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HTC One Mini vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini – Battle of the Minis

Although every phone manufacturer is in apparent race to make the best biggest phone, it’s a fact that not everybody likes their phone big. Some still prefer the 4-inch display of the iPhone, for instance or anything at least within this range.  That’s why in the Android world, the battle between the so called “mini” phones is somewhat a big deal.  The current front runners are the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and the recently announced HTC One Mini.  These two phones are mere shadows of their bigger brothers when you are to compare the specs but between them, which one is better? Which one should be crowned the best mini Android phone?

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Let’s do a comparison of these phones.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Design

In the design category, it is obvious that HTC handily beats Samsung.  Its aluminum case and its premium finish make it way better than Samsung’s mostly plastic device.  But this boils down to personal taste really.  Plastic has advantages in some situations and in terms of dimensions, the Galaxy S4 Mini is actually thinner and lighter.  The HTC One mini measures 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm and weighs 122g while the SGS4 Mini measures 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.94mm and weighs 107g.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Display

The HTC One mini has a better display.  It has a 1280 x 720 resolution display for 341ppi while the Galaxy S4 Mini has 960×540 resolution for 256ppi.  If you’re particular with the display, you know which phone to choose.  The HTC One Mini also has a more natural color compared to the Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy S4 Mini.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Hardware and Connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has better internals compared to the HTC One Mini.  The Galaxy S4 is powered by a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU paired with 1.5GB RAM while the HTC One mini has a dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU paired with 1GB of RAM.  In terms of storage, the Galaxy S4 mini is also better but only because it has expansion slot up to 64GB.  In terms of built-in storage, HTC mini has a bigger 16GB capacity while the Galaxy S4 only has 8GB.  In battery capacity, Samsung Galaxy S4 wins by a hairline with its 1900mAh battery compared to the 1800mAh in the HTC One Mini.

Connectivity options are better on the Samsung Galaxy S4 as well. While both have LTE connectivity, only the Galaxy S4 has IR blaster and NFC.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Camera

This one’s tricky.  Samsung has a bigger 8-megapixel rear camera while the HTC One mini has a 4-megapixel “UltraPixel” sensor.  In terms of performance though, the HTC camera is expected to be better.  UltraPixel technology does some tricks that make it actually better than just the number of pixels it represents. There are software tricks that make both phones stand out and at the end of the day, only the user can tell which ones are useful.  The front shooters are also different. Samsung offers 1.9-megapixel front camera while the HTC One Mini has 1.6-megapixel front shooter.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Software

Both offer Android 4.2.2 but they run UI customizations and have added software features.  The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has TouchWiz UI and adds features like S Voice, S Translator and S Health while the HTC One Mini runs Sense 5 with BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe and BoomSound.  TouchWiz has more features overall but some would prefer HTC’s Sense 5 UI.

HTC One Mini vs Galaxy S4 Mini – Conclusion

There’s no clear winner here.  If we are to base the comparison on hardware and software, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini has more to offer and it’s more flexible with its microSD expansion slot. However, the HTC One Mini has a better design, better display, and has more useful features overall.  It’s a tight contest but it boils down to user preference.  If you need something faster and is more flexible, go for the Galaxy and is more flexible, go for the Galaxy S4 Mini.  If you value design and needs a better looking display, and arguably a better overall user experience, you should go for the HTC One Mini.  Personally, I prefer the HTC One mini.  But that’s me.

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