Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC Sensation XL: Who is Android Super-Champ?

We pit two of the most powerful Android smartphones - the Galaxy S3 and Sensation XL - against each other to see how they stack up against each other in terms of display, processors and price.

Just a week ago, Samsung's highly anticipated smartphone - the Galaxy S3 - was unveiled in London. With the release date of the next-gen Galaxy phone scheduled for 30 May in UK, a lot of smartphone fans will be turing their attention to the new phone and wondering just how it stacks up in comparison to other big Android smartphones out there.

Samsung's new smartphone, which only today was officially announced as the official smartphone for the London 2012 Olympics, sports unique features such as Smart Stay, Direct Call, Smart Alert, Social Tag and S Voice, as well as NFC and 4G capabilities.

The plethora of advanced features onboard makes the successor to Galaxy S2 stand out from the Android smartphone crowd, and is poised to become the main rival of Apple's iPhone, with its powerful quad-core processor and gigantic 4.8in touchscreen.

Other notable features include eye-tracking technology that recognises the user's eye movements to determine when he/she is looking at the screen. The software then unlocks or locks the screen in response to the user's gaze at or away from the screen. S Voice - a Siri alternative - facilitates quick user access to camera and other phone functions through voice commands, besides the Near Field Communication (NFC) feature supports content-sharing by simply tapping two devices together.

On the other hand, the HTC Sensation XL is the second smartphone from HTC to feature the Beats Audio technology, and is focused at catering to the taste of both smartphone enthusiasts and audiophiles. The Sensation XL is a multimedia powerhouse with its Dr Dre-inspired audio, impressive camera and gigantic display. The Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS may be an older version but the addition of Sense makes it a key selling point.

Check out how two of the leading Android smartphones stack up in the battle of superpowers:

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Display

The Galaxy S3 packs a gigantic 4.8in Super AMOLED display with capacitive touch screen, which runs at 720p (720 x 1,280 pixels) resolution and a pixel density of 306 pixels per inch (ppi). Bearing almost the same hardware as the Titan, the Sensation XL sports a mammoth 4.7in Super LCD display with capacitive touchscreen. The screen has native resolution of 480 x 800 pixels at a pixel density of 199ppi.

Verdict: If there is one thing seriously lacking with the Sensation XL, it's the display pixel density. Given the relatively similar screen sizes of both the smartphones, the S3 wins the display contest hands down with its superior pixel density.

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Processor and Memory

The HTC Sensation XL features a single-core 1.5GHz Scorpion processor based on Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset, while the next-gen Galaxy S3 smartphone packs a powerful quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9 processor based on Exynos 4 Quad chipset.

While Qualcomm's chipset delivers a fine balance between performance and power-saving features, the Exynos 4 packs quite a punch with its superior processing power optimised for multi-tasking. The S3 features the Mali-400MP GPU for running graphically intensive apps and games, while the Sensation XL comes with an Adreno 205 graphics chip. In terms of memory, the Galaxy S3 pairs 1GB of RAM with its quad-core processor,while the Sensation XL comes with 768MB of RAM.

Verdict: The Galaxy S3 on initial benchmakring looks to be the most powerful smartphone on the market, easily beating the older dual-core cip in the Sensation XL.

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Camera

Both the Galaxy S3 and the Sensation XL feature similar camera specifications - eight megapixel rear cameras with auto-focus.

The S3 features an LED flash and lets you capture 1080p video while simultaneously capturing a still image, as well as geo-tagging, face and smile detection and image stabilisation.

In comparison, the XL adds dual-LED flash alongside geo-tagging, face-detection, touch focus, HDR and auto-upload. The S3 supports 1080p video recording at 30fps, while the XL adds slow-motion video recording at 720p to its rear camera profile.

The S3 ships with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera supporting 720p video recording at 30fps, whereas the HTC Sensation XL comes with a weaker 1.3 megapixel camera in the front for video calls.

Verdict: This is too close to call, so we'll have to give the two phones a point each in this round.

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Operating System

The S3 comes with the latest version of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) onboard. The XL, however, ships with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) onboard, which is upgradeable to ICS, though HTC is yet to provide a concrete date for the update.

The S3 interface has been skinned with TouchWiz 3.0 UI, while the XL features HTC Sense 3.5 UI which both add various social netowkr widgets and apps.

Verdict: With no sign of an update to Android 4.0 for the Sensation XL, the point in this round has to go to the Galaxy S3

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Storage

The S3 supports three different storage models - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, while the Sensation XL only comes in a 16GB model. The HTC Sensation XL also offers no microSD memory expansion capability, while the S3 provides up to a massive 32GB of extra storage via a microSD slot.

Verdict: Clearly the versatility and range of option afforded by the Galaxy S3 makes it the clear winner.

Galaxy S3 vs Sensation XL: Battery

When it comes to battery, the Galaxy S3 holds the edge with a powerful 2100mAh battery. The Sensation XL in comparison has a relatively weaker 1600mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 360 hours of standby time and almost 12 hours of talk time on 2G network or up to 460 hours of standby time and close to seven hours of talk time on 3G network.

However a larger battery does not always mean longer battery life and with a quad-core processor and large, high-resolution Super AMOLED screen, the Galaxy S3's battery will come under strain when in use.

Verdict: We will need to wait until we get the Galaxy S3 in for testing before we can judge this properly.