The HTC One Mini, long rumored about in the tech blogosphere, has finally been officially announced by the Taiwanese device maker. But how does it stack up against its biggest mini competitor - the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini? Here's a rundown of all of the specs.
The newest thing in smartphone manufacturing is to release a flagship smartphone, and then begin releasing variations on that device - whether it's a camera-centric version, a bigger variant, or a "mini" version. With HTC's announcement of the HTC One Mini coming out in August and the Galaxy S4 Mini already released in the U.K. earlier this month, both HTC and Samsung are about to go head-to-head on their more affordable, less hardware-maximized mini flagships.
So how do they stack up against each other - and what do you lose by getting the cheaper version of each flagship? Here's a specs rundown to clarify things.
Display
The HTC One Mini comes with a 4.3-inch display, which is only a small downgrade from the HTC One's 4.7-inch screen. With that, you'll lose a little resolution, getting a 1280x720 picture with 341 pixels per inch, as opposed to the One's 1920x1080, 468 ppi monster.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini downgrades the S4's 1920x1080p (441 ppi) display to a less impressive 960x540p resolution, with a density of 256 pixels per inch, in order to fit the smaller 4.3-inch frame. In this case, the clear winner is the HTC One Mini.
Size
If you're looking for a properly "mini" device - one that is clearly scaled-down in size from the flagship phone - the Galaxy S4 Mini is the way to go. It comes in at .24 pounds, with dimensions of 4.91 x 2.41 inches, and a thickness of 0.35 inches.
The HTC One Mini is almost as thin, coming in at 0.36 inches, but its height and width are actually not that much scaled down from the original One, at 5.20 x 2.49 inches. Additionally, the One Mini looses a little of its solid-aluminum appeal, as polycarbonate now lines the sides to keep manufacturing costs down.
Performance
Samsung and HTC's flagships and mini versions all come with Snapdragon processors. Both "mini" versions get scaled down from four core Snapdragon 600 processors to two core Snapdragon 400s. But Samsung's Galaxy S4 Mini is clocked at a slightly higher speed, at 1.7Ghz, as opposed to the HTC One Mini's 1.4GHz. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini clearly wins in this category, as its "scaled down" clock speed is actually the same as the HTC One's 1.7GHz (though don't think getting a Mini Samsung will give you as much performance as HTC's flagship).
Add to that, the fact that the One Mini comes with 1GB RAM, while the S4 Mini gets 1.5GB RAM, and you'll likely see slightly faster performance on Samsung's low-cost flagship variant.
Storage
The HTC One came with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, but due to its solid-body aluminum frame, there's no microSD expansion available. The same is true of the HTC One Mini, which offers no expandable memory and comes with 16GB storage.
Things get tricky comparing this with the Galaxy S4 Mini though, because Samsung's mini phone comes with 8GB of storage built-in, but has a maximum microSD expansion of 64GB.
You'd think that would make the Galaxy S4 Mini the best in storage, hands down. But Samsung has a little annoying block on the Galaxy S4 that doesn't allow you to put apps on the microSD card, making the expandable memory considerably more useless, unless you're really into storing media on your S4 Mini but don't load a lot of apps or games (also, the microSD card slot has been moved to an awkward spot). Currently there's a firmware update rolling out to fix that issue, but unless you live in Germany or a handful of other Eastern European countries, you're not getting that patch yet.
Cameras and Other Features
The HTC One Mini comes with the same "ultrapixel" image sensor as its bigger brother, meaning that it's only 4 megapixels, but because the size of the pixels in the sensors are larger, HTC says that it delivers higher dynamic range, light sensitivity, and overall image quality. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini pares down from the 13-megapixel shooter to an 8-megapixel camera. Both have similar front-facing cameras, at just under 2 megapixels. Advantage: HTC One (if the Ultrapixel hype is to be believed).
Both minis got a lower-capacity battery to fit the smaller frame, with the One Mini coming in with 1800 mAh (down from 2300 mAh in the flagship) and the S4 Mini getting a slightly better 1900 mAh power source (down from the superior 2600 mAh S4 battery). Because of the One Mini's iPhone-inspired solid frame though, much like the One, you can't change out its battery, giving the advantage to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini in this respect.
When it comes to other features, it's harder to compare the two - it just depends on what features you like. The One Mini has the Beats stereo "BoomSound" speakers on the front, like the One, while the S4 Mini has the built-in IR blaster of its bigger brother. Do you prefer high quality smartphone speakers or controlling devices with your phone? That's up to you.
Both come with Android 4.2.2, but whether you prefer HTC's BlinkFeed and Zoe, which the Mini is inheriting, or the suite of Samsung-specific apps like Best Photo, S Travel, and Screen Mirroring, which the S4 Mini is coming with, is up to you.
Non-contract versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini have been seen for the US dollar equivalent of $545, while the HTC One Mini looks like it will cost around $580, so maybe that will sway your decision. But, of course, once wireless carriers start releasing the devices on contract, expect to see those prices shrink considerably. Stay with us for more information on possible US carrier releases, prices, and other information on both of these mini smartphones, as well as other technology news and reviews.