The One Max is an as-yet unconfirmed phablet from Taiwanese manufacturer HTC which, if rumors prove to be true, looks set to capitalize on people’s current infatuation with large-screened hybrid hardware.
The device won’t be entering an empty market space, though. The phablet scene has quite a few key players and none are more heavyweight than Samsung, the company the launched the phablet trend with its Galaxy Note.
So, to get a view of what the HTC One Max will offer and how it may well offer it, we’ve decided to hold the rumored device up against the current king of the phablets: Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is fronted by a 5.5-inch, Super AMOLED screen, which runs at a resolution of 720 x 1280 and pushes 267PPI.
The device’s display is sharp, responsive and, thanks to its AMOLED foundation, offers exceptionally deep blacks and excellent viewing angles.
The HTC One Max is rumored to feature a 5.9-inch, 1080P display and we’re expecting the screen to be fronted with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3.
There’s no word yet on pixel density, but something in the region of 340PPI would be on par with other incoming, high-end phablets.
Winner – HTC One Max
Power
The HTC One Max will reportedly boast Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset, which will give the device a quad-core CPU clocked to 2.3GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU. There is also expected to be a 3300mAh cell on-board.
The device is expected to ship with 2GB RAM and will likely come in 16, 32 and 64GB configurations with no support for micro SD cards.
The Galaxy Note 2 is driven by Samsung’s Exynos 4412 Quad chipset, which offers a quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A9 CPU and Mali-400MP GPU.
The phablet also offers 2GB RAM, 3100mAh battery and comes in 16, 32 and 64GB flavors, with an additional 64GB available via the device’s micro SD card slot.
Winner – HTC One Max
Form
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – 51.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm, 183g
HTC One Max -? x? x?,?
Leaks suggest that the HTC One Max will retain the aluminium CNC’d body that made the HTC One so popular, so expect high-end construction. The only real difference between the One and the One Max appears to be a slightly curved rear panel on the phablet, which we presume will aid grip, but even with that addition it isn’t likely to be a breeze to operate one-handed for those with small hands.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is light, robust and feels … OK in the hand. The use of plastics in the device’s construction may keep weight and price down but, sadly, it also leads to a great piece of hardware feeling like a child’s toy at times.
That said, it more than stands up to the rigors of daily life and we wouldn’t recommend you let a little thing like that put you off from this very capable device.
Winner – HTC One Max
Software
The Galaxy Note 2 is powered by Google’s Android OS, with version 4.1.1 installed out of the box. An update to 4.1.2 is live though, bringing the device to within sniffing distance of the current version, 4.3.
On top of the OS you’ll find Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, which brings some extra smarts to the party, not least of which being the tweaks that enable the device’s S-Pen stylus to perform so damned well.
The current rumor is that the HTC One Max will rock Android 5.0, or Key Lime Pie when it hits the street, but with a projected fall launch that could be optimistic. The more likely option is that the One Max will launch with Android 4.3 on-board, the latest version of Jelly Bean.
The device will also feature a UI in the form of HTC’s fantastic, slick-looking Sense, which delivers some great widgets and apps, and will most likely add a nice slick veneer to proceedings.
Winner – HTC One Max
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 offers an 8-megapixel primary snapper with LED flash, touch focus, autofocus, simultaneous HD video and image capture, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization and 1080P video capture.
The device’s secondary camera is a 1.9-megapixel offering, which is perfectly capable.
The HTC One Max is expected to launch with the same Ultrapixel camera technology as was debuted in the HTC One, which means the device will have a stack of 4.1-megapixel sensors designed to give higher quality images.
In practice the Ultrapixel tech is novel, but still in relative infancy, so don’t expect miracles.
The device is rumored to feature a 2.1-megapixel secondary camera, too.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Note 2
And the winner is …
HTC One Max
It’s no great shocker that a much newer device has come out on top in this battle. The device looks to be one of the more exciting releases of the year and, if rumors are to be believed, has the potential to derail Samsung’s superiority in the phablet arena.
Nearly a year down the line, the Galaxy Note 2 is still a tremendous device, though. It offers some fantastic features, many of which revolve around its amazingly intuitive S-Pen, and is still a solid option if you don’t fancy waiting for the One Max, or even its sibling, the Galaxy Note 3, which is rumored to be launching in a few weeks’ time.
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