Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the all-metal HTC 10 takes on the new all-metal Motorola Moto Z Force. HTC was criticized for using the same design for the past three years, so they went for a new chamfered design that looks quite beautiful, yet masculine. The Moto Z Force is already being criticized for being an ‘ugly’ design, but beauty is a very subjective topic. Both devices have a nice solid feel to them and look the part of the flagship-type device they are intended to portray. The Moto Z Force is part of the Verizon Droid family and will be exclusive to the Verizon network. It also uses what Motorola is calling ‘Moto Mods’ that kind of snap on the back of the device with magnets as they fit on and touch several magnetic contacts. The Moto Z Force also allows different backs to be attached as well, changing its looks. The HTC 10 is more a straight lined smartphone – no party tricks to speak of – but it is the most complete device HTC has built in years. These two devices do have a few similarities that we will look at now, and then later we will look at each to try to determine a winner of this specification comparison.
The HTC 10 and Moto Z Force are close in physical dimensions, although the Z Force is slightly larger, as is the display and only 2 grams heavier. Both devices use the Quad HD (QHD) display resolution but use different technologies and slightly different sizes. They both use the same 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor and the Adreno 530 GPU. Both pack 4GB of DDR4 RAM and offer up 32GB/64GB of internal storage that is expandable via a microSD card. The camera areas are both great, but not designed the same way, although they both use a 5MP sensor for their front-facing cameras. The HTC 10 and the Z Force both sport a fingerprint sensor for unlocking the device as well as authorizing mobile payments via Android Pay. Both have non-removable batteries with rapid charge capabilities. The usual suspects are there – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.2 on the HTC 10 and v4.1 on the Moto Z Force), GPS, NFC and they both use the newer USB Type-C connector for charging and data transfer.
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
HTC 10
HTC finally has a complete device they can be proud of in the HTC 10 – bold new design, a QHD display, top processor, great camera, and BoomSound HiFi. Everybody was excited when the HTC One M7 came out, but the excitement of the all-metal design quickly grew unchanged and boring over the years, as did the lack of a QHD display. HTC admirers switched to other devices – hurt that HTC would not give them more. It is so nice to see HTC put out the device they should have a couple of years ago, but is it too little and too late to gain the new support HTC desperately needs?
The HTC 10 sports a 5.2-inch Super LCD5 QHD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 565 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) HTC took no prisoners this time and used the best processor on the market – the Qualcomm 64-bit Snapdragon 820 quad-core with dual cores clocked at 1.6 GHz and dual cores clocked at 2.15 GHz. For graphics, an Adreno 530 GPU accompanies the Snapdragon 820, and it can take on the most demanding games or videos with ease. The HTC 10 packs 4GB of the faster DDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal memory that is expandable to 256GB via a microSD card.
The camera area is another aspect that HTC kept experimenting, but never could keep up with the competition – all of that changes on the HTC 10. It uses a 12MP sensor with its UltraPixel 2 that allows it to capture more light and image for better low light pictures. HTC uses the fast laser autofocus, a dual-tone LED flash, a large aperture of f/1.8 and OIS. While the front-facing camera (FFC) is only a 5MP sensor, HTC also added a large f/1.8 aperture, a wide-angle lens, OIS, and even included a screen flash to ensure excellent low-light selfies and video chatting. A 3000mAh, non-removable battery powers the device and it comes with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 – which will give you up to a 50-percent charge in only 30 minutes.
HTC decided not to put their fingerprint sensor on the back of the device – which would have let BoomSound stay the way it was – instead, HTC placed it on the front of the device. This placement caused some manipulation of that front speaker. The low sounds or ‘woofer’ were moved to the bottom of the device, and the high-end sounds now originate from the earpiece. HTC did rename the favorite BoomSound to BoomSound Hi-Fi, to show the distinction. HTC also included Hi-Fi circuitry for great sounding music for your earphones. 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 $650 with 32GB of memory.
Moto Z Force
Everybody was excited to see the first full models to come out of Motorola since the Lenovo buyout, and for the most part, I would say they were a success. The first on the scene are the flagship devices – the Moto Z and the Moto Z Force. If we compare them to the other flagships that are out, you will see that they hold their own quite well. The Moto Z and Moto Z Force devices are very similar to one another – the Z Force offers a larger battery, the ShatterShield display, and better camera. As this seems to be the year of the metal smartphone, Moto went with an all-metal design, although some are not pleased with its design and many think it looks better with a Moto Mod attached to the back. Moto Mods simply snap on the back of the device via magnets – which means there are small contact points showing when no mods are in use. The setup also allows you to add backings of different materials to give it a great look.
We are happy that Moto (Lenovo) kept the AMOLED display technology, as well as the QHD resolution of 2560 X 1440 pixels. The display went from 5.4-inches to 5.5-inches, which gives it 535 PPI. Moto retained ShatterShield to prevent the display from breaking, should you drop your device and tests show that it works. Moto (Lenovo) picked the best processor currently on the market and the same one in the HTC 10, the Snapdragon 820 quad-core with dual cores clocked at 1.6GHz and dual cores clocked at 2.15GHz and the Adreno 530 GPU to handle the graphics. It is also packing 4GB of DDR4 RAM and offers up 32GB/64GB of internal memory that is expandable with a microSD card.
The camera area got a great makeover and now uses a 21MP sensor with a large aperture of f/1.8. Moto uses laser and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), a dual-tone flash, and OIS. The Moto Z Force uses a 5MP FFC with a f/2.2 aperture, LED flash for selfies and video chatting. The Moto Z Force packs a hefty 3500mAh battery and uses Moto’s Turbo Charger – one of the ‘Mods’ adds wireless charging capabilities as well.
Moto Mods is the big news this year, but when designing the Moto Z Force, they did not include the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The Moto Z Force handles headphones differently via an adapter that plugs into the Type-C reversible port to accept earphones. What is nice about the Moto Mods is that they do not invade the body of the device since they merely snap onto the back with magnets. It measures in at 155.9 x 75.8 x 7mm and weighs in at 163 grams. It looks like pricing will be around $549 exclusively on Verizon.
…And The Winner Is…
The Final Word
If you can get past the fact that you have to use the Verizon network, then the Moto Z Force is the winner of this comparison. It goes head-to-head with the HTC 10 and does it at a more attractive price. The Moto Z-Force has a slightly larger display, and it uses the AMOLED technology that will give you blacker blacks, and more contrast – not to mention the great ShatterShield display. It offers the same processor, GPU memory options, as well as expandable memory. Both offer a great camera area, and the Z Force offers a larger battery and Motorola’s Turbo Charge. It even offers up Moto Mods to customize your Moto Z Force – one Mod even adds wireless charging.
The HTC 10 is a great device, and if you chose that route, you should be extremely happy with the decision. It is a great looking device with all of the right pieces, but for $100 less, it almost seems like you are getting more with the Moto Z Force.
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