Smartphone technology promises to take a giant leap in 2013, with flagship handsets sporting large 5in full-HD touchscreens, 13Mp cameras, quad-core processors, more efficient battery life, plus dust- and waterproof designs. Getting a head-start on this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, two of the first examples we've seen are the HTC One, aka HTC M7, and the Sony Xperia Z. So, how do these two high-end Android smartphones compare? (See also: Group test: what's the best smartphone?)
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Price
The Sony Xperia Z lauches this Thursday (28 February), while fans of the HTC One will need to wait another couple of weeks to get their hands on the handset, which launches on 15 March. Both smartphones are available for pre-order now. See Android Advisor and our latest Android phone group test.
Both HTC One and Sony Xperia Z will be available on plans starting at £34 per month from Three, with an upfront cost of £69. Vodafone, meanwhile, is offering the Sony Xperia Z free on plans starting at £42 per month.
If you prefer to buy your smartphone SIM-free, the HTC One has a £519 RRP, according to Amazon, while the Sony Xperia Z is currently available to pre-order through the sales giant for £499 (RRP £549).
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Dimensions
The Sony's larger 5in screen demands a bigger chassis than its 4.7in HTC rival, at 71x139mm versus 68.2x137.4mm. However, thanks to a super-thin skeleton chassis and a few tweaks to the layering of its screen technology, the Xperia Z remains the slimmer of the two, measuring just 7.9mm thick. Not that the HTC One is chunky, at just 9.3mm - it is in fact the lighter of the two: 143g against Sony's 146g.
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Build
Both smartphones are beautifully designed, and feel utterly solid. The HTC One features an all-metal (lightweight aluminium) chassis and is beautifully put together; our only complaint is that its glass screen doesn't stretch from edge to edge.
Meanwhile, the Sony's squareish design is typical for an Xperia handset, although it's far more stylish than 2012's top-end S and T. Its front and back are durable tempered glass, with an anti-shatter film, although we're not keen on the grime-attracting gap between the two.
Sony's Xperia Z is also water-resistant up to 1m (for up to 30 minutes), and dust-proof. Although this means you can use the phone in a variety of conditions, it also demands that ports are covered in flaps that lessen the phone's premium feel. The Xperia Z is available in black, white and purple.
With largely similar weights and dimensions, both smartphones feel good in the hand.
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Screen
HTC's One has the highest pixel density we've ever seen on a smartphone, cramming in a spectacular 468 pixels per inch. This 4.7in panel shows off full-HD content in razor-sharp glory, perfectly rendering details in photo and video even under harsh strip lighting. But while the HTC has the edge on picture resolution, the Sony Xperia Z bests it on screen size and colour.
Also with a full-HD (1920x1080) screen, but here stretched over 5 inches, the Xperia Z boasts an impressive 443ppi pixel density. Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 analyses content and optimises the image sharpness, colour, contrast and noise reduction to suit. Sony dubs its screen 'Reality Display', with quality to match its Bravia HDTVs. It's also made a few tweaks to the screen layering technology, removing a layer of air to reduce reflections and glare, and integrating sensor and lens to improve responsiveness.
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Processor & performance
Both HTC One and Sony Xperia Z pair 2GB of RAM with quad-core Qualcomm chips and Adreno 320 graphics. Sony specifies a powerful Snapdragon S4 Pro chip, clocked at 1.5GHz, while HTC offers the more recent 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600, also seen in the MWC 2013-unveiled Asus Padfone Infinity and LG Optimus G Pro.
Both running on the same Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software, we expect the HTC One to take the lead in performance. However, while we were able to spend some hands-on time with the HTC One at a launch event last week, we haven't yet been able to get it into our lab for full benchmarking. We aim to update our review at the earliest opportunity.
To date, the fastest Android smartphone we've benchmarked is Google's Nexus 4, which runs the very latest version of Android, 4.2 Jelly Bean. It scored 2,009 points in Geekbench 2, recorded framerates of 39fps in GLBenchmark 2.5, and was clocked at 1,906ms in the SunSpider JavaScript test. Although there's very little in it, the Sony Xperia Z failed to take the Nexus 4's crown: we recorded scores of 1,986 in Geekbench 2, 30fps in GLBenchmark, and 1,791ms in SunSpider. That's still incredibly fast, and the HTC could be even faster still. We can't wait.
Sony Xperia Z: Video review
Sony Xperia Z video review
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Storage
HTC's One is available with 32- or 64GB of storage, and you can take advantage of 25GB of Dropbox storage free for two years. While the Sony Xperia Z offers a paltry 16GB in comparison, its microSDXC slot means you can very easily add up to 32GB, for a total of 48GB.
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z: Cameras
It's all but impossible to compare cameras on the specifications alone, and the megapixel count doesn't directly correlate with picture quality. This is something HTC hopes to address with its UltraPixel Camera, which has a 4Mp rear camera with a BSI sensor and f2.0 aperture.
That 4Mp isn't a typo: using ultra- rather than megapixels, this camera is said to let in 300 percent more light than comparable 13Mp cameras. It can shoot full-HD video at 30fps (720p at 60fps), and take 16:9 still images at 2688x1520 pixels. There's also a burst mode that can capture up to 20 stills and a three-second video, making sure you get exactly the shot you wanted. HTC calls this Zoe.
The HTC One also sports a 2.1Mp front-facing camera with HDR capability for full-HD video chat.
Sony's Xperia Z, meanwhile, is the first of many smartphones to enter the market in 2013 with a 13Mp sensor. This snapper uses Sony's Exmor RS BSI sensor to offer very good photos, and it's the first smartphone to support HDR for video as well as still images. There's a 16x digital zoom, the ability to take stills in video mode, and a burst mode that'll capture 9Mp snaps at 10fps until you run out of storage or battery power. Waterproof to 1m, you can capture snaps wherever you are.
Sony uses an Exmor R sensor for its 2Mp (full-HD) front camera for improved picture quality in low light.
Comments
Tonyokoro said: For all those htc fanboys who stupidly think the htc one has a better display than the xpeira z check this outhttpwwwyoutubecomwatchvI think the video is pretty conclusive You guys just focus on silly little things like viewing angles Is like HTC fanboys are saying buy the inferior display because you can see its inferiority from all angles LaughableSony knows TVs and they have used their bravia know how to trump HTC once again despite using good old fashioned TFTJust imagine what a super lcd screen would look like in Sonys hands Htc just put raw specs and nothing else because they dont really know how to so they rely heavily on using the latest technology they can get their hands on Well its not good enough The One only looks better at UI and homescreen level the clarity and detail of the Zs display is unrivalledIts not just PC Advisor Phones4u and dialaphone have also stated the Zs to be better than the One Phone4u have also stated that its better than the S4Its like Bruce said to that kid in enter the dragonIts like a finger pointing at the moon concentrate on the finger and youll miss the all the heavenly gloryYou Htc fans have your eyes firmly fixed on the fingers that are viewing angles and cilourful homescreens and so you miss the heavenly glory of the supreme crystal clear quality of the Z Theres nothing that can compete with the Zs display head onI think youve been watching too many phonearenna and pocket now reviewsSilly little children wo focus and dwell on silly little things
Tj said: Xperia z
Davidmaple said: What about call quality Which is the most important
Chris Martin said: You do realise this is Xperia Z vs HTC One not the Nexus 4Also we pointed out in this article that the Xperia Z didnt beat the Nexus in the benchmarking tests
Tonyokoro said: The Xperia Z beats the nexus 4 on all benchmarking frontsI agree with you on the Zs display but you forgot to mention that its only when viewing photos and videos that the Bravia technology does its magicAt UI level the colours are duller but seeing as watching videos is the main reason for really picking a display youre right to say the Z has the upper hand as videos and photos are more breathtaking on it especially with the larger screen HTC fanboys can argue all they want nobody spends ages looking at their homescreens so the Z wins out on the display front where it truly matters viewing angles aside Bravia rulesface it guys
sayonara said: you are living in the stone age
Noble George said: And what on earth made you say Xperia Z is colourfull LOL D
Craigm said: This article is hilarious I have no loyalty to either brand but this has just been written by someone looking at a list of specs without proper experience of either device The One has been benchmarkedwith Quadrant and scored almost 12000 so yes that is enough to effect my purchasing decisionJust search youtube to see how laughable some of the conclusions here are Xperia Zs more colorful screen LOL
Jordan said: My nexus 4 scored 2393 on geekbench 2 using stock 421
Omendata said: HTC One
Clark Anderson said: Ive got HTC Great phone Especially for multibedia I use ArkMC application from Play Google to watch video from DLNA NAS with Twonky serverhttpsplaygooglecomstore
Learn2Research said: This author seems to be just assuming things without any knowledge of the HTC One Sorry but the HTC One gt Xperia in every way for the display more colours higher contrast better viewing angles uses less power due to its LCD3 panel from 20-250 less power for still images to videos than the Xperia ZAnd battery life for the Xperia Z WILL BE worse why you ask- It already currently benches 1hour less on screen time than a 2030mAH HTC DNADNA has a LCD3 screen Now the HTC One already has a LCD3 panel and a 10 bigger battery- New Snapdragon 600 is more power efficient than the S4 Pro AND it has integrated LTE thus not needed two power two modemsCant even bother mentioning what else is wrong in this article too much dribble
Biffstor said: Xperia z has on screen buttons so technically it is using a smaller screen in all but gallery and video
Jijjijokijomjn said: Xperia z can hold 64gb card
Gggy said: You appear to have written a review with no access to one of the phones Lol