HTC one and galaxy s4 - nexus edition

[Nvidiaguy07]

Anyone else interested in either of these phones? Ive been holding on to my galaxy nexus waiting for a really good nexus phone to come out, and im pretty sure these two aren't gonna be outdone anytime soon.

Without their dumb skins - which do you think has the better hardware? I really like the design of the One, but to be honest, im gonna throw a TPU case on it, and the only thing that will matter is how thin and light it is.

For two years, im pretty confident the s4 will be powerful enough to still work great even two years from now.

If you buy straight from google - will you get the one with the better processor? Also whats going to be the deal with the hardware buttons?

Since these phones have just about identical hardware as the other versions - does this mean if you own a non-nexus s4 or one - you can easily just flash a rom to make it a nexus phone? Or will it be more equivalent to just having any other android phone and flashing CM? I think googles stock experience has come so far in that as long as I have a nexus device, I really dont have much reason to use custom roms anymore.

 

[ibex333]

Hardware wise, off course the Galaxy is better. But for some people raw specs aren't everything. There is no app which Galaxy will run but the HTC One wont. Camera quality difference between the two is subjective, since Galaxy is better for day and HTC One for night shooting. As for the SD card, for some people 32GB on the HTC is plenty.

So in the end, I think its important to consider if you want a subjectively better design of the HTC One opposed to the Galaxy's plastic casing. Also, arguably, the HTC One has a much better, clearer in-call quality even on a busy, loud street. The Galaxy can barely be heard in such conditions unless you turn on the speakerphone.

Also, don't forget the HTC One will be significantly cheaper which may be a deciding factor for some. And yet, the HTC one has these annoying black bars, and it lacks a third touch capacitive button which may be a turn-off for some.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

in the past, htc phones have had issues running tethering apps, which is a big deal for some people, so it isnt necessarily true the htc will run all the same software as the gs4. samsung is a safer brand

 

[DeviousTrap]

Also, don't forget the HTC One will be significantly cheaper which may be a deciding factor for some. And yet, the HTC one has these annoying black bars, and it lacks a third touch capacitive button which may be a turn-off for some.

There's a kernel on xda forums to fix that. You can turn the HTC logo into a menu button and then you'll lose the black bar in apps. If people are buying the nexus edition, I think they'll be open to flashing a kernel with that mod.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I voted for the S4. Not just because I have one, but because it has the megapixels to spare on the camera to make up for the shitty AOSP camera software.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I voted for the S4. Not just because I have one, but because it has the megapixels to spare on the camera to make up for the shitty AOSP camera software.

does AOSP camera necessarily mean bad image quality? Sure it misses features like blink detection, but does that mean we get worse image processing?

 

[poofyhairguy]

does AOSP camera necessarily mean bad image quality? Sure it misses features like blink detection, but does that mean we get worse image processing?

In my experience with AOSP/CM vs S2 or S4 stock camera app yes- worse image processing. I don't know about HTC One but it seems HTC has even more software tricks.

 

[swanysto]

How is the battery life on the HTC. The last HTC phone I had was the EVO, so I don't really have a good frame of reference. Is it as good or better than say and S3?

 

[bearxor]

I would say that if you didn't need the removable battery or the msd expansion, the front facing speakers of the One would trump everything else on the S4.

That's just my opinion, of course.

 

[Red Storm]

I would say that if you didn't need the removable battery or the msd expansion, the front facing speakers of the One would trump everything else on the S4.

That's just my opinion, of course.

The speakers on the One are nice no doubt (I have one), but people don't really use their phone's speakers out and about. There's really only one place where I would use my phone's speakers, and that's at home. But when I'm at home, I'd much rather use a bigger tablet or a notebook or the TV. So the sound advantage is not really that major because people don't listen to their phones out loud in public, they use headphones.

 

[RedRooster]

I've been running CM on my S4 and LOVE it! But other than a couple tiny features, it's basically exactly like my GNex which I adored plus was working 100%. So once this stock version is released for the S4, I'm hoping I can just flash that, and it'll be the dream phone(5", 1080p, hard button=bigger screen, etc.) I've always wanted.

 

[Bateluer]

With the Xperia Z now coming to T-Mobile, I'm more curious if it'll see a Google Edition too. Especially since it doesn't have the retarded button layout of the One or the backasswards layout of the GS4.

 

[Insomniator]

If it would come out on Verizon for 299 off contract I'd be happy with either of them, upgraded specs or not.

Never gonna happen though.

 

[Red Storm]

With the Xperia Z now coming to T-Mobile, I'm more curious if it'll see a Google Edition too. Especially since it doesn't have the retarded button layout of the One or the backasswards layout of the GS4.

Is the battery life good? A Google Edition Xperia Z would be very interesting.

 

[s44]

The One won't work on T-Mobile 3G unless you're in a refarm area.

 

[bearxor]

The speakers on the One are nice no doubt (I have one), but people don't really use their phone's speakers out and about. There's really only one place where I would use my phone's speakers, and that's at home. But when I'm at home, I'd much rather use a bigger tablet or a notebook or the TV. So the sound advantage is not really that major because people don't listen to their phones out loud in public, they use headphones.

Again, you have to look at your individual usage case. You say "people" like you're at least quite certain a vast majority of those do but it doesn't apply to everyone. I do almost everything on a phone or iPad now, even at home. There's countless times I'll be sitting at home at be surfing the internet on my phone and watch a trailer or a random youtube video off reddit or something. So, for me, the speakers are a big selling point and that was my two cents worth of opinion.

And yes, I'm not sure if nvidiaguy uses TMobile or not, but the lack of AWS HSPA is a factor if you are. Depending on your area, the S4 may be significantly better for you vs the One.

 

[cronos]

With the Xperia Z now coming to T-Mobile, I'm more curious if it'll see a Google Edition too. Especially since it doesn't have the retarded button layout of the One or the backasswards layout of the GS4.

Is the battery life good? A Google Edition Xperia Z would be very interesting.

Google Edition for the Xperia Z has been rumored for a while now.

Here's one: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_google_edition_allegedly_in_the_works-news-6184.php

 

[Radeon962]

Had the S4 didn't care for it, even though I came from a S3 to Nexus 4 to S4. I went back to the Nexus 4 as the S4 just did not feel "quick" like the Nexus 4. Picked up a HTC One and it feels "quick" like the Nexus 4 even running stock Sense. I have not used the Nexus 4 in about 2 weeks as the HTC One really is that good.

The "quick" feeling might be a moot point as the S4 and One will both be running stock Android, so my feelings could change as the S4 running stock JB could really be amazing and the ability to swap the battery out is a big plus even though the One makes it through my day with no problem.

Build quallity to me is a moot issue as well as I put a case on either one so really all you see is the screen and both are excellent in their own way.

SD card support is a non-issue for me as 16GB is plenty so the 32GB on the One is overkill and 16GB on my Nexus 4 or previous S4 was more than enough as I don't keep music or movies on my phone.

I'll wait for the reviews and see if HTC does indeed drop a stock Rom for the non-Google version of the One and could possibly just load a stock Rom on my One.

I don't use a lot of the Sense stuff like Zoe or Blinkfeed, but am curious how the camera will function with stock Android and the pop-up screen notifications and some of the other stuff that stock does not provide.

 

[Red Storm]

Again, you have to look at your individual usage case. You say "people" like you're at least quite certain a vast majority of those do but it doesn't apply to everyone. I do almost everything on a phone or iPad now, even at home. There's countless times I'll be sitting at home at be surfing the internet on my phone and watch a trailer or a random youtube video off reddit or something. So, for me, the speakers are a big selling point and that was my two cents worth of opinion.

And yes, I'm not sure if nvidiaguy uses TMobile or not, but the lack of AWS HSPA is a factor if you are. Depending on your area, the S4 may be significantly better for you vs the One.

It's anecdotal evidence for sure, but I'm in downtown DC. Everyone uses headphones or earphones. Go into any cafe and there are multitudes of people either browsing on their phones with no sound or they're listening to something with headphones plugged in. It's the same reason why people don't like to use things like Siri or speakerphone in public. My HTC One sounds amazing but the only time I feel free to use the speakers is at home, and at home I'm putting the phone away and using the bigger tablet.

 

[grkM3]

Since both phones are going to have the same exact os then the gs4 hands down is the winner anyway you slice it.

Removable battery
SD card slot
Bigger battery
Better camera
Faster clocked chip set that is not just clocked faster but has a specific revsion that all the other socs don't have
Bigger screen

All these features far out weigh the hardware on the HTC one for choosing a pure nexus experience.

 

[Red Storm]

If the One had on screen buttons I'd say a Nexus version would be the best phone. I like my symmetry and button free fronts, it would have looked great on the One.

 

[poofyhairguy]

You forgot DDR2 vs DDR3 which really helps the GPU.

 

[GTRagnarok]

The HTC One speakers are very good, but you're sacrificing screen space to have them. The fact that the S4's screen takes up so much of the front area is what really appealed to me.

 

[gorcorps]

neither

After seeing what a clunky, barren experience stock android was on the Nexus 7 I have zero interest in bothering with it again. The only benefit getting such a device would have is that the community should be big and active, so there will be lots of roms to make up for how lackluster it is from the get go.

 

[Apex]

How is the battery life on the HTC. The last HTC phone I had was the EVO, so I don't really have a good frame of reference. Is it as good or better than say and S3?

Surprisingly good, much better than the S3.

Full disclosure: My wife had an S3, which I upgraded to an HTC One, and I'm on an S4.