HTC M8 vs Galaxy S5 vs Sony Sirius: Differences in Software, Hardware, Pricing and Availability
HTC M8, Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Sirius will meet for the 2014 smartphones war but you may need to find out which side are you on. All three features heavily-packed hardware and software including camera, Android version and design. But which does support your style, budget and needs?
Android Version and User Interface
All of them features different UI, but runs the same Android 4.4 KitKat. M8 features Sense with BlinkFeed, S5 boasts TouchWiz with magazine-style and Sirius sports Xperia with SocialLife.
HTC Sense and BlinkFeed
Sense UI is light on the system and most HTC smartphones are snappy with rarity of sluggishness. BlinkFeed supports live updates of your social apps and news using the Internet but also affect interfaces of several native apps such as camera, gallery and music.
Samsung TouchWiz UI
Samsung updated the TouchWiz UI and now features magazine-style as is seen on PRO editions of Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab. In addition to new icons and notifications, Galaxy S apps have been updated for better user experience.
Sony Xperia Home and Social Life
Xperia UI stands between Sense and TouchWiz with the right snappiness and some lags depending on apps installed. Most native Sony apps are affected by the UI such as camera, album, movies and WALKMAN including the Social Life. Social Life is like BlinkFeed except you need to launch the app to see all the feeds from social networks and news.
Hardware Components
Their respective manufacturers improved the hardware components to become more competitive against iPhone 5S or newer Windows Phone devices. But each of them have specialties and you won't be able to get in our smartphone.
HTC M8 includes major upgrades based from HTC One such as larger screen display, on-screen key, aluminium body and front facing speakers. It retains a set of quad-core processors and 2 GB of RAM chipset for stable performance.
Galaxy S5 features all-new hardware improvements like larger screen, better resolution, more RAM, 16 MP camera and 2900 mAh battery. But the best part is the metallic variant which features 64-bit processor that could match the speed of iPhone 5S and maximised RAM.
Xperia Sirius will have similar hardware from Xperia Z1 such as 20.7 MP Sony G lens camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dust and water resistances, Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and shatterproof screen. But Sony seems to have focused on adding several software features such as S-Force engine, 4K video, Timeshift video and gesture-based apps.
Pricing and Availability
HTC M8 may fall under the same price range of HTC One but rumours regarding solid details may leak in February or March. You'll get ultrapixel camera, front speakers, solid metal design, fast processor and 5.0-inches of display from whatever price tag it gets. It is expected to be available in the United States, Europe and Asia like its predecessor.
Galaxy S5 may reach up to $800 for the metallic variant with 64-bit processor, away from any contracts. Plastic variant may be sold in $650 full retail but costs $199 under two-year contract which is likely to feature 32-bit processor instead. Samsung will make S5 available in almost every territory where S3 and S4 have been sold.
Xperia Sirius could have the same price tag of Z1 and S5 in exchange for dust and water resistances, quad-core processor, 5.25-inches of display and Sony G lens camera. However, Sirius may not be widely available in the United States due to their exclusivity with T-Mobile but Asian and European buyers will not suffer distribution problems.