The HTC One X is the new top boy on the block, swaggering around Android-ville like it owns the place with its all-powerful quad-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and built-in Beats Audio. Genuine contenders such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Nokia Lumia 900 and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus have been beaten into submission by the Taiwanese bruiser, but now a new combatant has entered the ring – and we suspect the Samsung Galaxy S3 is here to fight.
This epic battle between the two finest Android phones that have ever graced our sweaty palms will hopefully make it easier for you to choose the phone to throw your money at. The first contender is the mighty HTC One X. This phone seemingly came out from nowhere with little hype and excitement. Make no mistake though, because HTC still delivers it HARD. The second contender is the nature-inspired Samsung Galaxy S3. It’s not exaggerated to declare the Galaxy S3 the most hyped Android phone ever, like E-V-E-R.
In fact, if this battle would be based on hype alone, we could wrap it up right now, with the Samsung Galaxy S3 as the runaway winner. But of course, that’s not what our battle is all about. More than just about hype and gloss, it’s also about the specs and the overall experience delivered by the two mighty phones.
LOOK and FEEL
Samsung Galaxy S3 – 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm, 133g, plastic
HTC One X – 134 x 70 x 8.9 mm, 130g, plastic
Like the HTC One X and many other premium smartphones, the S3 is also just under 9mm thick (8.6mm to be precise). But it’s still a pretty large handset in all, measuring in at 136.6mm x 70.6mm. “That’s almost the same size as the Galaxy S2!” we hear you cry. It’s slightly bigger actually, good try though. But to fit the new screen, which is 0.5-inches bigger than the old S2 one, the bezel has been made much smaller.
You’ll remember that one of our major gripes with the Samsung Galaxy S2 was the tacky feel of the plastic body. Not everyone was so bothered, it’s a subjective point but if you, like us, didn’t like the S2′s lightweight plastic body, you’ll be equally disappointed with the S3′s. Then again, even with a lightweight, plastic body, the handset already tips the scales at 133g, so you can hardly blame them. But it doesn’t really compare to the premium feel of the One X’s polycarbonate.
The HTC One X uses a plastic body too, but gets a slightly more impressive sense of solidity. This is because it doesn’t give you access to the battery. It’s all sealed up. Practicality-wise, it’s not so great, but form-wise its a definite plus. For those long-haul trips, though, the Samsung Galaxy S3 lets you take a few spare batteries with you.
Azdnet Verdict: HTC One X
Screen
Samsung Galaxy S3 – 4.7in Super AMOLED, 720p resolution
HTC One X - 4.7in Super IPS, 720p resolution
Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with the huge 4.8 inches of screen size which comes with the Super AMOLED HD Display capability which is best in terms of other technologies as its the brightest screen and boasts 720p resolution.
HTC One X on other hand comes with the Super IPS LCD2 capacitive touch screen with the resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and corning gorilla glass display.
In the size department, the Galaxy S3 is the winner, with its 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, but the HTC One X’s 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD2 display has the pixel density upper lead. Unless you’re planning to look at the phone through a magnifying glass, however, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. What we can say is we’re suckers for the larger than life colors and contrast levels that only a Super AMOLED display can deliver.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
Camera Comparison:
Samsung Galaxy S3 – 8MP, LED flash, 1080p video capture
HTC One X – 8MP, LED flash, 1080p video capture
Samsung Galaxy S3 has slightly edge over the One X in terms of some camera specs as Galaxy S3 GT I9300 comes with the 8MP AF primary Camera capability which HD recording capability and HDR Filter. The only bad thing as of now is that the Burst mode can only capture 20 photos. Secondary Camera in S3 is of 1.9MP.
You can shoot stills while recording video or even extract stills from video in “post-production”, picking the frames you want from recorded footage. Stills shutter and video recording buttons are onscreen at all times, along with a lens which, in Instagram style, lets you add sepia, vignette, distortion and other effects which you can view as you snap. Then, when you’re playing back video, touching the shutter icon will capture still images from the moving ones.
On other hand One X too comes with the 8MP camera which can too can take simultaneous HD Video and images just like Galaxy S3 and comes with the LED Flash The secondary camera in One X is of 1.3 MP which is less than that if S3.
You’ll also be able to set up rules for photos to be automatically placed in groups based on faces, contacts or location. There’s also Face Zoom which means that you can tap on a face when lining up a crowd shot and the camera will zoom in automatically. The lack of optical zoom means that this is going to be fairly limited, but we look forward to trying it out in the wild.
It also has a 1.9MP camera on the front, which suffices for profile pictures, video calls and the like. Curiously, that’s actually smaller than the Galaxy S2′s 2MP front camera sensor, but still an improvement over the One X’s 1.3MP front camera. The difference this makes is negligable at best, but this battle will come down to the wire and the Galaxy S3 just shades it here.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
CPU and GPU
Samsung Galaxy S3 – Quad-core 1.5GHz, Exynos chip
HTC One X – Quad-core Tegra 3
The HTC One X comes with the tried and tested Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, clocked at 1.5GHz, while the Samsung Galaxy S3 sports a 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 4 Quad processor with an Mali-400 GPU. These are both some powerful beasts of processors that will have no problem reigning over most benchmark tests.
According to Anandtech, the One X and the Galaxy S3 are neck in neck in the SunSpider JavaScript and BrowserMark benchmark tests, which measure the phones’ browser and CPU performance. Various GLBenchmark tests, however, have shown the Samsung Galaxy S3 to lead over the HTC One X. The Galaxy S3 even trumped all over the previous title holder, the iPhone 4S, by some significant numbers.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
Storage
Samsung Galaxy S3 – 16/32/64GBGB, 1GB, microSD slot
HTC One X - 16/32GB, 1GB RAM
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is staying in bed with the Android geek brigade and has packed in a microSD slot, making it super-simple and super-cheap to boost the internal memory. HTC left out this feature in the HTC One X.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 also offers a wide range of internal memory options – 16GB, 32GB 64GB. Of course, unless there’s only a paltry price difference between them, you’re much better off opting for the 16GB model and investing in a 32GB microSD card or two – one for music, one for movies perhaps.
This is a field in which the Samsung is the clear winner. There’s a 64GB model, and with expandable storage, the 16/32GB HTC One X can’t compete.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
Software
Samsung Galaxy S3 – Android 4.0 with Touchwiz
HTC One X – Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.0
The exterior of the Galaxy S3 doesn’t bring the radical design change than many have hoped to see. So, it’s wise for Samsung to focus on the software side of things. Apart from the polished TouchWiz interface, Samsung has added many extra touches, that make the S3 more than a worthy competitor to the HTC One X.
For example, there’s the S Beam, which lets you share content with other Galaxy S3 phones by just tapping the back of the two phones. The Pop-up play feature lets you “float” running video on top of other applications. The face recognition software lets the phone identify pictures of your friends and provides multiple options to conveniently send the pics to them. Then there’s Smart Display, the Siri-like S Voice, and loads more.
Though we have a little more affinity – just a wee bit — towards HTC’s Sense UI, we declare Samsung Galaxy S3 the winner in this round for putting more effort.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
Battery
Samsung Galaxy S3 – Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with the 2100 mAH
HTC One X – HTC One X comes with the modest 1800mAH
The Galaxy S3′s 2100mah battery is a big improvement on that of the S2, and ought to be hefty enough to handle all the tech that has been packed into the S3. A bigger battery doesn’t mean longer battery life, but we’ll give the S3 the benefit of the doubt for the moment.
Battery life hasn’t always been HTC’s strongest suit, the One X rights that. The 1800mah gives a good 12 hours of power usage, making it to its nightly recharges with few alarms. The good stuff really is laid on thick, here.
Azdnet Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3
Conclusions
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is more powerful than the HTC One X. It has expandable memory and much better audio visual abilities too. Technically, it is the victor. However, the neater body of the HTC wins it back some points, casting doubt on whether it’s really the winner. If you’re into your multimedia, the Galaxy S3 is clearly the phone to go for, but otherwise we recommend heading to the high street to get your own hands-on with these handsets.
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