be different. That being said, if you want to have it for a while, the removable battery may be appealing.

You'll be able to get a 32gb Galaxy on the 10th, I'd spring the difference. I know I will be if I go for the Galaxy over the One on Friday. In fact, if Sammy hadn't announced the 32gb, I would be set on a 64gb One.

Also consider where you mostly take your pictures. Do you have a lot of indoor/night shots?

Both phones are good, and I think either one will suit your needs. More than anything, I'd look at what provides more longevity for you, as like me, you keep phones beyond the two-year contract for the most part.

I'll add to this thread as I find more differences I like, as my decision is the same as yours.


I put this in another thread, but feel a lot of it is relevant here as well.

"-I too was very impressed by the feel of the phone. People played it down so much in initial reviews that I expected something that felt like a Mattel toy, when in reality the phone really feels quite solid with no bend to it. This has now become a mute point in my choice between the two phones, though yes, the ONE is the better build. Though I am slightly dissuaded by such a "permanent" construction, have you seen iFixit's teardown? I'm a techie guy and love that kinda stuff but man, I wouldn't want to attempt that, if it even is theoretically possible. Does that mean I don't like it? Hell no, I love the thing - it was the original android smartphone I wanted to get. If Samsung wouldn't have finally pushed 32gb's to the store I may very well have walked out of the store on Friday with an order for a 64gb ONE, who knows, I still might.

-Yes the ONE's body is beautiful, it is a piece of art in a handset, however I only wish it would have a removable battery. Quite frankly, I don't think that should be a big argument in this day and age. If Samsung can create a phone with a removable battery at that thickness, so can anyone else. I'm typically not a super green person or anything, I try with some things like recycling and such, but I have to say I really admire the ability to switch out a battery as it's lifespan goes down. A device all the sudden doesn't become useless because it has to be on a charger to function. Until we develop more energy efficient tech that can essentially be powered by something else (someone posted about transparent, high yield solar nantotech the other day that would reduce the thickness of phones tremendously, I cannot find this anymore, though I wish I could...it was really amazing.) replaceable batteries are great to extend the life of a device. I currently am using an iPhone 4 and the battery is quite poor by now, ultimately, the device won't go too far without needing a charger.

-The SD card is a a freebie to me, if I get a 64 gig ONE, I wouldn't worry about ever having the ability, but with a Galaxy, if I want it, I can use it. I do like the idea of being able to pull the micro SD and adapter from my DSLR and be able to view pictures on my phone, but it wouldn't change the world if I couldn't, you know? It's like the aluminum body. Do I need it in a phone? No. Is it nice if it comes with it? Most definitely.

-Speakers go to the ONE hands down. It is fantastic tech, I love it and am very impressed that such sound can come out of such a small device. I will miss this ability if I go with a Galaxy.

-As for the camera. Sigh, I don't know. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I like that the Galaxy can retain so much detail when the shots are taken but the overall tech in the ONE is super solid too, and a bold move. The ONE takes beautiful pictures, just as the Galaxy. Basically, I think you can say it like this. The Galaxy has a great camera under the right conditions while the ONE has a good camera in nearly all conditions. I have yet to come to a conclusion on what is better, but I don't think you can go wrong.

-As far as Lag goes, in the AT&T store I fiddled with the phone for 45 minutes, back and forth with the One and honestly, I never felt it slow down. I tried to get it to stutter, I tried the places people say it lags and didn't see it. Then again that isn't real world, but still. ONE had none as well.

-Touchwiz is ****. I don't like it and you bet I will put a launcher over it. I love Sense 5, I really do. I was even enticed by the blinkfeed to some degree, but one thing got me when I used the two in store: I liked that the wallpaper shows through on the Galaxy behind the app screen. I know this is a super subtle thing but I just was fond of it. But outside that I think with some tweaks Sense has a much better experience.

-The Galaxy's drop down toggle system is awesome.I know the power widgets remedies this on the ONE but it's great to have so many options right out of the box.

-I wanted to touch on this, because you said the same as me. The Galaxy has a pretty screen. It really is just great to look at color wise. While the ONE has the arguably better screen, the color on the Galaxy is just gorgeous. Side by side, the ONE is more lifelike I guess, It's replication of things is a lot better I think. But DEM GALAXY COLORS MANG.

-Capacitive buttons are a worthless argument. I see no problem in them, and I like them to be honest. The ONE's home button is sensitive, not unresponsive. You have to be deliberate to push it, and I think this was very intentional in design. The Galaxy's "hidden" capacitive buttons tickled my fancy when I first saw them light up though. I think it's a cool design that looks really neat.
My question is why do we need a physical home button and a lock button? You press the home button to wake the phone, but the lock button does the same. Why not just have a physical lock, yet have a (separate, as to avoid infringing on screen space) capacitive row like the Galaxy's buttons, containing the classic Android 3 button structure? They're hidden in the frame just like the Galaxy's are now, but don't infringe on screen space like they do on the ONE. Both parties can be happy now."

 

[CehowardNote7]

Ha, I am the 3rd newbie in this thread!! In being a newbie on anything, I have found the smart way to learn about something fast is to find a forum on the subject/item that talks a lot.
When a forum talks a lot there is a super amount of information that one can learn very quickly just by reading the threads.

From what I have read, the Samsung S4 is the one for me. In addition, I don't play games, however, from what I have learned, the 32 or 64gb is the one to get. The S4 with just sd card access is a big game changer for me. It aslo will take the place of a tablet and be a smartphone with a hotspot.

 

[leesumm]

Consider this, first OP said "he was keeping the phone for a long time. Removable battery which can be replaced. Even with the high tech batteries of today eventually one will give out.
As another post refered to iFixit its review , I think they gave the HTC One a +1 rating and the GS 4 at a +8 for repairability, again if keeping the phone for a long time, eventually something maybe need fixed and finding a repair shop that will work on a phone that can't be taken apart.
both phones maybe limited on storage but the GS4 can be upped to 64 gb with a sd card
"The HTC One bootloader can be unlocked for customizing", it wont be long before the devs will have the GS4 broken down and custom roms ready. They have already come up with a way to root the phone, give them time. I see on one forum there is a CM 10 already and reading the forums today I found a link where to get back to stock on the GS4 if there is a screw up, give em time.
I myself have had the HTC One X for about 6 months and consider it almost worthless in my area for reception even compared to iPhone, My wife uses a iPhone 3Gs and never has call prolems, my HTC One is very had to make a call on due to static , muffling, and etc. I was talking with customer service with ATT yesterday and they even admitted the HTC had problems with reception compared to Samsung.
As stated I have had the HTC One X for a few months and I am a flash aholic I have several problems with the PC on connection problems and keep ADB going on connections. I have read that Samsung isn't nearly as stubborn as the HTC and PC connections. And as with the OTA update I at times cannot connect to the PC using ADB and the 3.18 software. Something about the way the new JB did with connecting to the PC.
I read several months the reviews of both phones, for customizing the HTC seems to have them beat. For connections , the Samsung seems to be the favorite, but it comes to personal preference
The OP said he has played with both the HTC and Samsung, in a nutshell its about personal preference and what works best for him. Personally I am giving my HTC to my wife and I ordered the Galaxy S 4 and will wait for the devs and learn the phone first and all there is to know about Samsung.

 

[GS4Bob]

Talk about Newbies....lol
I have never even had a smartphone...old dude. Have had MS PC's since `85 however.
But "phones"....no don't really need a phone that much, so for me it is about the various apps and internet access. A tablet would probably suffice, but I do want access to a phone and the camera might be handy at times. And more mobile than a tablet. Really don't need the top Smartphone, but why not?

I wonder also about the HTC ONE and GS4 (note my handle). I also wonder about Samsung vs HTC as companies and it appears (being a newbie) that Sammy is the top dog and probably better able to stay ahead in the technology and bring better products in the future due to their size....but I guess HTC is putting it on the line with the ONE and if it fails...bye.

I will probably get the GS4, 32gb and the learning curve will be mighty...but I have a better feeling about Samsung....

 

[kirkhere]

Thanks for the input folks. I'm probably going to go with the 32 GB GS4. I will make the decision after I get a chance to handle each of them again.

If I was going to be taking a lot of photos, I would favor the HTC camera. Better low-light performance and optical image stabilization are more generally useful in a cell phone camera than high resolution in my opinion.

Better outdoors screen visibility is another important benefit of the One for some people, but not a big factor for me.

One other benefit the GS4 I forgot to mention is that it uses Gorilla Glass 3 instead of the Gorilla Glass 2 on the One, so it should be more scratch resistant. In my experience, phones like this are not meant to be used with a screen protector, and using one will diminish the look and feel of the screen.

It does grate on my nerves a little bit that the 32 GB GS4 costs more than the 32 GB HTC one, when the One uses more expensive construction. I think Samsung is getting a bit too big for their britches, charging more than other Android phone makers just because they have been successful and can get away with it. I also don't like them wasting effort and storage space on all their gimmicky new features. For those reasons I would rather give my money to HTC, but I still have to pick the phone whose basic features fit me best, and like it or not that seems to be the GS4 for me at this time. Lots of other people will be better served by the One. Choices and competition are good.

On a side note, yesterday I actually gave some thought to the LG Optimus G Pro: 1080p, Snapdragon 600, 32 GB, SD card, replaceable battery, physical home button, menu button. A lot of the same goodies as the GS4 with a bigger screen and lower price compared to the 32 GB GS4. It seems like a good value, but I decided I'm not ready for a phone that big. From the reviews, it also seems less "refined" than the One or GS4.

 

[snookasnoo]

Personally I think getting 9 GB usable space from an expensive top of the line phone is ridiculous. People jumped all over HTC when they did it with the DNA but Samsung fans are twisting themselves inside out with rationalizations why it is OK.
Even more ridiculous is Samsung telling people to buy and SD card if they don't like it. SD cards suck. They are unreliable, slow, and require rooting and an install to run apps from them. There is a reason Google has never liked them and removed support for them

 

[kirkhere]

Personally I think getting 9 GB usable space from an expensive top of the line phone is ridiculous.

Agreed. IMHO, they only should have offered the 32 and 64 GB configurations at the major carriers in the US, and the 32 GB model should have been $200 on contract. But hey, I can't blame them for too much charging what the market will bear. They have to recover all those marketing costs somehow. On the bright side, at least AT&T has priced it lower than Sprint.

I will say that if AT&T hadn't introduced the 32 GB S4, I would probably be getting the HTC One.

 

[Farish]

My wife just got the HTC One today. I got the S4 on release day.

Why did we each choose what we did.

I valued the SD slot/removable battery.

My wife valued the Beats Audio.

Both phones basically play games, text, web,call, and email the same.

On serviceability, if this phone is going to be long term, then purchasing a square trade warranty maybe a good option regardless. They will repair the issues for you or replace either phone.

After the realization of the lack of space on the S4 I am going to return mine and pickup the 32gb version, probably tomorrow. Doesn't bother me that much because honestly I wanted the 32gb in the first place.

I also think people over think this too much.

 

[thepktrckt]

Through the work I do I get the opportunity to use most phones and I've had both the one and GS4 for a couple weeks. I find myself consistently going back to the GS4 no matter how much I try to like the one. I've even rooted and tweaked the one while leaving the GS4 stock. I also had the note 2, I wanted to love the monster screen but I just couldn't do it.

A couple other things to note:
Get the 32gb version, it's insane how much the at&t and samsung bloat adds. Somehow it's even worse on the 32gb.
Blocking mode isn't a gimmick app, it works just as good as iOS do not disturb. I have not found an app that does as well as Samsungs.
The pull down menu switches are really convenient.
Samsung keyboard has the numbers always at the top and swipe to type, can't tell you how much I love having the numbers always there.
Oh! Thought of another, the multi color notification led becomes very handy once you assign all the colors, the one only has green or amber.

If I think of others I'll post them.

 

[kirkhere]

I spent some hands on time in a store with the One and S4, and have to say that despite all the negative things I have read about TouchWiz, I prefer it over Sense on the One. Yes I do think Sense looks more modern, but I find TW to be more functional. It has more controls on screen for single-touch access in things like the email and contacts, where Sense forces you to do more swiping or menu selection. TW also seems more configurable, and I like having a dedicated menu button.

Then just for kicks I took a look at the LG Optimus G Pro, and surprisingly I liked it better then the One or S4. The LG skin seems comparably functional to TouchWiz while seeming more refined, the screen is amazing, the button layout is very similar to Samsung (both of which are better than the One imho), build quality seemed at least as good as the S4, and LG gives you 32GB plus microSD for $200 on contract. It just struck me as a really nice package, and I was surprised how much I liked it.

With that said, I think the size is a deal breaker for me personally, so I will probably still get the S4. But I would say that anyone on AT&T who likes the S4 should definitely give the Optimus G Pro a look and see what you think.

 

[Newtoandroid99]

I spent some hands on time in a store with the One and S4, and have to say that despite all the negative things I have read about TouchWiz, I prefer it over Sense on the One. Yes I do think Sense looks more modern, but I find TW to be more functional. It has more controls on screen for single-touch access in things like the email and contacts, where Sense forces you to do more swiping or menu selection. TW also seems more configurable, and I like having a dedicated menu button.

Then just for kicks I took a look at the LG Optimus G Pro, and surprisingly I liked it better then the One or S4. The LG skin seems comparably functional to TouchWiz while seeming more refined, the screen is amazing, the button layout is very similar to Samsung (both of which are better than the One imho), build quality seemed at least as good as the S4, and LG gives you 32GB plus microSD for $200 on contract. It just struck me as a really nice package, and I was surprised how much I liked it.

With that said, I think the size is a deal breaker for me personally, so I will probably still get the S4. But I would say that anyone on AT&T who likes the S4 should definitely give the Optimus G Pro a look and see what you think.

I looked at the Optimus G Pro at AT&T when I exchanged my 16 for a 32. It was a really nice but I did not like the scrolling effect it had. It was a nice phone no doubt, but I just prefer Samsung. Besides getting anything else besides Samsung or HTC would have required weeks of research and I was ready to just be done with it.

 

[tohio]

Check out this article about the HTC One HTC One Problems: Bugs users complain about most (and solutions) | Digital Trends

 

[tohio]

Check out this article about the S4 Samsung Galaxy S4 Problems: Battery Life & Display

 

[CehowardNote7]

Check out this article about the S4 Samsung Galaxy S4 Problems: Battery Life & Display

Good info in this thread...I am steadfast waiting for the 32gb S4.. Might even go for the 64gb if that comes out too. First off, the 32 and 64 will hold their value more, and of course have more internal memory for the ever increasing size apps. I have that the updates fixed a lot of glitches with the S4 too.

 

[leesumm]

I too compared all of the phones , but focused on the GS4 and the HTC one. It came down to the GS4 and the HTC one, my has the one I have the GS4, She is not at tecky person , I am. The bootloader on the GS4 isn't unlocked yet so no custom roms. I did put the 64 gb card in the GS4 bringing it up to 80 gb, not bad for a smart phone. BTW BestBuy had a sale on them not long ago and got the 64 gb card for 48$.
Comparing the two, GS4 , plastic body, expandable memory, a good feel in the hands super sharp pics. I took a pic of a rose in the wifes flower bed and one with the HTC one. The GS4 won out on that one. Much clearer and sharper pics than the HTC one. The GS4 can only be rooted at this time there is no recovery for it. The GS4 has "air touch" which can or can not be good. Took a while to get the understanding on that .
The HTC one . no expansion on memory, metal case. international roms can be flashed to the One. There is a custom recovery so the One can be flashed with custom roms now. There is a tool kit for the HTC to make it easier to unlock the bootloader and sideload roms if needed.
In my area the two phones are about the same for signal and call quality .
So its a toss up, if you want to customize the HTC is a better phone, if you want features the GS4 is the better one.

 

[kirkhere]

I got the 32 GB S4 today. It's not perfect, but I'm very comfortable that it was the best choice for me at this time. Sorry HTC and LG, maybe next time.

Note that the physical home button is a tradeoff. When the phone is sitting on my desk it's nice to have a front-facing button to wake the phone, but when using the phone, the physical button it not as quick/easy to press as a capacitive button.

And one tip for iPhone converts: Android surprisingly does not provide visual voicemail by default. The simplest solution for AT&T users is the AT&T Visual Voicemail app that is available for free in the Play store.

 

[s44]

And one tip for iPhone converts: Android surprisingly does not provide visual voicemail by default. The simplest solution for AT&T users is the AT&T Visual Voicemail app that is available for free in the Play store.

That's the simplest solution, but not the best. The best is Google Voice. Even bad transcriptions usually save the trouble of actually listening to voice mails.

 

[fulton246]

I just purchased the s4, which is my first smart phone. I switched from a samsung sync flip phone that I used for about 5-6 years. I debated between the s4 and htc one for several weeks/months, but ultimately I decided to go with the s4. Once the 32gb s4 came out I waited another week or two to make sure there weren't any serious bugs and then made the purchase. I can safely say that I made the best decision for me. The screen is amazing and the size is exactly right. Also, it feels perfect in my hand. It is very ergonomic. Much more than the htc, which felt a little rigid. If you get the 32gb s4, you wont be sorry.