Small-screen spec showdown: Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs. HTC One mini 2

The battle between shrunken flagship smartphones is heating up with the arrival of the Galaxy S5 mini, which will go head-to-head with HTC’s One mini 2.

Samsung Electronics announced the Galaxy S5 mini on Tuesday. Like the One Mini 2, it’s an important device, giving buyers who can’t afford the large version or don’t want a really big screen an up-to-date alternative. Here’s a spec comparison between the two phones:

Processors

The One mini 2 is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, while the Samsung device is powered by an unspecified quad-core processor running at 1.4GHz. However, the difference in clock speed is unlikely to make any difference in the real world.

The screen

Samsung and HTC are in agreement that a smartphone in this segment should have a 4.5-inch screen with a 1280 by 720 pixel resolution. The Galaxy S5 mini screen is based on Super AMOLED technology and the screen on the One mini 2 uses Super LCD2 technology

Design

Here is where the One mini 2 shines, thanks to an aluminium chassis. The design of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets has been much discussed lately with many thinking that the company should use its massive resources to develop more premium looking products. The Galaxy S5 has the same dimpled plastic back as the regular S5.

Size and weight

One of the reasons Samsung is sticking with plastic is the weight advantage the material has over metal. The S5 mini is 17 grams lighter than the One mini 2 at 120 grams. The Samsung device is also a bit smaller: the S5 mini measures 131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1 millimeters, compared to the One mini 2’s 137.4 x 65 x 10.6 mm.

Camera

On the back, HTC has chosen a more traditional 13-megapixel camera for the One Mini 2, rather than the UltraPixel technology used by the One M8. On the front, HTC offers a 5-megapixel camera for high-resolution selfies. Samsung has decided to go with lower resolutions: 8 megapixels on the back and 2.1 megapixels on the front.

Extras

Samsung's Galaxy S5 mini.

If HTC is hoping design will attract buyers, Samsung is betting the same wealth of sensors found in the Galaxy S5 will attract users to the mini version. The smaller model still has an integrated heart rate monitor and a fingerprint reader. The Galaxy S5 mini is also water and dust resistant. The HTC One mini doesn’t have much in the way of stand-out extras. For music fans that don’t like headphones there are two front facing speakers.

Storage and RAM

The devices both have 16GB of integrated storage. Using a microSD card, that can be expanded to 128GB on the HTC device or 64GB on the Samsung product. The S5 mini has 1.5GB of RAM, while owners of the One mini 2 have to make do with 1GB.

Battery

Both phones are kept up and running by a 2,100mAh battery.

Shipping

The One mini 2 is already shipping, while the Galaxy S5 mini will be available in Russia starting in early July. Samsung kept mum on availability in other parts of the world, but it shouldn't take too long to start appearing around the globe.