Face-off: Samsung Galaxy S4 VS HTC One
Mobile phone super-manufacturers are jostling for your attention, with Samsung and HTC clearly putting more effort into their new flagship releases. But how should you choose between them?
The HTC One is the most sophisticated kit to grace the 2013 mobile landscape. The effort that went into shaping the aluminium chassis is enough to win anyone over. Then there's the symmetry of the micro-drilled holes for the speakers, which double as the ear piece and speakerphone.
Samsung takes a more conservative "if it ain't broke" approach with the Galaxy S4. Apart from its new faux-metal surrounding, its design improvements are less about aesthetics and more about practicality. It crams a larger screen and larger battery into a chassis the same size as the S3, to make the whole package lighter. Genius.
While both phones have super high-definition display panels running at an amazing resolution of 1920x1080, HTC wins the pixels-per-inch race with its 4.7-inch SLCD3 display. At 468 pixels per inch, it's the world's highest.
HTC takes the lead here. Sure, Samsung's Octa-core S4 has Wolfson audio chips - the same ones found in a lot of Apple products - powering its media playback. But HTC takes the software route and uses Dr Dre's Beats Audio, which combined with HTC's new BoomSound pumps out audio that is crisp, rich and balanced at high volumes. You almost forget you're using a mobile phone.