After Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 were unveiled in February, HTC 10 has now made its way to the public scene as well.
The HTC 10 now joins the race towards becoming the best Android phone in 2016. With the specs and hardware combination it brings, there is no doubt that this race will be a closely contested one among the three main players. So, how does the HTC 10 compared to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5?
Design and display
It is hard to pick one device from these three when it comes to design. Samsung went for a sleek combination of metal and glass both on the front and rear of the Galaxy S7. On the other hand, the HTC 10 went for a unibody design that features metal and the front is covered with glass. The LG G5 is unique with its modular design that lets users attach LG Friends to the device as well as remove the battery unit and replace it, something that is not possible with both Samsung Galaxy S7 and HTC 10.
In terms of size and weight, Samsung nailed it as it has both a smaller size and lesser weight as compared to the other two. However, it is not the slimmest of the three thanks to the 7.7mm boasted by LG G5. You will come across QHD resolution panels on all three phones; however, the Galaxy S7 promises sharper views thanks to the higher pixel density of 577ppi it achieves with its 5.1-inch display size.
On the contrary, HTC 10 gives a decent 564ppi with its 5.2-inch screen while LG G5 manages 554ppi, which makes no difference when it comes to the naked eye. Despite the insignificant differences in the screens’ resolutions, there are noticeable differences when it comes to the panels used. Samsung stuck to the Super AMOLED panels it used in last year’s models while HTC 10 has come in with a Super LCD 5 panel. LG G5, on the other hand, has an IPS screen that is considered a battery hog.
Both Samsung and LG make use of the Always On display feature, but this is not available on HTC 10. With this feature, users are able to check the time, date and other useful notifications at a glance, that is, there is no need to press a button in order to wake the screen. Maybe HTC left the technology behind because it is still early in its adoption stage.
If you need a water and dust proof phone, there is no other way here than the Samsung Galaxy S7 way. This is because the phone comes with an IP68 rating, something that HTC 10 and LG G5 are missing. All three models have a fingerprint sensor; however, it is only Samsung that thought of including a heart-rate monitor in the device.
Hardware and performance specs
The three phones are equipped with the latest hardware and performance specs you can find in a smartphone. Although Samsung has a variant that runs on its own Exynos 8890 CPU, there is another variant (U.S.-bound) that carries the same Snapdragon 820 CPU that is also used by HTC 10 and LG G5. In addition, all three phones have the same 4GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card.
As far as battery performance is concerned, LG G5 has the advantage of allowing users to swap batteries and also supports the latest quick charging technology from Qualcomm. HTC 10 also comes with the same Quick Charge 3.0 technology used on the G5 and so does the Snapdragon 820 variant of the Galaxy S7, but the latter features an older iteration of the same – Quick Charge 2.0. Despite this shortcoming, the Galaxy S7 is the only device to feature fast wireless charging among the three.
Rather than going with USB Type-C ports like HTC 10 and LG G5, Samsung chose to stick with micro-USB port, something that might affect the phone’s future purchases given that USB Type-C is considered the future.
Photography and pricing
Smartphones have turned out to be today’s cameras and OEMs are constantly working to better their experience. On paper, it is easy to say that LG G5 is the best thanks to its dual-camera setup that features a 16MP primary sensor and another 8MP sensor for wide-angle views. In addition, there is room to attach extra camera hardware on the G5.
On the other hand, HTC 10 comes in with the second generation of the UltraPixel introduced in HTC One A9, with the rear featuring a 12MP sensor, which is the same megapixel size as the DualPixel 12MP sensor installed on Samsung Galaxy S7. While these two have 5MP sensors for selfies, LG G5 has 8MP on the front. However, HTC 10 adds some spice to the selfie cam by shipping it with OIS on board.
When it comes to pricing, the LG G5 is actually the cheapest of the three with a price tag of $650. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy S7 is priced at $670 while the pricier HTC 10 is valued at $699. These prices are for the unlocked variants of all three phones.