HTC one or Galaxy s4

[ImDonly1]

My problem with the S4 is it's plastic-y type body. If you don't put a case on it it'll deteriorate rather quickly in the pocket. Scratch, chip etc. The phone will still work well but it may be beat up.

I'm not using a case on my S4. I have one of these full body protectors for the screen and back
http://slickdeals.net/f/6227756-Xtr...-or-Full-Body-Protectors-80-off-Free-Shipping

Amazing deal for $2 (maybe shipping).

 

[bradly1101]

My problem with the S4 is it's plastic-y type body. If you don't put a case on it it'll deteriorate rather quickly in the pocket. Scratch, chip etc. The phone will still work well but it may be beat up.

Thanks to that design the back can be easily popped off where your 64gb card lives.

 

[Qbah]

Can anyone clarify more on the battery standpoint?

Would you think the HTC one's hardware can last me for four years and maybe more?

When do cell phone batteries actually start to degrade?

Considering that the touchscreen smartphone revolution started 6 years ago with the iPhone, I don't think anyone can tell you whether your phone will last the next 4 years. Doesn't matter if you go for the S4 or HTC One.

Grab a phone that you like the looks and feel of (seriously, go to a shop and play with both). And don't think what will it be in 4 years, as most likely it will be total crap or trends will change. Both phones are almost identical in specs, it's down to how they feel when being used. And nobody can tell you that sufficiently - just go and play with them and make a choice then.

 

[kyrax12]

Considering that the touchscreen smartphone revolution started 6 years ago with the iPhone, I don't think anyone can tell you whether your phone will last the next 4 years. Doesn't matter if you go for the S4 or HTC One.

Grab a phone that you like the looks and feel of (seriously, go to a shop and play with both). And don't think what will it be in 4 years, as most likely it will be total crap or trends will change. Both phones are almost identical in specs, it's down to how they feel when being used. And nobody can tell you that sufficiently - just go and play with them and make a choice then.

I like the HTC one a bit more than the S4 after trying them both out in the ATT store. Though, I do want it to last at least four years, because I am planning to use one of these phones as a back-up phone in the future.

 

[toughtrasher]

Great advice.

You can't say it's not helpful though, I personally do this before I even purchase.

 

[lopri]

Battery would be the reason for me to get the S4. Not because I go through multiple batteries a day but because batteries deteriorate over time. An iPhone 4S in my family would last only half a day after just 6 months of relatively heavy use. With removable batteries, there would be no such worries in later time. And when the upgrade time comes, I would get a new back cover for the S4 so that they would look new again (hopefully) and sell them. One thing I liked the iPhone 4/4S design so much compared to the iPhone 5 was how well they aged. Seeing all those damaged iPhone 5s (scratches, dents, nicks, etc,.) at Apple stores was a huge turn-off.

For my parents, I did not need to persuade them or anything. They wanted the S4 themselves at the store because of the screen. That has been a common theme among my friends and co-workers as well. AMOLED screens have a huge advantage v. LCD in indoor display for average consumers from what I've seen. I was not surprised to hear that Moto X is being equipped with AMOLED, either. They simply pop and people go wow.

Myself, I'm upgrade-eligible but sticking to the N4. It may be my loss not to use the upgrade but I just love my N4 that much. ^_^

 

[88keys]

A friend of mine got his the other day and I agree that it is a nice phone and like others have said it mostly depends on where your priorities lie.

IMO, alot of the reviews that I have read seem to be giving the HTC One higher marks for the touchy feely aspects of the phone rather than actual specs and performance.

Here's how I see it:

• I think the SD Card is moot unless you need alot of space or have multiple SD cards for various purposes.
• The Camera is kinda moot for me too. Yeah the S4 camera is better in regards to overall quality, and the HTC One camera takes better photos in low light, but the S4 has a better flash, etc. etc.... The bottom line is that they're both good enough, and If I wanted a high end camera, I wouldn't be looking for it in a smartphone.
• The HQ front facing speaker on the Once is a nice option, but if I wanted to listen to my music in high quality, I'd just put on a nice set of headphones.
• With the exception of the few things, the S4s air gestures are mostly gimmicky and not generally useful.
• The HTC One does seem a little faster, but that is because the Window animation is set by default to 0.5ms. You can do this with the S4 to make it seem just as fast.
• The HTC One boots significantly faster than the S4, but I think this has alot to do with the bloat that the S4 has (it's alot), combined with the the bloat VZW insists on adding aswell. However, root the phone and get rid of all the garbage, and that S4 will boot about as fast.
• Rebooting isn't that important anyway unless you shut your phone on and off alot for no reason... (or if your battery sucks lol)
• The HTC one is widely regarded to have better image quality in regards to colors, I disagree but I'm colorblind so take that with a grain of salt lol.
• The HTC One has the nicer body, but if you want to keep it nice, you might want to use a case at which point it looks like any other phone.

Now for the reasons why I think the S4 is the better phone.

• As I said, the HTC One has the nicer body, but that comes at the expense of having a sealed device which means no access to the battery or expandable storage (if that's important to you)
• I like being able to read texts and email by hovering my finger over the screen.
• I also like being able to check my phone by waving my hand across it. This is usefull if your hands are wet or dirty.
• Slightly larger screen. (I like bigger screens)
• Larger battery, and significantly better battery life

And As I've said in another thread, I think that the smaller battery in the HTC One is major design flaw that alot of reviewers seem to have overlooked. It wouldn't be so bad if t weren't sealed, and IMO, if you are going to manufacture a sealed phone than you should install a good battery. I would have knocked off serious points for that issue alone.
The S4's battery lasts 20% longer than the HTC One in most tests and it charges alot faster. I think the whole point of having a mobile phone is to be mobile.

 

[Dari]

I have some more questions.


I want a device that will last me four years in good shape and maybe even more. The HTC one has no removable battery and at first that didn't bother me. However, I am becoming more concern about the quality of the battery and how well it can hold charges as years go by.

This wouldn't be an issue with the S4 seeing as you can simply replace the battery if it starts to depreciate.

Anyone have any input on this?

Why don't you get the Optimus G Pro? It's cheaper than both, has a larger screen, removable battery and mSD slot. I just bought it for $440 from AT&T and will use it with a pre-paid service.

 

[dawheat]

Why don't you get the Optimus G Pro? It's cheaper than both, has a larger screen, removable battery and mSD slot. I just bought it for $440 from AT&T and will use it with a pre-paid service.

Actually I wonder why the G Pro doesn't get more love, especially compared to the S4/One crowd. Sure it's bigger, but it's thinner than the Note 2 and is closer to the in-hand feel of those phones. Same Snapdragon 600 SOC, 1080p screen, and similar battery life.

Due to it's different release cycle, it's going to look slightly outdated in a month when the Note 3/One Maxx/etc start coming out, but all will have the same 1080p screens and no one is going to sell the difference between a Snapdragon 800 vs 600.

 

[ShagglestheLion]

This one.

http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/phones/xperia-z-tmobile/?gclid=CO-9hM_4mbkCFSFyQgodIj4A5w

 

[zerogear]

[*]Larger battery, and significantly better battery life

I agreed with most of what you were saying except for this. After using both phones, there is no way this is true. HTC charge last longer than S4s on almost all aspects.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why I prefer the S4:

1. I hate charging batteries or being tethered to a charger on a long day. With my S4 I flip batteries and go.

2. I like being able to copy stuff to my phone as easy as copy and pasting onto my MicroSD card. No messing with MTP or whatever on my OSX machine.

3. I prefer the tiny bevel, I like the whole front being the screen. I never use my phone speakers and I would be scared I would get stuff in the grill if they were on front.

4. I use my camera almost exclusively for tourism, which means day shots when I want detail.

5. My favorite ROM maker sticks to Galaxy S devices.

With that said, I wouldn't buy my AT&T S4 again today if I had to buy today, if only because they haven't re-opened the locked bootloader.

 

[88keys]

I agreed with most of what you were saying except for this. After using both phones, there is no way this is true. HTC charge last longer than S4s on almost all aspects.

Well I know that I haven't used one personally, my friend who got his says his batter does drain pretty fast, but he also uses the living crap out of his phone and probably even more so now because it's new to him.
In

But according to most of the benchmarks that I have read (and even reviews), the HTC One does fall short on battery life when compared to the S4. IIRC, the S4 beats most current phones in that aspect.

 

[kyrax12]

I have the S2.. I hope the display/screen on the S4 is mindblowingly more awesome than the S2.

I can't stand the display on the S2.

 

[PlanetJosh]

Haven't used a HTC One to compare to my new Galaxy s4 but HD videos are great on the s4. Google Play streaming movies have annoying buffering pauses. Could be a Google or Sprint issue, idk. You can buy a Google Play movie and just download it then it will never skip but it uses storage.

Edit: My s4 goes about 8 hrs for non stop movie playing/downloading/web usage. Haven't had it on talk time long enough to see how long that lasts.

 

[88keys]

My 4G is better than pretty much all public Wifis. No buffering at all for YT videos.

It's really nice to have when traveling because public wifi sucks major major ass.

 

[Skott]

I still haven't decided which to get. Just out of curiosity does anyone have either of these two phones and uses Toyota's Entune system? The reason I ask is because I have a 2014 Tacoma on order and one of the things I been wondering is if anyone is having good/bad experiences with the Entune system and these two phones. I want to upgrade from a HTC Evo 3D and I want the phone I choose to work flawlessly with the Entune system. Yes, I know I can go to Toyota's Entune website and get some info there but its not much so I thought I would ask here for some real world experiences.

 

[desura]

Sort of related.

iPhone 4s vs HTC One X?

About the same price for the 16gb unlocked model.

 

[chrisnuo13]

I'd prefer HTC one, Galaxy S4 is too expensive.

 

[Linflas]

So OP did you choose one and if so which and are you happy with your choice? I am on Verizon and having a heck of a time deciding which of these to go with. I had pretty much decided on the S4 but got an up close look at the HTC today. A coworker has an one and I have to admit it I really liked it. Plus for my wife simplicity and ease of use are really important and all the reviews I read give an edge to the HTC on that score. In the end I'm sure either one will seem great compared to my aging Bionic so maybe I am just overthinking this.

 

[zaydq]

So OP did you choose one and if so which and are you happy with your choice? I am on Verizon and having a heck of a time deciding which of these to go with. I had pretty much decided on the S4 but got an up close look at the HTC today. A coworker has an one and I have to admit it I really liked it. Plus for my wife simplicity and ease of use are really important and all the reviews I read give an edge to the HTC on that score. In the end I'm sure either one will seem great compared to my aging Bionic so maybe I am just overthinking this.

Play with them. They are both plenty fast and have great cameras(albeit some people will favor one over the other). Are Samsung's proprietary features useful to you? In the end, it depends who you are and what you do with your phone. I, personally, have an HTC One. It is the only Android device to sway me from my iPhone 5. The S3/S4 didn't even budge my decision to do so.