[AT&T HTC One (M7)] coolpal:
it was coin flip situation for me

Was torn between these two when I was ready to upgrade last month and went with the S4 (primarily for the marginally larger screen, and the black HTC one being OOS on att.com). Have to say I really loved the S4 (had a S2 for 6 months or so, and has been an iPhone user from the original iPhone, including an iPhone 5 now as backup ), but it broke on me on exactly the 14th day of my purchase (lucky me?), so returned it and got a HTC one.

Based on my two week experience with the S4 and almost a week with the HTC one now, here are my thoughts.

S4 has larger screen which felt nicer, except for the text and greys acting funy when scrolling. Overall, I felt I had more real estate with the s4 screen compared to the One (even though both have same resolution). Haven't tinkered with the one yet, but hate the menu bar on most apps.

S4 was marginally lighter and was a little bit less slippery than the One when held without any case

A lot has been said of the cheap build materials for the S4, but to me it wasn't terrible. Sure the One is more premium looking, but the huge display with tiny bezels made the s4's front more appealing to me. Back is a differnt story. If anything, it being plastic made me care less for it (and caused it to die?)

Touchwiz still feels like its styling is still stuck in gingerbread (s2) days. I turned off most of the crapware gimmicky features. It's ridiculous to cram so many half baked useless features to ruin an otherwise awesome device. Htc sense is less obtrusive, but a bit too less in some areas, like notifications. Again, this is stock experience, which I am sure will not keep for much longer.

Each of the device has its strengths, and camera dept is no different. Samsung definitely has a better overall (back) camera and is much nicer in good light, but htc camera is better for flash photos and low light. Htc camera is good enough for mobile devices and in a way good on storage space, but just dont blow them up to huge screens or zoom in and expect much detail.

speakers are much nicer on the One. FM Radio is another advantage (but I'm sure I will hardly ever use it). Also, the IR blaster seems to be more powerful on the One (S4 was good enough for my living room, but One works even from my kitchen). The remote software was marginally better on the S4 (not talking about the show recommendations).

Removable battery will be a big deal if you plan to keep the device for 2 years or more. SD card slot is a good cheap way to carry loads of videos etc., but I don't think I'll miss them much. Not sure how htc one's lack of removable battery affects tinkering with software (like the need to force a reboot on a stuck device)

The two buttons on HTC one is a bit limiting in some cases. They should have made the htc logo the home button. But this is probably not going to be much of an issue once I get used to the new layout, and hopefully getting the new update which fixes the menu bar issue.

Hmm, I said a bit too much already, but that's how confused I am when asked to pick between these two devices. In the end, S4's oled giving up on me with just a small drop onto the hardwood floor from waist height (it fell on my foot and then floor) with absolutely no damage to the outside (and I didn't see any cracks on the inner OLED screen either) and it being on the very last day I am allowed to return the device made me give it up for the HTC one. HTC one being $50 cheaper (@ bestbuy with a very old nokia dumb phone trade in) and an additional $25 play store credit sealed the deal.

pal :)