HTC One versus Sony Xperia Z: Smartphone flagship showdown

Previous | Next Image 6 of 6

The HTC One's display helped to push the handset just ahead of the Xperia Z, illustrated nicely by a marmot in the picture above.

For me, the HTC One pips the Xperia Z to the post, I prefer the slightly smaller chassis that results from the slightly smaller screen size. The screen also provides a slightly better quality in terms of brightness and colours.

On the down side, it's not the slimmest handset in town and the lack of a microSD expansion slot also riles me a bit, but in comparison to the overall design of the Xperia Z, I'd sacrifice a microSD slot rather than deal with the flappy covers on the SIM, microSD, and other ports on the Xperia Z. I’m also a bit of a sucker for the new BlinkFeed software too, unlike some others I find it as useful a way to fill the homescreen as any.

Coming into this test off the back of a recent good experience with a Sony Xperia device and little good to say about recent HTC handsets, I half-expected the Sony to best the HTC for me, but it just didn’t happen. Both are great phones and neither should leave people feeling disappointed, but if I had to choose one, it'd be the HTC One.