HTC One vs. Samsung Galaxy S4?

[Johnly]

The biggest thing that gets me after the announcement of the S4, is the fact that Samsung managed to fit a larger screen AND bigger battery into a phone that is practically the same height/width as the One, plus make it thinner in the process.

And you can drop a 64G storage Card in. If I were in a vain state of mind, the one all the way. The utilitarian in me would get the s4. Definitely no clear winner in this era's of android phones. Looks like there is something for everyone who are in need of an upgrade.

 

[TheLibertarian]

I agree with another poster, I'm hardware first. The overall appearance of the One and it's build is absolutely terrific. Design looks as though it's more ergonomic on the One with that curved back, and I cannot stand both physical buttons and plastics construction (GS4).

In the end, if it weren't for my lovely Nexus 4, I'd grab the developer edition of the One, unlock, root, and enjoy.

 

[yankeesusa]

what do you guys think? Who will win the general public? Which is the best?

In the end s4 may sell more just because the galaxy line is well known. Also there are a lot of people that still want a removable battery and that alone puts s4 ahead. If the htc one ends up having great battery life then maybe the next version will get close to selling like a galaxy but htc has a bad reputation for battery life. I'm done with getting a phone based on looks and specs. First thing I look for is great battery life or at least removable if it's not long lasting. I wish everyone had the idea of the razr maxx.

Sent from the Beast that is Galaxy Note 2

 

[yankeesusa]

I agree with another poster, I'm hardware first. The overall appearance of the One and it's build is absolutely terrific. Design looks as though it's more ergonomic on the One with that curved back, and I cannot stand both physical buttons and plastics construction (GS4).

In the end, if it weren't for my lovely Nexus 4, I'd grab the developer edition of the One, unlock, root, and enjoy.

Great point, but the battery life on my note 2 has spoiled me and that's a big issue nowadays that phones do so much.

Sent from the Beast that is Galaxy Note 2

 

[dpham00]

No sd card and no removable battery is a no go for me, so no one for me. I won't be upgrading my gs3 though, I don't see it worth it to me as it seems more like a mid year upgrade than a new product

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[GNexROC]

I feel burned by Samsung with my GNex, the speakers and the radios suck!

I also have a GNex with worthless speakers and an even more worthless radio. Im afraid to make any calls on it at all as the voice drops out just about every time I do. I heard there were problems with the GS3 radios as well. Love the thought of front facing speakers. Whats the consensus on HTC radio quality?

 

[tygger27]

Can the HTC One or S4 run 2 apps simultaneously?

 

[Treesham]

tough call for me, but it's definitely going to be one or the other. i LOVED my Evo 4G, which i got on launch day. as it got older, however, it had an odd "memory leak", and that disappointment me. i upgraded to the S2, which i have enjoyed, but not loved, and now am extremely disappointed in and frustrated with because of the AWFUL battery life and the somewhat fried charging system as a result of some bad updates last summer.

so, it's a dilemma for me, because i've been reading great things about both. i use my phone a ton, and use data a ton, so i suppose battery life between charges is one of the most important things to me. i guess i'll wait and see how the various testing goes, and make a decision from there.

 

[smooth3006]

all i know is almost every review ive seen on the htc one is positive minus blinkfeed being useless.

- - - Updated - - -

Can the HTC One or S4 run 2 apps simultaneously?

if you mean multitasking then yes. if you mean multiview then i don't think so, that's a note 2 feature.

 

[Splitz]

Coming from Blackberry from 2004-2012, then to my current phone the HTC Vivid the removable battery and SD card mean...nothing to me. All I ever did battery wise was do a battery pull because it had locked up (Mostly a Blackberry issue). I've never had to do a battery pull on my Vivid and never had an SD card installed, the phone came with 16GB. I use the phone for a phone/text/webz. If I wanted to listen to music, I've got an iPod for that. If I wanted to watch a movie, I've got a tablet (Transformer Infinity).

That being said, when I'm due to upgrade in September I'll probably opt for the HTC One. By then, upgrade should be around $150 (down from $199 at launch). Yes, I'm a cheap ass! But still, 6 months away from an upgrade I'm sure somebody will come out with something better other than iPhone XXX.

I don't happen to hate Sense. And the One being launched with 4.1.2 doesn't bother me either. HTC is slower than Samsung obviously by released with SG4 wit 4.2.2 but that doesn't really make much of a different. Root it and put 4.2.2 on the One.

A determining possibility for me could come down to, will the One be released in the US with an unlocked bootlader...

 

[tekhna]

I'll probably wait a while before I think about either one. I'll probably wait to see if the One sells well enough to get a solid dev community and working AOSP. The GS3/4 have practically been guaranteed AOSP because Steve Kodnik works for Samsung. HTC on Verizon has had pretty rotten AOSP support lately, and Sense is just dismal.
It's a moot point though if once again Verizon doesn't get it.

 

[smooth3006]

I'll probably wait a while before I think about either one. I'll probably wait to see if the One sells well enough to get a solid dev community and working AOSP. The GS3/4 have practically been guaranteed AOSP because Steve Kodnik works for Samsung. HTC on Verizon has had pretty rotten AOSP support lately, and Sense is just dismal.
It's a moot point though if once again Verizon doesn't get it.

both phones will eventually get aosp.

 

[BigDinCA]

• Despite the fact that I love the One's aluminum body, I've always defended Samsungs use of plastic, because it's so more shock-absorbing = lower chance of a cracked screen when dropped on hard surface. Cause let's face it: I do tend to get drunk, and I do tend to drop my phone. I'm afraid I'll wreck the screen on the One if I drop it...

Well my wife's Epic dropped off the couch 18 inches to the new thick carpet and the screen shattered. My brother's GS3 screen just cracked yesterday while he was driving and the phone bounced off the seat and into the plastic cupholder of his center console, 6 inches away. If you drop it, it will break, aluminum or plastic. Glass is a finicky and heartless wonder sometimes. The plastic is fine if you like it. And it's not necessarily an inferior material. It's a preference.

• No replacable battery and no SD slot gives me less freedom - a thing I've always been criticizing Apple for. Samsung has that of course. Right now I only have 8 gigs on my S2, though. It isn't enough, but I manage. So I think I'll manage with 32 gigs on the One.
• The first reviews all talk of a poor battery, even though it's so big. This is a little sad. On the other hand, the battery in my S2 sucks ass, so any new phone will be a major improvement

Totally all about preference here. I'll miss the microSD if I get the One, but not because I need the space - because I like the physical portability of removable storage. I'll be fine with the battery, as long as it's as good or better than my EVO. I was leery of it last year, but the battery in it has been top-notch so I can only see it getting better. But I understand that some people want a little more freedom with their battery. As for those early battery stats, ignore them. Nobody else will use a phone like you, so your mileage will be different. And these early battery tests are silly - they don't give it time to calibrate. The battery itself needs no calibration, despite what you may hear. But the phone does. It has to learn the charge/discharge characteristics of the battery so it can report the current state and allow for the maximum charge (it's more complicated but nobody really cares). That can take several charging cycles, and the more cycles it takes, the more accurate everything is.

• HTC Sense. Even though the Sense 5 seems to me much more... Serious... than its predecessors, it's still Sense 5. I'm used to TouchWiz (with GO Launcher on top of it), and I think I'll like Sense 5 less. I'm pretty sure I'll never use BlinkFeed as I live in Denmark, and they probably wont add any Danish websites. But overall, we're probably just talking about a little getting used to.
• I don't know much about this, but I've heard that HTC sucks when it comes to updating their software. Are they that much worse than Samsung on that point?

Sense will be really different for you, surely. Just like Touchwiz is really weird for me when I am using my wife's phone. But the more you use it the easier it gets. Hopefully it just becomes natural and intuitive for you. If it doesn't then you need to change it up. You won't really know until you've tried it. It looks like Samsung has some really cool software features in the new Touchwiz (and some gimmicks), but you won't be missing them since you wouldn't be moving from the GS3, which had some of them too. As for updates, HTC used to be the best. Over the last year and a half or so... not so much. And since the GS3 release Samsung has been on the ball with updates. Of course some of that depends on your network unless you're sporting a Nexus. But the thought is that, with a singular device launched on multiple carriers, the requirements of dozens of devices needing updates is substantially decreased, allowing better use of time and available resources on timely One updates. That's the thought, anyway. But it worked for Samsung, that's for sure.

 

[tekhna]

both phones will eventually get aosp.

Sure. But the GS4 will probably have it inside a week, and it could take 6 months or more on the One.

 

[Johnly]

Lmao! Just for fun, if the one raped the s4 [that is the worst way to put something] I am sure it ran out of juice and the s4 cleaned up and pulverized what was left of a dead one.

 

[smooth3006]

Sure. But the GS4 will probably have it inside a week, and it could take 6 months or more on the One.

i don't think so. both my s3 and my note 2 had to wait about 2-3 months to get a working aosp rom.

 

[tekhna]

i don't think so. both my s3 and my note 2 had to wait about 2-3 months to get a working aosp rom.

Nah. The Verizon GS3 had CM9 with working data within two weeks of launch, and stable CM9 a week or so later, although it was quickly overtaken by CM10. My Rezound took a year to get AOSP.

 

[smooth3006]

Nah. The Verizon GS3 had CM9 with working data within two weeks of launch, and stable CM9 a week or so later, although it was quickly overtaken by CM10. My Rezound took a year to get AOSP.

funny as i has the verizon s3 and we had to wait awhile to even be able to unlock the bootloader. im just saying don't buy the s4 just because you think it will get aosp within a week. your going to be disappointed.

 

[tekhna]

funny as i has the verizon s3 and we had to wait awhile to even be able to unlock the bootloader. im just saying don't buy the s4 just because you think it will get aosp within a week. your going to be disappointed.

Funny because I can actually support my assertions with links. And if you had a Verizon GS3, you'd know kexec worked as a decent stopgap until the bootloader was unlocked.
It's just a fact that Samsung phones get AOSP faster than HTC phones on Verizon. The point isn't literally a week, it's that Samsung is much better supported by the Cyanogen team because the Cyanogen team works for Samsung

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/20/cm9-for-verizons-galaxy-s3-now-with-working-data/
Verizon Galaxy S3 Unlocked! CM9 Stable, and Nexus 7 Phone Calls ? XDA Developer TV ? xda-developers

 

[smoveal]

HTC ONe for me. Going with the build quality and better screen. I am for one is looking forward to using blinkfeed and zoe. S4 has alot of features added -not sure how many of them will be used on a regular basis. S translate S navigation =gimmicks.