Here we go again with another Phone War. This time we’ve got two of the newest devices to come out of the Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC. Both devices are quad-core, both have Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean and both are available in the US. In one corner we’ve got the HTC One X+ which is a slight reiteration of the HTC One X released in the first half of 2012. And the HTC One X+’s opponent? None other than the newest beast on the Verizon block, the HTC Droid DNA. It’s that phone that’s in between the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, as far as screen size goes. These are two fantastic phones, and you really can’t go wrong with either of them. But let’s see who is the best of the best. Starting with a head-to-head comparison of the specs.
Specifications
HTC Droid DNA
Anyone tired of the “Droid” branding on Verizon phones? I know I am. Seems like every HTC and Motorola device has to be Droid-something. But one thing I’m not tired of, the red accents on many of the Droid devices, including the Droid DNA. The red accents on the sides and around the camera looks very nice. While we are on the topic of hardware, the HTC Droid DNA has two notification lights. One on the back and another on the front. Some have wondered “WTF” with the notification light on the back, and that includes me. Then there’s the camera. HTC’s cameras have been pretty great recently. Starting with the One X, every HTC device this year has come with Imagesense which makes HTC’s pictures stunning. Then there’s the display. It’s a 5-inch 1080p display with SuperLCD2. It is just gorgeous. Words can’t describe that screen, pictures can’t even describe it.
Now as far as the software goes, it comes out-of-the-box with Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean, and Sense 4+ similar to the One X+. So you’ve got all the goodies of Android 4.1 including Google Now, expandable notifications and Project Butter. Now Sense has been known as resource intensive, but in Sense 4 and up, HTC has really scaled back on Sense. It’s now very battery friendly and with the 2GB of RAM it won’t be resource intensive at all.
Pros:
- The Screen! I just can’t say it enough. That screen is the best I’ve seen on a smartphone to date.
- Android 4.1; Jelly Bean is much more smoother than Ice Cream Sandwich was, and you’ll definitely notice it
- Sense 4+; Many don’t like Sense, but for those that do here ya go.
Cons:
- Small 2020mAh battery; now we know that Sense is actually a little less battery intensive than Stock Android, Touchwiz and some of the other skins out there. But still a 2020mAh battery on a 5-inch 1080p display is pretty small. And LTE is involved too.
- Sense 4+; yes some like it and others don’t. Some prefer stock Android.
HTC One X+
The HTC One X+ is a slight upgrade from the HTC One X which was released in the second quarter of the year. The major differences are storage, battery size, and a slight bump in processor speed. A phone that comes with 64GB of storage by default? That’s pretty good. The One X+ has the same type of uni-body as the One X, and the same colors. It also has a speaker grill at the top that looks like it was chiseled in one by one. Then you come around to the front and see the 4.7″ Super LCD2 display. Which is a bit older than the Droid DNA’s display, but it’s still a great display. Probably the second best display on a phone this year.
For software, similar to the Droid DNA it comes with Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean and Sense 4+ out-of-the-box. So as soon as you purchase it you’ll have Google Now, Expandable notifications and Project Butter. Of course all the other Android 4.1 improvements are there too. It does have just 1GB of RAM compared to the Droid DNA so Sense may take its toll on your multi-tasking power. But you should still be fine.
Pros:
- 64GB of internal storage; who needs a SD card slot with that much internal space?
- Android 4.1 out-of-the-box; Some phones are still launching with Ice Cream Sandwich, so nice to see HTC is already working with Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean
- The display; it may not be the 1080p display of the Droid DNA, but its still a great one.
- Sense 4+; its really been scaled back, but some will still not like it.
Cons:
- No removable battery and no expandable storage
- No LTE; unless your on AT&T
- Sense 4+; okay to some, but others want stock Android
Winner…
It’s a close one. Both devices have almost the same specs. It basically comes down to the display. And the Droid DNA has that won hands down. Although battery is larger on the One X+. So if you need more storage, then the One X+ is your winner, but if you want that 1080p display and 5-inch of real estate then the Droid DNA is your winner. They are on different carriers, the One X+ is on AT&T and the Droid DNA is on Verizon, of course. So you may have to choose which one is on your specific carrier.