Technology: Samsung Galaxy S4 VS HTC One

HTC One (left) & Samsung Galaxy S4 (right)
Image from Android Central

You know this is coming, and I know this battle will eventually arrive, the Samsung Galaxy S4 VS the HTC One.

Let's not talk about which is more popular and which is doing better in the market just yet. Let's make this a fair fight and borrow some 3rd party opinions before I tell you what I think.

After watching the two videos by Erica, who happens to be the most observant tech girl I know, you can tell that both S4 and HTC One have their strength. Max, in the 3rd video, supports all Android phones.

In summary, combining the two of them, I compile a table of their preferences as such:

Model	Samsung Galaxy S4	HTC One
Screen "Niceness"	The best Super AMOLED display on any Super AMOLED phone (441 ppi pixel density), higher saturation, possible blue pixel burning over time, black-clipping by default (can be resolved by installing the  latest firmware update)	Winner! Super LCD3 (469 ppi pixel density), sharper images, more natural colours, less black-clipping
Build Quality	Winner! Excellent quality control, does not look cheap, manufactured to precision	Poor plastic cutting, sharp edges, white plastic might turn yellow
Scratch Resistance	Winner! Stronger Gorillas Glass 3	Gorillas Glass 2
Charger & Speed of Charing	Winner! 2.0A. Twice as fast as HTC One	1.0A. Very slow charging, same speed as Galaxy S2
Battery	Winner! 2600 mAh removable	2300 mAh non-removable
Grip for small-hand users	Winner! No sharp edges, according to Max's 5-year-old daughter	Winner! But with sharp edges, according to Erica
Cameras	Winner! 13Mp sensor, captures a lot more details	4 Mp sensor, loses lots of details. Wider lens
Gaming / Graphics- Intensive Performance	Winner! No jitters, no lags, buttery smooth	Some jitters and lags.
Glove Sensitivity	Winner! Can use phone with gloves on	Can't use phone with gloves on
Speaker	less loud, back facing	Winner! Front facing, stereo
Body	Winner! Flat grip, stable on flat surface, eg. table	Curved back, unstable on flat surface, eg. table
Screen Utilization	Winner! Screen is fully utilized	Presence of menu bar shrinks the actual screen size
Extra Software Package	Winner! Galaxy S4 has tonnes of both useful and gimmicky software, which does not slow down the phone	BlinkFeed cannot be removed, uses data and heats up the phone with Facebook sync
User Interface	Winner! TouchWiz UI is polished, user- friendly, caring and customizable	HTC Sense UI v5, not efficient for real-life usage. Nova Launcher is recommended instead.
Software Update Frequency	Winner! High, updates are rolled out frequently to address to issues	Much lower, updates are rolled out less frequently to address to issues
SD Card Slot	Winner! Support 64Gb microSD card	No SD card slot

Erica complains that 4.7 inch screen on the HTC isn't 4.7 inch when using it
Image from TheAngelofmusic1989

Although Erica still chose the HTC One for its front-facing speakers and the clarity of the screen, it seems like in fact, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is in fact much better than the HTC One is many ways. Such view is also agreed by the CTIA's 2013 E-Tech Awards as Samsung wins big with HTC One coming in second place .

Still camera comparison
Image from GSMArena

GSMArena has also voted Samsung Galaxy S4 as the winner in terms of talk time, battery life,  user interface, synthetic benchmarks, still camera and low-light camera performance.

In terms of popularity, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has already sold more than 10 million phones in less than a month while the S3 took 50 days to hit that mark, and as usual, the only way for Apple to attempt to stop Samsung is to file another case of patent infringement.

Samsung Galaxy S4 announcement in New York City
Image from phandroid

In terms of marketing strategy, the HTC One was initially announced on February 19, 2013, earlier than the S4's announcement on March 14, 2013. But HTC's supply failed to produce enough phones and thus failed to provide a definite date for its launch, causing a lot of frustrations among the anticipating buyers. Samsung took advantage of this HTC chaos and began selling the S4 on April 24, 2013 on 327 networks worldwide and in 155 countries. This has definitely taken a big bite out of the pool of prospective buyers who were initially considering the HTC One.

I got the S4 from One2Free Hong Kong about a week before I got the HTC One for my friend on the 4th May. The seller, who also happens to be my friend, reported the massive frustration he received from the HTC fans. He didn't sell any HTC phones before as HTC used to make very poor phones. Adding the delay of shipment, this is definitely not looking good with the reputation and sales.

Dark and rainy days at the HTC
Image from HTC

Despite other reviews claiming that the HTC One is in fact better than the S4, it looks like the HTC One isn't selling fast enough to save the company itself. After both the HTC's chief product officer, Kouji Kodera and the HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik left the company last week, the HTC CEO Peter Chou also told other senior executives he would step down if the HTC One failed. If all the big cheeses are leaving the company, who is going to trust its products any more?

Quoting from a Digital Trend article,

"It’s impossible for difficult times like this not to affect staff morale, as evidenced by a tweet from HTC’s former manager of product strategy, whose words give us a clue to the negative atmosphere inside the company.

“To all my friends still at HTC – just quit,” Eric Lin wrote, “Leave now, it’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier, I swear."

So which phone will I choose? Needless to say, am I right?

For more video reviews, do check out the YouTube links down the Resources section below.

What do you think? Which one will you choose? Leave a message or a comment below!


Vocabulary:
jitter -- (n) the undesired deviation from true periodicity of an assumed periodic signal in electronics and telecommunications, often in relation to a reference clock source.
gimmicky -- (adj) mainly disapproving not serious or of real value that is used to attract people's attention or interest temporarily, especially to make them buy something:
patent -- (n)[C] a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention.
infringement -- (n) [C] an action that breaks a rule, law, etc.:
prospective (buyers) --(adj) people who are expected to buy something, employ someone, become a parent, etc.:
big cheese -- (n) [C] informal an important person in a company or an organization with a lot of influence:


Resources:
Galaxy S4 vs HTC One: Which One? In-Depth Comparison @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/QATGs4kzfl4

Galaxy S4: Unboxing, HTC One Comparison, Screen Quality @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/5G0twIfbwHU

HTC ONE Build Quality Issues *You having any???* @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/NwOu5oXpjVQ

Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One BLINDFOLD FEEL TEST! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDX1eKwgH-s

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One @ GSMArena.com
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=5313

Galaxy S4 vs HTC One: Outdoor Camera Test @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/5dQUaqtrC8M

HTC One Unboxing! @ HighOnAndroid.com
http://highonandroid.com/android-smartphones/htc-one-unboxing/

[SOLVED]Black Clipping/ Black Crush issue on Galaxy S 4 (GT I9500) ! :( @ Daily Mobile Forum
http://forum.dailymobile.net/index.php?topic=93375.0

Samsung Wins Big at CTIA's 2013 E-Tech Awards | News & Opinion @ PCMag.com
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419379,00.asp

The Samsung Galaxy S IV Reviews Are Great for the HTC One - Rebecca Greenfield @ The Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/04/samsung-galaxy-s-iv-reviews-are-great-htc-one/64523/

The HTC One Isn't Saving HTC from the Facebook Phone - Rebecca Greenfield @ The Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/05/htc-one-isnt-saving-htc-facebook-phone/65486/

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One: Army of two @ GSMArena
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_vs_htc_one-review-913.php

HTC One @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One

Samsung Galaxy S4 @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4

Technology: Welcome! Samsung Galaxy S4!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/03/technology-welcome-samsung-galaxy-s4.html

HTC employees told to "just quit" by former manager @ Digital Trends
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/htc-employees-told-to-just-quit-by-former-manager/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/infringement?q=infringement
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/prospective?q=prospective+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/big-cheese?q=big+cheese