HTC One M8 Vs. Galaxy S4 Active: Spec and Feature Comparison
The HTC One M8 and Galaxy S4 Active are very different devices in terms of what market they appeal to.
The Galaxy S4 Active appeals to the rugged outdoors crowd while the HTC One M8 is more for those looking to hold a classy looking device in their hands that could rival the shine of some jewelry. The S4 Active is no slouch, and it greatly influenced Samsung's approach with the Galaxy S5. The HTC One M8 remains in the same lane as its predecessor, but improves on many of the great things found in the first one. So how do these two stack up against one another in terms of specs and features? Here is a brief comparison of the two.
Design
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The Galaxy S4 Active is bulky and greatly resembles the original GS4. It features three physical buttons at the bottom and a cover for the USB port with a plastic exterior. The HTC One M8 features a refined version of the metal design found on the original. It is classy, and makes for a great looking accessory. The GS4 Active is almost totally waterproof giving it a nice advantage over most smartphones.
This area really comes down to what the customer is looking for. For looks, the HTC One M8 is better, but outdoorsmen would be better off with the Active.
Display
The Galaxy S4 Active features a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution while the HTC One M8 comes with a 5-inch LCD display with the same amount of pixels at 441 ppi. They both feature the same resolution, however, in a side by side comparison the LCD display on the original HTC One looked a lot crisper and had better colors than the S4. With a bit of improvement on the new model, the One M8 certainly takes it in this area.
Sound
The HTC One M8 features Beats speakers that are 25 percent louder than those found on the original model. This means that the need for some kind of Bluetooth extension will be eliminated. The Galaxy S4 Active speakers are decent, but they do not even compare to the original HTC One's. The One M8 easily wins it here.
Speed
The Galaxy S4 Active features a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor with 2GB RAM. The HTC One M8 comes with a Snapdragon 801 chip with the same amount of RAM. The Galaxy S4 Active was a great phone for last year's market while the HTC One M8 is leading the pack thus far for this year. The new HTC device is definitely the faster out of the two, but has almost a year on it in terms of technological advancements. Both are extremely efficient, however, the One M8 is definitely takes it here.
Conclusion
While the HTC One M8 might be the finest Android device to be released in 2014 thus far, it doesn't appeal to the same market that the Galaxy S4 Active would. And even with some slightly outdated specs, the rugged device can still keep up with many of the newer smartphones on the market. Both phones are great, but the Galaxy S4 Active has a whole different appeal that makes it unique. The HTC One M8 doesn't address the needs of Active users, therefore this comparison all comes down to preference.
