HTC One X+ v Apple iPhone 5

HTC recently announced the One X+, a refreshed version of the One X, with the HTC Sense v4+ user Interface (UI). UK retailers Clove and Expansys have revealed the pricing of the new HTC smartphone and the latter has confirmed a launch date of 22 October.

Here is our side by side comparison of the One X+ and Apple's iPhone 5

Display

HTC's One X+ features a 4.7in Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 2. The resolution of the screen is 720 x 1280 pixels with a pixel density of 312 pixels per inch (ppi) and it has the Sense v4+ UI.

The iPhone 5 features a 4in multi-touch Retina Display screen with a resolution of 640 x 1136 pixels and a pixel density of 326ppi. The iPhone 5 has a similar pixel density but offers more pixels, leading, theoretically, to better displays.

Dimensions

The One X+ measures 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9mm and the iPhone 5 measures 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm. The iPhone 5 is 23g lighter than the One X+, at 112g.

Operating System

The One X+ has been confirmed as shipping with Jelly Bean software but the version has not yet been detailed. However, we expect this to v4.1.1. Incidentally, the announcement of the One X+ was accompanied by a note stating Jelly Bean upgrades for the One X and the One S were forthcoming.

The iPhone 5 runs Apple's latest mobile operating system - iOS 6 - which offers more than 200 new features, including an all-new Maps app to replace Google Maps. There have, however, been teething issues with the app. It is possible to downgrade the iOS 6 software to iOS 5.1.1(on A4 devices) if required; to do so, follow the tutorial given here.

Processor

The One X+ is powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 (AP37) quad-core processor, which is the same chip as in the One X. The refreshed version of the smartphone, however, pushes the processor to 1.7GHz (the One X runs at 1.5GHz). The company claims this makes the LTE One X+ 67 percent faster than the One X LTE.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 5 is powered by an Apple A6 chip that is reputed to offer twice the processing capability and graphics performance of the iPhone 4S. As is traditional, Apple did not release details but tests show the A6 is the first Apple SoC to use its own ARMv7-based processor design. Benchmarks suggest the chip has a dual-core processor and runs at 1.3GHz.

Both smartphones house 1GB of RAM.

Camera

The One X+ features an eight megapixel rear-facing camera with standard technologies like auto-focus, LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, touch-focus and simultaneous HD video (1080p at 30 fps) and image recording. The front-facing camera of the One X+ is a 1.6megapixel unit which can record video in 720p at 30fps.

The iPhone 5 has an eight megapixel rear-facing camera similar to the One X+ and with an iSight sensor. The smartphone's front-facing camera is a FaceTime unit with slightly lower resolution than the HTC device but one that can also record video in 720p at 30 fps. Apple claims the rear-camera has been designed to be smaller than the ones found in the 4S and the rear-facing camera features a sapphire crystal lens cover.

Connectivity

The One X+ offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot and Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP. The device will support HSDPA and HSUPA networks speeds.

The iPhone 5 offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi + Cellular and Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP. The handset supports data speed up to DC-HSDPA 42Mbps, HSDPA 21Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps, LTE 100Mbps, Rev. A up to 3.1Mbps.

The major difference here is the latter supports 4G networks while the One X+ does not. On the other hand, the HTC device supports Near Field Communication (NFC) technology but Apple, as they did with Google Maps, offers an in-house app - Passbook - in place of NFC.

Incidentally, in order to support Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, Apple has introduced a unique single-radio LTE solution.

Storage

The One X+ will come with two configurations - 32/64GB. The iPhone will come in three - 16/32/64GB. Neither device supports micro SD cards.

Battery

The One X+ is powered by a 2100mAh unit expected to provide 50 percent (six hours) more talk time and offer more time for browsing the Internet and viewing multimedia than its predecessor.

Apple has not revealed details, but its product page for the iPhone 5 indicates a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery which offers eight hours of talk time and browsing on 3G networks, eight hours of browsing on LTE and 10 hours of browsing on Wi-Fi.