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Here we are with two of the hottest minis to land on the smartphone world. Before we dive into the review, it is important to understand the phrase ‘mini’. Some think of it is as a budget phone and some think of it as a small sized phone. Fortunately, both are somewhat right. Though you can’t really term it as a budget phone, but technically it is cheaper than the flagship, therefore suiting individuals who can afford something more than a typical budget phone, but don’t have enough cash on them to go all the way over to the flagship just yet. There have also been instances where people have preferred to buy minis irrespective of the price tag because they find the flagship just too big for day to day use. Well everyone has their own preferences. We are here to decide which of these minis suit which kind of people and which mini gets you the most bang for your buck, and hence the winner of this battle.
So lets start off. As usual we will run a quick check on the specs of both and then run our deep review which will cover each and every aspect of these minis.
HTC One mini
Screen : 4.3 inches Super LCD 2 720*1280 (342 ppi)
Processor : 1.4 GHz Dual core Krait 200 Snapdragon 400
Graphics : Adreno 305
Ram : 1 GB
Memory : 16 GB (non-expandable)
Camera : 4mp (2um) 1080p@30fps
Secondary : 1.6 MP @ 720p
Android : 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Bluetooth: v 4.0
NFC : No
Battery : 1800 mAh (non-removable)
Samsung S4 mini
Screen : 4.3 inches Super Amoled 540*960 (256ppi)
Processor : 1.7 GHz Dual Core Krait 300 Snapdragon 400
Graphics : Adreno 305
Ram : 1.5 GB
Memory : 8GB(5GB accessible, expandable via microSD)
Camera : 8mp 1080p@30fps
Secondary : 1.9 MP @ 720p
Android : 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Bluetooth: v 4.0
NFC : Yes
Battery : 1900 mAh (removable)
Based on pure specs war, it looks like the s4 mini is in the lead. However, now we dive deeper into the review to check out each and every single specification in detail and based on that, we will declare the winner of this fight.
Lets start off with the design of both handsets :-
HTC one mini follows the footsteps of its bigger brother The HTC One. There was no denying the fact that the HTC One was and probably still is one of the hottest handsets in the market. With its perfect ergonomics, aluminum body, front facing speakers and a gorgeous screen to complement all that, HTC One was definitely a looker. The design of the HTC one created such a buzz in the technology world that even the most die-hard apple fans were forced to admit that there was finally a handset in the market that could challenge the iphone (in terms of design). Therefore since the HTC One mini is almost identical to the HTC One, except for some minor differences being the size, lack of IR blaster and the fact that the HTC One mini has polycarbonate frame around its sides unlike its bigger sibling which had aluminum on the sides as well, I think it’s safe to say that HTC One mini is an absolute beauty in the mini segment as well.
Coming over to S4 mini. Again like the HTC One mini, S4 mini follows the footsteps of its bigger sibling the Galaxy S4. Some important aspects to notice here is that S4 mini retains the IR blaster of its bigger sibling and is basically made from the same materials as the S4.Now there is nothing wrong with the design of the Galaxy S4, but the heritage of using plastic on phones and the fact that it still looks a little like the S3 but with a bigger screen, makes it design not stand out amongst the rest. Please don’t take me wrong. By no means am I trying to apply that the design of the S4 is mundane or something (and its success tells the complete opposite), but with other manufacturer using way more premium materials like polycarbonate and aluminum, I thinks it’s time for Samsung to let go of plastic. Then again, if you disagree you are more than welcome to share your comments.
Important note: Samsung is planning on changing the designs of its phones(not sure about the material) since it had the meeting with its design team, so I think we can safely assume that the Galaxy S5 will come with a totally fresh look *fingers crossed*
But for me, based on pure design and hardware, I will give this round to the HTC One mini.
Software:-
This is where the HTC One mini and the S4 really differ as there is a completely different user experience when shifting from one to another.
HTC One mini uses Sense 5 which has brings along a change in the feel of using an android phone. Those who have used the HTC One will feel right at home, whereas other might need a bit getting used to. It brings along a neat and uniform look along with some changes in the visual effects. Ofcourse Sense 5 comes with BlinkFeed onboard. While there have been some criticism regarding the blinkfeed on various internet websites, I beg to differ. It is quite useful once you get the hang of it and try to accept it instead of blindly rejecting it(as it is a step away from the typical android experience). BlinkFeed basically consists of various articles from different sources(online) along with updates from your social circles like Twitter and Facebook. In either case if you don’t like blinkfeed you can always scroll to the next homepage and set that one as your homepage .Another difference between Sense 5 and traditional android experience is the fact that Sense 5 involves a lot of vertical scrolling instead of horizontal scrolling. Again this is an area where we are bound to get a mixed response. Some might like it owing to the fact that it looks more tidy and elegant, others might think it’s a step too far away from the experience that they prefer.
S4 mini uses TouchWiz, which although might get the criticism of looking a little childish or too colorful, but is packed to its core with a list of useful features. The new touchwiz which launched with the Galaxy S4 is not drastically different from the S3, so anyone who has used a Samsung phone will feel right at home. Though there a couple of minor changes. Obviously Android 4.2.2 brought changes to the notification for both of the devices along for the quick notification settings options. Apart from that the S4 mini has those features like Smart Stay etc. which are definitely a bonus. Then another benefit of the S4 mini is that it has NFC (HTC one mini doesn’t).
I think the software round should go with the handset with the most number of features in its software instead of just focusing on cosmetic changes, so I think this round goes to the S4 mini. Then again, this might not be the case for everyone. As usual, you are free to share with us your comments.
CPU and GPU performance:-
From the specs sheet above it is clear that Samsung S4 mini has a lead here. Not only is it clocked higher, but it has a slightly refreshed Krait 300 instead of Krait 200 found on the HTC One mini. Although both are powered through Adreno 305 graphics processor but since the S4 mini is clocked higher it will gain the advantage in the graphics department as well.
The Benchmarking results for both the handsets are as follows:-
Benchmark Pi :-
HTC One mini 293
Samsung galaxy S4 mini 166
Winner = S4 mini (Lower score is better in this test)
Linpack :-
HTC One mini 320
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 413
Winner = S4 mini (Higher score is better in this test)
Geekbench 2 :-
HTC One mini 1417
Samsung S4 mini 1937
Winner = Samsung S4 mini (Higher score is better in this test)
AnTuTu :-
HTC One mini 11434
Samsung S4 mini 14518
Winner = Samsung S4 mini (Higher score is better in this test)
Quadrant :-
HTC One mini 6048
Samsung S4 mini 7153
Winner = Samsung S4 mini (Higher score is better in this test)
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt :-
HTC One mini 15
Samsung S4 mini 17
Winner = Samsung S4 mini (Higher score is better in this test)
BrowserMark 2 :-
HTC One mini 2164
Samsung S4 mini 2314
Winner = Samsung S4 mini (Higher score is better in this best)
Based on benchmarking, Samsung S4 mini has clearly the lead in every test. So in our tests of raw cpu performance, browser test and graphics test, S4 mini is the winner of this round.
Important note: Although the S4 mini has won this round, there is absolutely no lag in the HTC One mini either and if put them side by side, you will not be able to notice any difference in snappiness between the two handsets.
Camera :-
HTC One uses the same ultra-pixel camera as its bigger sibling but loses the Optical Image Stabilization and the wide angle for the front facing camera. To simply explain the ultra-pixel concept so everyone can understand it, it basically means the though the camera is technically a 4 MP camera but it packs bigger pixels (hence the name ultra-pixel). Bigger pixels account for better low light performance, but doesn’t improve performance in bright lighting conditions.
Samsung S4 mini on the other hand, sticks to a simpler 8 MP camera and a 1.9 MP front facing camera.
HTC One mini also borrows the Zoe feature front its bigger sibling which was the star of the show when it was launched. Zoe is basically a 3 seconds video of your picture. The 3 second video then brings your gallery to life.
As features like HDR, Panorama shots are going common in most smartphones, therefore I can’t give its edge to the S4 mini but the Zoe Feature on the HTC One and the One mini are totally commendable so as far as the camera features are concerned (not the camera quality), HTC One is a winner here.
As far as the quality of images in concerned, I would say they are mostly on par with each other. The HTC One mini produced soft images at times (owing to the lack of OIS), whereas the Samsung S4 mini tend to produce over-saturated images at times. Keeping both these things into consideration, it is safe to say that both handsets can take decent picture quality if not the best. Had HTC One mini been blessed with OIS like HTC One, it would have absolutely killed the S4 mini in the image quality test.
You can have a look at the image qualities yourself and decide which one looks better to you.
Images taken by HTC One Mini :-
Images taken with Samsung Galaxy S4 mini :-
The video quality also showed the same results. The lack of OIS on HTC one mini again shot less resolved detail at times in its videos. The S4 mini again shot over-saturated videos on most occasions and there is over-sharpening of objects by its sensor (more over-sharpening than there was in the picture shooting mode).
Although I must make it clear that in the reviews, we tend to focus on the bad parts a bit too much. The only reason for that is so that you can make an informed decision. If we tend to ignore these flaws in handsets, then you will probably blame us for not bringing such stuff to your attention in the first place. It is also worth pointing out that these picture and video quality are being judged from a professional point of view. In most day to day use, like I said earlier, you are unlikely to find a major difference between the camera performance of either handset and at most instances, you will be satisfied with the camera result (provided you have reasonable expectations from it).
Winner of the camera quality = DRAW
In the end, both handsets have their strong and weak points, it is up to you to decide which points matter the most to you.
If looks, fresh android experience, display quality, low night photography ,zoe and speaker quality matter more to you, and you can live without NFC, IR Blaster and the OIS, then the HTC One mini is the handset for you.
If functionality, decent camera and software enhancements matter more to you and you can live without an HD screen, Air Gesture and MultiView, then S4 mini is the set for you.
Another thing to keep into consideration is that S4 mini has expandable memory whereas with HTC One mini you are stuck with 16GB.
Last but not the least, comes the price tag. HTC One mini is available from homeshopping.pk for Rs. 50,990/-, whereas the S4 mini is available from homeshopping.pk for Rs. 41,990/-
Hope you enjoyed the review. Keep coming back to homeshopping.pk and feel free to share with us your comments..
now homeshopping have new samsung galaxy s6
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