LG G3 vs HTC One M8 Specs Comparison

All big players of the smartphone market have already introduced and released their flagship devices for 2014, the LG G3 and the HTC One M8 being one of the most anticipated handsets of the year. Since the two devices will definitely become one of the most popular smartphones of the year, we decided to put them head to head into an LG G3 vs HTC One M8 specs battle.

You may know from our previous Versus articles that there will be ten rounds in the LG G3 vs HTC One M8 specs battle. Each round is worth one point and, at the end of the fight, the smartphone that manages to score most points is declared winner.

We will be judging the performance of the two smartphones in terms of Dimensions, Display, Processor, Design, Battery Life, Memory, Camera, Operating System, Connectivity, and Price. Without further ado, let’s begin the LG G3 vs HTC one M8 battle.

Dimensions

It’s no longer a secret that the screens of the Android smartphones are getting bigger each year, so the OEMs are struggling to keep their smartphones as compact as possible. Fortunately, most of them managed to slim down the bezel around the display, therefore managing to get a decent size for their terminals.

The LG G3 is 146.3 mm tall, 74.6 mm wide, 8.9 mm thin, and has a weight of 149 grams. On the other hand the HTC One M8 measures 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm and has a weight of 160 grams.

As you may see the two smartphones have similar sizes and, while the LG G3 is a bit thinner and lighter, the One M8 is narrower. Anyway, the differences in size are to small to be able to chose a winner between the two devices, therefore the Dimensions round ends as tie.

Display

For me, and probably for many of you, the screen is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone, because every time I check my phone I have to look at its screen. Let’s have a look at the display specifications of the two smartphones involved in the battle.

The LG G3 boasts about a 5.5-inch True HD-IPS + LCD display with an impressive resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and a pixel density of 534 ppi. The smartphone’s screen also comes with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The HTC One M8 features a 5.0-inch Super LCD3 Full HD (1080 x 1920) screen with 441 ppi and a protective Gorilla Glass 3 layer.

Even though some of you would say that a 5.5-inch screen is a bit to big for a smartphone, you’ll have to admit that the G3 brings an amazing resolution and pixel density. This is why the LG G3 wins the Display round.

Processor

Qualcomm is currently dominating the high-end smartphone market when it comes to processing solutions. As you may know, most smartphone makers are currently choosing Qualcomm’s chipsets for their flagship devices.

LG’s phone uses a Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801 SoC with quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU. The HTC One M8 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 chipset based on four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.3 GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU.

Even though G3′s CPU has a 200 MHz higher clock speed, the end user will not be able to see any difference in terms of performance, therefore the Processor round also ends as tie. The G3 scores a point.

Design

The HTC One M8 continues the design philosophy introduced last year by its predecessor, the One M7. The handset has zero-gap aluminium construction while bringing more rounded corners and less sharper edges than the One M7. The One M8 has front-facing stereo speakers while the curved back accommodates two UltraPixel camera sensors and the dual LED flash.

The LG G3 has the same form factor as its predecessor and it even keeps the rear-mounted Volume and Power keys. On the sides of the camera module you will be able to find the leaser autofocus and the LED flash. Even though the rear cover of the G3 mimics metal, it’s worth noting that the smartphone has a plastic body.

I am sure that many of you will agree that the HTC One M8 is one of the best (if not the best) looking smartphones on the market. Even though the G3 shows massive design improvements over its predecessor, the Design round must go to the HTC flagship.

Battery Life

Most smartphone users are complaining about the battery life of their devices and, to be honest, we didn’t see big improvements in the last couple of years. Fortunately, both the LG G3 and HTC One M8 are above-average when it comes to autonomy.

The HTC One M8 is kept alive by a non-removable Li-Po 2,600 mAh battery which promises up to 496 hours of 3G stand-by time and up to 20 hours of 3G talk time. In our tests, the HTC One M8 was capable of staying awake through about 36 hours of moderate usage.

On the other hand, the LG G3 sports a Li-Ion 3,000 mAh batter. LG says the cell is enough for 553 hours of 3G stand-by time or up to 21 hours of 3G talk time. When we tested the G3, the device successfully went through 2 days of typical usage.

Even though the LG G3 has a larger, higher-resolution display, it has better autonomy than its rival. The Battery Life round goes to the LG G3.

Memory

As you might have noticed already, the smartphone memory aspect didn’t change much in the past couple of years, especially for the high-end devices. So, expect the HTC One M8 and LG G3 to be pretty similar in terms of storage and RAM.

The HTC One M8 is available with either 16 or 32 GB of native storage, expandable using microSD cards up to 128 GB. The HTC flagship has 2 GB of RAm.

The LG G3 is available in two variants: one with 16 GB storage and 2 GB of RAM and the other with 32 GB storage and 3 GB of RAM. Both models have support for microSD cards up to 128 GB.

The two smartphones can top 160 GB of storage and even though there’s a G3 model with 3 GB RAM, we all know that One M8′s 2 GB of RAM are more than enough to provide a good multitasking experience. The Memory round ends as tie.

Camera

Since I’m not very good at taking photos, for me, the best camera is the camera I always carry with me. That’s why I’ve always wanted my smartphone to have an above-average camera.

The HTC One M8 packs Dual 4 MP UtlraPixel primary camera with autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/3” sensor size, 2µm pixel size, automatic simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, HDR, panorama, and 1080p@60fps video recording support with HDR and stereo sound. One M8 also packs a 5 MP front-facing camera. If you’re into selfies you’ll definitely love that.

The LG G3 has a 13 MP rear-shooter with laser autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/3” sensor size, simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR, and 4K video recording capabilities with HDR, optical stabilization, and stereo sound. The front-facing camera of the G3 has a 2.1 MP sensor.

Real life tests have shown that G3′s 13 MP camera is superior to One M8′s 4 MP unit, even though HTC advertises UltraPixel as one of the best in the business. The point allocated for the Camera round goes to the LG G3.

Operating System

We are dealing with two smartphones that come pre-loaded with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, but since the OEMs applied their own custom skin over Android they are quite different in terms of software.

The One M8 runs HTC’s Sense 6 UI which integrates a couple of interesting and useful features. One M8 arrives with BlinkFeed which brings your favorite social media posts, news, sports, and more right on your home screen, while UFocus allows the user to change the focus point after a picture was taken. Duo Effects adds 3D effects to your photos, Zoe is capable of creating cool stories for you with the pictures and videos you’ve captured, but the main attraction is Motion Launch.

M8′s Motion Launch controls allow you to unlock your phone and access various menus without touching the Power button. All you need to do is pick up your phone and swipe right to go to BlinkFeed, swipe left to go to the widgets panel, swipe up to unlock the screen, or swipe down to do a voice call. One M8 also arrives with Extreme Power Saving mode, which disables unnecessary battery consuming processes and increases autonomy.

On the other hand, the G3 UI introduces a flat design, while the Smart Notice feature is capable of suggesting what you need, even before you need it by making recommendations based on your phone’s status, behavior, and location. Smart Cleaning will make suggestions to erase apps you haven’t used in a while, you will receive reminders for missed calls, or it will prompt you to enable power saver when the battery is low.

Anyway, Kock On and Knock Code are by far the most appreciated software features of the LG G3. The latter one allows you to secure your smartphone and store a knocking patter of three to eight taps to unlock it. The keyboard is size adjustable while pre-installed apps (read bloatware) can be deleted to provide more free space.

We find LG G3′s user interface more attractive and its software features are more useful than the ones of the HTC One M8. Therefore the Operating System point goes to the South Korean flagship.

Connectivity

The connectivity features of the modern high-end smartphones have pretty much became a standard for the big players of the market. Let’s look at the G3 and M8 connectivity features anyway.

The LG G3 comes with HSPA+, LTE Cat4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0. The HTC One M8 features HSPA+, LTE Cat4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0.

What’s the difference between the two? I’m glad you’ve asked. The G3 has BT 4.0 Low Energy while the HTC smartphone comes with standard BT 4.0. Anyway this is not enough for the G3 to win the round. We’re calling it a tie.

Price

Why not face it, the price does matter when you purchase a new smartphone. Since most high-end smartphones are sold on contract that’s what we will be comparing.

The HTC One M8 debuted is available at all three big carriers in the US. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint are selling the smartphone at $199 with a two-year agreement. The LG G3, just like the One M8, has landed on Verizon’s, AT&T’s, and Sprint’s shelves at a price of $199, also with a two-year contract.

Fortunately, Amazon is running sales for the two devices so you will be able to buy the One M8 at $79.99 with a Sprint or Verizon two-year contract, or get it for free with an AT&T contract. Even though the LG G3 is available in the US for less than a month, Amazon is selling it at $99 with Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T agreements.

The HTC One M8 has the advantage of being on the market for a longer time, so its price went through some discounts. The Taiwanese terminal wins the price round.

Conclusions

Here we are at the end of the LG G3 vs HTC One M8 specs battle. Let’s have a look back and see which smartphone managed to score most points.

We’ve had four rounds that ended as tie: Dimensions, Processor, Memory, and Connectivity. Why? Because the two smartphones are almost identical when it comes to these aspects.

The HTC One M8 managed to score two points. It has won the Design and Price rounds because it’s better looking and because it’s cheaper.

The LG G3 has outmatched its rival when it came to Display, Battery Life, Camera, and Operating System, courtesy of it’s higher-resolution screen, two-day autonomy, better camera, and because of its useful software features. Four points for the LG G3.

In our opinion the flagship smartphone of the South Korean company is the winner of the LG G3 vs HTC One M8 battle, but you are entitled to think otherwise. Have we wronged the M8 or the G3 in any of the rounds? Please tell us in comments.