HTC U12+ Vs Samsung Galaxy S9+: The royal clash

The HTC U12+ is now official and it contends against a number of smartphones like the LG G7 Thinq, Sony Xperia XZ2, Apple iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy S9+. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ is one of the stiff competition for the HTC U12+, let us compared a different aspect of these smartphones on different parameters.

Price

Price is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone. The entry-level model of the HTC U12+ is priced at $799 and the entry-level model of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is also priced at $789. So, in terms of pricing, these smartphones are almost identical. The similarities do not end here, as these smartphones are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. However, in India Samsung sells the Exynos 9810 chipset powered Galaxy S9+ for Rs 64,900.

Design

Both the smartphones have an all-glass design with a rear-facing camera. Most of the smartphone makers including LG are opting a notch to offer higher screen to body ratio. However, Samsung and HTC have struck with traditional bezels. Instead of opting the notch design, these smartphones offer minimal bezels on the top and bottom part of the smartphone. Both smartphones have an all-glass design with IP68 water and dust certification. The Samsung has an added advantage, as it offers Qi-based wireless charging. These two smartphones offer looks good and are made using high-quality premium materials.

Display

This is the one department, where these smartphones excel. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ has a 6.2-inch QHD+ OLED display with 2960 x 1440px resolution, which is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The HTC U12+ has a 6 inch 2880 x 1440px IPS LCD 6 display with support for sRGB, DCI-P3 and HDR 10 support. Both smartphones support native HDR playback on YouTube. As the Samsung Galaxy S9+ has an OLED display, it will offer better colour reproduction compared to the IPS LCD 6 display on the HTC U12+.

Processor, RAM, and Storage

The HTC U12+ and the Galaxy S9+ are running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with 6 GB RAM and 64/128 GB storage. Additionally, the storage is user expandable up to 400 GB via micro SD card slot (which uses 2nd SIM card slot). In terms of multi-tasking or gaming, these devices should offer top-notch performance as these phones use the latest LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage modules.

Cameras

Both smartphones have a dual camera setup. The Galaxy S9+ has a dual 12 MP cameras, where the primary camera can switch between f/1.5 and F/2.4, which will help the smartphone to capture good-looking photos even in low light conditions. The HTC U12+ has a 12 MP wide angle lens and a 16 MP telephoto lens with an f/1.75 aperture and an f/2.4 aperture. This is the first smartphone to offer a dual camera setup with a dedicated zoom/telephoto lens. For the selfie camera, the HTC U12+ uses a dual 8 MP camera setup, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S9+ has a single 8 MP camera. The S9+ moniker offers iris scanner with a dedicated hardware, whereas the HTC U12+'s face unlock is based on the dual camera setup.

Battery and OS

Both smartphones offer a 3500 mAh Li-ion battery with fast charging support via USB type C port. Additionally, the Galaxy S9+ also supports fast wireless charging. In terms of OS, both smartphones offer Android 8 Oreo with different custom UI. The Galaxy S9+ comes with Samsung Experience UI 9, whereas the HTC Sense UI on the top.

Conclusion

In terms of sheer hardware comparison, these smartphones are almost neck to neck. Yes, the HTC U12+ doesn't have a 3.5 mm headphone jack and wireless charging support. So, the Galaxy S9+ also missing on the edge sense features. If you are looking for a flagship smartphone, both smartphones offer a great set of premium features and the choice should be between the type of custom UI that these smartphones offer.