Introduction

Here is a comparison of the celebrated HTC One M8 and the new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – and I can already hear the whining – “That’s like comparing Peaches (no Apples here) to Oranges.” Quit your complaining and take your medicine…both devices came out in 2014 and both are flagship devices.  We have to see how the HTC One M8 holds up against the new competition that Samsung can throw at it.

Looks wise, they could not be more different – the M8 as an all metal body with curves and a nice feel in your hand (unless it’s too cold or too hot) and the Note 4 is more squared off, but with its solid metal frame and faux leather backing, it is certainly looking and feeling like a solid device.  There are not many things about these two devices that are similar as everything is a bit smaller on the HTC One M8 – size to specs – so it will be interesting to see how the M8 compares in those areas with the Note 4.

Please take a look at the specifications listed below and then we will look at each individual device and see if we can determine a winner in this comparison of specifications and device features.

Specifications

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was announced at IFA Berlin earlier this month and will be going on sale sometime in October – a little strange since the new iPhone 6 will hit the street first – maybe they were afraid the Note 4 would get lost in the crowd.  The Note 4 is just an evolutionary upgrade over the Note 3 and looking side-by-side from a few feet away they almost look the same.  But, pick it up and turn it on and you will feel and see the difference, instantly.

Once you get by the new look of the sculptured metal sides and faux leather back, the first thing you’ll notice is the 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, a little larger than the 5-inch M8 screen and with more resolution than its Full HD display can provide.  The Note 4 uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor clocked at 2.7GHz, which is a newer processor with a much better graphics chip than the M8.  The Note 4 does have 3GB of RAM versus the 2GB in the M8, but with Samsung’s TouchWiz and their added bloatware, it probably needs the extra 1GB.  The Note 4 offers only a 32GB model, but does have a microSD card slot to add additional storage.

Samsung upped the camera to 16MP and finally added OIS to go along with their ISOCELL technology to help with low-light shots.  The 3.7MP on the front-facing camera (ffc) is of the wide-angle type – this will allow you to capture more area when you Video Chat or if you take a selfie.  The 3220mAh battery is also larger than the 2600mAh found in the M8…the larger QHD display would use more juice than the M8’s display, but still a hefty size.

The Note 4 has many options, starting with the S-Pen and software used to make the Note 4 different from other smartphones.  It is also ready for LTE Cat.6, features Quick Charge, a Fingerprint scanner, Heart Rate Sensor, UV Sensor and even a Oxygen Saturation Sensor – some of these option are very useful and others you may never use.  No pricing released on the Note 4, but we expect it to be no more than the Note 3, so expect $299 on contract and $700 – $800 off-contract.

HTC One M8

Let’s take a look at the HTC One M8 in more detail.  The display is really not up to the class of the Note 4’s QHD, however, a Full HD display is nothing to turn away from and where the Note 4 uses their Super AMOLED display, the M8 uses the Super LCD3 technology – some users prefer the look of the LCD over the AMOLED.  The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800/801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz is quite a bit weaker than the Note 4’s newer 805, especially in the graphics area.

The camera the HTC chose to use is different, to say the least – it uses 4MP, but HTC uses an UltraPixel design.  It took decent pictures in the M7, but it really could stand to be improved; so what did HTC do, they added a second camera called a Duo Camera, that does not really improve the picture – it is there to provide a certain depth of field to your pictures.  While you can do more special effects, the pictures themselves are about the same quality – not bad by any means, but they could be better.  It has a larger 5MP ffc than the 3.7MP on the Note 4, although the Note 4 added wide-angle to theirs.

We already mentioned the 2600mAh battery being smaller, but the HTC One M8 also has a few goodies, such as the dual stereo front-facing speakers and a built-in Stereo FM radio.  The sound might be the best of any smartphone, certainly better than the single speaker on the back of the Note 4.  As far as pricing, the M8 started out at $199 on a two-tear contract, but you can find them heavily disconnected.

…And the Winner is…

Summary

It has to be the Galaxy Note 4 – the HTC One M8 is a terrific smartphone, but it is already showing its age in this fast paced technology world.  HTC fought to get their new flagship out before the Galaxy S5 and LG G3 and its processor shows that it is the slowest of them all, now the Note 4 raises that bar even higher with the newest Snapdragon 805.  The camera is good, but HTC was criticized for not adding some extra UltraPixels this time around and Samsung seemed to up the ante with the Note 4’s camera.

The M8 is a beautiful device, but beauty is only skin deep and it’s under the skin that we look at the specs and features and the Note 4 just has too much going for it at this point in time.  Love’m or hate’m, Samsung does pack a lot of sensors into the Note 4, we have Quick Charge available, and let’s not forget the beautiful QHD display and the multiple S-Pen capabilities.

Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know which one of these devices you would choose for the winner and why…as always, we would love to hear from you.