Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 takes on the new HTC 10. The Turbo 2 has been available since October 2015 exclusively on the Verizon network. While well received in 2015, can it still hold up to the new HTC 10 and its technological advancements? The HTC 10 is still all-metal, but after criticism of a stale design the past couple of years, HTC is using a new chiseled look to its exterior. The Droid Turbo 2 still has that solid Moto build and can be somewhat customized using Moto Maker. Let’s take a quick look at what these two flagships have in common and then look at each one in more depth.
For starters, the Turbo 2 and HTC 10 both share closeness in physical size with the Turbo 2 slightly larger and weighing in at 9 grams heavier. Their displays are relatively close in size, and they both use the Quad HD (QHD) resolution, however, they use different display technologies. They both use a Qualcomm 64-bit Snapdragon processor, but different models. Both models use 32GB for storage that can be expanded 200GB via a microSD card. The Turbo 2 and HTC 10 both use a 5MP front-facing camera (FFC) for selfies and video chatting. They have the usual suspects – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.1 in the Turbo 2 and v4.2 in the HTC 10), GPS, NFC, a microUSB port (v2.0 in the Turbo 2 and Type-C in the HTC 10), and a large, non-removable battery with rapid charge.
Please take a careful look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each device in greater depth and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information, we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
Droid Turbo 2
When you hear the Droid Turbo 2 name, you immediately know it is a Verizon exclusive – the Turbo model made its first appearance in 2014 and was a big hit with its massive battery and Turbo Charger. The revised model came out in October 2015, and while it looks very much like the original, there are many improvements inside the device. Moto showed they are serious with their cameras and added an all-new 21MP sensor for better pictures. They made charging that huge battery even faster and incorporated a new ShatterShield display. The Droid Turbo 2 has a solid build, and you can always give it a more premium look by using Moto Maker to customize the colors and the type of backing.
The Droid Turbo 2 comes with a 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 540 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) Motorola is protecting the display with their new and exclusive shatterproof display – dubbed ShatterShield. The Droid Turbo 2 sports a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 430 GPU to handle the graphics – the best on the market at the time it was released. The Droid Turbo 2 has 3GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal memory with expansion up to 200GB via a microSD.
Motorola has finally decided to take the mobile camera area seriously and on the Droid Turbo 2, they chose a large 21MP primary camera that uses a new sensor. They added to it a larger f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, and a dual-tone LED flash. A 5MP FFC handles the selfies and video chatting. The Turbo 2 has a huge non-removable 3760mAh battery that should get you through two days of use, but charging is not a problem because it comes with a Turbo Charger for quick charges and offers wireless charging as well.
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 has dual front-facing speakers and is running almost stock Android, although Motorola adds their Moto Voice, Moto Assist, Moto Display and Moto Actions. It includes NFC for mobile payments, but no fingerprint sensor for authorization like the HTC 10. It also has Turbo Charging for its larger, though non-removable, battery and it includes wireless charging. It also sports the new shatterproof display, nano-coating for repelling water and IR Blaster. The device measures 149.9 x 78 x 9.2 mm and weighs in at 169 grams and will cost approximately $625 with options to customize the device via Moto Maker (some at an extra cost). The Droid Turbo has already received its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update.
HTC 10
I am glad to say that HTC loyalists finally have reason to be genuinely excited about their new HTC 10. It has it all – a beautifully carved aluminum body, the best technology out there when it comes to processor, GPU and memory, finally a great camera and while it is not the original BoomSound, it still looks like it may still have the best audio found on a smartphone.
HTC finally has a QHD resolution and the HTC 10 sports a 5.2-inch Super LCD5 QHD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 565 PPI. HTC picked the most advanced processor on the market – the 64-bit Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor with a dual-core clocked at 1.6GHz and a dual-core clocked at 2.15GHz. The Adreno 530 GPU works with the 820 to provide the graphics, and it should satisfy even the most avid gamer. The HTC 10 packs a full 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal memory that is expandable to 2TB via a microSD card.
HTC has played around with their cameras over the past few years…always trying different ideas (4MP UltraPixels or Duo Cameras) never getting it quite right. However, that hogwash stops with the HTC 10 – they went with UltraPixels, but this time, using a 12MP sensor for their primary camera to capture more light and image. They added laser autofocus, a dual-tone LED flash, a large aperture of f/1.8 and OIS. These specs all adds up to a DxOMark score of 88, equaling the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge as the tops in mobile photography. They added a 5MP FFC with a f/1.8 aperture, wide-angle lens, screen flash and even OIS to ensure great selfies and video chatting even in low-light. The HTC packs a 3000mAh non-removable battery with Quick Charge 3.0.
HTC changed their BoomSound around by eliminating dual front-facing stereo speakers on the HTC 10. Replacing that setup (BoomSound Hi-Fi) features two separate speakers with the woofer placed on the bottom of the device, and the high-end sounds originate from the earpiece. It also has Dolby Hi-Res music for your earphone enjoyment. The HTC 10 measures 145.9 x 71.9 x 9mm and weighs in at 161 grams. It comes in Carbon Grey, Topaz Gold, and Glacier Silver and it will cost you about $699 for 32GB of memory.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
While the Droid Turbo 2 is still an impressive smartphone, the new HTC 10 has it all and represents a 2016 smartphone quite well. It has a beautiful all metal body, a much faster processor and GPU, more RAM, better cameras, reversible Type-C connector, and a fingerprint sensor to authorize mobile payments. It still has BoomSound Hi-Fi, although in a different configuration and Hi-Res audio for listening through earphones. The HTC 10 is the clear winner in the build, looks, and specifications department.
The Droid Turbo 2 is a great device but offers nothing over the HTC 10 other than the shatterproof display, dual front-facing speakers, IR Blaster, nano-coating and another item that could be considered a detriment – it is an exclusive on the Verizon network.
Many times we give the win to the less-spec’d device if there is a $200-$300 price difference, but with there being only about $75 in difference, the HTC 10 is the ultimate winner in this comparison.
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