Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – We are taking a look at the latest HTC flagship, the HTC 10 as it goes up against the all-metal OnePlus 3T. HTC started our love affair with metal smartphones a few years back. Although the HTC 10 has been available since May 2016, it is still their flagship model until its replacement is made available this spring. The nod in the looks department would have to go to the HTC 10 with its chamfered look, while the OnePlus 3T has a more subdued, business-like look. Because of the time distance between both devices, they do not have much in common. Let’s take a look to see just what these two devices have in common and then we will take a closer look at each device.
With displays almost the same size display – 5.2-inches for the HTC 10 and 5.5-inches for the OnePlus 3T – their physical dimensions are very close with the OnePlus 3T slightly larger, but with the HTC 10 weighing in 3 grams heavier. Besides the difference in display size, the displays use different technologies and different resolutions. Both came running Android Marshmallow but have since been recently upgraded to Android Nougat. Both devices use a version of the Snapdragon 820 processor with the OP3T using the newer version 821. Both use the Adreno 530 for excellent graphics. The two devices offer a 64GB version, but the HTC 10 has expandable memory via a microSD card and the OP3T simply has a 128BG option but no expansion. Both devices offer excellent primary camera areas but go about it in a different way. They both have a decent sized, non-removable battery with rapid charging capabilities. They both enjoy a fingerprint sensor for unlocking the device or authorizing mobile payments. The usual suspects are here – WiFi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, NFC, and a reversible Type-C port 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
There is no doubt that the HTC 10 is the best smartphone HTC has made to date, yet the company is still struggling financially. After starting this metal revolution back with their One M7, people complained that by the time the One M9 appeared, the design was getting a little stale. However, the The HTC 10 is new bold design, with high-end specs, QHD display, terrific sound, and a great camera makes it a forceful package. Let’s see just how well it stacks up to the new OnePlus 3T.
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 the best processor available to them at the time by using the Qualcomm 64-bit Snapdragon 820 quad-core with dual cores clocked at 1.6 GHz and dual cores clocked at 2.15 GHz and an Adreno 530 GPU for graphics. The HTC 10 is packing 4GB of the DDR4 RAM and a base 32GB of internal memory that is expandable to 256GB via a microSD card.
The camera area is one that HTC has always had a bit of trouble with and each year would experiment with new ideas but never got it quite right. The HTC 10 finally has all of the right pieces that work well together – a 12MP sensor with its UltraPixel 2 for capturing more light and image and then added laser autofocus, a dual-tone LED flash, a large aperture of f/1.8 and OIS. The front-facing camera (FFC) uses a 5MP sensor, with a large f/1.8 aperture, a wide-angle lens, OIS, and HTC even included an on-screen flash to ensure excellent low-light selfies and video chatting. Powering the device is a 3000mAh non-removable battery that it uses Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0, which will give you up to a 50-percent charge in only 30 minutes.
HTC included a front-facing fingerprint sensor, so they had to reconstruct their infamous BoomSound to accommodate the addition. They placed the ‘low-end’ speaker on the bottom of the device, and the high-end sounds now originate from the earpiece. To acknowledge the change, HTC renamed it to BoomSound Hi-Fi. HTC also included Hi-Fi circuitry for great sounding music for your earphones. The HTC 10 measures 145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm 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.
OnePlus 3T
OnePlus decided it was necessary to update their OnePlus 3 and gave it the name of OnePlus 3T. Physically they are identical looking except for a subtle color change to a Gunmetal color along with a Gold version that is now available. Inside, it has a slightly faster processor (10-percent) then the HTC 10’s Snapdragon 820. OnePlus upped the battery size from 3000mAh to 3400mAh and added a scratch-resistant lens cover on the primary camera. There is no longer just a 64GB model – the OnePlus 3T starts at 64GB, and now you can choose 128GB. Many are wondering why OnePlus did the updated version, but most likely, OnePlus wanted to increase holiday sales rather than wait until the usual spring launch date. This decision makes us curious as to what to we will see this spring in the OnePlus 4. We are looking at an all-metal device that has excellent build quality, but how does it hold up to the HTC 10?
OnePlus, like Sony, does not have a love affair with the QHD displays like most techies. The OnePlus 3T does not disappoint their fans by coming with a Full HD display. It does sport the OnePlus 3T’s new 5.5-inch Full HD Optic AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a respectable 401 PPI. OnePlus increased the processing department power on the OnePlus 3T and included the new Snapdragon 821 with the same dual-core clocked at 1.6GHz and another at 2.15GHz and running the same Adreno 530 GPU. OnePlus then packed in a full 6GB of DDR4 RAM and 64GB of the faster UFS 2.0 non-expandable internal storage, although you can now order 128GB of internal memory.
OnePlus did an excellent job upgrading the camera area on its original OnePlus 3, and that excellence carries over to the OnePlus 3T. It uses the same hardware but does have a more scratch-resistant sapphire covered lens. It comes with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF,) an LED Flash, a large f/2.0 aperture, and OIS for stability. The FFC camera increased to 16MP from only 8MP with a f/2.0 aperture for terrific selfies and video chatting. The OnePlus 3T has a 3400mAh non-removable battery that includes their Dash Charge that will give you up to a 60-percent charge in only 30 minutes.
OnePlus is almost playing on a level field with the ‘big boys’ by including both a fingerprint sensor and NFC chip on their OnePlus 3T. This combination will allow the device to make mobile payments and Android Pay purchases with a swipe of the finger. Now they need to include a model that will work on Verizon and Sprint. It runs mostly stock Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box with OnePlus’ OS called OxygenOS on top but has now been upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat. The OnePlus 3T measures 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35mm and weighs in at 158 grams. It will cost you about $440 USD for the 6GB/64GB model and about $480 for the 6GB/128GB model, and there is a choice of Gunmetal or Soft Gold.
…And The Winner Is…
I had a tough time choosing between the HTC 10 and OnePlus 3T, but I opted for the HTC 10 as the winner of this comparison. True, it does have a slightly slower processor according to Qualcomm, but HTC really optimizes their processor and software that speeds it up. It has less RAM than the OnePlus 3T, but nobody is sure how OnePlus is going to utilize that 6GBs of RAM. It also has a great design, solid build, and takes great photos. It has a QHD display, and it works on all major US networks, which is a huge plus. My only hesitation is the price tag, as it will cost you about $200 more than the OnePlus 3T.
The improved OnePlus 3T is also a solid device that has no bells or whistles and no QHD display. It has a slightly faster processor and more RAM. However, it is hampered by non-expandable memory and the ability to work on only AT&T or T-Mobile in the US. OP finally included both the NFC chip and fingerprint on the same device…now, if they could only add the radios for all US carriers.
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