HTC One vs. Samsung Galaxy S III: Spec Showdown

HTC has certainly grabbed everyone's attention with the One, its newest top-of-the-line Android smartphone. It's not out just yet, but if you're in the market for a new high-end handset, it's impossible to ignore.

Our current favorite smartphone on AT&T is the Samsung Galaxy S III. Even though it's been around a while, it continues to be a great choice, thanks to its ultra-fast LTE data connection, fast performance, and oversized screen.

Underneath the hood, the Galaxy S III features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5-GHz, dual-core CPU. The HTC One has it beat, though, thanks to its quad-core, next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU. In terms of build quality, it's also going to be no contest. The HTC One is a solid piece of aluminum, with beautifully machined edges and detailing. The Galaxy S III, by contrast, is made entirely of plastic, with rounded, tapered edges and chrome buttons.

Both feature a glass screen, but beneath it the similarities end. The Samsung Galaxy S III's 4.8-inch 1,280-by-720-pixel (720p) panel, while sharp and a tenth of an inch larger, is no match for the HTC One's ultra-dense, 4.7-inch, 1,920-by-1,080-pixel (1080p) display. Interestingly, HTC didn't put in a 5-inch panel, like it did with the Droid DNA on Verizon, so the One is still firmly in smartphone rather than phablet territory.

Name	HTC One	Samsung Galaxy S III (AT&T)
?
Editor Rating		?
Lowest Price	%displayPrice% %seller%	%displayPrice% %seller% $199.99 MSRP
Dimensions	5.4 x 2.7 x 0.36 inches	5.4 x 2.8 x 0.34 inches
Weight	5 oz	4.8 oz
Operating System	Android OS	Android OS
Total Integrated Storage	32 or 64 GB	16 or 32 GB
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad-Core	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 Dual-Core
Processor Speed	1.7 GHz	1.5 GHz
Screen Size	4.7 inches	4.8 inches
Screen Resolution	1920 x 1080 pixels	1280 x 720 pixels
Screen Pixels Per Inch	468	306 ppi
Camera Resolution	4 MP Rear; 2.1 MP Front-Facing	8 MP Rear; 1 MP Front-Facing
Video Camera Resolution	1080p Rear; 1080p Front-Facing	1080p Rear; 720p Front-Facing
802.11x/Band(s)	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth Version	4	4
GPS	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	Yes
microSD Slot	No	Yes
Colors Available	Black or White	Red, White, or Blue
?	Read the Review	Read the Review

HTC revamped its Sense UI to include BlinkFeed, which fills your home screen with new updates automatically using a Flipboard-like series of tiles. Otherwise, the HTC One runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Samsung's Galaxy S III also runs a heavily skinned version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, though Samsung's TouchWiz UI looks a lot different, and has more dedicated apps for improving specific functions. Both phones should have little problem running any of the 700,000+ apps in Google Play.

The HTC One features a pair of Beats Audio-enhanced stereo speakers bracketing the screen, along with dual-membrane microphones. The Galaxy S III is known for its excellent voice quality, thanks in part to Samsung's custom EQ tuning, but music doesn't sound all that great coming out of its mono speaker.

The Galaxy S III's 8-megapixel rear-facing camera is excellent, and gives the iPhone 5's class-leading 8-megapixel shooter a run for the money. But the HTC One includes what it calls an UltraPixel camera?four, to be precise?that emphasizes larger, fewer pixels that capture more light, and therefore offer more detail and less noise than before. We'll know for sure once we conduct our own tests. The HTC One also offers more internal storage, and an ever-so-slightly better front-facing camera, at least on paper.

HTC said the One will be available across 185 carriers globally beginning in March, but for the U.S., the number is three: AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. That pales in comparison to the Galaxy S III, which is about as ubiquitous a smartphone as they come. In addition to those three carriers, you can also get the Galaxy S III on Verizon, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular.

In short, the HTC One looks like it will claim the mantle of best Android phone on the market, but we won't know for sure until we test it. But with the rumored Samsung Galaxy S IV just around the corner, it's easily possible Samsung will maintain its position as the top-selling smartphone vendor. Which one do you like more? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more, check out PCMag's Hands On With the HTC One and the slideshow above, as well as our spec comparison between the HTC One and iPhone 5 and Is HTC's One a Samsung Killer?

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415688,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000762

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