LG G3 vs HTC One M8 – design and performance

The LG G3 has been praised this year by many for its outstanding screen and beautiful design, while the HTC One M8 is the favorite among smartphone users thanks to its metal design and admirable performance and durability. Anybody who is looking to buy a new handset has to consider these two flagships, otherwise they can’t say they’ve checked out all the options.

Of course, there competitors some might like even more, like the Sony Xperia Z2 ,Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4 or Lumia Icon and the Meizu MX4, Xiaomi Mi4 and Huawei Ascend Mate 7 from lesser know manufacturers. The LG G3 and the HTC One M8 have been regarded as top notch flagships which you can currently purchase for $700 and $600 off contract respectively. These are quite the hefty price if you consider that behemoths like the Meizu MX4 are available for under $400, but both the LG G3 and HTC One M8 are well worth their money.

Both the LG G3 and HTC One M8 have cheaper versions available, the LG G3 Beat, with a considerably weaker screen and specs sheet and HTC One E8, which is basically the same as the HTC One M8, except for the high quality metal build. Nonetheless, the original flagships are the most noteworthy devices from both companies this year, taking into consideration that Samsung has amazed many with its huge portfolio, including the Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Edge, Gear VR headset, Gear S samrtwatch, Galaxy S5 and the rumored Galaxy A5 – the first in the new Alpha series from Samsung.

Even though Samsung has released so many devices this year, the LG G3 and HTC One M8 still manage to keep the top spots in many tech connoisseur’s lists. The search for a premium smartphone, with an accurate budget already set, should definitely include the LG G3 and HTC One M8 as the first ones to check out before deciding what smartphone you want to get. First off, you surely have an idea of how big you would like your smartphone’s screen to be.

The LG G3 sports a 5.5 inch QHD screen with a 1,440*2,560 resolution and 534 ppi pixel density and it looks a bit more vivid than the 5 inch Super LCD3 1080*1920 441 ppi screen on the HTC One M8. Both the LG G3 and HTC One M8 screen is insanely sharp and bright, so there isn’t such a big difference, but it is a noticeable one. Color reproduction on the LG G3 has proven exemplary, though with many people calling it the smartphone with the best screen. Aside from the Galaxy Note 4 of course, which has topped the LG G3 since it was announced at IFA Berlin 2014.

When it comes to visibility in bright sunlight, the LG G3 lags behind the HTC One M8 by a little, legibility being a bit more difficult than on the One M8. Viewing angles are excellent on both smartphones, with a bit more color saturation on the HTC One M8 compared to the LG G3. Nonetheless, both screens are excellent compared to what is on the market currently. Even though the HTC One M8 scree is considerably smaller than the LG G3 one, it might fare just as well for those who prefer the smaller phone that fits just a bit better in their hand.

Next up, the design of the two smartphone has been widely acclaimed by many, even though the LG G3 has just a metal-looking polycarbonate chassis. The HTC One M8, on the other hand, has a beautiful metal design and a durable, solid body which feels great in the hand. Both the HTC One M8 and LG G3 are slightly rounded phones, with the same height, the LG G3 being a bit wider and a bit thinner. There’s a considerable difference in bezel size, the LG G3 being one of those phones that come close to the Sharp Aquos bezel-less design. Compared to the thicker bezels on the HTC One M8, the LG G3 looks quite the part.

Both screens are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and one way to explain the thicker bezels on the HTC One M8 is its front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers. These speakers offer high-quality, clear audio and are among the best speakers you can find on a phone. The HTC One M8 comes in three colors, while you can get the LG G =3 in five different colors. The LG G3 has a special coating on its back which doesn’t make it as spectacular as the self-healing LG G Flex, but it does protect it from scratches and bruises. The LG G3 back-cover is removable and houses a 3000 mAH battery, whilst the HTC One M8’s unibody houses a 2600 mAH battery.

The speaker on the LG G3 is not much compared to the BoomSound speakers on the HTC One M8, and it’s a single speaker placed on the back. Even so, it does offer pretty good sound quality, nothing to complain too much about. Both handsets have IR blasters and microSD card slots built-in, which are welcomed features in flagships. The LG G3 features KnockCode, one my favorite LG features, whilst the HTC One M8 can also be woken up by either a double tap or a swipe up on the screen, which is neat.

The LG G3 and One M8 both have NFC, LTE, 3G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a SlimPort on the LG G3 and an MHL port on the One M8, USB 2.0, GPS, Glonass with an added barometer on the HTC One M8. The battery life on the LG G3 is said to be rather disappointing, adding up to about a day, whilst the One M8 isn’t far behind with about 20 hours of talk-time. When web-browsing, the LG G3 can muster up only about 7 hours, whilst the One M8 stands a bit more firm with 9 to 10 hours. In most video playback tests, the HTC One M8 lasted up to 11 hours, while the LG G3 lagged behind with 9 hours.

Android 4.4.4 is the chosen OS on both handsets, with HTC’s Sense 6 UI on top pf it on the One M8. Both handsets have UIs pretty close to stock Android which will fare well with most Android loving smartphone enthusiasts. The LG G3 does have multitasking windows available, which might be a plus in some users’ opinion and I would greatly enjoy that feature.

Both smartphone have a Snapdragon 801 CPU, the LG G3 one clocked at 2.5 GHz and backed by 2 GB RAM in the 16 GB version and by 3 GB RAM in the 32 GB version, while the One M8’s CPU has a 2.3 GHz clockspeed, backed by 2 GB RAM in both the 16 and 32 GB versions; Adreno 330 is the GPU in both smartphones. Although the LG G3 is the more powerful out of the two devices and did perform very well in benchmarks, taking into consideration that the QHD screen does require a lot of processing power, it does overheat a fair deal, an issue common with LG devices, in my opinion.

The LG G3 has a 13 MP rear and 2.1 MP front shooter with laser autofocus and optical image stabilization, whilst the HTC One M8 has a 4 MP Ultrapixel camera with a secondary depth-sensing camera on the rear and a 5 MP shooter on the front. The One M8 has a wider angle camera than the LG G3, which allows for wider shots and you can fit more horizontally into the shots you’re taking. Neither cameras are perfect, the LG G3 having trouble with colors, the One M8 having issues with low-light and shadows, and the One M8 also tends to add some purple to its photos. Overall, the LG G3 camera is said to be the best out of the two.

The LG G3 and HTC One M8 are both excellent phones that perform exceptionally, with few minor setbacks in the camera for the One M8 and in battery endurance for the LG G3. Otherwise, both of these flagships deserve the praise they are getting. As for which one you should choose, it’s up to you. You need to decide whether you want a metal body with bigger bezels, smaller screen and excellent speakers, or a bigger, higher resolution screen with slimmer bezels but with a plastic design. You also have to take into consideration that the LG G3 is a bit more expensive than the HTC One M8. In any case, both flagships are praise-worthy and I would get them both, if I had the use for them. Nonetheless, I prefer the LG G3 because I enjoy its bezel-less design and the QHD screen and I honestly only use my phone with headphones, so I’d rather choose a better camera over a far better speaker. Which would you choose?