Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge vs HTC One M9
Taiwanese and Chinese smartphone makers are going head-to-head with updated flagship phones
HTC has announced the successor to the One M8 smartphone. Samsung too has unwrapped the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones.
Both Samsung and HTC made the announcements at the four-day Mobile World Congress that started Monday in Barcelona, Spain.
HTC prefers a subtle upgrade
The One M8 was launched in March last year, and is still considered one of the best Android smartphones money can buy. The M9 builds on that. It has a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, runs the Android Lollipop with the HTC Sense 7 user interface (UI) and has a 20-megapixel camera.
HTC has focused on developing the all-round imaging quality of the M9, with an improved image processor to reproduce richer colours. On the front is a super-wide secondary camera for group selfies to capture as many people as possible. Sense 7 UI allows custom themes, and the phone packs in a 5.1 channel speaker set-up. The M9 also has the 1,920x1,080-pixel 5-inch Super LCD3 screen, but with better colour reproduction.
The M9 will be available in mid-March in silver, gunmetal grey, pink and gold in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, West Asia, Africa and North America.
The price of the One M9 has not yet been announced, but it is clear that HTC has taken the best phone it has ever made, and tweaked it slightly. The newer processor will definitely improve performance, but it will be interesting to see how the camera performs.
Samsung’s new philosophy
The South Korean smartphone maker has unveiled the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones. The biggest change, however, is the new design philosophy the company seems to have adopted.
The Galaxy S5 and Note 4’s cameras surprised us with their excellent performance. The S6 has the new ISOCELL camera sensor with 16-MP resolution paired with optical image stabilization.
The limited edition Galaxy Note Edge has perhaps been successful enough—the S6 Edge comes with the same screen and resolution as its more conventional sibling, but features glass curves on the right and left sides.
The price range is yet to be announced. The company is clearly attempting to give Galaxy S5’s successor a completely new personality, even redoing the user interface—the phones run Android Lollipop, and the TouchWiz interface has been redesigned. The Galaxy S5 wasn’t a runaway success like its predecessor.
Both the Galaxy S6 and One M9 are expected to be priced similarly, so the choice will be down to individual preference.
HTC’s utopia vision
HTC has also unveiled a fitness band (HTC Re Grip), and a virtual reality gaming headset (Vive).
The Re Grip has four sensors, including GPS, and can track walking, running, cycling or gym sessions. It can also connect to any Android or iOS phone, and will notify the user about new calls or messages. It has been made in partnership with Under Armour, the clothing and app platform (MyFitnessPal and Endomondo).
The first developer units of the Vive will reach game developers in spring and will be available in stores towards the end of the year. It has been made in partnership with video-game maker VALVE, creator of the Half-Life series of games. The device has a 90 Hz refresh rate, and HTC says it has worked on comfort levels to ensure the wearer does not feel any discomfort after using it for a while. The company is working with HBO, Google and Lionsgate for more content.
We aren’t entirely sure who the fitness band is meant for—the company says the device is meant for “serious athletes", but similar products have been available in the market for quite some time now.
HTC is the last to arrive to the fitness-band party, and that is a massive disadvantage.
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