HTC U11 Or Samsung Galaxy S8: Guide to the better phone among the two
HTC U 11 the new flagship phone of 2017 is a great success smartphone which is admirable not only to the eye but because of it’s some great features. But the other Android phone that is parallel competitor to it is the Samsung Galaxy S8 which is itself a beautiful phone too. At the mobile stores online or at the shop when you look at both the smartphones you often think which is better among the two. Here is a complete guide to showcase both the Androids and let you decide honestly which one you think is better for you.
Display of HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8
Looking at the both of Android mobile both have beautiful display. The HTC U11 with its coloured, curved glass back and dazzling liquid surface finish, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 with its gorgeous, sweeping Infinity Display screen, which curves around the sides to seamlessly merge with the glass back panel.
The Galaxy S8 certainly has a more understated look than the U11 as the HTC’s multiple layers of glass mean the surface shimmers with different colours depending on the angle, with its elegant edges and both these phones are good design to feel and look.
In terms of build quality, things are similarly close. Both phones use Gorilla Glass 5 on their screens as the S8 has it on the rear too, and both are IP67 rated for water and dust protection, which means they’re completely sealed against dust, and capable of withstanding a sub-aqua sojourn to a depth of 1m for up to 30 minutes.
Screen of HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8
The HTC U11 has a 5.5in IPS LCD with a QHD resolution (that’s 2560 x 1440 pixels), and delivers a vibrant, bright and detailed image. The Samsung Galaxy S8, however, has what’s probably the best smartphone screen ever. It’s a beautifully rich 5.8in Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2960 x 1440 (a stretched QHD, basically) and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. That means it’s significantly taller or wider, in landscape view than most smartphone screens, and covers a much greater proportion of the phone’s front side. It also curves around both sides of the device, delivering even more usable screen real estate.
Camera in HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8’s rear camera is a 12MP f/1.7 shooter with optical image stabilisation, always-on HDR and super-fast dual-pixel autofocus, and delivers superb results in good lighting and impressive images in low light. Some of this is down to a clever image processing tweak, whereby the camera takes three photos per shutter button press, using two of them to eliminate blur and reduce noise.
The HTC U11 rocks a similar rear camera setup: 12MP sensor, f/1.7 lens, dual-pixel AF, optical image stabilisation 5-axis this time, always-on HDR and a little slow to use. Both cameras record 4K video at 30fps. The Galaxy S8 can also record 1080p at 30/60fps or 720p at an ultra fast 240fps for smooth slo-mo playback, while the U11 can record 1080p at 30 or (for slo-mo) 120fps.
Flipping to the front camera, the U11 has a 16MP sensor paired with an f/2.0 aperture and 1080p video recording, while the Galaxy S8 has an 8MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and 1440p (aka 2K) video. So you can judge from specs that both the smartphones are excellent camera phones but Samsung just edges things with its front camera and high-speed 720p video skills.
Performance and battery in HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8
There are two versions of the HTC U11 one has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage, the other 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage; both are powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 835 chip. The versions are powerful and able to handle any app or HTC pokies game the Google Play Store offers with stutter-free smoothness. There’s a microSD card slot for storage expansion too.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is powered by a homegrown Exynos 8895 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. There’s 64GB of storage and card slot for expansion. It’s a fast, smooth performer with any current app, and zips through multitasking and general operation without a stutter.
The Galaxy S8 comes with a 3000mAh battery that supplies a decent amount for normal use, you’ll have around 30% capacity left at the end of a day. There’s fast charging via the USB-C port, allowing you to fully juice up the handset from 14% in only 1.5 hours. Also wireless charging built in, if you’re one for convenience.
The HTC U11 has a 3000mAh battery too, with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 tech squeezed in but the Samsung’s low-power always-on screen means that, for minimal users, it probably lasts for longer
Other features in HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8
Samsung has kept the 3.5mm headphone socket, while the HTC has dropped it – you’ll have to connect up your old wired headphones via the USB-C port and a supplied adapter. However, you might want to try the bundled USonic earbuds, which self-calibrate for your personal ear-size using sonic waves and feature active noise cancellation to help negate exterior babble. They’re pretty decent – if perhaps a little heavy-handed on the bass front.
Sticking with audio, both phones support playback of hi-res files. The U11 also has Boomsound speakers, which turn the entire phone into a resonating chamber and deliver room-filling audio. They’re brash and refined enough to make most Bluetooth speakers redundant, and much better than the S8’s built-in speaker to boot.
Both phones have voice assistants built-in, with the Galaxy S8 favouring Samsung’s own Bixby and the HTC U11 offering not one but two options in Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.
In terms of security, you get fingerprint sensors with both devices, but Samsung also includes an iris scanner that uses your eyeball as authentication as it can also use facial recognition, should you prefer. Samsung thus wins on this point.
On the other hand, the U11 is the first phone to come with squeezable sides as there are customisable, pressure-sensitive side panels that add a welcome degree of extra control to proceedings. Set them to open up the camera and take a selfie, for instance, or launch Google Assistant.
Finally you see both the HTC U11 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 are powerful, well-equipped Android handsets with killer cameras, gorgeously eye-catching designs and waterproof builds.
You can judge their specs and design to find which one is better for you. At the time of writing Samsung S8 cost AU $999.00 and HTC U11 also cost AU$999.00 the same price.