Samsung Galaxy S5 vs HTC One M8: Who Will Be King In 2014?

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs HTC One M8: 

Who Will Be King In 2014?

Samsung's Galaxy S5 has been announced - we compare it to current HTC One 2 rumours

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 just got official, so we thought it’d be interesting to see how it compares to all the rumours surrounding the HTC One 2, aka the HTC M8, aka the HTC One+, aka The All New One.

2013’s HTC One was lauded, across the board, as THE Android handset of the year, taking home more awards than any other smartphone. With the One M8 – based on the many, many leaks we’ve seen – we’re looking at yet another gorgeous device, complete with improved hardware, specs and chassis design.

The Galaxy S4 was sort of the opposite. It was a very decent handset with plenty of power and useful features, but many (including us) just found the look and feel of the device lacking. In a toss up between the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, you’d almost always go with the HTC One. Will it be the same in 2014 with the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5? Read on to find out...

As usual, we need to reiterate that the HTC One 2 side of this comparison is entirely based on rumours, internet gossip, trends and observed manufacturer habits - it is not gospel! Things may change before release or be inaccurate and we are doing this to get a working impression of how things could stack up. This is not intended to be conclusive. It's just a bit of speculative fun.

Design and build

According to leaks and rumours, the HTC One 2 isn’t expected to be a huge departure on the outside from the current HTC One flagship. It’s thought it will still have a stylish aluminium build with dual front-facing speakers. This isn’t really a bad thing though, as the HTC One was widely praised for its striking aesthetic.

Leaked images suggest the phone has a dual-camera lens setup on the rear of the device – it appears to be thinner and a bit more rounded, while the bezel around the display also seems to have narrowed. The other major change is a lack of physical keys, with multiple sources pointing to the use of on-screen Android software controls. Reports and pictures indicate it may arrive in gold, silver and black options.

And if that wasn’t enough to convince you of the M8’s superior build and design, then take a look at the video below – a 14-minute perv-fest of the all-new HTC One M8. The video, unfortunately in German, gives us an in-depth overview of the M8’s chassis, overall design and software, giving us a pretty detailed look at many of Sense 6’s new bells and whistles. 

As predicted the M8 is a variation on the HTC One’s aluminum-glad design. The corners are rounder and the overall handset is slightly bigger and slightly heavier. Still, the device is an absolute beauty, looking even more premium and stylish than its predecessor. HTC scores big again. 

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 has shaped up to be a similarly incremental update in terms of the exterior. The handset is slightly larger than its predecessor but the screen hasn’t actually expanded at all (more on the display later).

It’s a little squarer at the corners, while the back panel now has a matte finish and a dimpled texture for improved grip. The silver surround is not metal but remains plastic with a metallic finish and now features a ridged design to make things even grippier.

The Galaxy S5 now features IP67 water and dust resistance and the microUSB port at the base of the phone has a port cover as a result.

Display

The HTC One 2 is believed to be going from the HTC One’s 4.7-inch screen to a full 5-inches. According to reports the HTC One 2 will retain a full HD 1080p resolution but it’s not clear what type of display technology will be used. Historically, HTC has used Super LCD screens producing very high quality results.

Rather than rumoured LTPS LCDs Samsung has actually gone for the same Super AMOLED tech seen in its other devices. It’s a 5.1-inch panel rather than the rumoured 5.25-inches, with a full HD 1080p resolution at 430 pixels-per-inch (ppi). Essentially, not much has changed, but this is also not necessarily a bad thing as the 5-inch size was nice and optimal, while picture quality is still sharp with great colour, contrast and brightness.

Processor

For the HTC One 2, several rumours have suggested it’ll either have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad-core chip, possibly the supercharged Snapdragon MSM8974-AB model, or the forthcoming Snapdragon 805. Either way 2GB of RAM has been rumoured repeatedly.

While Samsung hasn't specified many processor details for the Galaxy S5, aside from the fact it's a quad-core chip at 2.5GHz with 2GB of RAM, a report from AnandTech seems to have unearthed a bit more.

It's allegedly a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip which features an upgraded GPU, the same processor Sony has put in its Xperia Z2 flagship.

Frankly, 2GB of RAM is a little surprising, we were expecting 3GB off the back of changes made to the Galaxy Note 3 and considering Sony’s Xperia Z2 was just outed with 3GB.

While the new processor is almost certainly quicker than the original Galaxy S4's and HTC One's Snapdragon 600, with HTC waiting a little longer and potentially gunning with a Snapdragon 805 we could see Samsung lagging behind slightly.

Camera

Several reports have reiterated that the HTC One 2 will keep HTC’s previously seen “Ultrapixel” camera sensor with either the same 4-megapixel rating or possibly an increase to 5-megapixels. In either case, the Ultrapixel tech has in the past failed to impress compared to more competent rival configurations. HTC has a lot to prove this time around.

It may have a few sneaky tricks up its sleeve, however, as leaks and rumours have indicated a dual-lens setup on the rear camera designed to be adaptive for various lighting conditions. It’s said the handset can capture excellent shots in low-light and high-light conditions.

Samsung’s camera updates are far more substantial, and this time round we’re seeing a move away from the gimmickry towards more serious, thoughtful features. The handset packs a 16-megapixel sensor, an upgrade on the Galaxy S4’s 13-megapixel arrangement, and features a 0.3 second shot speed. Another cool addition is “Selective Focus”, which is somewhat similar to a Lytro camera in that it lets you snap a shot and then re-select a focal point later. An HDR Live mode has been included, which allows you to see how HDR could alter a shot before you take it, meanwhile the video capabilities have been improved to allow 4K quality.

Software
Both phones are Android models, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 has been confirmed with Android 4.4 KitKat, while numerous leaks suggest the same software is coming to the HTC One 2. The HTC One 2 is pegged to use a new version of HTC Sense, version 6.0, while Samsung has updated its TouchWiz UI with a fresh look and a few interesting features.

With TouchWiz, Samsung has taken advantage of Android’s new transparent menu features together with white notification icons and a new font. Other UI elements, including app shortcuts, now have a flatter and more simplified design.

Another key change is the use of Google’s “OK Google” voice command for Google Now, previously seen on the Nexus 5 and some select Motorola models.

Leaked images of HTC Sense show a similar set of UI changes with regards to fonts, colours and the presence of transparent menu bars.

Other features
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a couple of interesting features activated with the user’s finger. As per earlier rumours, there’s a fingerprint scanner and Samsung has taken a leaf out of Apple’s book by embedding it in the Home key. After going through a fairly extensive process of verifying your print, you’re able to unlock the phone by scanning your finger. You can also use it in conjunction with a PayPal account, although it’s not yet clear the extent of payment services available.

Another scanner on the rear of the handset is used in conjunction with the S-Health 3.0 application to monitor your heart rate, with health features forming a prominent part of the new device.

Rumours about a fingerprint scanner on the HTC One 2 are largely thought to be untrue at this stage.

We’ve heard next to nothing about the HTC One 2’s possible storage options, although 32GB on-board seems likely, microSD support could go either way – the HTC One Max had it, but the HTC One did not.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has options for 16GB or 32GB onboard, though we don’t yet know the availability for each version. Both types have microSD support for cards up to 128GB.

But there might be a rather awkward reason for that boost in card capabilities. The Galaxy S4 came under fire for only offering about 9GB of user storage on the 16GB model. This was allegedly due to the large amount of space required by TouchWiz.

Things are apparently now worse on the Galaxy S5, with AndroidCentral unearthing a mere 7.86GB of available space on the 16GB variant. One report from GottaBeMobile is claiming that the S5 handsets which will be on sale will have more user-available space.

Apparently 2GB of the handset storage on the device available to journos at Mobile World Congress was taken up by “Unpacked” software. Essentially it was bloatware which won’t actually make an appearance on the real device. This frees up an extra 2GB of space for you to use which means if you get a 16GB model you’ll have 10.7GB of space to fill up - more than the Galaxy S4 gave access to.

It’s still not great, TouchWiz and other parts of the software are taking up just over 5GB of the advertised storage room, it’s a problem Samsung and a number of other phone manufacturers really need to look into.