Samsung Galaxy S7 vs HTC 10 – which is best?

Performance

Processor: The HTC 10 has a quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip this year, while the Galaxy S7 is powered by one of Samsung’s proprietary octa-core 2.3GHz Exynos 8890 chipsets. Both come with 4GB of RAM, but Samsung’s extra cores definitely gave the S7 the edge when it came to running our benchmark tests.

In Geekbench 3, for instance, the S7 scored an impressive 2,115 in the single core test and a massive 6,437 in the multicore test, sailing past the HTC 10’s respective scores of 2,022 and 5,091. Both are exceedingly quick, though, so you’re only likely to notice the difference when you’re running multiple apps simultaneously and constantly switching between them – and even then the difference is likely to be pretty tiny.

The S7 might have the faster CPU, then, but Qualcomm’s GPU proved superior in our graphics tests. In the offscreen Manhattan 3.0 test in GFX Bench GL, for instance, the HTC 10 produced 2,946 frames, equating to an ultra-smooth 48fps, but the S7 only managed 2,236 frames, which works out at just 38fps. This is still more than enough to play everything in the Google Play Store, but the HTC 10 should be able to run more demanding games at both higher detail levels and faster speeds.

Storage: The HTC 10 and Galaxy S7 both come in 32GB variations, but the S7 is also available with 64GB of storage by default. However, when each one also comes with a microSD card slot that can expand your phone’s storage up to 2TB, it seems silly to pay more for the phone when you could spend the difference on a high capacity microSD card.

Battery Life: Each phone has a large 3,000mAh battery this year, but the difference in our battery life results was astonishing. The HTC 10, for instance, lasted a respectable 12h 08m in our continuous video playback test with the screen set to our standard measurement of 170cd/m2, but the S7 managed an incredible 17h 48m under the same conditions.

Conclusion: There’s no denying the HTC 10 is a powerful phone, but the S7 wins this round thanks to its faster CPU speeds and longer-lasting battery.

Camera

The One M9 had one of the worst flagship cameras we’d ever seen last year, but thankfully this isn’t the case with the HTC 10. Instead, its 12-megapixel sensor can produce some wonderful shots under the right lighting conditions, and it also has the ability to shoot in RAW as well as JPG. It has very large 1.55um pixels, too, which means each individual pixel should receive more light, helping it perform better in low lighting conditions.

The S7 also has a 12-megapixel sensor, but its pixels only measure 1.4um. This is still quite large, though – the S6 only had 1.12um pixels, for instance – and it certainly didn’t affect the S7’s ability to capture some truly excellent photos.

In our test shots, for instance, which were taken at exactly the same time, the HTC 10 captured more cloud detail than the S7, but its overall shots were darker as a result. The S7’s photos, on the other hand, had brighter and more vivid colours, but they come at the cost of an overexposed sky. However, switch on HDR mode for each phone and you’ll quickly start to see improvements, particularly on the S7. In fact, the HTC 10’s HDR shot almost looked worse than the one we took on Auto, giving the S7 a small advantage when it comes to overall flexibility.

^ These photos were taken at the same time, but the HTC 10 (below) was able to capture more cloud detail than the Galaxy S7 (above)

^ Switch to HDR mode, though, and the Galaxy S7 (above) has a fraction more contrast compared to the HTC 10 (below)

Indoors, the S7 once again proved to have the more capable camera, as the HTC 10’s shots were noticeably drab and lacking in punch compared to those we took on the S7. The HTC 10 is by no means awful, but it pales by comparison, as the S7 both has richer colours and higher contrast levels.

^ The HTC 10 (above) produced reasonable indoors shots, but the Galaxy S7’s photos (below) had a lot more punch and contrast

Conclusion: The HTC 10’s camera is a vast improvement on the One M9’s rear snapper, but when the S7 has a better HDR mode and performs much better in challenging lighting conditions, this one’s another win for Samsung.

Price and conclusion

There’s a lot to like about both phones from Samsung and HTC this year, but when we rack up which phone won most of our test categories, the S7 comes out the undisputed winner. The HTC 10 might have a better design and be better for playing games, but even its excellent screen and CPU can’t quite match those on the S7. 

It wouldn’t have been so bad if the HTC 10 was a little cheaper, but when both phones cost the same SIM-free (£569) and around £40-per-month on contract, you’re getting a lot more for your money by going with Samsung.