OnePlus One vs HTC One (M8): Which High-End Android Smartphone is Better?

The launch of OnePlus's first smartphone, the 'One,' has now caught the attention of many in the handset market. This CynagenMod 11S touting handset offers high-end specs at a small price, making it a very appealing option for those on the lookout for a new smartphone that can deliver solid performance on a tiny budget.

This week, we compare the OnePlus One with another Android heavy weight, the HTC One (M8). Let's see how the OnePlus One fares against one of the most celebrated handsets of 2014.

Check out our comprehensive review of the HTC One here.

Design

The OnePlus One suffers an easy defeat in the first round since it uses a plastic body. This is inferior in comparison to the gorgeous, high quality aluminium build that is seen in the HTC One (M8). While there is absolutely nothing wrong with the OnePlus One's build, we have to admit that a metal build feels far more premium when compared to any kind of plastic.

Also worth noting is that the HTC One fits into the hand more easily than the larger 5.5 Inch display touting OnePlus One. However, this factor can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on what size of display a user prefers.

Winner: HTC One (M8)

Display

Both handsets use powerful IPS LCD displays with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. While users will equally enjoy using both displays, it is worth noting that the OnePlus One offers more screen real estate at 5.5 inch, which is significantly more than the HTC One's (M8) 5 inch display. Even though both displays have the same number of pixels, they are spread over a larger surface in the area, resulting in a lesser pixel density of 401 ppi on paper. The HTC One (M8) has a slightly higher pixel density of 441 ppi. However, during actual use, users will not notice any significant display in quality.

Winner: Tie. The only difference between the two displays happens to be the screen size and so it becomes a matter of personal preference.

Hardware

Both handsets utilise the best processing options currently available to Android smartphones: the quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5 GHz along with an Adreno 330 GPU.

However, the OnePlus does have a solid advantage with its extra 1GB of RAM, taking the total to 3GB of RAM on board, as opposed to the HTC One's 2GB of RAM. This feature alone should give the OnePlus One some solid advantages where benchmark scores and multi-tasking is concerned. In the end, both handsets will be able to handle anything that you throw at them.

Moving on to on-board and expandable memory, the OnePlus One has no options for memory expansion, but it makes up for this by offering internal storage options as great as 64GB (apart from a 16GB variant). The HTC One on the hand offers 16GB of built-in storage, plus an option to expand via microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC.

Winner: OnePlus One. While there isn't much that's different between both phones, the One offers slightly better hardware in terms of more RAM for better overall performance. However, it is worth noting that the HTC One is still a powerful performer and an excellent choice for those looking for a powerful high-end smartphone.

Imaging

The OnePlus One snaps solid images with a 13MP Sony Exmor RS sensor that is combined with a 6 parts lens with an f/2.0 aperture, dual LED flash. The HTC One (M8) has an unorthodox approach to imaging with its Duo Camera. It uses two sensors positioned one above the other on the rear. The first one is the same 4 megapixel Ultrapixel camera that we saw on the HTC One (2013 model). The second one happens to be a depth sensor, which tells the M8 which objects are in the foreground and which are in the background, meaning that you can change the point of focus of your images at any point of time. This also allows for many potential changes and edits to images post capture.

Both handsets offer solid camera software packages that will allow for some stellar smartphone photography. Also worth noting is that both handsets are a great choice if shooting selfies is your thing, since they packs 5Megapixel shooters up front.

Winner: OnePlus One. While the OnePlus One offers no-nonsense solid imaging, the HTC One takes a slightly different and fun approach.

Software

One of the domains where the OnePlus One truly shines happens to be with its software. The handset comes out of the box with CyanogenMod 11S, which happens to be a special release built for the phone. It features stock Android 4.4 Kitkat, a plethora of customisation options and other features like the ability to play FLAC files. Other noteworthy features include voice command which lets you wake the phone up, pre-set gestures that help you launch your favourite apps and much more.

The HTC One uses the latest update of the Sense UI, which is version 6.0. There are no additional benefits with this skin apart from cosmetic changes and features like Blink Feed, which is HTC's visual newsfeed which draws in content from your social networks and particular publications.

Overall

If you're on a budget and looking for a no-nonsense handset that offers stellar hardware, a powerful stock Android experience with Cyanogenmod, a large display, among other things, the OnePlus One is the best option for you.

The HTC One offers amazing performance along with its stellar industrial design and metal body. If you have a bigger budget and require a "premium" handset, then this one's for you.