Google Nexus 5 vs HTC One - Which is the Best Android Smartphone?

Until the Google Nexus 5 came along with its low price and high-end specs, the smartphone of the year title had been all-but guaranteed for HTC's One smartphone.

When we reviewed it way back in March, we called it the "new Android standard bearer" and since then we've seen nothing to match it.

Now, Google and LG are back with their latest Nexus smartphone, featuring specs to match HTC's flagship but a price which undercuts the Taiwanese-made smartphone.

So, which should you choose?

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Design

The HTC One is a premium product in the mould of an iPhone. In as much as a smartphone can be described as beautiful, the HTC One certainly is. It is all glass and aluminium, with a curved rear cover making its large size fell comfortable to hold in one hand.

The phone is also now available in a range of eye-catching colours including red and blue, to compliment the silver and dark grey models. It is a supremely well-built and expertly designed smartphone.

The Nexus 5 is a different beast altogether. It is a combination of glass and a soft-touch, matte, plastic rear cover. And while this, along with its low price, may suggest a cheap-feeling product, that is not the case.

It is thinner (8.6mm vs 9.3mm) and lighter (130g vs 143) than the HTC One and the finish is similar to the Nexus 7, which is no bad thing. It may not be as refined as the HTC One, but considering its screen is slightly bigger, the Nexus 5 is still a highly desirable product. It is available in black or white.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Screen

The HTC One has a 4.7in screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels giving it a pixel density of 469 pixels per inch (ppi). The Nexus 5 in comparison has a 4.95in screen also with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels giving it a pixel density of 445ppi.

While the Nexus 5 uses IPS screen technology, the HTC One uses Super LCD3 tech, though both produce superb displays in terms of crispness and colour reproduction. At 4.7in the screen on the HTC One is the same size as the Nexus 4, which for us was just about a perfect size.

The Nexus 5's 5in screen is only marginally bigger though for some this will be a bonus and the slight reduction in pixel density will not be noticeable.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Camera

The HTC One has a 4 megapixel sensor. Sounds pretty shonky right? Well it is not. HTC employs what it calls Ultrapixel technology which utilise much larger pixels in order to capture much more light and therefore much better pictures - particularly in low light. The results are excellent, if not quite matching the performance of Nokia's latest mobile imaging tech.

The Nexus 5 has an 8 megapixel sensor with autofocus and a single LED flash, but also features optical image stabilisation which is a huge boon for photographers. Google is playing up the camera capabilities of the Nexus 5 in its launch video for the phone, but it remains to be seen if the camera is good enough.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: 4G

The HTC One and Nexus 5 both support all three 4G LTE bands which are used in the UK (800MHz, 1800MHz, 2600MHz) but while all networks are offering the HTC One on their respective 4G networks, both Vodafone and EE have said they will not be offering the Nexus 5, though they have not said why.

You can of course always just buy the phone from Google directly and use an EE or Vodafone SIM.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Performance

The HTC One is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip from Qualcomm with a clock speed of 1.7GHz, paired with 2GB of RAM. The Nexus 5 on the other hand is using the newer, more powerful Snapdragon 800 chip, which features a quad-core processor running at 2.3GHz, also paired with 2GB of RAM.

While the HTC One is certainly no slouch, the extra power provided by the Snapdragon 800 chip along with the fact it's running a pure version of Android should make the Nexus 5 that much faster - and more future proof.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Storage

With regards to storage, Nexus 5 buyers can choose between either 16GB or 32GB - up from the option of 8GB and 16GB for the Nexus 4. The HTC One is available in 32GB or 64GB versions.

Unfortunately, neither the Nexus 5 nor the HTC One feature a microSD card slot, so storage cannot be increased.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Software

The Nexus 5 is the reference smartphone for Android 4.4 (KitKat) and therefore will be the first phone to be available with it. The update brings a number of significant updates to the software including a modified dialler, design tweaks and most importantly better integration for Google Now and search.

It will also allow you to use your voice to search without having to touch your phone. Ported from Motorola's Moto X phone, the feature will only be available on the Nexus 5, with the microphone always listening for the command: "Ok Google."

The HTC One is currently running Android 4.3 with its Sense UI skinned on top. The latest Sense UI looks to replace the traditional Android home screen with its Blinkfeed interface which draws in feeds from social media, news sources and websites.

The interface will work for some, but not everyone. HTC has also released a Google Play version of the phone which runs a completely vanilla version of Android.

HTC has said that all versions of the HTC would get Android 4.4 within 90 days.

Nexus 5 vs HTC One: Price

The killer feature of the Nexus 4 is back for the Nexus 5 - its low price. At £299 (for the 16GB model) and £339 for the 32GB model, the phone is considerably cheaper than the HTC One.

At launch the HTC One cost more than £500 SIM-free and while it is possible to pick one up for slightly cheaper now, it has held its value pretty well over the last six months - making it at least £150 more than the Nexus 5.

Which should I choose?

As with all such decisions, this comes down to personal preference. On the plus side for the Nexus 5 is the low price, great specs, large 5in screen and the latest version of Android.

Positives for the HTC One include that sublime design and build quality, a great screen and camera and the best smartphone speakers on the market.

The choice, as they say, is yours.