Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Scott: Hi everyone, Scott Lewis here for Wirefly. Today, I'm here to bring you a Cell Phone
Schmackdown between the HTC One and Apple's iPhone 5. The phones we're comparing in today's
Schmackdown are available for all four major US carriers with minimal software differences
between the carriers. We'll be breaking today's Schmackdown into three rounds. Round one will
cover the design elements of both phones. Round two will cover the software that both
phones are running. Then in round three we'll cover the camera specs and then we'll show
you some sample pictures from the HTC One and the iPhone 5.
Let's go ahead and get our Schmackdown started with round one, the design round. Let me start
off by saying the build quality on both phones is top notch. Both phones have an all-aluminum
case with glass covering the front from edge to edge. Both phones also have a chamfered
edge that adds a great look and feel. However that's where the design similarities stop.
The iPhone 5 has a flat back while the HTC One has a tapered back. One great thing about
the tapered back on the HTC One is that it fools the hand into thinking the phone is
slimmer than it actually is. The iPhone 5 is 7.6 millimeters thin versus a 9.3 millimeter
thin HTC One. One factor that impacts the thickness of a
smartphone is the size of its battery. Both phones have embedded batteries to help reduce
the thickness of the phones, but the trade-off is the average consumer can't replace the
battery on their own. The iPhone 5 has a 1,440mAh battery that Apple says will last 8 hours
of talk time or up to 225 hours of standby time. The HTC One has a 2,3000mAh battery
that HTC says will last 27 hours of talk time or up to 479 hours of standby time.
While those numbers are perfect world scenarios, my experience with both phones was a little
different. I would unplug the phone from my charger as I leave for work around 7:30 in
the morning. During the day I would check my email, social media, and stream some music.
When it was around 10:30 to 11:00 at night and I was ready to recharge my batteries,
the batteries would each have about 15-20% left. Just to point out, I would consider
myself a heavy user when it comes to the amount that I use my phone throughout the day so
my real world experience with both phones would tell you that you can get through an
entire day with either phone. If you enjoy sharing music and video with
your friends, you'll really enjoy the dual amplified stereo speakers on the front of
the HTC One. While the iPhone 5 offers adequate volume for sharing, the single speaker placement
on the bottom of the phone allows it to be covered or muffled if you don't watch where
you're putting your hands. The screen size on the HTC One is 4.7 inches
with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920, giving it a pixel density of 468 pixels per inch.
The large screen makes it a little hard to use with one hand if you're someone with medium
to small size hands. The iPhone 5 has a 4 inch display with resolution of 640 x 1136
giving it a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. The 4 inch display is small enough for
easy 1 hand navigation with 1 thumb. To round out the design round, let's go ahead
and cover what's on the inside of the phone. The IPhone 5 is running a 1.3GHz dual-core
Apple A6 processor with 2 GB of RAM and it's available in 16, 32, or 64 GB of onboard storage.
The HTC One is running a 1.7Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor with 2 GB of RAM
and comes with 32 GB of onboard storage. If you need more storage after purchase on either
phone, you'll need to use a Cloud based storage system, because neither phone has an option
to add an additional MicroSD card. That wraps up all the tops for the design
round. Let's go ahead and recap the round real quick. The HTC One earned a point for
the dual amplified front stereo speakers and the iPhone 5 earned a point for offering different
storage options. That means that the first round is going to be a draw because most of
the design round comes down to personal preference about physical size of the phones.
Now onto round 2, the software round. Our iPhone 5 is running the latest version of
the iOS operation system, version 6.1.4. The HTC One is running the Android 4.1.2 operating
system with HTC Sense User Interface layered on top. If you've ever used an Apple iPod,
iPad, or an older iPhone, you'll be able to jump right in and start using the iPhone 5
right way. The reason why is nothing's changed with the operating system or the way you navigate
the phone in a long time. The Android 4.1.2 operating system is also
very user friendly but offers considerably more customization options over the basic
customization offered on the Apple products. With Android you have the option of placing
apps in any location on the screen. You can add widgets that give you information without
needing to open the application. One advantage that the HTC One has over the iPhone is its
BlinkFeed highlight reel. Blinkfeed collects all of your social media feeds and other customized
news feeds so that you have one place to view all of the important information and news
that you're interested in. For more in depth look at the differences between the Android
and iOS operating systems, check out our iOS versus Android comparison video here on our
Wirefly YouTube channel. I'll include a link to that video in the description for this
video. Since both phones are very snappy and responsive, I have to give the win for round
to the HTC One for all its customization options that are available on the Android operating
system. Now it's time for round 3, the camera round.
Let's start with some specs and then we'll get into some sample photos that will decide
the winner for this round and the winner of for the Schmackdown. HTC went away from the
customary "more megapixels is better" mentality and put a 4 ultrapixel camera in the HTC One.
An ultrapixel captures 300% more light than a megapixel. This should give the HTC One
superior low light performance over the iPhone 5's 8 megapixel primary camera. In addition
to the primary cameras both phones also have front facing cameras. The iPhone 5 is a 1.2
megapixel front facing camera while the HTC One has a 2.1 megapixel wide angle front camera
that allows you to capture more people and more scenery in your selfie pictures. Both
cameras are very responsive and very easy to use. They both have options to take panoramic
pictures and record video in 1080p high definition. Let's go ahead and take a look at some side
by side samples from both phones. Those were our sample pictures from the HTC
One and the iPhone 5. If you remember the last picture was taken from the front camera.
Here it is again. You can really see the difference that the wide angle makes on the HTC One.
From just the sample images I would call the camera round a draw, but the HTC One has a
few more tricks up its sleeve. The extras that HTC put in the One are great additions
that really add value to the phone. One of those additions is the ability to take a 3
second video clip that's called a Zoe photo. These 3 second clips remind me of Harry Potter
when the pictures would come alive in the books and the newspapers. However, the thing
that will amaze you the most is when the HTC One automatically creates a highlight reel
of a recent date or event that you've attended. Here's a highlight reel of a recent Indy car
even that I attended over the memorial day weekend.
Because of all extra value adds that HTC put in the One it wins the camera round and that
means that the HTC One wins our Schmackdown for today by winning the software round and
the camera round. Now it's time for you sound off and tell us
which phone you think should have won or did win the Schmackdown. Did we get it right?
Is the HTC really the better smartphone or did we get it wrong and the iPhone 5 should
have won the Schmackdown? Let us know in the comment section below and if you like this
video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and to stay connected to the latest in smartphones
make sure to subscribe to our Wirefly YouTube channel. That wraps up our Schmackdown video
for today. My name is Scott Lewis for Wirefly. Thanks for watching.