Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One compared (Part 3)
Over the past few weeks I have been looking at the HTC One and and Samsung Galaxy S4 and so far I’ve compared the camera performance and expressed my opinion regarding the screens used in each device.
This week I’m turning my attention to the audio performance, specifically the loud speakers and speaker phone. In this respect the winner is far more clear than the previous tests we’ve performed but let’s have a look.
HTC have made a pretty big deal of the speakers that they’ve added to the HTC One, there have been numerous TV commercials and posters to explain what Boomsound is all about. Boomsound is the name that HTC have given the speaker and audio technology they’ve used on the HTC One.
In essence there are two front-facing loudspeakers in the HTC One. These have large acoustic chambers to give a greater dynamic range and more punch while a build in amplifier can pump up to volume. The fact that they are forward-facing is a huge benefit too and furthermore, being stereo mans that watching movies or listening to music with the phone at an average viewing distance yields great sound performance.
These speakers, above and below the screen portrait mode are hidden behind neatly machined aluminium grilles with tiny holes and a flush finish that looks the business too.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is far more conventional when it comes to audio. There is a single loudspeaker on the rear of the S4 which is behind two openings on the plastic back of the phone and then a metal grille underneath.
It may not look like much and you’d initially think the S4 performance would be poor. However, that’s really not the case. The audio is pretty loud and has a decent range to it. It’s certainly not rubbish.
However, we are comparing the two phones here and while the Galaxy S4 is probably among the best of the rest when it comes to sound it simply cannot compete with the HTC One.
The HTC One has fantastic audio and the fact that it faces the listener it’s obvious that this would be a big advantage but surprising that no one has really done this before.
The benefit here isn’t just limited to listening to music. If you want to do a conference call or use the phones hands-free then the speakerphone on the HTC One is leaps and bounds ahead.
So, to sum up, the Galaxy S4 certainly doesn’t disgrace itself but you only have to look at the difference in the size of the speakers to see why the HTC One is the clear winner here.
Posted by: Matt
[ Post Tags: HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Android, smartphone, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
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