The phone market is a polarizing, fanboy-laden wasteland.
There is one phone that must be the best, and then every other phone has
to be garbage. Of course, that’s nonsense: it’s perfectly reasonable
for two competing products to both be quite excellent, and that’s exactly what we have with the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8).
If your phone is getting a little long in the tooth and it’s time to
upgrade, you don’t care that they’re both good. You don’t need two
phones, you need to know which one of these hot flagship handsets is
better than the other. So let’s put a stake in the ground and declare a
winner as we compare two of the most popular phones of the year.
Build quality and design
Jason: I can appreciate that the water- and dust-resistance of the Galaxy S5 is useful, but I can’t stand
the flap over the USB/Charging port that it necessitates. I feel like
the M8 can survive a rainstorm just fine. I like the lighter weight of
the GS5, but the One’s metal body and curved shape feel a lot nicer in
my hand, and it’s more durable. I want to say a removable battery is
something I care about, but in truth, it’s a feature I never use. Oh,
and the M8 puts the headphone jack on the bottom, where it belongs. The
One wins this category hands-down.
Flo: I happen to like the look and feel of the Galaxy
S5, more so than the aluminum finish on the HTC One (M8). It’s easy to
hold and because it’s a bit shorter than the One, it fits better in my
pockets. I really like the pearly iridescent backing on the white
variant of the Galaxy S5, too.
But I’m a reckless smartphone user. I often drop my phone on the floor
at the train station and in the parking lot, and it’s usually buried
under a pile of things somewhere in my room. The HTC One (M8) will last
through the harshest beating, but its long narrow chassis just won’t fit
in my pocket. So if you don’t have small pockets, go for the M8.
Blake: With a design that feels like a step forward
from its predecessor, the One line has never looked more premium. The
all-plastic and six-month-old LG G2 looks miles better than the Galaxy
S5, but putting Samsung’s latest flagship next to the M8 is just a
no-brainer.
What I really appreciate about the GS5 is its water and
dust resistance. It’s a direction that I’d like to see more
manufacturers go in, but I’d ultimately be willing to sacrifice this for
a design like the M8.
While there is a lot more to consider, I really don’t see much of a contest. The M8 takes the cake here.
Winner: HTC One (M8)
Performance and battery life
Jason: The GS5 is slightly faster, and has slightly better battery life. Emphasis on slightly.
In real-world use, both are so responsive and fluid that I can’t really
tell a difference. No matter what the benchmark charts say, I can’t
recommend making a purchase based on performance. It’s a tie.
Flo: They both have Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processors and they were both beaten in many tests by the iPhone 5S in Anandtech’s benchmarks.
If getting a phone with the highest performing specifications is a
priority, you’re looking toward the wrong platform. To reiterate what
Jason said, this is very much a tie between the two.
Blake: Both phones share the same Snapdragon 801, 2GB
RAM, and other nearly identical specifications. Both have batteries that
will last you a full day, with the Galaxy S5 managing to squeeze out
just a little more juice.
After using the M8 and the GS5 enough, the performance differences
between the two seem negligible. Never once have I felt like one of the
smartphones was slowing me down compared to the other.
Winner: Tie
Cameras and camera software
Jason: This one is tough. No doubt about it, in
well-lit conditions the Galaxy S5 takes better pictures with the
rear-facing camera. And it takes much better video, always. But the HTC
One (M8) excels in two areas I particularly care about: low-light
performance, and a vastly superior front-facing camera. I find the M8’s
camera software better combines speed, ease-of-use, and advanced
features. The GS5’s rear camera is definitely better, but software and a
superior front camera make this a tie.
Flo: I’m obsessed with taking selfies and the HTC One’s
5-megapixel front-facing camera is the best front camera I’ve ever
used. The One is also great for weekend nights when I’m at the bar with
my friends because of its low-light capabilities. Basically, the One is a
phone for narcissists, and I don’t sweat over the limitations of
4-megapixel UltraPixels because I don’t use my phone for super-serious
photography. That’s what my beloved Canon T3i is for.
Blake: The Galaxy S5 has a solid 16 megapixel camera
that produces some great photos but can’t compete with the One (M8) in
terms of low-light performance. On the flipside, the M8 camera’s photos
should be limited online sharing, or you’ll find yourself in a pixelated
mess.
As far as camera software is concerned, HTC and Samsung went in
different directions. The M8 has a ton of features in the camera
software, most of which are elegantly tucked away for when you want to
dig in. Unsurprisingly, Samsung’s camera software, while oozing with
features, is an in-your-face mess.
There’s going to be a lot of personal preference involved when it comes
to choosing one of the two smartphones solely based on their cameras, so
this is another tie.
Winner: HTC One (M8)
Display and Audio
Jason: I’m giving this to the HTC One (M8). That Galaxy
S5 has one heck of a nice screen - bright, detailed, great color
accuracy and saturation, and great viewing angles. While the M8’s
display doesn’t quite match it, it’s still quite excellent. HTC’s audio
quality just kills Samsung’s, though. The stereo speakers are
louder and clearer, and placing them on the front of the device instead
of the back simply makes sense. The M8 even sounds much better during a
simple phone call.
Flo: The HTC One (M8), hands down. Just last weekend I was using the device as a portable boombox to stream Digitally Imported while painting a room. It lasted through many hours of streaming and I didn’t even need an amplifier to hear my music.
While the Galaxy S5 has a (super!) bright and vibrant display, the audio
funnels through one little speaker on the back. You’ll be fine if you
like to watch videos on the train with headphones on, though.
Blake: While the HTC One (M8) ships with an impressive
display, it can’t match Samsung’s Super AMOLED HD display. Samsung
nailed it in the screen department.
There is absolutely no contest in the audio department, as the
front-facing BoomSound speakers on the M8 murder the GS5’s tiny speaker
on its backside.
While I’d take the GS5's display over the M8’s any day, I’d also
probably be willing to live with a less impressive display for the best
audio quality you can find on any smartphone available, period.
Winner: HTC One (M8)
TouchWiz vs. Sense 6
Jason: TouchWiz is better in the Galaxy S5 than in past
Samsung phones, but it’s still a bit of a mess. The “grid of circles”
approach to Samsung’s software doesn’t fit in with the Android
aesthetic. And even though Samsung pre-loads less bloatware on the GS5,
there’s still a lot of stuff on there you might not ever use. HTC’s
reskinning of Android uses a lighter touch, and it’s got a better
keyboard and better treatment of the lock screen and phone app. I also
find myself instantly addicted to the M8’s double-tap to wake and Motion
Launch gestures. HTC’s software is simply more streamlined and useful,
while Samsung is still trying to do all the things. I have to give HTC points for committing to timely software updates on all its phones for two years, too.
Flo: I echo Jason’s sentiments about TouchWiz. It’s a
huge improvement over its predecessor, but there’s still a bit of
bloatware to account for. HTC’s Sense 6 is light, fresh, and extremely
flat. HTC stripped its UI of any and all aging artifacts. David Ruddock
of Android Police tweeted it best:
The tl;dr of Sense 6.0 is basically “flatland.” HTC seriously went through and killed all gradients, shadows, and embossing.
— David Ruddock (@RDR0b11) April 17, 2014
This one goes to HTC.
Blake: One of the first things I do to any Android
phone after the initial setup is install Nova Launcher to rid myself of
any custom skin. That said, if I were to choose between Sense 6 or
TouchWiz, it would probably be the latter.
I’ve always had trouble using Sense as my daily driver for a prolonged
amount of time when using HTC phones, for whatever reason. Blinkfeed is
great to use but not enough to stay with Sense. This isn’t to say that
TouchWiz is much better, but I do appreciate some of the new design
elements that have gone into TouchWiz this time around.
Sorry HTC, it’s TouchWiz for me.
Winner: HTC One (M8)
Unique features
Jason: I have fun with the UFocus effect on the M8, but
the GS5’s faux-depth-of-field effect is nearly as good. Frankly, most
of the things the fancy Duo Camera does are gimmicks I’m not likely to
use more than once or twice. The always-on step counting in the One
works really well, while the GS5’s S Health features, while vastly more
complete, are also wildly inaccurate. I can’t get the fingerprint
scanner to work half the time, and my success rate with the heart rate
monitor is worse. Download booster is a neat idea, even if mobile data
is expensive and 3 of the 4 major carriers disable it.
The fast charging and waterproofing are the most useful new features of
the GS5. I give Samsung the win here, not because it’s unique extras
are fantastic, but because HTC didn’t really pile up the M8 with a lot
of novel stuff so much as focus on getting core features right.
Flo: The HTC One (M8) isn’t full of gimmicks, and
that’s what initially attracted me to it. Its Smart Sensors work
remarkably well and have been opened up to other developers to utilize,
so I’m looking forward to see what comes out of that. As for the Duo
camera, I still haven’t used it in any sort of real world scenario,
though I mostly just take pictures of my cat—and selfies, of course.
I do wish that the One had the fingerprint security on the phone like
one the iPhone and Galaxy S5. Also, the Galaxy S5 supports the ability
to shout out “Okay, Google” to launch Google Now. This one goes to
Samsung.
Blake: HTC One (M8) gets this round. The unique
features on the M8 are more useful than what you’ll find on the S5.
Instead of a fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor that work half
the time, the M8 comes with a secondary depth sensor on the camera and
some really cool tricks that might be less novel but at least work
consistently.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5
Overall
Jason: I would be happy carrying around either phone in
my pocket. Both are a lot faster than last year’s models, with much
longer battery life, and refined software. But I simply enjoy using the
HTC One (M8) more. It has a tangible premium high-quality feel, and
software that seems deliberately and carefully crafted. With the Galaxy
S5, I constantly run into something that seems half-baked, or included
just for the sake of adding features (like the heart rate monitor).
HTC’s menus, settings, lock screens, dialers, keyboards—the regular
stuff that doesn’t get headlines but is used every day—looks and feels
better than Samsung’s. And I can’t get past the fact that a $600+ phone
shouldn’t feel as plasticy and cheap as the GS5. The fact that you get a
32GB M8 for the price of a 16GB GS5 just tips the scales further in
HTC’s favor.
Flo: If you read my review,
you know that I liked the Galaxy S5 for a number of reasons and I often
suggest Samsung's variant over any other to technophobic friends. But
if you're serious about your smartphone and want a flagship that's fast,
well-made, and has a perfectly capable camera, the HTC One (M8) is your
pick.
Blake: While I’ve been rooting for the HTC One in
almost every section of this comparison, I’ll tell you that I already
bought a Galaxy S5. I might return it, but it was a purchase I made,
nonetheless.
Outside of the display and camera, there’s really nothing that should
keep someone from getting the HTC One (M8). It looks, feels, and sounds
better than anything Samsung has ever produced. It also ships with
double the storage for the same price, which is something to consider.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق