HTC One or S4???

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m33pm33p

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - August 2013
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So, thanks to some slickdeals magic I was able to be released from my ATT contracts finally after they attempted to charge a fee without telling anyone...That being said the best provider in my area is Verizon so that's who Im looking at going through soon.

Im torn between the HTC One (Which Ive heard is coming to Verizon sometime between AUG 15-29) and the S4. Im really looking for some real world takes on both of the phones.

A few of the things that dont really matter to me...

- Removeable Battery
- Removeable Storage
- Huge amounts of storage (8-16GB is usually enough for me)
- Camera


Things I do care about...

- Sound quality, both through phone and through the headphone jack. (I've got an older car so need to have decent sound for aux input. Currently my Nexus 4 BLOWS at this)

- Speed
- Resolution (not a deal breaker but of course the better, the better)


So! Who takes it?


EDIT: Last tidbit, mostly for wife. Which phone's camera is better at this point?
 
I just love my S4. The pics come out great. The HTC's Beats Audio is gimmicky. It requires the matching headphones. With my Bose Quiet Comfort cans they both sounded really good without the need of Beats Audio. I find the screen on the S4 to be awesome. My vote is for the S4
 
Last I read the One was supposed to launch on Verizon on the 15th, but that could definitely change.

I'm in the exact same (1st world) predicament though for my wife's phone. My upgrade date is the 15th and Verizon is launching a lot of phones this month.

Why are you not considering the new Droid phones or Moto X too? They're all in the running for her at that moment (except the Droid Ultra, might as well get the X instead and have better software support).

It's gonna be a hard choice on Verizon soon. I think we're just going to go to a corperate store one day and play with all the phones for a while, hah.

The camera's are a trade-off though. In low-light, the One is significantly better. But outside well-lit shots the GS4 is considerably sharper since it has 3x the resolution of the One. The GS4 has a low-light mode though, and if it works as good as it does on my Note 2, then it definitely takes acceptable shots in low-light, but it still won't be as good as the One.

We have a lot of research to do though to figure out what trade-offs we want. Battery life? Droid Maxx. Nice build and speakers? One. Expandable storage/battery and crazy features? GS4. Touchless control and great software? Moto X/Droid phones. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's about the simplest I can make a comparison between them.

Also, poll fail. :p
 
S4 for your needs, One for your wife because of the camera
 
T4rd said:
Last I read the One was supposed to launch on Verizon on the 15th, but that could definitely change.

I'm in the exact same (1st world) predicament though for my wife's phone. My upgrade date is the 15th and Verizon is launching a lot of phones this month.

Why are you not considering the new Droid phones or Moto X too? They're all in the running for her at that moment (except the Droid Ultra, might as well get the X instead and have better software support).

It's gonna be a hard choice on Verizon soon. I think we're just going to go to a corperate store one day and play with all the phones for a while, hah.

The camera's are a trade-off though. In low-light, the One is significantly better. But outside well-lit shots the GS4 is considerably sharper since it has 3x the resolution of the One. The GS4 has a low-light mode though, and if it works as good as it does on my Note 2, then it definitely takes acceptable shots in low-light, but it still won't be as good as the One.

We have a lot of research to do though to figure out what trade-offs we want. Battery life? Droid Maxx. Nice build and speakers? One. Expandable storage/battery and crazy features? GS4. Touchless control and great software? Moto X/Droid phones. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's about the simplest I can make a comparison between them.

Also, poll fail. :p
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I really hadnt even looked at those 2 phone, I definitely will though. Really wasnt necesarrily looking for a poll type situation. More like a "how has your experience been". Simply because tech specs can be read online all day, but they never tell the true story.
 
m33pm33p said:
I really hadnt even looked at those 2 phone, I definitely will though. Really wasnt necesarrily looking for a poll type situation. More like a "how has your experience been". Simply because tech specs can be read online all day, but they never tell the true story.
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Ahh, I get ya. I'm curious as to what phone [H] would be in favor of in a poll though. I might make a new thread later with all the latest Verizon phones too see which one wins out. I suspect the GS4 win and barely edge out the One here though.
 
T4rd said:
Ahh, I get ya. I'm curious as to what phone [H] would be in favor of in a poll though. I might make a new thread later with all the latest Verizon phones too see which one wins out. I suspect the GS4 win and barely edge out the One here though.
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Thats the problem. Every review online is either saying "GET THE GS4!" or "GET THE HTC ONE!". No real definitive on the two.
 
m33pm33p said:
Thats the problem. Every review online is either saying "GET THE GS4!" or "GET THE HTC ONE!". No real definitive on the two.
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Because they're both great phones in their own respect. You just have to prioritize what's most important to you and get the phone that better meets those needs. Based off of your OP, it's hard to say what would be best for you as both phones are plenty fast and have the same resolution. I don't recall either phone having bad sound through the headphone jack either. You'll have to research that.
 
I don't agree with this "best phone" concept or having others vote for the phone you will want. People tend to vote based on what they like which may not be whats important to you.

Take this thread for example in which the OP states he does not care about a removable battery or storage. If you asked generally which phone people would prefer the S4 would receive a large amount of votes, and likely win, simply because of those two features. But how does that really help the OP in this case? I actually believe in one of the earlier discussions the overwhelming sentiment was the removable battery/storage advantage on the S4 was more important and practical while the audio advantages on the HTC One were frivolous yet that would not apply to the OPs requirements.

There is only a best, or better phone, for you as an individual not for everyone.

m33pm33p said:
Things I do care about...

- Sound quality, both through phone and through the headphone jack. (I've got an older car so need to have decent sound for aux input. Currently my Nexus 4 BLOWS at this)

- Speed
- Resolution (not a deal breaker but of course the better, the better)


So! Who takes it?


EDIT: Last tidbit, mostly for wife. Which phone's camera is better at this point?
Click to expand...

The HTC One should have better audio quality and for sure quite significantly if outputing via the phones speakers. The NA S4 as far as I know does not use a Wolfson DAC but the standard Qualcomm one so there is nothing special about it. The HTC One has a built in amp, stereo speakers and supposedly some actual meaningful modifications/tuning now.

Speed wise the S4 is technically faster specs wise by the difference is quite low and insignificant essentially. Subjectively it seems most people feel Sense on the HTC One is faster than Touchwiz on the S4. Something best tried in person though.

Both are 1920x1080 but the HTC One has a larger amount of subpixels since it isn't pentile. Chances are you won't notice the difference between the two since the PPI is so high at this point. The displays in general is a trade off comparison though and they use different technologies. Best bet would be to try to see both in person to see which one you actually like more.

Camera, like someone already mentioned, is a trade off situation. Aside from the low light advantage though the OIS also helps create a more stable shooting pattern which would also help for recoding videos. I don't know what the situation is with the current One's audio recording capabilities but early units were quit good. Samsung could have made this easier had they also included OIS (Which is rumored for the Note 3) but as it stands another trade off decision.

In summary the audio should be a clear win for the HTC One, although I'm not sure in practice how much of a difference it would make since I'm not really an audiophile. The rest will be somewhat subjective judgment calls on your part.
 
Blown 89 said:
Every head to head test I read shows the S4's camera soundly trumping the One's camera in every way except night shots.
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Reviews say this as well. Except for low light situations, which really dont matter.

@limited, Thanks, thats a good write up and summarizes most of what Ive been reading. My only real concern was that some of the reviews said that the S4 had SEVERELY limited audio capabilities. Im nowhere even close to an audiophile but, as I said, one of the only drawbacks I find with my N4 is the piss poor sound quality. Guess it'll try and stop by another carrier and check out both phones..
 
I grabbed the S4 because of the MicroSD and replaceable battery. Not because I needed them but because I figured that if I want a new phone it will be an easier and more profitable phone to sell than a 6 month old or older One. If I were looking for a used phone I'd be wary of an old HTC with a non-removable battery.
 
Bankie said:
I grabbed the S4 because of the MicroSD and replaceable battery. Not because I needed them but because I figured that if I want a new phone it will be an easier and more profitable phone to sell than a 6 month old or older One. If I were looking for a used phone I'd be wary of an old HTC with a non-removable battery.
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Thats actually not a terrible thinking process either. The Samsung S's tend to keep their value pretty well...
 
For the vast majority of people it will have night/low light shots (IE Indoors with less than ideal lighting) and that is where the One excels. I personally use an S4 and dont care about the camera, however for indoor shots and night shots I believe the One is superior, which again those are where the majority would care about, rather than in the plain sun of day, where yes the S4 will win.

Blown 89 said:
Every head to head test I read shows the S4's camera soundly trumping the One's camera in every way except night shots.
Click to expand...
 
m33pm33p said:
Thats actually not a terrible thinking process either. The Samsung S's tend to keep their value pretty well...
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This may be true but I would never recommend a phone based on resale value if the experience is different. IMO you should go into a store and check out the screens on both phones and pick out the one you like more since you don't place much priority on other aspects.
 
blinx said:
HTC One Google edition!
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Blown 89 said:
Why buy the Google Edition when you can buy the Tmobile version for less that has more bands and convert it to the Google Play Edition?
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Did you read OP? He's going to Verizon.

I know it's possible to convert the Verizon GS4 to a GE GS4, but I'm not sure about the One.
 
Both phone are great. I have the HTC one and one reason why I went with this is because of the OS. Not a fan of touchwiz and the HTC sense really made a vast improvement from their last version. I have the phone for a little over 2 mos already and battery is good as it was brand new without any signs of slow down.

Mind you, this is not rooted and only using nova. I'm not a big fan of the camera which on HTC one. It's unatural and it makes the picture a little vertical strectch a bit which makes the person in picture skinny. The video however is nice. In your case, you wont be disappointed which one you choose as they both good phones.
 
Have at it, OP. Lol

I'll be going through all of those soon enough for my wife.

It's truly a hard decision for me though. Battery life is priority for her and it seems that the S4 edges out the One in that aspect, but I'm not sure it's by enough to overcome some of the One's other advantages. I think my wife would actually like Sense's featureset better with Blinkfeed and she would definitely appreciate the front facing speakers since she's always using her phone to listen to music or podcasts while cleaning around the house. I'm not sure about which camera she would like best, the One seems faster and much better in low-light, but the GS4 seems to have better overall IQ, also the GS4's front facing camera seems much better from the pics I've seen so far on it. Displays are both great in their on right, as does reception and call quality.

Ugh... and I have yet to even factor in the Moto X or Droid phones yet.
 
T4rd said:
I'm in the exact same (1st world) predicament though for my wife's phone. My upgrade date is the 15th and Verizon is launching a lot of phones this month.
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I'm surprised to see you say you're using an upgrade. Aren't you hanging on to unlimited data?
 
MrMike said:
I'm surprised to see you say you're using an upgrade. Aren't you hanging on to unlimited data?
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Yeah, but I have another family member on my account with a 3rd line that has 2GBs of data. I just transfer all my upgrades to that line, get the phone I want on-contract, then swap the SIMs back out after the transaction. My local Verizon store are the ones who actually showed me that loophole back when I upgraded from the Gnex to my Note 2, hah. But I've seen this same tactic used by a lot of other people on here and other places.
 
T4rd said:
Yeah, but I have another family member on my account with a 3rd line that has 2GBs of data. I just transfer all my upgrades to that line, get the phone I want on-contract, then swap the SIMs back out after the transaction. My local Verizon store are the ones who actually showed me that loophole back when I upgraded from the Gnex to my Note 2, hah. But I've seen this same tactic used by a lot of other people on here and other places.
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That's pretty cool if the person on the third line doesn't care. Also good to know that you can activate even the newest stuff on the unlimited data plan if bought outright.

Rolling by myself makes it a bit more difficult. I've been looking at NET10 and stuff like that due to the low cost, but it's hard to give up unlimited 4G considering rooted tether.
 
They are both great phones, but being the same price i feel the S4 is the better value.
 
MrMike said:
That's pretty cool if the person on the third line doesn't care. Also good to know that you can activate even the newest stuff on the unlimited data plan if bought outright.

Rolling by myself makes it a bit more difficult. I've been looking at NET10 and stuff like that due to the low cost, but it's hard to give up unlimited 4G considering rooted tether.
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Yeah, I let my mom transfer her AT&T number to my account last year because she had some issues with them and she's paying less for a smart phone my my account than she was for a feature phone by itself on AT&T. I got her a used iPhone 4 (her first smart phone) to use on my account, and I used her new line to get my Note 2. She's happy as long as her iPhone works and if it dies, I'll just get her another used 4S or something and she'll be content.

So my line is due for upgrade on the 15th of this month (since I got my Gnex on launch day - December 15 2011) and I'm going to transfer my upgrade to my mom's line, get whichever phone I want and activate it on her line, then swap SIMs with my Wife's phone so she can have it. Then I'll have to call in to re-activate my mom's phone, I think since it's a 3G only phone with no SIM card. I'm going to see if there's any way I can have them do it without actually activating my new phone on her line though, so she doesn't have to re-activate her phone. So they're not activating a new phone on either of our unlimited data lines, they're activating it on her 2GB line, then we just swap SIMs and re-activate her iPhone 4. If she had a 4G phone, it would be a bit simpler, I think.
 
T4rd said:
Yeah, I let my mom transfer her AT&T number to my account last year because she had some issues with them and she's paying less for a smart phone my my account than she was for a feature phone by itself on AT&T. I got her a used iPhone 4 (her first smart phone) to use on my account, and I used her new line to get my Note 2. She's happy as long as her iPhone works and if it dies, I'll just get her another used 4S or something and she'll be content.

So my line is due for upgrade on the 15th of this month (since I got my Gnex on launch day - December 15 2011) and I'm going to transfer my upgrade to my mom's line, get whichever phone I want and activate it on her line, then swap SIMs with my Wife's phone so she can have it. Then I'll have to call in to re-activate my mom's phone, I think since it's a 3G only phone with no SIM card. I'm going to see if there's any way I can have them do it without actually activating my new phone on her line though, so she doesn't have to re-activate her phone. So they're not activating a new phone on either of our unlimited data lines, they're activating it on her 2GB line, then we just swap SIMs and re-activate her iPhone 4. If she had a 4G phone, it would be a bit simpler, I think.
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I also have a launch day GNex. After reading that I realize I'm going to be riding it out for a while so there's no point in drooling over new phones, lol.

Yep, probably would be simpler if all lines were 4G, since you could just sim swap.
 
I got the HTC One just a few days ago, and am in love with it!
 
If sound (music in particular) is most important to you get the ONE. I compared the two heavily and the ONE sounds much better through headphones and bluetooth and it's MUCH louder. You might wanna hold off a bit for the LG G2, it should trump both of these phones in regards to sound.
 
m33pm33p said:
Thats the problem. Every review online is either saying "GET THE GS4!" or "GET THE HTC ONE!". No real definitive on the two.
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My god... it's not a life or death decision here. If you are already considering one of the two, then keep it simple. Either you want removable storage and battery or you don't and/or it doesn't matter. If those two things don't matter to you, then pick either one and you will be happy.

Go to a store, play with both. Choose. Profit$$$$$$

Simple.
 
sifulee said:
If sound (music in particular) is most important to you get the ONE. I compared the two heavily and the ONE sounds much better through headphones and bluetooth and it's MUCH louder. You might wanna hold off a bit for the LG G2, it should trump both of these phones in regards to sound.
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Are you referring to the 24bit/192kHz playback on the G2? The issue is unless you actually have source media for that there would no advantage. I'm not audiophile but some things I have read about that as well seem to indicate 24bit/192kHz is not all that great but someone more knowledgeable should best chime in on that. Aside from that I'm not sure what would make it superior compared to other similar solutions like the S4.

The reason the HTC one is a lot louder is it includes a built in amp, I'm not sure of any other phone that does.
 
limitedaccess said:
Are you referring to the 24bit/192kHz playback on the G2? The issue is unless you actually have source media for that there would no advantage. I'm not audiophile but some things I have read about that as well seem to indicate 24bit/192kHz is not all that great but someone more knowledgeable should best chime in on that. Aside from that I'm not sure what would make it superior compared to other similar solutions like the S4.
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Something like this? http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
 
just adding my two cents...

the htc one is a gorgeous phone with a beautiful screen and the nicest speakers i have ever heard on a mobile phone. i had a tough time choosing between it and my note 2, but ultimately it came down to the following:

- battery life (i'm not sure how the s4 performs, but in my experience the htc one battery drains FAST on LTE)
- the lack of a tactile home button wasn't something i liked, i prefer the physical feedback on the samsung phones
- the lack of a menu button
- not a fance of htc sense (but you can get rid of it if you're willing to customize)
 
- battery life: most benchmark/review site find that the One lasts longer then the S4 out of the box.
- the lack of a tactile home button: seriously?
- the lack of a menu button: serious annoyance issue for me also. I can't wait for my carrier to push the update that make home-double-tap the menu command.
- htc sense: most reviews including one from famed developer Koush prefer Sense over TouchWiz.
 
CHANG3D said:
- battery life: most benchmark/review site find that the One lasts longer then the S4 out of the box.
- the lack of a tactile home button: seriously?
- the lack of a menu button: serious annoyance issue for me also. I can't wait for my carrier to push the update that make home-double-tap the menu command.
- htc sense: most reviews including one from famed developer Koush prefer Sense over TouchWiz.
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the home button on the note 2 and s4 are centered and have physical feedback, which is just my preference.

when i was using the htc one for a bit, i used a macro i found over at xda that lets you "add" a menu button to the phone by touching the htc logo or holding the back/home button.

in regards to the sense, again, just my preference. i use nova launcher on all my android products.
 
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