HTC One M8 specs versus Samsung Galaxy S5, iPhone 5S

The new HTC One rustles up an impressive list of hardware features and a slick new software shell. So far, the 'M8' stands strong against its influential rivals.

The HTC One M8 beckons you with its gleaming good looks, but its features are also top-shelf. Andrew Hoyle/CNET

There's no question that the visually-refined HTC One M8 is one fancy piece of hand candy. Luckily, its prowess isn't just chassis-deep. The 5-inch screen is bright and sharp, the 4-'ultrapixel' camera produces pleasing photos, and the phone's quad-core processing power is one of the fastest there is.

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On paper at least, the HTC One M8 more than stands up to its fiercest competitors, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5S. Pay close attention to the M8's expandable storage option; HTC's inclusion of this slot knocks out one Samsung's major benefits over the original HTC One.

Although we spent a lot of time with the GS5 at its launch in Spain several weeks back, we still won't know which of these two Android phones comes out on top, and how they both also compare to the iPhone 5S, until we can review the Galaxy S5.

Until then, here's how the three superphones' specs compare, side by side.

	HTC One M8	Samsung Galaxy S5	Apple iPhone 5S
Size	5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in.; 6.3 oz.	5.5 x 2.9 x 0.31 in; 5 oz.	4.9 x 2.3 x 0.30 in; 4 oz.
Screen	5-inch; 1,920x1,080; 441ppi	5.1 inches; 1,920x1,080 pixels; 431ppi	4-inch; 1,136x640 pixels; 326ppi
OS	Android 4.4; Sense 6.0 UI	Android 4.4; TouchWiz UI	iOS 7
Processor	2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	Proprietary A7 (64-bit) with M7 motion processor
Rear camera and recording	4-'Ultrapixel'; 1080p HD	16-megapixel; 1080p HD	8-megapixel; 1080p HD
Front-facing camera	5-megapixel; 1080p HD	2-megapixel; 720p HD	1.2-megapixel; 720p HD video
Capacity	16GB, 32GB	16GB, 32GB	16GB, 32GB, 64GB
RAM	2GB	2GB	N/A
Expandable storage	Up to 128GB	Up to 128GB	None
Battery	2,600mAh battery; embedded	2,800mAh; removable	Embedded; Up to 10 hours on 4G LTE; standby time up to 10 days
4G LTE	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4, 5GHz)	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4, 5GHz)	802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4, 5GHz)
NFC	Yes	Yes	No
Bluetooth	4.0	4.0 Low energy	4.0
IR Blaster	Yes	Yes	No
Notable extras	BlinkFeed, BoomSound	Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor	Touch ID scanner
Color choices	Gray, silver, rose gold	Black, white, blue, copper	Gray, white, gold
US carriers	AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon	AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular	AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and global

To dig in a little more, be sure to check out why I think that HTC's One M8 gives Samsung's Galaxy S5 a run for its money.