HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4? Which one to buy?

[sup3r1or]

Hello Everyone,

I want your opinion an honest one. My iphone 4s was stolen about 6 months ago and my BB is crapping out on me, speaker not working, screen has black dots all over it. Now I plan to buy a new phone unlocked here in Thailand.

The choices lie in HTC One or Samsung galaxy S4 (Octa-core model Exynos 5). I love the design of the HTC one, but I plan to buy thing phone and want to make sure it lasts me 2 years or so. I had a chance to play around with S4 in the shop it was stuttering quite a bit, that can be fixed with rooting and custom rom and also latest update seems to have fixed that lag issue according to the forums.

I had only 1 galaxy phone before and it was a Galaxy S I had signal issues with it the only way they could fix it in O2 was to downgrade the firmware which sucked since I lost many functions.
Anyway when I look at Super Amoled HD screen on S4, I liked it, colors pop out, however I know that those colors are not real, most are over saturated or have a blueish tint to it.

What are your experiences with both of these phone? I have not seen HTC one (only dummy phone) not a single shop here in Thailand has any in stock or they wont agree to pop box open for you to play around with. I held the dummy phone felt really good in the hand.

P>S The only S4 in TH is 16GB version heard its got aroun 9GB left which is not much considering a lot of apps cant be moved to SD. Can you recommend me which one to get or list any pros and cons you found with a phone. Battery life is important for me although I do have external 8400 mah battery with me just in case.

Thank you.

 

[KaterinaM]

It looks like you have already made your mind. The only problem is that it is hard to find HTC One in your country. But it is an easy-to-solve one.

 

[DaveM6]

Simple:

Business phone? Samsung Galaxy S4
Entertainment phone? Samsung Galaxy S4
Every-day phone? Samsung Galaxy S4

( But that is just my opinion, of course ! )

Hearing some rumors that the Note 3 will have some crazyyyy specs!

Sent from my LG-VM696 using Tapatalk 2

 

[sup3r1or]

It might sound like I made up but the more I look at the S4 the more I reconsider. I know octacore is slightly better as well as LPDDR3 on S4.

Not 3 will have sick specs but honestly it will be more expensive and they said it will be at least 6inch. 5 is a stretch for me already anything above that is too much.

 

[DaveM6]

It might sound like I made up but the more I look at the S4 the more I reconsider. I know octacore is slightly better as well as LPDDR3 on S4.

Not 3 will have sick specs but honestly it will be more expensive and they said it will be at least 6inch. 5 is a stretch for me already anything above that is too much.

Yea the note 3 will be too big

Sent from my LG-VM696 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Paul627g]

Regardless of which way you go... HTC or S4... You will happy either way. Both are top performers with their own little plus over the other, but that basically comes down to personal preferences IMO....

Being a Samsung fan I'd normally say GO SAMSUNG! But, I'll be the first to admit the HTC One has given be a lot to think about

 

[garublador]

There are a few deal breakers/makers I see for each phone that might help. I think it makes most sense to compare things you can't change about the phones. Android makes changing or emulating software features pretty easy, so many of those features don't weigh as heavily to me becasue there's the potential for you to change them.

The first is storage. If you plan on installing apps that require a lot of space or using a music management system that only syncs with internal memory (e.g. Google Music) and the 16GB S4 is the only one available then the One might be the best choice. If that doesn't matter then the removable storage on the S4 is more flexible (though here the 32GB One costs about as much as the 16GB S4).

The second is the camera. It seems as if most professional reviewers have come to the conclusion that the S4 has a better camera for just about everything except low light, but the One is still really good. If you need high resolution or low light performance then that may tell you which phone to pick. The One also does Zoes which some really like.

The sound is one that some might find to be a big deal. The One is supposed to sound quite a bit better using the built in speakers and some models of the S4 reportedly have some problems with lower impedance headphones at louder volumes.

The aesthetics, physical feel, software feel and display technology are subjective, but some find them to be deciding factors. You'll most likely need to find a One, or something similar to compare to the S4 to make up your mind on any of those.

The hardware specs and performance otherwise appear to be similar enough that it won't matter which one you pick. The physical attributes of the storage and camera appear to be the real difference between these phones.

 

[sup3r1or]

Thank you for your opinion.
What I also wanted to ask what about built quality of HTC One? I know its premium but heard a lot of reports here people returning their handsets with some design problems like dirt and dust under screen, back panel coming off, edges extend to far and very sharp?

 

[les7699]

Thank you for your opinion.
What I also wanted to ask what about built quality of HTC One? I know its premium but heard a lot of reports here people returning their handsets with some design problems like dirt and dust under screen, back panel coming off, edges extend to far and very sharp?

This did seem to be a problem with the first ones made. Production seems to be much improved and I havent heard of any issues in the newer ones.

I tried both and the S4 was too laggy and too many features I would never use. I love the One especially because I am a big music person. I was scared it wouldn't hold all my apps and photos and music but then found out I received 25gb of storage space from drop box and that made up my mind for me.

 

[jonathan2677]

Thank you for your opinion.
What I also wanted to ask what about built quality of HTC One? I know its premium but heard a lot of reports here people returning their handsets with some design problems like dirt and dust under screen, back panel coming off, edges extend to far and very sharp?

I own both and love both, but I use the one as my daily driver, and mostly because my s4 lags even with the newest updates, when I type the words don't show right up, playing games it stutters, opening apps etc, seems to also shut down often, I don't experience any of this with my one also I like my one better in sunlight I can't see the screen at all on my s4 outside, I like the speakers better on my one and the storage is also a factor for me, Google doesn't allow any app movement to sd, maybe if you root all in all both good phones but if I had to sell one today I'd say goodbye galaxy

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[benhmadison]

I struggled with the same decision. I knew either way I would root it and install a custom rom so the software wasn't the biggest factor for me. While I LOVE the design of the ONE I just couldn't stand the placing of the power button. I also do like the ability to have the removable sd card to carry my music and photos but with cloud services it's really a non issue. While many people hate the physical home button on the S4 I really love the ability to wake my device up without having to reach to the side(or top with the ONE) to wake it up. I ended up with the S4 but in the end you can't go wrong with either device and if I could afford it, I would definitely own them both.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

There are a few deal breakers/makers I see for each phone that might help. I think it makes most sense to compare things you can't change about the phones. Android makes changing or emulating software features pretty easy, so many of those features don't weigh as heavily to me becasue there's the potential for you to change them.

The first is storage. If you plan on installing apps that require a lot of space or using a music management system that only syncs with internal memory (e.g. Google Music) and the 16GB S4 is the only one available then the One might be the best choice. If that doesn't matter then the removable storage on the S4 is more flexible (though here the 32GB One costs about as much as the 16GB S4).

The second is the camera. It seems as if most professional reviewers have come to the conclusion that the S4 has a better camera for just about everything except low light, but the One is still really good. If you need high resolution or low light performance then that may tell you which phone to pick. The One also does Zoes which some really like.

The sound is one that some might find to be a big deal. The One is supposed to sound quite a bit better using the built in speakers and some models of the S4 reportedly have some problems with lower impedance headphones at louder volumes.

The aesthetics, physical feel, software feel and display technology are subjective, but some find them to be deciding factors. You'll most likely need to find a One, or something similar to compare to the S4 to make up your mind on any of those.

The hardware specs and performance otherwise appear to be similar enough that it won't matter which one you pick. The physical attributes of the storage and camera appear to be the real difference between these phones.

I think you also have to think about repairability. The S4 is easily repairable, especially the battery. The HTC One is virtually impossible to repair. Everything is glued in. After your one year warranty is up with the One, and your battery decides to malfunction, what are your choices? Not many, because I don't believe HTC has come forth with any battery replacement plan. ( Not sure if Europe has a mandatory 2 year warranty). Also, I wonder if HTC has the resources to keep supporting the device. My own personal preference would be the S4, mainly because of the ease of repair and the wake/sleep button position. The button on the One is on the upper left which is cumbersome to find. Good luck with your decision.

 

[garublador]

I think you also have to think about repairability. The S4 is easily repairable, especially the battery. The HTC One is virtually impossible to repair. Everything is glued in. After your one year warranty is up with the One, and your battery decides to malfunction, what are your choices? Not many, because I don't believe HTC has come forth with any battery replacement plan. ( Not sure if Europe has a mandatory 2 year warranty). Also, I wonder if HTC has the resources to keep supporting the device. My own personal preference would be the S4, mainly because of the ease of repair and the wake/sleep button position. The button on the One is on the upper left which is cumbersome to find. Good luck with your decision.

I'm not convinced that battery issues are that big of a deal anymore. Of the past 6 touscreen phones my wife and I have had only one of them required a new battery before we got rid of it and it was from 2008 (LG Dare). None of our two Droid and two Droid X2's had battery problems in each of their two years. I'm not sure I've known of man others that have had battery issues with Android phones, either. It just doesn't seem like they tend to wear out in <2 years anymore. I agree it's a difference, but it's no where near as big of a deal as anything else I mentioned. It certainly wouldn't sway me in one direction or the other unless it was literally the only difference.