GS5: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

[ab304945]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

The S5 will blow it away for a lot of reasons but a lot of them have nothing to do with the M8. S3 owners and Note 2 owners are looking for new phones, people know Samsung (only manufacturer outside Apple) still has the "cool" factor, they have a lot of mind share as compared to HTC, they have a lot of advertisements, people are spreading the word about how good their phones etc. etc. If anything only tech heads will argue about whether M8 or the S5 is better because honestly people buy phones nowadays by trends, which is a shame because the M8, Motorola, and LG devices are quite good.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

I am a tech head. And I don't decide on a phone or brand because how popular it is.

With that said, overall the S5 is a slightly better device. And that is what I got. And I don't regret it. I played with a friend's M8, didn't really like it to much. The M8 screen doesn't look as good as the S5. M8 is to slippery and scratches to easily. My friends M8 already has a bunch of scratches, and he hasn't even dropped it.

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[A895]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

I am a tech head. And I don't decide on a phone or brand because how popular it is.

With that said, overall the S5 is a slightly better device. And that is what I got. And I don't regret it. I played with a friend's M8, didn't really like it to much. The M8 screen doesn't look as good as the S5. M8 is to slippery and scratches to easily. My friends M8 already has a bunch of scratches, and he hasn't even dropped it.

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You said it. You are a tech head which is a minority in the mass market. Tech heads are more knowledgeable about these things than the mass market.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Awkward height, slippery build, and a very limited camera is more than likely a problem that could hurt that company even more than last year. I know tech sites refuse to believe the M8 can do any wrong, but there's a reason HTC is hurting and it's not all their abysmal marketing department.

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And, it's not all about the "limited" camera either. HTC has put out a statement that they are not trying to sell the most phones but, a quality user experience. I'm wondering what makes all of you professional critics of the M8 camera so savvy?? Have you actually bought the phone and used it or is your opinion based on all the articles that have bashed the M8 camera? I just ask because i just don't see the limitations and I am an amateur photographer. I still swear by my Nikon N70 old school camera and a whole lot of experience. Again, i'm not getting why the M8 is so limited....I've just been taking great pic after great pic. And, if you have ever created a Bokeh, then you would know that it's not gimmetry on the M8.

 

[ab304945]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

And, it's not all about the "limited" camera either. HTC has put out a statement that they are not trying to sell the most phones but, a quality user experience. I'm wondering what makes all of you professional critics of the M8 camera so savvy?? Have you actually bought the phone and used it or is your opinion based on all the articles that have bashed the M8 camera? I just ask because i just don't see the limitations and I am an amateur photographer. I still swear by my Nikon N70 old school camera and a whole lot of experience. Again, i'm not getting why the M8 is so limited....I've just been taking great pic after great pic. And, if you have ever created a Bokeh, then you would know that it's not gimmetry on the M8.

That's bad coming from a company that is continuing to loose money. You would think they would Terry to get add many sales as possible.

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[bklynblaze]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

My needs are probably atypical, but if I had to choose between the two, I would choose the S5 for the following reasons:
-Waterproof. I have already averted a few incidents of my daughter attempting to throw the phone into the tub or other water.
-Wireless charging - I use this on my night stand. At night, I will sometimes knock over the phone, and it has fallen on the ground a few times already. With it being charged on the cable, my phone swings like a pendelum from the charging cord. It is also nice at work to use wireless charging when I leave my desk, Idon't have to worry about disconnecting the phone.
-Removable battery - this is a nice feature to be able to swap the battery on the fly. I know I can use a usb power bank, but swapping batteries is way more convenient for me.
-Weight - The S5 is lighter.

Personally, the metal vs plastic debate is moot for me because I always use a case, so it doesn't really matter.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk Pro

Do you have the wireless charging battery cover for the S5? If so, is it bulkier than the standard cover?

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[tippmann15]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

I'd take the build quality of Samsung every day, metal looks good but that's about it.

None of which matters since I use diztronic/UAG like it's a religion.

Note 3 ~ 5s

 

[BBSeattle]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Great question....
I have the M7, love it for the most part but found that I rarely used the great front facing speakers and tried to justify the 4mp camera but in the end it just wasn't that good.
My last 2 favorite phones were HTC's (M7 & DNA) and I was really looking forward to the M8. I also have a Note3 for work....
At first glance the M8 is gorgeous, the design, etc....until I turned it on. The disproportionate screen to overall phone size is something I cannot get passed.
The overall phone is about the size of the Note3 but with a useable screen area similar to my M7 (about 4.75").
I am also not crazy about the headphone jack on the bottom. And lastly the camera....oh the camera. Not that a better camera would have negated the screen size issue.
I think HTC did a great job with the material, internals, general design, etc. but missed it by { } that much.
Pros
Design and material
Software / Hardware
Speakers
5MP front facing camera
32GB Version
Developer Edition Available
Cons
Gargantuan phone for a 4.75" useable screen area
Camera
Headphone jack on the bottom
No option for wireless charging
For a non-Phablet phone, one handed use is difficult


The GS5 (from what time I spent with it) appears to be a fine phone but lacks the "style" of the M8. Clearly the material and design are secondary issues with Samsung. I owned the S3 and still have a Note3 and honestly, Samsung has done very little to inspire anyone over their redundant designs. I have to look at the back of most Samsung's to see what model it is.
On the bright side, Samsung appeared to have done everything else right with this phone:
Pros
Software / Hardware
USB 3.0
Actual 5.1" screen
Waterproof
Very nice camera
One handed use
Wireless Charging options
Smart Watch / Accessories (if you like that kind of thing).
Cons
Same old Tired Design(s)
Material is ok but HTC trumps here
16GB version for now

So in the end, I would wait on a 32GB version of the S5. The build, material, design are secondary for me (even though I still think the M7 is the best looking phone ever made).
If I could stretch the M7 to 5.1" I would be in heaven...LOL. Or Design cues from the M8 and simple pragmatic features of the S5 combined into one phone...one can dream.

I always regretted going from a 5" DNA screen to a 4.7" M7 screen and the M8 4.75" useable screen area is in no way an upgrade for me.
The great look, material and design of the M8 are just not enough. And finally, no more 4MP Mega Pixels please! I am guessing that this may be the last Mega Pixel phone HTC comes out with.
What's important to some is negligible to others and vice-versa. In the year that I used the M7 I rarely ran into others that had one, yet never felt slighted or insecure about my purchase. I believed it was the best phone of it's time and that's all that mattered.
Buy it, enjoy it and quit worrying what others think.....it's just a phone.

 

[Kibbster]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Sigh... once again the M8 camera is coming in for a kick-in by people who don't even use one.
The M8 camera is great (no matter what "insert random fanboi" here might say.)
I'm sure the S5 camera is also great and improved over Sammy's previous efforts.

Have a look at the M8 camera examples thread on here and on XDA, then come back and try and tell anyone the camera is crap.
There don't seem to be many impressive examples of the S5 camera yet but it's early days so I expect they'll come in time.

Everyone has favourite devices and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but saying the M8 has a bad camera couldn't be more wrong.

 

[Adranalyne]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Sigh... once again the M8 camera is coming in for a kick-in by people who don't even use one.
The M8 camera is great (no matter what "insert random fanboi" here might say.)
I'm sure the S5 camera is also great and improved over Sammy's previous efforts.

Have a look at the M8 camera examples thread on here and on XDA, then come back and try and tell anyone the camera is crap.
There don't seem to be many impressive examples of the S5 camera yet but it's early days so I expect they'll come in time.

Everyone has favourite devices and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but saying the M8 has a bad camera couldn't be more wrong.

So there's no concern about lack of detail? No issue with overexposure? No hilariously bad results in daylight? I'm also guessing you don't use these photos for anything other than Facebook/Instagram.

Unlike the comical reviews of the S5's build quality, the M8's limitations with it's camera are measurable. If it works for you, then great. No worries. Just don't argue that it's great in comparison to pretty much any other flagship out there. It isn't.

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[bembol]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

All people see is the 4MP, personally I could care less about the camera but this is how others see it. Numbers.

hTc should take note from Apple and stop advertising how many MP their camera has.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Re: S5 vs. HTC M8

Id say for me the M8 is the better all-around-device-

I prefer the whole m8 expierence over the s5. love the design of the phone the feel the look and have always went against the " trendy in thing to do "... which the s5 is. and the iphone was.

love the fact that I can use the m8 in direct sun. my friends s5 is very hard to see.

LOL. On AC, the M8 is the trendiest phone sine the M7,which was the trendiest phone EVER. And BGR says the S5 has the best screen of any mobile device, ever.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Review: The best thing about the Galaxy S5 | BGR

As for "Which is better?" I'll say "Both." Or neither. Both are very good phones, both are just incremental updates over last year's versions, and each has strengths and weaknesses. I think the S5 shows more improvements over the S4 than the One does over the One. (who came up with this brilliant naming convention?) Which is "better" is really "Which set of tradeoffs better meets YOUR needs," because neither device is perfect.

 

[neo905]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

So basically Samsung owners would defend/ignore a 2014 flagship phone with 16gb, yet be critical of a 4MG camera you wouldn't use as often. S5 should have shipped 32 gb from the get go. All these phones are about compromises to meet that $650 to $700 price point.

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[Adranalyne]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

So basically Samsung owners would defend/ignore a 2014 flagship phone with 16gb, yet be critical of a 4MG camera you wouldn't use as often. S5 should have shipped 32 gb from the get go. All these phones are about compromises to meet that $650 to $700 price point.

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You can supplement the 16GB with 128GB SD card. You can't magically make the camera have a higher resolution.

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[Kibbster]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

So there's no concern about lack of detail? No issue with overexposure? No hilariously bad results in daylight? I'm also guessing you don't use these photos for anything other than Facebook/Instagram.

Unlike the comical reviews of the S5's build quality, the M8's limitations with it's camera are measurable. If it works for you, then great. No worries. Just don't argue that it's great in comparison to pretty much any other flagship out there. It isn't.

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So there's no concern about lack of detail? - no
No issue with overexposure? No hilariously bad results in daylight? - Same thing and yes there are some if you allow the phone to do centre weighted metering, it can be negated to a larger extent by spot metering.
I'm also guessing you don't use these photos for anything other than Facebook/Instagram. - well apart from the 36" poster sized prints I do (jk), of course they are great for facebook etc - what else do the majority do with mobile phone pictures - open an art gallery?
4mp is fine for printing out and putting in a frame if that's what you want (very few do) no smartphone is ever going to rival an SLR if that's what you're getting at.

Anyway, you seem to have a stick up your arse about the M8 so it's not like you are ever going to listen to anything anyone says to defend the camera.

As long as you are happy with your choice then that's great and we are never going to see eye to eye on this.

 

[brash10]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

I currently have both phones at the moment, and i prefer the Galaxy S5, although the build quality of the HTC is great, but i find the screen on the S5 to be better in my opinion, although the M8 camera is fast to snap shots, but i feel the quality of the S5 better. Also i found that when sending MMS the M8 shrinks them a lot. I know only minor but......

 

[spawndoodling]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

The Verge review only proves my point. They gave the design a 6/10 when it's easy to grip, allows for a removable battery, and is water/dust resistant. It's not metal so it's not good.

The 16MP camera got a 7/10. That's hilarious.

The software, which has improved by quite a bit, got a 6/10. No kudos on the flatter design, smoother performance, and less in-your-face software features.

It's not going to change any time soon. No matter what Samsung does, there won't be a lot of respect from the tech community. Good thing Samsung doesn't listen to their stupidity.

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If by tech community, you mean the American tech community, then you're absolutely right. I've seen glowing reviews of the GS5 from European, Australian, Latin American, and Asian reviewers who I think offer much more objective coverage.

The Verge, Gizmodo, and even Engadget to a lesser extent have aligned themselves with Apple - apparently the perennial American tech company, who manufactures its products abroad and pays little if any taxes. The same way that the automotive press was brutal towards South Korean and Japanese automakers during the 1970s and 80s.

Not a soul in the American media has criticized the iPhone for being absurdly expensive or ridiculously fragile. Nor have they seriously factored Apple's complacency in both design and software into their reviews. Samsung is not the first company to play it safe with its flagship, nor will it be the last. In fact, one can argue that Apple pioneered that concept.

But American tech reviewers have in large part taken an extremely Apple centric approach to reviewing the competition. Why aren't Apple or Google criticized for their decision to ignore expandable storage options? When this is such a practical no-brainer. Just because you don't 'need' extra storage right now doesn't mean you shouldn't have the option. Similarly, why wasnt Apple pressured to make a back cover that didn't crack or shatter if the phone falls? Or pressured to up their display size when the market as a whole is craving bigger displays? Or lower their prices, when their profit margins are ridiculously high and their global reach is so limited?

Plus, if every reviewer approached their smartphone reviews like The Verge's Michael Shane, then we should be giving any phone that isn't setting an industry standard an average rating to challenge companies to do better. Yet, Verge is alright with handing out a 9.0 to the iPhone, which outside of a colorful new OS, better camera, and fingerprint scanner is the same exact phone with the same exact functionalities?

The only reason I'm frustrated by this is because these reviews perpetuate false notions about a phone that literally does everything and then some right.

But at this point, I'm done with these types of reviews. I'll stick to AC and a handful of other sites that fairly judge all smartphones for what they are and what they are intended to be.

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[Adranalyne]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

So there's no concern about lack of detail? - no
No issue with overexposure? No hilariously bad results in daylight? - Same thing and yes there are some if you allow the phone to do centre weighted metering, it can be negated to a larger extent by spot metering.
I'm also guessing you don't use these photos for anything other than Facebook/Instagram. - well apart from the 36" poster sized prints I do (jk), of course they are great for facebook etc - what else do the majority do with mobile phone pictures - open an art gallery?
4mp is fine for printing out and putting in a frame if that's what you want (very few do) no smartphone is ever going to rival an SLR if that's what you're getting at.

Anyway, you seem to have a stick up your arse about the M8 so it's not like you are ever going to listen to anything anyone says to defend the camera.

As long as you are happy with your choice then that's great and we are never going to see eye to eye on this.

I'm sure everyone who uses the M8 makes sure to include spot metering in their repertoire to avoid said situations. So as long as you've got some photography experience you'll be just fine. You know, like most smartphone users. As far as the lack of detail is concerned, that's just funny. A 4MP camera, regardless of how well the software is utilized, is limited and you -will- lose detail in a number of shots.

I guess I just don't get all giddy over inferior devices just because they're made of metal. I asked the internet. It said the camera is pretty disappointing.

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[vprpre]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Does PdaNet+ work with Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8? Does the WiFi feature work? How is the speed with USB and Bluetooth?

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

Sigh... once again the M8 camera is coming in for a kick-in by people who don't even use one.
The M8 camera is great (no matter what "insert random fanboi" here might say.)
I'm sure the S5 camera is also great and improved over Sammy's previous efforts.

Have a look at the M8 camera examples thread on here and on XDA, then come back and try and tell anyone the camera is crap.
There don't seem to be many impressive examples of the S5 camera yet but it's early days so I expect they'll come in time.

Everyone has favourite devices and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but saying the M8 has a bad camera couldn't be more wrong.

If all you do with a phone camera is post small sized pics on the Web, almost any phone camera of the last few years will be adequate. But if you want to do much in the way of cropping, or make prints larger than about 4x6, I think you'll find the HTC One camera starts to fall apart pretty rapidly. But since most people seem to think the God awful heavily compressed images on Facebook are just "fine," the HTC camera is unlikely to be a problem for most users.

 

[Jdroids]

Re: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8)

The issue with M8 camera is not only the 4MP resolution but also its weak dynamic range and weird pink/violet color cast in bright areas. So even if all you do is uploading to FB, twitter, it often doesn't look very nice. It's takes shots pretty fast and that seems to be its only pro from what I see.