HTC One X vs Apple iPhone 5 full review
If we’re to talk about launch dates, the HTC One X is a much older device than the Apple iPhone 5. But when it comes to hardware, the HTC One X is a worthy competitor of the iDevice, with its 4.7in Super LCD and Tegra 3 CPU. The iPhone 5 is a very promising device, with more than 5 million units sold in the first week since its launch. It’s appealing with it’s large screen, clean design and the blazing fast A6 CPU. Let’s see how the HTC One X scores alongside the Apple iPhone 5.
The Design
Both devices have a certain something when it comes to design. They’re both good-looking. The Apple iPhone is the thinnest of the two with a 7.6 mm thickness. The HTC One X has a 8.6 mm thickness. The coating of the Apple iPhone 5 is glass and aluminium which makes us think it’s better prone to scratches and physical shock.
The HTC One X is larger, more difficult to hold with only one hand. The home button on the device is placed at the top so it’s really difficult to handle it with only one had. You’d have to have pretty big hands to get to reach it whenever you want. When it comes to the Apple iPhone 5, although not as big as the HTC One X, it has round edges that can make it hard for the user to maneuver the phone. It has a weight of only 112 g which is a plus, if we think that the weight of the HTC One X is 120 g.
The design of both the devices is not as perfect as we would like them to be, but the iPhone 5 sprouts an aluminium case that gives it an expensive feeling, more expensive than that of the HTC One X.
So the winner in the size and design battle is the Apple iPhone 5.
The screens
The Apple iPhone 5 has one of the best screens we’ve seen in smartphones in a while. it features a 136×640 326ppi resolution and has Retina display technology. The HTC One X has a 1,280×720 312ppi screen with Super LCD technology.
The Apple iPhone 5 has a crisp screen and we are considering it not only one of the best screens in smartphone devices but also the best Apple screen yet. It has a 4 inch display and very good viewing angles. The only downside with the Apple iPhone 5 when it comes to its screen is the poor visibility it displays when outdoors. The HTC One X does much better in sunlight.
The HTC One X has a 4.7 inch display and good viewing angles, but due to the high resolution the text can appear a little small.
The winner in the screen department is the Apple iPhone 5.
The performance of the two devices
Theoretically, the HTC One X is better than the Apple iPhone 5 when it comes to performance. It has a 1.5 GHz quad-core NVidia CPU while the iPhone 5 has a 1.2 GHz dual-core A6 processor. The thing is the A6 CPU manages to keep the pace with the HTC One X’s CPU. it can launch apps rapidly and you won’t see much difference between the two in terms of performance.
The problem with the HTC One X is it has a loaded interface that is struggling to keep the pace with the Apple iPhone 5′s screen. The HTC One X runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and this makes screen lag sometimes when you scroll through them.
The better part of the HTC One X OS is the fact that it is highly customizable and it leaves room for improvements. The iOS on the other hand hasn’t changed that much since its release.
This round also goes to the Apple iPhone 5.
The OS
The HTC One X runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich while the Apple device runs the new iOS 6. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HTC One X has the HTC Sense user interface. It is our personal opinion that the Apple OS is the one that fairs better between the two. Since it hasn’t changed that much in some years people are still familiar with the UI and icons and they tend to find things faster. The HTC One X Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has the Google Maps app. The iOS 6 gave up this app and instead chose to go with the in-house developed Apple Maps app. This angered some users.
Also, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich allows one to put widgets on the screen, multiple ones as a matter of fact.
This round is a draw. Both OSs fair well and since they’re so different it would be hard to tell which one fairs better.
The cameras
The HTC One X has an 8 MP read camera that does really well indoors. It has an illumination sensor and this allows one to take crystal clear pictures in poorly-lit areas. It can also take four pictures per second and all of these will be clear and crisp.
The iPhone 5 has also a nice camera which is also an 8 MP. But when working indoors, the pictures speak for themselves. The bonus point of the Apple iPhone 5 is the fact that it can do panoramic pictures that stick together perfectly. It however comes to no match to the HTC One X’s camera.
Storage space and battery life
Both the HTC One X and the Apple iPhone 5 do well when it comes to battery life. We didn’t observe much improvement in the battery life of the iPhone 5, compared to the iPhone 4S. We had to charge the Apple iPhone 5 every day, although it did provide an extra hour of battery life compared to its predecessor.
The HTC One X had some problems and quirks too. The battery drain is fast and it takes a game or two to have to replenish the juice.
The HTC One X also has some problems when it comes to disk space. It has a 32GB memory that can’t be extended through a microSD, which is pretty disappointing. The Apple iPhone 5 is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB modes and can’t do microSD.
There’s a draw in this round. Read on to see who the final winner of this battle is.
And the winner is…
If you prefer a speedy device and a nice looking design, you’d have to go with the Apple iPhone 5. The HTC One X is not a bad device either if you would prefer the Android OS. The iPhone 5 has a better screen, maybe the best currently available on the market. It’s also lighter and thinner than the HTC One X and has an aluminium backing. The HTC One X however has a way better camera.
It really comes down to price and taste. Those wishing of an Apple iOS on their device would fare better with the iPhone. Those wanting a more customizable and cheaper device would better choose the HTC One X.
