HTC showing amazing RAM management vs another similar spec'd phone on the market. Watch the second lap, every app is already loaded:
I used to contend that these test about as useful as geek bench in determining the real life usage of the phone. But I'll ask; was I wrong?
The worst week I had with the s7 edge, and marks when I started looking at other options, was the beginning of this month in Seattle. The s7 edge could handle running GPS navigation (walking, Google maps beta feature), a podcast, and random texting, help searched, etc. It got horribly laggy and caused me to get lost once or twice. Restarting the phone didn't usually help. It needed some time to cool down I guess.
Removing the recent install of swift key seemed to help, but I did that as I was getting a ride to the airport, so it's hard to judge.
So again, was I/am I wrong? Does Samsung still have enough bloat combined with aggressive multi tasking, that the above is a consequence of it?
The above is anecdotal. It's likely the phone needed a factory reset, which is a common thing in my experience with Samsung devices (though it shouldn't be). I don't know why this is, but in contrast past iPhones, Nexus, and htc (I'm referring to the m7) devices haven't needed that.
Anyway just a thought.
As a side note, here is some honest observations:
I personally love the htc so far, and was getting frustrated with my snap 820 s7 edge. So that's my disclaimer.
The htc is faster in all aspects. If there is a slower area, it might be game load times (I rarely play games, rarely). The s7 should be faster, based on its nand reads (the htc is faster in writes, or something, can't remember). This might be me seeing something that isn't there...but I don't care either way. I use the boost app to limit performance in games in favor of battery. So for 99 percent of my uses, the htc is faster.
Battery is better on the htc. The phone sleeps better, and the battery drains slower in active use. I do a lot of streaming music/podcast.
The software is great. It's close to stock Android and I love it. I haven't switched launchers yet. I have experimented, but the htc launcher feels faster than other options. I have tried to control for animation speeds. I honestly think htc has given the launcher priority in the ram, as exiting apps and rendering the home screen is where the htc launcher seems superior, the most often.
The sound via headphones is great, even though I use mainly Bluetooth. I notice the difference.
The external speaker sounds good, but isn't as loud as I'd like. The s7 might be louder, even if it sound crappy.
I love the lack of bloat, and I love that I don't get a volume warning everytime I listen to music.
The display is great by itself and I'm perfectly happy with it, but the s7 is better. This can be said compared to any phone.
The htc camera is great, has a few quirks, and we will see if it gets even better with updates. The s7 camera is faster, focuses quicker, and does better in really low light situations...even if there is a yellow tinge to the photos taken in low light. Overall the s7 camera is still the best on the market, IMO, but the difference isn't big enough to bother me.
I can't put the htc in a glass of water as a party trick, like I can with the s7.
If I bust my htc, they will send me a new one. That's a nice security, and it's free of charge.
These are my thoughts so far. Please note both phones have the snap 820. From my understanding, the exynos see since improvement in the battery and performance area.
