Gadgetory

if you were switching to Android from another smartphone platform and asked for recommendations on what phone to get odds are pretty good that the HTC One and Google Nexus 5 would rank pretty high on that list but these two high-end devices are popular for very different reasons and they deliver very different user experiences so let's check both of those devices out and see if we can get to the bottom of which one is right for you I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is Nexus 5 versus HTC One the HTC One is one of our favorite Android devices of all time and a big part of that is thanks to its excellent fit and finish the one's zero gap construction is aluminum and polycarbonate and it's replete with all the hallmarks of premium 2013 design chamfered edges two-tone coloring and precision machined holes for the twin front firing speakers it's this build quality that's led some to call the one the gateway drug for iPhone users give or take a few minor details it really does equal or surpassed the feel and hand of an Apple product the polar opposite of that would be something that felt ridiculously cheap and chintzy and thankfully the Nexus 5 is neither but it's plain to see that price and possibly a desire to de-emphasize Hardware in favor of software played a role in the Nexus 5's design hardcore or not plastic is still plastic and it still doesn't feel as good in the hand as the HTC One is aluminum the Nexus 5 is only 13 grams less massive than the one but it feels much less substantial as a result of that material choice on the plus side though the soft touch coating on the back makes the Nexus 5 a grippier device and it'll probably hold up to drops and scuffs better than the soft metal of the one it also won't get as hot in the hand when it's working hard comparing the footprints you can see that these devices are fairly equal in size on their face but because LG didn't have to accommodate the big boom sound speakers it was able to squeeze in a larger display but though it's bigger it's not better colors aren't as saturated on the Nexus blacks aren't as dark and whites are unnaturally warm to our eye the better quality on the ones display more than makes up for the slight size sacrifice under the ribcage each of these phones has a healthy ticker backed up by two gigs of RAM but the brand-new Nexus 5 edges out the older competition with a Snapdragon 800 instead of a 600 that means there's more processing power under the Nexus 5's hood and better graphics capabilities as well in addition to the qi wireless charging ability and support for more LTE bands so all this means the Nexus 5 demolishes the HTC One and day to day usage right well if you've been watching PocketNow videos for a while you know the answer is no but we don't worship specs we value performance and in that respect each of these phones is crazy fast and ridiculously smooth you'll notice that we've been swapping back and forth between the Google Play edition HTC One and the stock edition running HTC Sense and truly it doesn't matter which one you're running performance on the one is a dream the LG phone of course has a newer Android version and being a Nexus device it'll probably always be ahead of the one but with HTC promising to update its phones to KitKat within weeks one owners won't have long to wait for improvements like the streamlined Google now integration built in Yellow Pages UI enhancements and so on the only question is whether you prefer an excellent third-party Android skinned HTC Sense or an excellent stock Android experience you'll want to check out our full review of the one and stay tuned for our forthcoming full review of the Nexus 5 for more on that but for now just know that either way you go the software is so good that it probably isn't gonna be a pain point for you the camera is another story just like we dealt with in our Nexus 5 vs. Moto X comparison we've got two very inconsistent cameras here both feature optical image stabilization but the 8 megapixel shooter on the Nexus 5 is considerably higher in resolution than the ones 4 megapixel sensor on the flipside the one features many more options in its viewfinder software for honing and perfecting your shots or just making them more fun and those shots are again inconsistent the one tends to swing wildly between over and underexposed output depending on where it's focused the Nexus 5 is a little less finicky in this department but once you do find a nice groove with the one it can produce some pretty nice shots that sport more color on average than the Nexus 5 the HTC phone also has a much wider field of view which we like because it lets us get further from our subjects and HTC's ultra pixel technology may have a gimmicky name but it does do a much better job in low-light than the Nexus 5's camera which more than once couldn't bring in enough light even to focus properly even the front-facing contest favors the one while the Nexus 5 only has space for one person's sad and lonely selfie the ones wide-angle front-facing camera has enough space to include a friend about the only thing we like better about the Nexus 5's output is its video quality which is pretty gorgeous no matter how you slice it the HTC one has been the reigning champion of voice quality since it debuted and though the company was forced to change some of its microphone technology mid-cycle we still think the one delivers great voice quality but according to colors the Nexus 5 does too and we agree on the earpiece anyway but then there's the speaker performance folks with a name like HTC boomsound you know it's gonna be intense and it is the ones speakers are positioned more logically and they're much more dynamic than the Nexus 5's single speaker we'll have more on the Nexus 5 including thoughts on battery life more camera testing and more detailed rundowns of the goodies found in android 4.4 in our full review Landing soon follow us on social media and subscribe here on YouTube so you don't miss it the Nexus 5 has taken a bit of a beating in the last few categories so now it's time to remember what we're talking about here this is a phone with a 1080p screen a Snapdragon 800 processor and optically stabilized camera and a virtual guarantee from Google that it'll always have the latest and greatest in Android well for at least the next two years and it's $349 in the US that's not just value that's crazy value the HTC one might outperform the Nexus 5 in some areas and it might feel like a jewel in the hand but you're gonna pay a premium for the privilege of carrying it off contract anyway still if you've got the money to burn or you're willing to strap yourself into a carrier contract and you're more concerned with the smartphone's holistic experience rather than having the absolute latest and greatest we think the HTC One is the better rounded of these two phones if the kind of things that peel your banana instead are high-end specs and lightning fast updates save some money snap up the Nexus 5 just be prepared to accept the compromise that comes along with it haven't had enough Nexus 5 we talked a lot about the Nexus 5 on this week's pocket now weekly podcast with special guest Brad Mullin from Engadget Mobile head on over download that it's up and that is also where we announced the winner of our Nexus 5 giveaway don't worry we'll be running another giveaway at some point in the near future but thanks to all who participated and be sure and stay tuned for our full Nexus 5 review coming soon and a bunch of other comparisons on this phone and others thanks for watching this video though toss us a like if you enjoyed it leave a comment down below if you have some feedback most importantly though thank you for watching as always we'll see you next time