Samsung and HTC have both unveiled their 2015 flagship smartphones at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
We take a look at how the Galaxy S6 and One M9 stack up against each other in the battle of the newly-released Android flagship smartphones.
Processor
The Galaxy S6 houses a Samsung Exynos octa-core processor (quad-core 2.1GHz + quad-core 1.5 GHz). The One M9 also packs in an octa-core processor i.e. Snapdragon 810(quad-core 2GHz + quad-core 1.5 GHz).
However, which processor has more juice can only be ascertained post the benchmark tests.
Display
The Galaxy S6 touts a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The One M9 has a slightly smaller 5-inch Full HD Super LCD3 screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The Samsung smartphone not only has a better resolution, but also 577ppi vis-à-vis 441ppi.
Both the phablets deploy the Gorilla Glass 4 for a sturdy display and are waterproof.
Dimensions
The Galaxy S6 measures 5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 inches, whereas the One M9 has dimensions of 5.6 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches, making the Samsung device fractionally longer and similar in width. Thickness wise, there is little separating the two Android smartphones.
However, weight-wise at 4.8oz the Samsung smartphone is visibly lighter than the HTC offering which weighs 5.5oz.
Memory
The Galaxy S6 32GB, 64GB and 128GB on-board storage options. This time round, Samsung has got rid of the expandable memory option and the much-loved microSD card slot is notably missing.
The HTC One M9 by contrast is only available in the 32GB option, but has an expandable memory option via a microSD card (up to 128GB). This feature is lacking in the Samsung smartphone. So even if you buy the 128GB model on the Galaxy S6, the One M9 with its microSD card will still offer more storage.
Both smartphones have the same memory capacity of 3GB of RAM.
Camera
The Galaxy S6 houses a 16-megapixel primary camera with an F1.9 lens. The HTC One M9's primary camera edges out the Samsung one with ease thanks to its 20 megapixels and the sapphire camera cover lens for protection.
Both cameras support dual-LED flash, autofocus, auto real-time HDR, and OIS. The rear-facing cameras of both devices are capable of taking 2160p videos at 30fps.
Selfie lovers need not fret either as both the smartphones have a more-than-capable front-facing camera on board. The Samsung phablet has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera which is at par with the UltraPixel camera on the One M9. Both the smartphones' secondary cameras can take 1080p videos at 30fps.
Additionally, thanks to the HTC Eye Experience software users can even take selfies via voice instructions.
Operating System
Both the Galaxy S6 and One M9 come with Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. The Samsung smartphone has Touchwiz, whereas the HTC smartphone deploys HTC Sense 7 UI on top.
Battery
The One M9 has a non-removable 2840mAh battery, which gives you over 21 hours of talk time support (on 3G).
The Galaxy S6, on the other hand, is the first Samsung phone in the line-up to house a non-removable 2,550mAh battery to favor design sensibilities rather than flexibility. The talk time support offered is not known currently.
Additional Features
The Galaxy S6 boasts of Samsung Pay, a fingerprint sensor, Smart Stay, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, air gestures and wireless charging, which are notably missing in the One M9.
However, the HTC smartphone has Quick Charge 2.0 i.e. fast battery charging. The smartphone can be charged 60 percent in just 30 minutes. The HTC flagship also has front-facing BoomSound speakers that have an in-built amp and boast a "Dolby Audio - Location-detecting homescreen."
Both the phones are NFC and Bluetooth v4.1 compatible.
Availability
The HTC One M9 is slated to hit the shelves in early Spring and the pricing has not been revealed by the company. However, an Indian comparison website Pricedekho.com lists the availability date as April 8 and prices it at Rs. 52,000 (approximately $840).
The smartphone is available in several hues - Gunmetal Gray, Amber Gold, Silver/Rose gold, and Gold/Pink.
The Galaxy S6 will hit the shelves from April 10 and come in Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz, White Pearl, and Black Sapphire. The pricing of the Samsung flagship remains unknown at this juncture. However, a SamMobile report suggests that the 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models of the smartphone will cost €699 ($782), €799 ($894) and €899 ($1005).
With both Samsung's Galaxy and HTC One M series being seasoned players, Android loyalists will have a tough time choosing between the two. However, given that the Samsung Galaxy S6 boasts some additional features like fingerprint scanner, it may find more favor among customers.
