Galaxy S5 Mini, HTC One Mini 2 Chase Lower End Smartphone Market

By Don Reisinger

The Galaxy S5 Mini’s name might suggest it’s small, but its screen tells a different story. The device comes with a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display that has a 1,280-by-720-pixel resolution. Although the device is designed to be for the lower end of the market, the Galaxy S5 Mini actually has a bigger display than Apple’s flagship iPhone 5S, which features a 4-inch screen.

Considering the devices are competing, it’s no surprise that the HTC One Mini 2 has a screen that rivals Samsung’s model. The One Mini 2 also has a 4.5-inch screen with a 1,280-by-720-pixel resolution. However, unlike the Galaxy’s Super AMOLED technology, the One Mini 2 comes with Super LCD2. In other words, they both sport some nice screens.

The Galaxy S5 Mini comes with a quad-core 1.4GHz processor. Although Samsung didn’t say the brand of the processor, it’s likely that the company itself built the chip to reduce costs. With that processor in place, the Galaxy S5 Mini will be able to handle just about every app available right now.

The One Mini 2’s chief offer of value is its premium look and feel. The device comes with an aluminum finish that’s either smooth in the gold version or brushed in the gray option. Either way, the device is absolutely gorgeous, and worth a second take.

Samsung has bundled the standard build of Android 4.4 (KitKat) into the Galaxy S5 Mini. That means that customers who are used to Google’s operating system on other devices will feel at home on the Galaxy S5 Mini. It also separates the handset from HTC’s device, which runs its own software atop Android.

Speaking of that, HTC has decided that in addition to Android, it will run its own Sense 6 operating system atop the software in the One Mini 2. Sense 6 runs over Android and includes HTC apps, an HTC-designed experience and a feature called BlinkFeed that makes it easy to keep relevant information in front of the user. It’s a nice platform.

Samsung made the decision to go easy on the camera side. The Galaxy S5 Mini’s rear-facing camera comes with an 8-megapixel shooter, while the front-facing option is 2.1 megapixels. That’s not bad for a lower-end smartphone designed initially for emerging markets.

HTC’s One Mini 2 is the winner when it comes to cameras. The device has a 13-megapixel camera on the back, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera designed with “selfies” in mind. It’s nice to see HTC go the extra mile with its cameras in the One Mini 2.

The Galaxy S5 Mini doesn’t skimp when it comes to extra features. The device might be on the lower end, but it still supports a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint reader. The device is also IP67 dust- and water-resistant. In other words, its feature set goes above and beyond the expected. And that’s nice to see.

Looking at the HTC One Mini 2, there aren’t many differences between that device and the flagship One M8. The design is about the same and, save for a few camera features, most folks won’t notice much difference in the experience. HTC has come a long way in designing a product that really appeals to budget-conscious shoppers. And the best part is, it didn’t have to compromise too heavily on giving customers what they want.