Phones S4 vs. HTC One - Which did you buy?

[FlipCup]

I still have yet to choose a One or S4. I am leaning towards the One, mainly because I don't feel like waiting for the 32GB Samsung S4. I also like the idea that the One has already been rooted and has ROMs available. Only if AT&T would release some damn information about the 32GB S4!!!

 

[MRU]

Hard to go wrong here, but now that I have CM10 on my S4 I'm beyond happy with my choice. I feel like I have a nexus... that has a 5" 1080p screen, an sd card slot, a 2600mah removable battery, a fantastic camera, a physical home button and LTE. The hardware underneath really flies now .

Question does putting CM10 on it remove the samsung camera app, therefore you lose all the smart auto and HDR settings...

 

[Fynd]

Question does putting CM10 on it remove the samsung camera app, therefore you lose all the smart auto and HDR settings...

Yep, removes samsung's app. CM's camera app is good, though. ~20 scene settings, including several night modes. Power shutter/volume zoom, sd card saving, burst mode, touch focus options, iso options, live filters, handsfree, size settings, exposure, HDR, etc are all there. Just missing the special shots (drama, beauty face, etc).

 

[gmanist1000]

I still have yet to choose a One or S4. I am leaning towards the One, mainly because I don't feel like waiting for the 32GB Samsung S4. I also like the idea that the One has already been rooted and has ROMs available. Only if AT&T would release some damn information about the 32GB S4!!!

I've always been the type to say waiting for something you REALLY want is best. You never know what could have been.... but if you're that impatient then it's not like the One is a bad choice

 

[soulreaver99]

I went with the HTC One mainly because of internal storage and the developer edition supporting AT&T LTE in the US. I know that the Galaxy S4 has microSD expandability but those are only good for media files. I've run into storage space issues when I had the Galaxy S3 and the Note II so I wanted to try something different. So far I am happy with the HTC One

 

[MRU]

Yep, removes samsung's app. CM's camera app is good, though. ~20 scene settings, including several night modes. Power shutter/volume zoom, sd card saving, burst mode, touch focus options, iso options, live filters, handsfree, size settings, exposure, HDR, etc are all there. Just missing the special shots (drama, beauty face, etc).

Cool thanks

 

[LorPGDL]

Actually any you will pick up now will have the nokia microphone. The injunction stops them from using them, but they 'are' allowed to use parts stock they already have - and likely they will have quite a lot of them stockpiled.

thats the thing, i have no idea how many they have stockpiled, could be enough for a week, a month, but probably not much more as then the storage costs would be too high - its all about a lean supply chain.

i have no idea how to check which microphone is built in other than sawing the phone in two, but i believe the replacement will be quite inferior.

 

[gmanist1000]

I went with the HTC One mainly because of internal storage and the developer edition supporting AT&T LTE in the US. I know that the Galaxy S4 has microSD expandability but those are only good for media files. I've run into storage space issues when I had the Galaxy S3 and the Note II so I wanted to try something different. So far I am happy with the HTC One

Doesn't the GS4 have 64GB of storage? And to get that with the One you need AT&T... correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[mattopotamus]

Actually any you will pick up now will have the nokia microphone. The injunction stops them from using them, but they 'are' allowed to use parts stock they already have - and likely they will have quite a lot of them stockpiled.

thats the thing, i have no idea how many they have stockpiled, could be enough for a week, a month, but probably not much more as then the storage costs would be too high - its all about a lean supply chain.

i have no idea how to check which microphone is built in other than sawing the phone in two, but i believe the replacement will be quite inferior.

Could one of you elaborate on this? Are some using Nokia HD mics and some not? Is it possible the new mics would be better?

 

[MRU]

Could one of you elaborate on this? Are some using Nokia HD mics and some not? Is it possible the new mics would be better?

Basically HTC are using a special HDR microphone in the one.

But a teardown revealed the part was actually a Nokia HAAC, which Nokia developed 'exclusively' for Nokia handsets.

Clearly HTC's suppliers sold HTC HDR microphones that they had signed an exclusivity agreement with Nokia to produce.

This ruling basically says HTC can use up their supplies but must cease using them once they have used up that supply chain, and therefore HTC must source a new microphone part.

However yes you are quiet right, there is no reason to not believe that the new part could actually be 'better' than the current Nokia HAAC part. But I imagine in reality whatever they swap to, it will be virtually indistinguishable to most users regardless.

 

[mattopotamus]

Basically HTC are using a special HDR microphone in the one.

But a teardown revealed the part was actually a Nokia HAAC, which Nokia developed 'exclusively' for Nokia handsets.

Clearly HTC's suppliers sold HTC HDR microphones that they had signed an exclusivity agreement with Nokia to produce.

This ruling basically says HTC can use up their supplies but must cease using them once they have used up that supply chain, and therefore HTC must source a new microphone part.

However yes you are quiet right, there is no reason to not believe that the new part could actually be 'better' than the current Nokia HAAC part. But I imagine in reality whatever they swap to, it will be virtually indistinguishable to most users regardless.

Thank you good sir!

 

[zbarvian]

Put me down for the One.

I never gave the S4 a fair chance, and I think I can live with that. The One is shaping up to be a great device. HTC just needs to patch up some issues, give us 4.2, and it should be groovy.

Dang, why the change of heart? Last time I checked, you were pretty smitten by the S4 still.

 

[3bs]

although i love that all aluminum uni-body of HTC one but i will buy the galaxy s4 because i love that 1080P AMOLED screen, 13MP camera, air-view, touch-wiz, swift-key keyboard, etc. it's an amazing phone.

SwiftKey is available on the Play Store.

 

[LorPGDL]

Basically HTC are using a special HDR microphone in the one.

But a teardown revealed the part was actually a Nokia HAAC, which Nokia developed 'exclusively' for Nokia handsets.

Clearly HTC's suppliers sold HTC HDR microphones that they had signed an exclusivity agreement with Nokia to produce.

This ruling basically says HTC can use up their supplies but must cease using them once they have used up that supply chain, and therefore HTC must source a new microphone part.

However yes you are quiet right, there is no reason to not believe that the new part could actually be 'better' than the current Nokia HAAC part. But I imagine in reality whatever they swap to, it will be virtually indistinguishable to most users regardless.

as much as i would like you to be true, i would not be as sure that there are mics out there that perform as good as nokias. however, i have no idea about the technology so i just wish and hope

 

[MRU]

Dang, why the change of heart? Last time I checked, you were pretty smitten by the S4 still.[/QUOTE]

That was ages ago

Or at least it seems like it

 

[zbarvian]

Dang, why the change of heart? Last time I checked, you were pretty smitten by the S4 still.[/QUOTE]

That was ages ago

Or at least it seems like it

Yeah, I haven't been on here for a while. Good decision on his part, if I do say so myself.

 

[maxosx]

Just received my HTC One, will root it on my day off. I don't care for the stock config. But that's also why I enjoy Android, I've been rooting for years. XDA is but one example of a one stop resource for all kinds of builds, ROM's, etc.

Just finished rooting & performing a lot of optimizing of my S4, I'm a bit more fond of Samsung so I already knew exactly how I wanted it.

I'm so glad we have choices. I still use my iP5 but less & less. If Apple gives us a 5" display I'll buy one immediately. The rest is of little interest, it's already a good basic smartphone.

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SwiftKey is available on the Play Store.

It's my favorite. A strong plus for Android phones.

 

[soulreaver99]

I got a Galaxy S4 for work and was excited right up to the point where I held it in my hands. I never realized how cheap the phone feels especially on the edges. The build quality is worse than the Note II and I don't remember the GS3 feeling this bad. In terms of use, the phone feels laggy and I ran into some issues when using the email app where the keyboard doesn't pop up unless I completely close and restart the app.

My HTC One is being exchanged right now because of a dead pixel. Hope to get it back soon. I'm going to tinker with the S4 in the meantime and hopefully the experience will get better. You can take my opinions with a grain of salt but this is my experience so far and I did not have a good first impression.

 

[ajumbaje]

How is audio output through the headphones for each device? I'll be using bluetooth or a wired headset(nothing too fancy).

Currently have an iPhone 4S in case anyone can make a comparison

 

[dapitts08]

just sold my iPhone 4s today and got the HTC One.

so far no complaints.

i haven't used it much yet though.

 

[gmanist1000]

How is audio output through the headphones for each device? I'll be using bluetooth or a wired headset(nothing too fancy).

Currently have an iPhone 4S in case anyone can make a comparison

They sound the same to me. Is there really a difference between devices on each? Messing with the EQ on different phones can make them sound different, though.

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I got a Galaxy S4 for work and was excited right up to the point where I held it in my hands. I never realized how cheap the phone feels especially on the edges. The build quality is worse than the Note II and I don't remember the GS3 feeling this bad. In terms of use, the phone feels laggy and I ran into some issues when using the email app where the keyboard doesn't pop up unless I completely close and restart the app.

My HTC One is being exchanged right now because of a dead pixel. Hope to get it back soon. I'm going to tinker with the S4 in the meantime and hopefully the experience will get better. You can take my opinions with a grain of salt but this is my experience so far and I did not have a good first impression.

It feels cheaper than most phones, yes... and if you bend the phone (even slightly) you will hear lots of nasty cracks and pops.

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just sold my iPhone 4s today and got the HTC One.

so far no complaints.

i haven't used it much yet though.

Be sure to check back and tell us your thoughts, I'm curious!

 

[MRU]

How is audio output through the headphones for each device? I'll be using bluetooth or a wired headset(nothing too fancy).

Currently have an iPhone 4S in case anyone can make a comparison

I did this test side by side..... Other than camera test this was one of the more important test for me as I do like using my phone to listen to music to.

Unquestionably the HTC One wins. Without beats enabled the sound is very similar to each other, with beats enabled you hear a lot of crisper extra detail in your music. A guitar riff or a violin solo that was hidden in the track is suddenly audible on the one. Beats audio works with bluetooth too. So yeah for clarity of sound through a complete mix of music - the one wins.

Added to the fact that the stock music app is better on the HTC one - the Samsung music app is barebones - means it further wins the music test. Add FM radio built into the One and none for the S4 too.

Regardless of those things, just on sound quality alone - the sound quality on headphones is better - no question imho.

 

[ajumbaje]

Thanks, MRU.

Also saw some reviews on amazon that the spigen ultra crystal(my preferred brand) screen protector causes the capacitive buttons to be less sensitive. Didn't see those reviews on the same protector for the gs4. Any other brand suggestions for screen protectors besides zagg(don't like them)?

 

[ajumbaje]

I did this test side by side..... Other than camera test this was one of the more important test for me as I do like using my phone to listen to music to.

Unquestionably the HTC One wins. Without beats enabled the sound is very similar to each other, with beats enabled you hear a lot of crisper extra detail in your music. A guitar riff or a violin solo that was hidden in the track is suddenly audible on the one. Beats audio works with bluetooth too. So yeah for clarity of sound through a complete mix of music - the one wins.

Added to the fact that the stock music app is better on the HTC one - the Samsung music app is barebones - means it further wins the music test. Add FM radio built into the One and none for the S4 too.

Regardless of those things, just on sound quality alone - the sound quality on headphones is better - no question imho.

Saw this review:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4-review-914p8.php

I'll probably test each phone in store with the earbuds/bluetooth headphones I use

 

[3bs]

My One should be arriving next week