HTC 10 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7

[metz65]

At the end of the day we all purchase the phone we like for the features we feel best fits our personal needs. Everything else is just personal stroking and a need to justify our own choice. If you like your phone it doesn't really matter what a bunch of strangers think.

 

[npaladin-2000]

if you look at it objectively

That's the whole point, it's not an objective measure. Even with objective results, the results are SUBJECTIVE when it comes to importance to the individual consumer. Bottom line, if you look at it objectively, you have to look at each user's subjective needs and preferences.

 

[Adranalyne]

That's the whole point, it's not an objective measure. Even with objective results, the results are SUBJECTIVE when it comes to importance to the individual consumer. Bottom line, if you look at it objectively, you have to look at each user's subjective needs and preferences.

Sure, but there's tests that can quantify that. In the end, it's how you weigh those factors, though. Agreed. I'm just saying that some of these things can be measured and tested to show which one performs better. In those cases, the S7 wins in the areas I highlighted.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Adranalyne]

I see a few glaring errors in your posts.

1. The HTC's camera is not necessarily worse. Just because some reviewers say so, doesn't make it so. From what I've seen, HTC does better with exposure and saturation in many cases. Take it camera reviews more seriously form those who have experience with photography (I do), not just those who know phones.

2. The battery on the Samsung is not better. Again, it's not so clear. Some recent reviews show that HTC's is better in some use cases, worse in others. The most thorough recent tests show the HTC's is better.

3. The Samsung is more fragile. You break it, game over. The HTC can't be dropped in a lake, and necessarily survive. However, you can just call up and get a new one from HTC at no charge if you should happen to drop it in a lake. If you habitually take your phone into the water, I suppose it's better to have the S7. Unless of course, the water causes you to drop it, in which case see above. For my use, I'd rather have a tougher phone with easy replacement policy, than one I can take swimming and have to avoid banging into the edge of the pool.

4. The HTC comes with more memory. Available memory, that is. Bloatware means something, it's not just a word.

I have some experience with photography and I believe the S7 to be the better camera overall. From the results I've seen to the functionality (the S7 being faster to launch and focus), I'd say it's the better camera. You're more than welcome to disagree.

Based on anecdotal evidence, most are stating it's not on par with the S7 (and definitely not the Edge). Anandtech ran benchmarks to further test and it doesn't match the S7 there, either. You're more than welcome yet again to disagree.

I think we're in agreement here. Take your pick on whether the IP rating or physical durability is better.

I can't verify this, but I'd guess you're right. You may get a few GBs more with the 10.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[M Stuart]

It comes down to personal preference doesn't it. I like Samsung's displays and software (stock does nothing for me), and wireless charging has become a must for my habits so I'd go for the S7 without a doubt. But the HTC looks like an excellent phone that will attract a different type of users. And there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[DarkTlaloc]

Wait.. how is the s7 different then the s6? It isn't some conspiracy.




I understand you're disappointed you spent your upgrade on a piece of junk.. But running around stating all your opinions as facts is making you look silly.

Good lord (wo)man, speaking of looking silly.

Has it really gotten this bad on the Android forums, that we're having to resort to calling the top phones on the market "piece(s) of junk"? By literally no metric is the S7 (or HTC 10, for that matter) a piece of junk. The S7 is getting almost universally rave reviews, and the HTC10 is at the very least getting called "HTC's best phone ever," which after the glorious M7 is high praise.

This should be a discussion of the pros and cons of each phone, not a hyperbolic discussing focusing on who can insult which phones/posters the most...

 

[mzman]

I have some experience with photography and I believe the S7 to be the better camera overall.

Why? Please don't say "it looks better". From what I've seen, the Samsung sharpens more (not necessarily a good thing), oversaturates, and has a lower dynamic range. Now, HTC seems to have some weaknesses too, but "a better camera" is too broad a description of the S7.

Anandtech ran benchmarks to further test and it doesn't match the S7 there, either.

That's simply not true. They found that for web browsing (many users' most frequent use), the HTC 10 is better than the S7. In other areas, the S7 is better. Did you read the article?

As for anecdotal evidence, I haven't seen any credible anecdotal evidence on this. I'm looking for a detailed review from Android Central to supplement the Ananadtech article.

 

[tnt4]

To be honest, and I've had two different variants of the S7, I haven't been as pleased with the S7's camera. It's a great camera. But I don't think it's the best ever like people are claiming. I currently have an iPhone 6S and a Nexus 5X (and NUMEROUS phones prior where I've been quite the camera snob). Between the yellow and muddier lower light photos, and the occasional inability to find a focal point thanks to this new speedy auto focus system, it just hasn't impressed me that much. Honestly, every single phone that has made changes to try and let in more light has issues balancing that out with a good quality, realistic looking photo. This appears to be the case on the HTC 10 as well based on the numerous samples that are out there. For truly low light photos I prefer the Nexus 5X (and the 6P would fall in here, too, I assume). It's still sharp, has realistic colors, and lightens things just enough up with minimal noise. For every other situation I still prefer the 6S over the S7, including video thanks to the 6S's incredible software stabilization... and based on the samples I would imagine I'll feel the same about the HTC 10 as well.

 

[Adranalyne]

Why? Please don't say "it looks better". From what I've seen, the Samsung sharpens more (not necessarily a good thing), oversaturates, and has a lower dynamic range. Now, HTC seems to have some weaknesses too, but "a better camera" is too broad a description of the S7.



That's simply not true. They found that for web browsing (many users' most frequent use), the HTC 10 is better than the S7. In other areas, the S7 is better. Did you read the article?

As for anecdotal evidence, I haven't seen any credible anecdotal evidence on this. I'm looking for a detailed review from Android Central to supplement the Ananadtech article.

Because from what I can tell, it struggles with back-lit subjects and tends to overexpose so you're seeing flare and losing detail. Plus the ability to quick launch and focus as fast as the S7 does make a huge difference in user experience. Kudos to HTC for making a phone with a good camera, though.

As far as the battery tests are concerned, it shows that the S7 performs better in display-oriented tasks and the 10 does better with CPU-intensive tasks. The difference is that the margins seem to be in the S7's favor. Plus I've seen some reports of it being drained faster using the camera and LTE, but it's too early to say for sure (Alex was complaining of that on the podcast here). Also keep in mind that I've been consistent in including the Edge to these comparisons because the size difference is so small between the two. In that regard, it's not even close in the battery department.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mzman]

Because from what I can tell, it struggles with back-lit subjects and tends to overexpose so you're seeing flare and losing detail. Plus the ability to quick launch and focus as fast as the S7 does make a huge difference in user experience. Kudos to HTC for making a phone with a good camera, though.

As far as the battery tests are concerned, it shows that the S7 performs better in display-oriented tasks and the 10 does better with CPU-intensive tasks. The difference is that the margins seem to be in the S7's favor. Plus I've seen some reports of it being drained faster using the camera and LTE, but it's too early to say for sure (Alex was complaining of that on the podcast here). Also keep in mind that I've been consistent in including the Edge to these comparisons because the size difference is so small between the two. In that regard, it's not even close in the battery department.

Posted via the Android Central App

That's fair, thanks. Maybe the HTC tends to overexpose at times. If that's the case and I buy one, I'll hope for a software fix. I think it's evident that the differences in these departments are not completely sorted out, not dramatic, and any preference for one over the other is largely down to what's important to a particular user. I think we can conclude that the neither phone has a "better camera" or "better battery performance".

Public perception could be quite different though - I'll definitely concede that!

 

[DarkTlaloc]

To be honest, and I've had two different variants of the S7, I haven't been as pleased with the S7's camera. It's a great camera. But I don't think it's the best ever like people are claiming. I currently have an iPhone 6S and a Nexus 5X (and NUMEROUS phones prior where I've been quite the camera snob). Between the yellow and muddier lower light photos, and the occasional inability to find a focal point thanks to this new speedy auto focus system, it just hasn't impressed me that much. Honestly, every single phone that has made changes to try and let in more light has issues balancing that out with a good quality, realistic looking photo. This appears to be the case on the HTC 10 as well based on the numerous samples that are out there. For truly low light photos I prefer the Nexus 5X (and the 6P would fall in here, too, I assume). It's still sharp, has realistic colors, and lightens things just enough up with minimal noise. For every other situation I still prefer the 6S over the S7, including video thanks to the 6S's incredible software stabilization... and based on the samples I would imagine I'll feel the same about the HTC 10 as well.

It's interesting, if you check various sites for their camera comparisons, there's a huge variety of conclusions. Some say the S7 is the best camera in a current phone (it's certainly the best I'VE used, but that doesn't mean much), and others praise the 5X/6P, etc.

 

[Adranalyne]

That's fair, thanks. Maybe the HTC tends to overexpose at times. If that's the case and I buy one, I'll hope for a software fix. I think it's evident that the differences in these departments are not completely sorted out, not dramatic, and any preference for one over the other is largely down to what's important to a particular user. I think we can conclude that the neither phone has a "better camera" or "better battery performance".

Public perception could be quite different though - I'll definitely concede that!

Well I'd still say the S7 has the better camera even if the results were identical because the speed in which this thing launches and focuses is amazing. Makes a huge difference. But as far as battery goes, on the S7 proper at least, I'll concede it could be a wash. That's fair.

I may not think this phone is better than the S7/Edge, but it's not a bad phone by any means. I'd use one and probably be pretty happy with it, but I was hoping for a bit more from them. HTC can be the Android standard, even over Samsung, but it has to stop relying on what they did with the M7 as the blueprint.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[tnt4]

It's interesting, if you check various sites for their camera comparisons, there's a huge variety of conclusions. Some say the S7 is the best camera in a current phone (it's certainly the best I'VE used, but that doesn't mean much), and others praise the 5X/6P, etc.

I think as a whole package it's close to the best. But I don't see it being better than the S6, tbh (trade-offs with both). It's also significantly faster than the 5X/6P, with MUCH better video capabilities. But in terms of pure photo quality, I'm just not feeling it like others are. It's very very good. But to tout it the way some people do just feels like blind hype.

 

[DarkTlaloc]

I think as a whole package it's close to the best. But I don't see it being better than the S6, tbh (trade-offs with both). It's also significantly faster than the 5X/6P, with MUCH better video capabilities. But in terms of pure photo quality, I'm just not feeling it like others are. It's very very good. But to tout it the way some people do just feels like blind hype.

Yeah, I have no comparison to make, because I haven't used an iPhone since my gf's 5s, never had an S6, and don't have the new Nexus. With that being said, I've read plenty of reviews online that reference it (the S7) having either the best or close to the best camera out there, so I think it's fair for people to mention that. I'm not sure there is one specific phone that has the "best" camera, because use-case is going to be very different. For example, I use low light a lot, so the S7 is ideal for me. For someone taking a lot of daytime photos, it sounds like the S6 was actually a better option.

 

[tnt4]

Yeah, I have no comparison to make, because I haven't used an iPhone since my gf's 5s, never had an S6, and don't have the new Nexus. With that being said, I've read plenty of reviews online that reference it (the S7) having either the best or close to the best camera out there, so I think it's fair for people to mention that. I'm not sure there is one specific phone that has the "best" camera, because use-case is going to be very different. For example, I use low light a lot, so the S7 is ideal for me. For someone taking a lot of daytime photos, it sounds like the S6 was actually a better option.

Good points. Honestly, compared to phone cameras from 1, 2, 3+ years ago, they're all winners, so I'm obviously being nitpicky regardless!

 

[Wildo6882]

Good points. Honestly, compared to phone cameras from 1, 2, 3+ years ago, they're all winners, so I'm obviously being nitpicky regardless!

I agree with that 100%. I doubt most of us would be upset by the results of an iPhone 6s/Plus, S6, S7, Nexus 5X, 6P, or this HTC 10 if we compared them to phones from just two years ago. My sister has a 5S and it was great for its time. But it looks like hot garbage compared to my wife's S6 edge +.

 

[tnt4]

I agree with that 100%. I doubt most of us would be upset by the results of an iPhone 6s/Plus, S6, S7, Nexus 5X, 6P, or this HTC 10 if we compared them to phones from just two years ago. My sister has a 5S and it was great for its time. But it looks like hot garbage compared to my wife's S6 edge +.

And if we're being completely honest, the huge increase in quality isn't really that big of a deal in a lot of scenarios. How many crappy photos from phones you had 3 years ago still bring back the same emotion/memory when you see them, thereby accomplishing the whole point of having a photo (to relive/remember)?

 

[Wildo6882]

And if we're being completely honest, the huge increase in quality isn't really that big of a deal in a lot of scenarios. How many crappy photos from phones you had 3 years ago still bring back the same emotion/memory when you see them, thereby accomplishing the whole point of having a photo (to relive/remember)?

Exactly. I haven't printed any pictures from my phone since I had the HTC DNA. And to be honest, they're still up in our hallway and look pretty good. You wouldn't know they were taken with a "crappy" phone and camera.

 

[lindseybp]

Both great phones in their own way. I have had every Galaxy but just ready for something different so going with the 10. Can't go wrong with either.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Rohk]

I want to root my phone and flash custom ROMs so for me HTC 10 is the winner