Samsung Galaxy S5 vs the All New HTC One (M8): a preliminary comparison

If we had to make a list of the most highly anticipated smartphones right now, then the Samsung Galaxy S5 would probably stand right at the very top of it. The handset is expected to sell by the boatloads once it is released in April, landing in the pockets of both loyal Samsung followers and anyone looking for a capable high-end Android device. But the competition is definitely not going to just stand and watch. Samsung's latest and greatest Android phone will have to face a number of tough opponents on its way to commercial success, and one of the toughest among them will be the All New HTC One (also referred to by its M8 codename).

Now would be a good time to stress that the new HTC One has not been publicly unveiled yet. That is scheduled to happen on March 25. The endless stream of leaks, however, has already revealed most of what one might want to know about HTC's upcoming flagship – specs, design, features, you name it. With such a clear idea as to what the All New HTC One will have to offer, and having spent some personal, one-on-one time with the Samsung Galaxy S5, we feel informed well enough to present you with this preliminary comparison between the two handsets.

Design

Truth to be told, Samsung's last few Galaxy S flagships didn't really stand out much with their design particularities. Sure, they were remarkably thin and light, but overall, their glossy plasticky construction couldn't wow us. This time around, Samsung's designers have taken a slightly different approach by treating the Galaxy S5's back plate to a perforated dot pattern and a shimmering matte finish. As a result, the phone looks far more sophisticated than its predecessors despite its plastic build. Its surface feels nice to the touch without being too rough or too slippery. The All New HTC One, however, is likely to score higher than the S5 in the design department. That's because according to what has been leaked, HTC's new flagship will adopt the critically acclaimed, all-metal construction of its predecessor, complemented by a brushed finish.

On the downside, the next HTC One is expected to be slightly thicker and heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S5. Leaked papers indicate that the former will have a thickness of 0.37 inches (9.35 millimeters) and weight of 5.64 oz (160 grams), while the latter is 0.32 inches (8.1 millimeters) thick and weighs 5.11 oz (145 grams).

Looks and proportions aside, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a few tricks up its sleeve – tricks that the New HTC One won't have to offer, as far as we know. These include the S5's fingerprint sensor, which is embedded in its home key, and the heart rate sensor placed on the device's back. The former is used for unlocking the phone, as well as for restricting access to certain files stores on it, while the latter works in conjunction with the S Health app to monitor the user's activity during exercise. No less important is the fact that the Galaxy S5 is a water-resistant phone. Of course, the absence of these three perks in the new HTC flagship won't render it not worth buying, but they do add to the already long list of features that make the Galaxy S5 such an exceptional device.

On the other hand, the front of the All New HTC One will be graced by a pair of BoomSound speakers, which will deliver high-quality stereo sound, judging by our experience with the HTC One. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has just one loudspeaker, which is placed on its back. This could potentially make the new HTC One more desired by those who often listen to music from their smartphone, as well as those who enjoy watching videos and playing games on their handset

From the looks of it, smartphones sporting QHD displays are bound to go on sale before 2014 is out. In case you're wondering, 1440 by 2560 is the jaw-dropping pixel count behind this acronym. Both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the new HTC One, however, will come with 1080 by 1920 pixel displays. Should that bother anyone? Nope, absolutely not since a 1080p smartphone screen is already detailed enough to produce more detail than our eyes can detect under normal usage conditions. Also, a higher-resolution display would have put more strain on these phones' hardware, which could potentially result in poorer performance and/or increased power consumption. That's why we're perfectly fine with Samsung and HTC launching flagships touting 1080p screens.

As far as size goes, the screens on the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the new HTC One should be almost equally large. For the record, the former has a slight advantage with its 5.1-inch display, even though the latter lags behind only by a hair, offering a screen of 5 inches. Pixel density figures are 432 and 441 ppi respectively.

Now that we've gone over the similarities, it is time to highlight what could set the two phones' screens apart. True to its traditions, Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S5 with a Super AMOLED display, which isn't that bad of a choice. People tend to like them for their vibrant colors and excellent viewing angles. HTC, on the other hand, is probably going to use a Super LCD screen for its new One. We don't know for sure whether or not that's the case, and the rumor mill has been silent on the matter, but since recent HTC flagships have all relied on LCD panels, it seems safe to assume that the new HTC One will stick to this trend. Not that we're complaining. After all, the screen on last year's HTC One looked outstanding, and we're expecting for the display on its successor to be no less impressive. Whether it will be better-looking that the Galaxy S5's, however, remains to be seen.

Interface

Samsung will be launching the Galaxy S5 with a new and improved version of its custom interface known as TouchWiz, which will run on top of Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Visually, the UI in its latest form has a flatter and simpler design, as is now the trend across the industry. Feature-wise, many of the additional features offered by previous TouchWiz releases are present, including Smart Stay, MultiWindow, and Blocking Mode. But there is a handful of new extras as well. Among them are the My Magazine home screen panel, which curates news and articles from across the internet, Private Mode, which may be used to hide some of the content stored on the device, and the Ultra Power Saving mode, which could extend the battery life of the phone dramatically.

According to what's been floating on the web, the All New HTC One will ship with Sense 6.0, hopefully laid over Android 4.4.2. There's very little known about the interface's new version at this time, but looking at the leaks, we're expecting to see little in terms of visual alterations. As far as functionality goes, BlinkFeed is surely going to get an upgrade, and the option to sort content by category should be present. It is worth mentioning that the new HTC One appears to have on-screen virtual buttons, as opposed to last year's model, which had physical capacitive ones.

Processor and memory

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs the All New HTC One (M8): a preliminary comparison

Both Samsung's and HTC's upcoming flagship phones will be powered by a Snapdragon 801 SoC, which is arguably the most powerful of its kind right now. Yet the Galaxy S5 will have the upper hand, at least on paper, as its CPU will have a slightly higher top clock rate of 2.5GHz. The CPU on the One will max out at 2.3GHz, according to what has been leaked so far. Nevertheless, despite this theoretical advantage for Samsung's phone, we doubt that we'll encounter any performance issues with either of these devices.

The amount of RAM found on both handsets is 2GB. That is a bit odd since we've already handled phones touting 3GB of RAM for a better multi-tasking experience. Not that 2GB are insufficient, of course. Quite the contrary, two gigs should more than enough for most user's needs, although another gig would have made both phones much more future-proof.

When it comes to raw storage, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available with either 16 or 32 gigs, and about 6GB of that space will be occupied by non-removable system files. A microSD card slot for storage expansion will be available, which is a welcome feature. Rumor has it that the All New HTC One will also be available in 16- and 32-gigabyte varieties, and seeing a 64GB models is also not out of the question. This time around, HTC has chosen to equip its flagship phone with a slot for microSD cards.

Camera

For the longest time, Samsung's high-end phones have been known for their wonderful cameras, and the Galaxy S5 is likely to be no less impressive in that respect. It sports a 16MP camera with super-fast autofocus, HDR mode with real-time preview, and support for 4K video recording, among other goodies. Of course, we can't label the phone's camera as excellent just yet since we haven't been able to test it thoroughly, but our hopes are pretty high.

The All New HTC One will use a non-traditional, Duo Camera setup, according to leaks – there will be two cameras on the phone's back. Using them in tandem is expected to enable the application of special effects to the image. In particular, the user should be able to adjust the focus of a photo after it has been taken or to create a shallow depth-of-field effect by blurring out the background. Neat? Definitely! Groundbreaking? Well, not really. The Samsung Galaxy S5 already has identical modes built into its camera app, and it doesn't even need the help of a secondary cam in order to enable them. Yet who knows, the Duo Camera might have a higher purpose that we don't know about yet. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

HTC ONE

SAMSUNG GALAXY S5

Expectations

There's a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy S5 – it is powerful, feature-packed, water-resistant, and equipped with a very promising 16MP camera. All of these factors could potentially turn it into a best-seller for the company in no time after its release. But from what we know about the upcoming HTC flagship so far, we can assume that the All New HTC One could be a worthy alternative to Samsung's top phone. HTC's new high-end model will surely pique the curiosity of both critics and consumers with its premium construction, fancy camera setup, and front-facing stereo loudspeakers.

Will the new HTC One be better than the S5, however? Well, at this time, a question like this is impossible to answer since, you know, HTC's upcoming flagship is not official yet and there's a few more blanks about it that have to be filled in. On one hand, we're confident that the new One will be the better-looking smartphone between the two. But on the other hand, we're a bit skeptical about HTC's new Duo Camera, which appears to be little more than an UltraPixel snapper paired with a secondary cam for adding fancy effects to the image.

Furthermore, we're getting the feeling that the All New HTC One won't be that big of an upgrade over its predecessor. This could make people holding on to a 2013 HTC One hesitant about upgrading since they won't be getting a whole lot more for their money. And the last thing that HTC needs right now is for its 2014 flagship to sell poorly. As for the Galaxy S5, previous Samsung flagship models have sold pretty well, and the new one is probably not going to be any less popular.

Nevertheless, we're hoping that even after all the leaks, HTC will have something to surprise us with at its March 25 event. And then, once the new One is announced, we should get a better idea of whether HTC' new Samsung would really stand a chance against Samsung's finest.