Nexus 5 Vs. HTC One: Spec by Spec Comparison
The HTC One was the first high-end smartphone to launch this year and it set off a competition that was concluded with Google and LG's latest offering the Nexus 5.
The high-end Android devices both pack pretty impressive specs despite that fact that they were released so far apart. Here is a brief comparison of the two.
Design
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The HTC One features a shiny metal exterior with a speakers located at the top and bottom of the display. This layout allows for a great experience when the smartphone is flipped to widescreen mode. It's solid and probably makes the HTC One the best looking Android handset to launch this year. The Nexus 5 features a plain black exterior that is classy looking, but lacks any flare. It is kind of plain and barely catches the eye. The HTC One pretty much wins this area hands down.
Processor
The Nexus 5 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor while the HTC One comes with the Snapdragon 600 chip. Both are impressive, but the Nexus clearly has the advantage here. The HTC One still manages to run pretty smoothly. The Nexus 5 packs more of a punch in terms of speed and is arguably the fastest Android handset currently in the market. Both devices feature 2GB of RAM.
Display
The HTC One has one of the best looking displays. Its screen is 4.7-inches and has 1920x1080 pixels at 468 ppi. The company chose to go with an LCD screen which is less state of the art but provides a better picture than most smartphones. The Nexus 5 comes with a 4.95-inch display with the same amount of pixels at 445 ppi. The screen is a bit bigger on the Nexus 5 and causes the pixels per inch to fall a bit. Both of these devices have great picture, but in a side by side comparison the HTC One looks better.
Camera
HTC went a completely different route with its camera by keeping the megapixels at just 4 and working on other features giving it a back-illuminated sensor, optical image stabilization and UltraPixel technology. The HTC camera has the ability to capture true to life pictures in low light conditions with a wide range of colors. The CMOS Sensor and optical lens system allow the camera to capture more light in pictures than other point and shooters on the market. The Nexus 5 camera comes with some of these great features such as optical image stabilization, but got off to a rough start thanks to botched software. The point and shooter is quite slow and auto-focus does not work efficiently, according to users. Google has reportedly fixed some of these problems with recent software updates so it might end up being a good camera after all.
Sound
The HTC One comes equipped with Beats Audio providing the smartphone with what is arguably the best sound coming out of any speakers on a smartphone. Gaming and watching videos without headphones is appealing as the sound is loud and very clear on the device. The Nexus 5 had some issues at launch with its sound due to speaker grill holes that were too small. The company is correcting the problem in new models by enlarging the grill. However, even with that the HTC One is still tough to beat in this area.
Conclusion
The HTC One is the best Android smartphone to launch this year and the Nexus 5 launch did little to change that. HTC really outdid themselves with the fresh design, sound, and new camera technology while Google and LG basically perfected what they already had with the Nexus 4.
