The HTC 10 has officially been unveiled in India and we're looking forward to knowing how its competition fares. With a price tag of Rs 52,990, the smartphone is not the cheapest offering available in the country today, but that was always on the cards considering the kind of hardware packing underneath the device.
However, when we have a quick look at the competition, we realize that it's not the only flagship worth its salt in the market today. Keeping this in mind, we are comparing it with one of the best budget flagships available in India today, the Xiaomi Mi 5.
So let's see how the two fare, shall we?
Key features:
The HTC 10 has more than one highlight feature and the same can be said about the Mi 5. One can safely say that both handsets have been very blessed in terms of performance (Snapdragon 820 processor) as well as the camera, although the camera on the HTC 10 pips practically everything on its path. Even the front facing camera on the handset has optical image stabilization, which puts it leagues ahead of anything we've seen in the market today.
The HTC 10 has a leg up over the Mi 5 in terms of display performance as well. While Xiaomi has stuck to a 5.15-inch Full HD (1920x1080) display, the HTC 10 is sporting a marginally bigger 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) display. So no marks for guessing the winner in this area.
Design:
Both the HTC 10 and the Mi 5 can be considered to be on level pegging here as they pack a premium metal/aluminum design. The Mi 5 comes with a glass back panel as well, which adds to the overall appeal of the handset. At the end of the day, it comes down to what the customer wants from a flagship, so liking/hating the design is a subjective matter. There's no real winner or loser here, at least in my opinion.
Camera:
There's no doubt that the HTC 10 has Mi 5 in a corner as far as camera performance is concerned. The smartphone is simply the best in the business today and will be the cameraphone to beat this year. The HTC 10 comes with a 12MP rear camera with an f/1.8 sensor and OIS. The Mi 5 in comparison sports a 16MP rear camera (f/2.0) and a 4-axis OIS sensor, which is a bit of a game changer on its own as Xiaomi has shown off in its demonstrations.
In the selfie department, the Mi 5 is sporting a 4MP sensor (f/2.0) while the Mi 5 packs a 5MP unit (f/1.8) with OIS on board. This is unheard of for front cameras and goes to show that HTC has done its homework.
Performance:
The two handsets should be on even terms here as they're packing the Snapdragon 820 processor underneath. However, real world usage might differ as it is dependent on the kind of software optimization that has been done by the manufacturer. HTC recently revealed that it has significantly skinned down the Sense UI to enhance performance, while Xiaomi's MIUI has a reputation as one of the lightest custom interfaces out there. While benchmark scores might differ in this area, we don't think the real world usage will show much of a daylight between the two.
Battery:
Unlike Xiaomi's Redmi Note 3, the company has utilized a 3,000 mAh sensor here. This is slightly strange as a flagship offering would usually demand more battery. But we're guessing Xiaomi did this to keep the thickness and the overall weight at bay. The HTC 10 is also sporting a 3,000 mAh unit under the hatch, which is pretty decent and a prerequisite for modern day flagship phones.
Other features:
The HTC 10 is available in a solitary 32GB storage + 4GB RAM variant in India. The Mi 5 on the other hand is available with 32GB of internal storage, but only 3GB of RAM. Is that much of a hindrance? Well, we can't tell for sure, but on paper at least, this is definitely a point for the HTC 10.
The Mi 5 also lacks a microSD card slot, while the HTC 10 can take cards of up to 2TB (if you can manage to get one).
Pricing and availability:
This is something that could change the equation completely for some buyers. You've already seen and compared the hardware attributes of both flagships, but the price difference between them is more than 2X. While the HTC 10 has been freshly announced for Rs 52,990, the Mi 5 is available for just Rs 24,999.
When you really put things in perspective, this seems like a bit too much. Sure, the HTC 10 has a better camera and a better display, but is it really worth the nearly Rs 28,000 surplus that HTC is charging? The answer is a resounding no. The HTC 10 has a very good display, a set of industry topping camera sensors, but the Mi 5 has all those things too, albeit not on the same level as the HTC 10. So while the HTC offering has a distinct hardware advantage over the Mi 5, we don't think it's really a winner here. The Mi 5, for its premium design, the Snapdragon 820 chipset and an extremely affordable price tag, takes the cake.
However, when we have a quick look at the competition, we realize that it's not the only flagship worth its salt in the market today. Keeping this in mind, we are comparing it with one of the best budget flagships available in India today, the Xiaomi Mi 5.
So let's see how the two fare, shall we?
Key features:
The HTC 10 has more than one highlight feature and the same can be said about the Mi 5. One can safely say that both handsets have been very blessed in terms of performance (Snapdragon 820 processor) as well as the camera, although the camera on the HTC 10 pips practically everything on its path. Even the front facing camera on the handset has optical image stabilization, which puts it leagues ahead of anything we've seen in the market today.
The HTC 10 has a leg up over the Mi 5 in terms of display performance as well. While Xiaomi has stuck to a 5.15-inch Full HD (1920x1080) display, the HTC 10 is sporting a marginally bigger 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) display. So no marks for guessing the winner in this area.
Design:
Both the HTC 10 and the Mi 5 can be considered to be on level pegging here as they pack a premium metal/aluminum design. The Mi 5 comes with a glass back panel as well, which adds to the overall appeal of the handset. At the end of the day, it comes down to what the customer wants from a flagship, so liking/hating the design is a subjective matter. There's no real winner or loser here, at least in my opinion.
Camera:
There's no doubt that the HTC 10 has Mi 5 in a corner as far as camera performance is concerned. The smartphone is simply the best in the business today and will be the cameraphone to beat this year. The HTC 10 comes with a 12MP rear camera with an f/1.8 sensor and OIS. The Mi 5 in comparison sports a 16MP rear camera (f/2.0) and a 4-axis OIS sensor, which is a bit of a game changer on its own as Xiaomi has shown off in its demonstrations.
In the selfie department, the Mi 5 is sporting a 4MP sensor (f/2.0) while the Mi 5 packs a 5MP unit (f/1.8) with OIS on board. This is unheard of for front cameras and goes to show that HTC has done its homework.
Performance:
The two handsets should be on even terms here as they're packing the Snapdragon 820 processor underneath. However, real world usage might differ as it is dependent on the kind of software optimization that has been done by the manufacturer. HTC recently revealed that it has significantly skinned down the Sense UI to enhance performance, while Xiaomi's MIUI has a reputation as one of the lightest custom interfaces out there. While benchmark scores might differ in this area, we don't think the real world usage will show much of a daylight between the two.
Battery:
Unlike Xiaomi's Redmi Note 3, the company has utilized a 3,000 mAh sensor here. This is slightly strange as a flagship offering would usually demand more battery. But we're guessing Xiaomi did this to keep the thickness and the overall weight at bay. The HTC 10 is also sporting a 3,000 mAh unit under the hatch, which is pretty decent and a prerequisite for modern day flagship phones.
Other features:
The HTC 10 is available in a solitary 32GB storage + 4GB RAM variant in India. The Mi 5 on the other hand is available with 32GB of internal storage, but only 3GB of RAM. Is that much of a hindrance? Well, we can't tell for sure, but on paper at least, this is definitely a point for the HTC 10.
The Mi 5 also lacks a microSD card slot, while the HTC 10 can take cards of up to 2TB (if you can manage to get one).
Pricing and availability:
This is something that could change the equation completely for some buyers. You've already seen and compared the hardware attributes of both flagships, but the price difference between them is more than 2X. While the HTC 10 has been freshly announced for Rs 52,990, the Mi 5 is available for just Rs 24,999.
When you really put things in perspective, this seems like a bit too much. Sure, the HTC 10 has a better camera and a better display, but is it really worth the nearly Rs 28,000 surplus that HTC is charging? The answer is a resounding no. The HTC 10 has a very good display, a set of industry topping camera sensors, but the Mi 5 has all those things too, albeit not on the same level as the HTC 10. So while the HTC offering has a distinct hardware advantage over the Mi 5, we don't think it's really a winner here. The Mi 5, for its premium design, the Snapdragon 820 chipset and an extremely affordable price tag, takes the cake.
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