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6 Ways the Samsung Galaxy S4 Could Beat the HTC One

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No smartphone is perfect as even the iPhone 5‘s and the Samsung Galaxy S4‘s of the world have their drawbacks. The same goes for the HTC One (HTC M7), HTC’s newly announced smartphone that will be coming to the market to compete with the likes of the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4. We’ve already touched on the HTC One features that are worth caring about, now it’s time to look at some of the perceived flaws of HTC’s new device.

Read: 8 HTC One Features You’ll Actually Care About.

The HTC One is HTC’s brand new flagship smartphone for 2013. The device, which was rumored as far back as 2012, finally made its way to the stage at an event in New York City where HTC showed off the smartphone that it hopes will bring the company back to the place that it once was in the world of Android. Before the Samsung Galaxy S series took over.

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The HTC One will be HTC’s answer to the Samsung Galaxy S4.

On paper, the HTC One has all the components of a fantastic smartphone release. The device features a gorgeous 1080p display with 468-pixels-per-inch, best in class thus far. It comes with a quad-core processor as well to go with a 4-Ultrapixel camera capable of delivering gorgeous looking photos, a sleek metal design, front-facing speakers and high performance voice quality on calls.

The HTC One is also powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the new HTC Sense 5.0 which features a number of powerful additions including BlinkFeed and will be bringing a new look from previous versions of HTC Sense.

Despite all of those features though, the HTC One is indeed missing some components that smartphone buyers might covet. These perceived flaws which are both hardware and software in nature might not be deal breakers for some people but for others, they may be reason to pause before buying the HTC One when it arrives later this year. Or worse yet, a reason to not buy the HTC One at all and instead opt for another phone.

One of those options is the Samsung Galaxy S4, a device rumored for March and one that could best the HTC One in a number of areas, now that we know the HTC One’s specifications.

Here now are six ways that the Samsung Galaxy S4 could beat the HTC One.

6 Ways the Samsung Galaxy S4 Could Beat the HTC One

Wireless Charging

The HTC Droid DNA, a high-end 1080p Android smartphone that arrived on Verizon back in November, included a feature that many smartphone buyers have been lusting after. Namely, built-in wireless charging.

For whatever reason, the HTC One isn’t listed as having wireless charging support, and according to Droid-Life, a representative from HTC said that wireless charging is not in the HTC One and that it’s a “Verizon thing.”

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The Galaxy S4 should feature wireless charging support.

This means that those who are looking to charge the device without wires may never be able to do so. One because the wireless charging isn’t built in and two because the device doesn’t have a removable back that can work with a wireless charging kit.

The Galaxy S4 will almost certainly have a wireless charging kit which means that it will likely have a removable back and removable battery as well.

Removable Battery

The HTC One utilizes a full metal design. Unfortunately, this means that the device does not feature a removable battery and instead, features an embedded one that that checks in at 2,300 mAh.

That’s a decently sized battery for a smartphone of this caliber but because it’s non-removable, it could be a deal-breaker for some buyers. That’s because a non-removable battery means that uses won’t be able to attach an extended battery onto the HTC One in order to give it more juice.

Galaxy Note 2 Battery Life

It also means that it will be much more difficult to replace if and when it goes bad. Instead of just taking off the back flap and installing a new battery, the process will be much more difficult.

Again, the Galaxy S4 will almost certainly come with a removable battery since rumors suggest Samsung will provide an official wireless battery kit.

MicroSD Slot

Indeed, the HTC One will be coming in both 32GB and 64GB variants which is going to be more than enough storage space for some users. But for those that wish to go beyond those limits, it won’t be possible as the HTC One won’t come with a microSD card slot.

What this means is that those who fill up the 32GB or 64GB of storage space, and there are people who will exceed this space, will need to start deleting content or becoming more reliant upon cloud storage.

This won’t be as big of a problem as it was when the HTC One X arrived with its starting model containing 16GB of storage, but for those who eat up a lot of space with photos, videos and apps and who desire more space, it might be a turn off.

There is a reason why there have been rumors of 128GB smartphones. Some users simply need a ton of space or want to have the option to have more space.

Samsung is known for putting microSD card slots on its smartphones and we can’t see the Galaxy S4 being any different, especially if it does keep a design similar to the Galaxy S3 as is rumored.

The company has been hard at work on perfecting and offering software so it’s possible that it will offer a microSD card slot on its Galaxy S4 for power users.

Verizon at Launch

While there are rumors of an HTC One for Verizon, the carrier with the largest 4G LTE network in the land, the carrier did not emerge as a launch carrier today. Instead, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile will be the trio of big name U.S. carriers that house the HTC One when it arrives later this year.

Not having Verizon as an option is a big deal. For one, Verizon’s 4G LTE network is the most attractive with its 400+ 4G LTE markets across the United States. That dwarfs the networks of AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile by a long shot with AT&T boasting under 200 markets at the moment.

Verizon also consistently is rated at the top in terms of network reliability and customer service making it an enticing destination for those that have had issues elsewhere.

Furthermore, Verizon customers who may have wanted to keep their unlimited data plan by buying the HTC One at an unsubsidized price can’t do that.

There is talk of a Verizon HTC One, but it likely won’t arrive until after the Samsung Galaxy S4 and quite possibly the iPhone 5S as well. Speaking of that, there is word of a Galaxy S4 on Verizon already.

This could mean that the HTC One has to compete not only against the Galaxy S4 on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, where it will also likely end up, but on Verizon and probably U.S. Cellular as well.

Software Updates

HTC and American carriers are notorious for delaying updates and being slower than competitors. For instance, while other carriers and regions have the HTC One X Jelly Bean update, the AT&T HTC One X is without it with no release date in sight.

HTC may try and change this in 2013, but based on its track record and the massive feature additions to Sense 5.0, updates could roll out much slower with the HTC One.

Samsung on the other hand has proven that it can deliver fast updates, even while delivering a host of new features. We saw it with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update which rolled out to U.S. models relatively quickly.

Android 4.2

Finally, the HTC One comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which is not the latest version of Jelly Bean. For whatever reason, and maybe partially due to the development of HTC Sense 5, the HTC One is launching with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, something that the company only briefly mentioned during the launch event.

Android 4.1 is a great operating system but it’s also an aging one. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean has already replaced it and Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie may be on the way in May.

While it’s certainly possible that HTC will skip Android 4.2 altogether, it’s also entirely possible that it may need to roll out Android 4.2 first and then move to Android 5.0.

If that’s true, Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie wouldn’t likely roll out until much later in the year. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to launch with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on board which would give it a distinct advantage.

Those who don’t wish to wait for the newest Android features will definitely want to factor that in when choosing whether to buy the HTC One.

41 Comments

41 Comments

  1. prs2011

    02/19/2013 at 3:20 pm

    Wireless charging? Then what is that black thing in the picture on the right with the plug attached to it?

    It’s less ‘wireless’ and more like ‘portless’ as the difference is you don’t have to directly plug a wire into a port on the phone. Whilst I can see it be an advantage for extremely lazy people, it’s not quite the ‘dream’ I’ve had of wireless power yet.

    • Deepak

      04/01/2013 at 4:55 am

      nicely said prs 2011

  2. Christopher Boyer

    02/19/2013 at 5:57 pm

    Wireless charging is meaningless if you have to be on a charging pad, why not just plug it in. Verizon is not better where I live, they have more dead spots than AT&T. Software updates are the one thing that make me hesitant switching to Android.

    • Jason Itell

      12/11/2013 at 4:18 am

      In my experience, verizon has more dead spots in more areas than either sprint or at&t. What they have done right for marketing purposes is putting all of their investment I’m into highly populated urban areas so the people who tweet the most loudly on social networks get good results out of Verizon.

  3. Cory Weston (@gaymormondude)

    02/19/2013 at 9:54 pm

    You do know that last year HTC had the fastest update time right? HTC phones where updated in 4 months. Samsung phones in 6. So HTC delaying updates not if last year is to be believed. You can go on about the year before but 2012 HTC had the best Android update record. A lot of the delays can be blamed on the carrier. Mainly AT&T and Verizon which both were at the bottom in terms of updates. T-Mobile was the carrier with the fastest updates with Sprint second.

    • stumpyshells

      02/20/2013 at 8:25 am

      cool thats good to know please post up which fantasy land you got your facts from

      • м ч × Φ м α † ● s €

        04/02/2013 at 11:31 pm

        google “HTC upgrades Android devices faster than any of its rivals” and you should find the news from 21 december, I tried to include a couple of links but apparently it’s not allowed to post links

    • м ч × Φ м α † ● s €

      03/30/2013 at 10:21 pm

      totally agree with you, and not only in 2012 but apparently throughout the whole android history (I tried to include some links in an early attempt to post this comment but it seems it’s not allowed).. I don’t live in the U.S. so I’ve got the international 32GB version of the OneX and I received the jelly bean update on 16 november (which happened to be my birthday too, so it was like htc gave me a bday present)

  4. Natasha lloyd

    02/20/2013 at 1:27 am

    Other than there being no expandable memory, the reasons given are a total farce. These are things that a Samsung fan would put up. No matter how much the other rival companies do, there will always be faults to be found. For once, give it up to HTC for making such a gorgeous phone that is full of amazing features.

    • LNX

      02/21/2013 at 10:50 pm

      Not So Fast! I’ve been a HTC user since 2005 & I’m done with them. Horrible battery life & no way to pop in a freshly charged 2nd battery is a deal breaker for me. There’s also no reason good enough to have launched with 4.1.2. The Samsung S4 will be my 1st NON HTC phone in 8 years.

      • Bob

        02/21/2013 at 11:02 pm

        I’m just as tempted as you. I’ve been using HTC since the hero. I’m tempted to move on. wanted the xperia z but the viewing angles and s4pro ruined it :/

        • fknshwow

          03/01/2013 at 6:18 am

          I moved on… I had the desire HD and the HTC one x, now i have the galaxy s3.. can i just say… the galaxy s3 feels like an over priced piece of sh*t… made of horrible weak materials, touchwiz is pretty crap compared to sense. HTC make incredible phones, and even when they do make them out of plastic, they use good plastic (Unlike the S3) that makes the phone feel solid. I cant wait for the HTC one, i missed you HTC

    • donpark1

      03/08/2013 at 9:38 am

      I agree with you… but I don’t even care about the expandable memory. If I need more than 32GB I need to use my computer. LOL. I thought that it was just me that the 6 ways were kinda lame… Ultimately, if you had to list something and these are the best ways that the galaxy could be better, I like this phone even more. I think the camera sold me.

      • м ч × Φ м α † ● s €

        03/30/2013 at 7:02 pm

        and I agree with you (both).. actually, if we were to be rigurous about it (and not even too much) only 3 of the ‘ways’ refer to the devices as such, the other 3 are related to software and/or depend on the carriers (and the part about the updates is not even true, as I wrote in another comment)

  5. Mohd Aktar

    02/20/2013 at 3:03 am

    Samsung is a great company and I love Samsung gadgets. The features of the Galaxy S4 is better then HTC.

    • Jerome

      02/20/2013 at 7:30 pm

      Nope the features of the S4 are gimmicky

    • fknshwow

      03/01/2013 at 6:21 am

      for one…. galaxy s4 hasnt even been released yet, for all we know it could be a revamped S3. and secondly… the features listed above are pointless wank factors!!

  6. LT

    02/20/2013 at 7:36 am

    I agree. That’s not wireless charging and I really don’t care about it. I have no problem plugging my phone at night. I don’t care about the sd card neither. We live in the clouds now. I believe my current HTC EVO 3D has a 16gb card and I never had to change it. I’m definitely getting this phone.

  7. youssef chehade

    02/20/2013 at 1:07 pm

    Actually will you grab your phone or the wireless pad ?, SD card useless I’m on 16 GB and I have 10 GB free space , updates HTC is the best despite this bad year 2012 , build quality will be better on HTC , sound , resolution even better camera also … No I think HTC is the best smartphone maker for this year

    • fknshwow

      03/01/2013 at 6:21 am

      +1

    • Scuertis

      05/20/2013 at 4:55 am

      Sorry, the Camera is worse, poor assumption on your part.

  8. Lu

    02/20/2013 at 2:40 pm

    Only thing I didn’t like about the HTC ONE X’s is the multi tasking, when you switch apps it would have to reload the page. However to me it had the best sound output, and best view of the screen in direct sunlight from any other and of course the built quality was solid. So I know that the new ONE will be worthy. I still wanna wait to see what Samsung got up their sleeves with the GS4 before making my decision for my next smartphone. either way this year will be fun.

  9. elesia

    02/20/2013 at 3:30 pm

    am ready to upgrade from galaxys2 to four. i love anything galaxy.

    • Syn Nickle

      02/20/2013 at 4:13 pm

      Clearly you didn’t like the S3 ;)

  10. sergios

    02/21/2013 at 1:29 am

    i thing you don’t know what you say, you are out of the reality

  11. Seth

    02/24/2013 at 1:27 am

    Wireless charging is very restrictive. It makes it more difficult to make a phone call or even surf the web because you have restricted the range of motion. I can hold the phone in my hand and write this review while my phone charges with a cord. I know which way works best for me. also 2300mah should be plenty. with 1800mah in my rezound I can get 2 full days (light use) with much older technology and ics.

  12. elango

    03/04/2013 at 10:09 am

    The Samsung S3 is too big and the plastic casing will break over time and normal use. My phone broke exactly center on either side of the screen(not the screen but the case only). The phone case is not designed to withstand small stress because of it’s length. The HTC One’s metal case is cool!! The metal casing is a must for such big phones and HTC One will wins the argument. Check here for more info https://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1494685/samsung_galaxy_s3_cracked_case_problems.html

  13. Trevor

    03/07/2013 at 12:49 pm

    The htc One in white looked good out of the box, but over time it turned dull grey and looked like a child’s used toy and performed liked one, while my brother’s Samsung galaxy s3 still looks like a premium phone and performs better than the htc. I’m getting the galaxy s4 when it comes out, period.

    • м ч × Φ м α † ● s €

      03/30/2013 at 7:13 pm

      ok not to change your mind or anything but my OneX looks exactly as white as day 1, and with the quick updates it got to perform flawlessly.. but the s3 even new out of the box to me looks like a cheap toy and the user interface is dull and boring

  14. wofg

    03/07/2013 at 12:52 pm

    But, less gimmicky than the useless features like the louder boost in beats audio in One X.

  15. kd

    03/07/2013 at 12:58 pm

    like the piece of crap most of the htc phones have been, including the one and done X. it looks worse in person than on line and no different for the new htc One. I’m done with htc forever, galaxy here I come.

  16. CasTillo

    03/11/2013 at 1:51 am

    They always say that samsung galaxy can Beat hTc One but thats not true.Im using Samsung galaxy S3 My friend is using hTc Desire X he Beat me with ultra-pixels and faster Software Updates and it is good at Sound plus it designed by Dr dre. I will never use Samsung again.I will use hTc and Sony.People say that samsung Beat hTc because of popularity Not at features.stupid raters always put Samsung on Top

  17. Riley

    03/14/2013 at 12:29 pm

    I think the Galaxy S4 will have the potential to take on the HTC One and the iPhone 5. Samsung seems to be improving on an already good design which was very successful. One thing that I hope they include is the 1080p display, seeing as it’s something the top smartphones comes with these days. Throughout the commute to and from work at DISH, I like to stream my live and recorded shows on my phone, since it takes some time getting there. I like using the DISH Anywhere app to stream from my DVR wherever I go, and I’d like a higher resolution display to watch them on.

  18. Phone Guy

    03/14/2013 at 7:43 pm

    You are all a hoot, fighting like little girls who really know nothing what so ever about technology. They are both good phones. I’m am using the Galaxy Note 2 currently, and the features are excellent, but the build quality of the phone is crappy (I am on my third one as they break so easily). The HTC brand has much better build quality, but the software is a hare behind some of the features of Samsung. Samsung has about 10 special features on the Note 2 that are really useful that I wish the HTC phones had. (like the screen won’t go dark when you are looking at it, the phone dials your contact or person in a text when you hold it up to your face, and many more).

    So if you want the newest bells and whistles (some are amazing, some just showy), go with the Galaxy S4. If you want a better hardware phone build, go with the HTC. And for those who don’t want wireless charging, you are missing the boat. The phone will still have the wired USB charging port as well as the option to wireless charge if you chose that option. So if you have a car with a charge pad as some do, you can easily drop your phone and charge. Wireless charging isn’t a necessity, but it will help, in addition, to wired charging. Personally I keep mangling my charge ports when I drop the phone with the cord attached. Yes, clumsy, but the wireless charging may have helped that. And if I need to talk with a dead battery, just plug the old USB charger in. Stop fighting kids. That’s what you sound like.

  19. thescottplace (@thescottplace)

    03/31/2013 at 6:57 pm

    I love htc phones. I had 2 htc wm6 phones and and the first evo. However the lack of a removable battery was a deal breaker with the one X and will be a deal breaker with the one. I thought the author missed the point of the removable battery. Most people don’t buy the extended battery. I buy extra stock batteries. You can get them dirt cheap. I got a real samsung battery for my galaxy s3 for around 10 bucks with working nfc. I still use my Evo when I go hiking for a gps and it’s nice to have 6 extra batteries (that I paid 2 dollars a piece for) on the extended trips. I would rather have a htc but I will only use phones with a removable battery. Hope someday I can come back to htc.

    • LNX

      04/17/2013 at 10:57 am

      Wow I thought I was the only one to feel exactly this way.

  20. B

    04/16/2013 at 3:46 pm

    Both of these phones are more than what the average consumer will ever need, it all comes down to personal preference. I personally would take good speakers, a better build quality and a superior lens with some cool editing software over a bunch of novel software. That being said it would have been nice to have a removable battery and a micro sd card slot.. haters gonna hate.

    • LNX

      04/17/2013 at 10:58 am

      If Samsung ever steps up their build quailty, it’s Game Over for HTC!

  21. Adrianzka Mayreswara

    04/25/2013 at 1:16 am

    I don’t want either phone. I want galaxy note 3. I’m using note 2 right now. You cant go back from note. At least i think so.

  22. HCC

    04/30/2013 at 6:46 am

    I truly appreciate the removable battery in my S3. I picked up a 4500mAh battery (with customised back!) from a seller in HK on fleabay and this lasts at least 3 days with heavy use. Once I watched 3 movies on a long haul flight (about 8h constant video) and there was over 65% battery left afterwards. With moderate use the battery lasts 4-5 days, it will probably go a whole week with mild use for the odd call, text and email and Facebook check.
    Couple that with a 64GB microSD-XC card and I have about 20 movies and my entire music collection of 35GB on my phone. Now that’s incredible. Thank you Samsung!!

    • Liam Neville

      05/01/2013 at 9:00 am

      Fully agree with that. I also paid all of £8 delivered for a 5000mAh battery and this lasts ages. For the first time with a smartphone I actually don’t have power anxiety, don’t keep checking if I have the USB cable and car charger with me, and don’t worry about how long I should be on Facebook or play Temple Run to retain some battery until I get home. The extended battery does make the phone bigger and heavier, but as with everything in life compromise is a necessary evil.
      Sure, the build quality may not be up there with the Apples or HTCs but in terms of the customer friendly design decisions made by Samsung (removable battery + microSD slot) I cannot fault them.

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