HTC One X v Samsung Galaxy SIII

dmcg90

I'm utterly stuck, I have no idea which to choose! I'm moving to android from an iPhone 4, having never owned one before so I'm pretty new to the area.

From what I can tell:

HTC One X:
Pros:
- Amazing screen
- Great unibody design
- Less obtrusive skin
- Better camera software

Cons:
- Battery life is less
- Non upgradable memory
- Can't switch battery

Samsung Galaxy S III
Pros:
- Better camera
- Felt faster
- Apparently it will get updates quicker

Cons:
- Clear display but pentile
- Touchwiz
- Worse design


This is what I can tell from what I've used, and heard. What are your thoughts? I want something thats going to last a year, is blazingly fast, will get updates sooner, has great design, camera and display. Am I asking for a bit much?

Professey Chin

Id put every aspect of the One Xs camera over the Galaxys. Better lens and software.
Not sure how you think the S3 will get updates faster either (especially looking at Samsungs track record with the S1 & 2)
Everything else id agree with
Its all personal preference really

dmcg90

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Id put every aspect of the One Xs camera over the Galaxys. Better lens and software.
Not sure how you think the S3 will get updates faster either (especially looking at Samsungs track record with the S1 & 2)
Everything else id agree with
Its all personal preference really

I had them side by side in the O2 shop today, the S3 took far clearer images oddly. The update story I seen here and I vaguely recall it being mentioned in the Google IO keynote on the announcement of 4.1.

drunkmonkey

One X is easier to grip and is notably lighter. Beats Audio is a bonus, not major but the s3 is no great shakes audio wise especially the stock headphones.

kenyard

iv looked at the camera.
everything about the htc's camera should be better. but its not. i dont know why.
same thing with all other models. they have higher specs in stuff but just dont have the final product...

what i will say i really liked about the htc was the browser. it resizes text to your screen when browsing, so if you zoom it makes it so you dont have to keep scrolling across the screen, then down and back to the left.. very handy...

galaxy s3.. battery and sd card are huge imo. i dunno space in the one x,
also changeable battery isnt important for s3 as its easily lasting 1.5 days - and you are coming from another smartphone so you know about daily charging.. the s3 will last 2 no problem from morning to night on the second night...

besides that the galaxy s3 wins in all respects for me.
dont like touchwiz? then root and put a custom rom on it.

you are asking here.. not many will have had both phones... i cant speak for the one x. it was a toss up for me also. in the end i went with the s3 because i had a htc desire and said id see if i liked the s3.. few little features i liked also

either way i said id post this for you.
Connectivity

really nice playing n64 games what looks like flawlessly
just fyi i believe the one x can do this also.
not sure. but im splashing out on a few cables over the next week or so :P

dmcg90

dmcg90 wrote: »

I had them side by side in the O2 shop today, the S3 took far clearer images oddly. The update story I seen here and I vaguely recall it being mentioned in the Google IO keynote on the announcement of 4.1.

From my experience the S3 takes better photos in ideal situations (ie good light) but in not so good light (dull day or on a night out) the One X comes out better.
I'd personally would go for the One X (I did by the way) because in my it's better looking and feels slightly better inhand. For me the non-removable battery was not an issue, but the one thing I would have liked on it was the expandable memory, but 32GB is plenty for me. If storage is an issue then go for the S3.

Oafley Jones

drunkmonkey wrote: »

One X is easier to grip and is notably lighter. Beats Audio is a bonus, not major but the s3 is no great shakes audio wise especially the stock headphones.

The One X is 3 grams lighter, I pissed and pooed all over the SGS3 when I saw it, but I think its ergonomics are far beter - why didn't HTC put the power button on the side? Beats is a joke, while the S3 has the well respected Wolfson DAC so it should sound better than the X.

I went for the One X though. I liked the look, but it's the screen that sold me, I'd have always been disappointed by the S3 - albeit very good - screen.

Kavrocks

With the announcement of the PDK (Platform Development Kit) for Android by Google all handsets from now on will most likely receive updates faster than before. I would certainly scratch that off the pros list for the S3. Nothing was said specifically about the S3 and updates only the Galaxy Nexus in the Google IO Keynote.

There is one version of the One X (can't remember if its the International or US) which has sound output even with Beats audio worse than all of its rival smartphones.

Are you really going to need more than 32GB of space on your phone (its not a laptop or desktop computer)?

Personally I think HTC Sense and TouchWiz are awful looking compared to stock ICS so I'd probably go with the Galaxy Nexus if I was inline for a change which will get updates faster than both the One X and S3, although getting it at a reasonable price over here won't be easy.

dmcg90

Kavrocks wrote: »

With the announcement of the PDK (Platform Development Kit) for Android by Google all handsets from now on will most likely receive updates faster than before. I would certainly scratch that off the pros list for the S3. Nothing was said specifically about the S3 and updates only the Galaxy Nexus in the Google IO Keynote.

There is one version of the One X (can't remember if its the International or US) which has sound output even with Beats audio worse than all of its rival smartphones.

Are you really going to need more than 32GB of space on your phone (its not a laptop or desktop computer)?

Personally I think HTC Sense and TouchWiz are awful looking compared to stock ICS so I'd probably go with the Galaxy Nexus if I was inline for a change which will get updates faster than both the One X and S3, although getting it at a reasonable price over here won't be easy.

Yeah I remember the PDK thing now, sorry for the confusion.

Storage is important, I'd like 32GB, its just about right to me, so both phones are pretty equal there.

Don't want a Nexus, I want something more than a 5MP camera with a kinda average sensor.

I think i'm swinging towards the One X more, its the only phone between them that 'wowed' me in its design.

mik_da_man

I think specs wise they are pretty equal overall.
The one X on sale here has 32gb of storage which I think is plenty.
The S3's battery is better but I'm used to charging every night anyway.

In the end it came down to looks for me and imo the one X looks better..The S3 was too plasticity for me.
I've had the previous galaxys and other htc devices and the build quality of the HTC just seems better.

dmcg90

Spent a bit more time with both today. Think I'll go for the HTC One X. While it may lack a gig in ram, software wise it runs great.

Just to sell my iPhone now!

Professey Chin

dmcg90 wrote: »

Spent a bit more time with both today. Think I'll go for the HTC One X. While it may lack a gig in ram, software wise it runs great.

They both have 1gb of RAM here.
Think its Korea that has the quad core S3 with 2gb

dmcg90

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

They both have 1gb of RAM here.
Think its Korea that has the quad core S3 with 2gb

Ahh... my mistake!

elderlemon

Have you actually used the audio on the S3? It's bloody good. In fact I'd go so far as to say its one of the best I've heard. It has a Wolfson audio processor which is one of the best on the market.

Also I hate to say it but the stock samsung headphones sound better than my €50 Sennheiser set which really pisses me off.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

... but the s3 is no great shakes audio wise especially the stock headphones.

mickoneill30

It's a nice position to be in OP. "Which great phone will I get?" Either way either phone is great.
I've been using Android for a couple of years now. I went from Desire -> Desire HD -> Sensation -> S3

I never liked the look or feel of the S2. The HTCs were always a better build quality in my opinion. The S3 looks much better. The unibody design of the HTC doesn't bother me. I always put a gel cover on the back of my phones. This keeps them perfect. So that means the plastic back of the S3 makes no difference to me and it makes the phone easier to grip. I dropped my HD once and it slid under a car. When I picked it up the only slight mark was on the €5 gel cover.

For the screen I've been using the S3 for a couple of weeks now and I was just thinking how solid and clear it was when I was using it yesterday in my car (when I was stopped waiting for my other half to come out of the shops).

My major reasons for me moving to the S3 were

• I could sell my old phone for nearly the same price as the price I could get the S3 (but this is more a reason for changing phones rather than going for the S3.
• The Sensation was veeeery laggy after the update to ICS. I was kind of annoyed with HTC for that.
• Removable battery. If I do get a battery that starts to lose power I want to be able to swap the battery. I don't want to have to bring the phone into a shop and possibly send it away.
• MicroSD card slot. I have gotten down to a few meg free on my 32Gb card. I would like the choice of swapping cards or upgrading cards if I want. Not giving me the choice seems a bit "Appley".

On both phones I'm not a fan of HTC Sense or Touchwiz (actually I hate Touchwiz but that's probably since I've always had HTC phones). There are various launchers in the App Store though and you can change that in 2 mins. I'm using Nova Launcher now. I liked it so much I paid for the premium version.
Also I hate Kies but thankfully I don't need it at all for the S3. The phone has received an update over the air and I transfer data to the card by just plugging it into a USB port on my PC.

So is the S3 better than the HTC One X. I don't know.
It is a fantastic phone and I've no regrets getting it.

Youtube is handy also to get some more ideas. Videos like this are good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orSywdx8TPg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijBzWmYnZGI&feature=related
Frequently the reviewer has some kind of bias but it's handy to see them side by side.

dmcg90

I'm used to charging morning and night so battery isn't that much of an issue. I can't wait to sell the phone now and get the One X!

dmcg90

dmcg90 wrote: »

I'm used to charging morning and night so battery isn't that much of an issue. I can't wait to sell the phone now and get the One X!

I have mine nearly 2 months now, upgraded from iPhone 4. Very happy with it. So you won't be disappointed. Good luck on selling the phone.