Let me preface my comments by saying that this is completely opinion only. I've owned both devices and have very few things to say about either of them negatively.
Touchwiz and plastic builds are not for everyone. They weren't last year with the S3 when people bought the One X/EVO LTE as an alternative, or chose the Nexus 4 (which undoubtedly many of us will do again, One or S4, when the new Nexus comes out). When I think about build quality, and I highlighted this in my previous thread about the S4 design, I think about the entire spectrum. As much emphasis as everyone is putting into aluminum (premium) and plastic (cheap), I think big picture the Galaxy S4 is better designed while the One may have superior build materials.
My HTC One came out of the box with a gap in the polycarbonate and a screen that jutted out below the top speaker grill. Is it fair to say that because my device was poorly constructed that the phone in it's entirety is poor? No. There are several cases of this, but that's the risk taken when having a device that requires that level of intricacy in it's build process. My issue with the HTC One is how it was designed. Some of their ideas were incredible, while others still make me raise my eyebrow whenever I see the phone. I have zero issue with the use of aluminum. They've managed to keep the antennas working just fine despite the materials and that in its self is impressive. I think the speaker design, specifically that they're on the front, was another home run for HTC (something they seem to be particularly proud of as it's their main focus when marketing so far).
Unfortunately, for the One, that's where my positives end as it relates to the design. The button placement, while I originally thought it wasn't a huge deal, became almost painful in everyday use. These buttons are used everytime someone picks the device up and wants to use it. It's not to say that you can't get used to their placement, as I managed, but the transition to the S4 was a little weird because I had to get accustomed to something so completely different. It wasn't so much the placement that was obnoxious as it was the functionality of the buttons/capactive buttons. The top power button is too flush with the polycarbonate and can be bothersome. The sensors used under the back and home capacitive buttons have very limited range to pick up a button press as I found myself constantly having to tap twice. That may have been made easier, but having to switch positions holding the phone to reach the top button put my hand out of place. The chamfered edges are gorgeous, but they also made one-handed use of the phone uncomfortable. I found myself, after my initial honeymoon phase with the One, not excited to pick it up any longer. It was as if all the positives of the design, and there's a lot, were completely negated by some of their choices.
The S4, however, is like home. Side power button that easily accessible and easy to press. Normal button layout with capacitive buttons that require no second-taps. The plastic design, while not as pretty as the aluminum on the One, is more comfortable in the hand. It gets out of it's own way and that makes the difference for me. I'm also pro-SD/removable battery, too, so the added functionality of the S4 is important.
I don't want to turn this into a full-on comparison, but I will say that my reasoning for using the S4 over the One is because, to me, the One has flaws I cannot fix. It's all hardware choices or design choices that they've made that I can't get around that made me not want to use the phone any longer. I can put a case on the One to eliminate the chamfered edges, but I've never used a case on my phones and don't ever plan to. I can't change the button layout or how they function. I can't increase the MP on the camera to allow for better detail in good lighting and cropping. I can't increase the screen size as the black bar menu renders it even smaller as a result of their button choices (yes, I'm aware of what Google wants). I can't remove the battery or increase its size. I can't manually install an SD card, even though for me that's a very minor issue.
The S4 has faults, too, but most of those can be fixed via updates to the software or firmware. I'm aware that in the tech world I'm the minority, but I believe the S4 to be the better phone.
Touchwiz and plastic builds are not for everyone. They weren't last year with the S3 when people bought the One X/EVO LTE as an alternative, or chose the Nexus 4 (which undoubtedly many of us will do again, One or S4, when the new Nexus comes out). When I think about build quality, and I highlighted this in my previous thread about the S4 design, I think about the entire spectrum. As much emphasis as everyone is putting into aluminum (premium) and plastic (cheap), I think big picture the Galaxy S4 is better designed while the One may have superior build materials.
My HTC One came out of the box with a gap in the polycarbonate and a screen that jutted out below the top speaker grill. Is it fair to say that because my device was poorly constructed that the phone in it's entirety is poor? No. There are several cases of this, but that's the risk taken when having a device that requires that level of intricacy in it's build process. My issue with the HTC One is how it was designed. Some of their ideas were incredible, while others still make me raise my eyebrow whenever I see the phone. I have zero issue with the use of aluminum. They've managed to keep the antennas working just fine despite the materials and that in its self is impressive. I think the speaker design, specifically that they're on the front, was another home run for HTC (something they seem to be particularly proud of as it's their main focus when marketing so far).
Unfortunately, for the One, that's where my positives end as it relates to the design. The button placement, while I originally thought it wasn't a huge deal, became almost painful in everyday use. These buttons are used everytime someone picks the device up and wants to use it. It's not to say that you can't get used to their placement, as I managed, but the transition to the S4 was a little weird because I had to get accustomed to something so completely different. It wasn't so much the placement that was obnoxious as it was the functionality of the buttons/capactive buttons. The top power button is too flush with the polycarbonate and can be bothersome. The sensors used under the back and home capacitive buttons have very limited range to pick up a button press as I found myself constantly having to tap twice. That may have been made easier, but having to switch positions holding the phone to reach the top button put my hand out of place. The chamfered edges are gorgeous, but they also made one-handed use of the phone uncomfortable. I found myself, after my initial honeymoon phase with the One, not excited to pick it up any longer. It was as if all the positives of the design, and there's a lot, were completely negated by some of their choices.
The S4, however, is like home. Side power button that easily accessible and easy to press. Normal button layout with capacitive buttons that require no second-taps. The plastic design, while not as pretty as the aluminum on the One, is more comfortable in the hand. It gets out of it's own way and that makes the difference for me. I'm also pro-SD/removable battery, too, so the added functionality of the S4 is important.
I don't want to turn this into a full-on comparison, but I will say that my reasoning for using the S4 over the One is because, to me, the One has flaws I cannot fix. It's all hardware choices or design choices that they've made that I can't get around that made me not want to use the phone any longer. I can put a case on the One to eliminate the chamfered edges, but I've never used a case on my phones and don't ever plan to. I can't change the button layout or how they function. I can't increase the MP on the camera to allow for better detail in good lighting and cropping. I can't increase the screen size as the black bar menu renders it even smaller as a result of their button choices (yes, I'm aware of what Google wants). I can't remove the battery or increase its size. I can't manually install an SD card, even though for me that's a very minor issue.
The S4 has faults, too, but most of those can be fixed via updates to the software or firmware. I'm aware that in the tech world I'm the minority, but I believe the S4 to be the better phone.
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