If you’re on a market looking for a high-end Android smartphone, you’re probably choosing between the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2. You can’t go wrong by picking any of those – all of them deliver rock-solid feature set, great performance, cameras and more. But I would go for Samsung’s device over the other three.
Before I tell you why, let’s first see what makes each of these smartphones awesome:
- HTC One M8 – all-metal body, feels more solid than any other smartphone on the list.
- LG G3 – QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) screen, 16MP camera with Optical Image Stabilization.
- Sony Xperia Z2 – IP58 certified, dust proof and water resistant over 1 meter and 30 minutes; 20.7MP camera.
- Samsung Galaxy S5 – water-resistant but not as much as Xperia Z2, heart rate sensor.
That heart rate sensor is a deal-maker for me. In a word why would I get the Galaxy S5 over the other three smartphones: mHealth.
I’m a big fan of the nascent mHealth industry (I recently started a dedicated site covering it – mHealth Spot) and I think Samsung was smart for including it in its flagship device. The S Health app is also getting better with the day with the Korean company looking to position itself as a major force in this market. To that end it has launched two smart watches (Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo) and a smart band (Gear Fit) this year, as well as that open software and hardware platform for personal health monitoring.
Perhaps you’re not using any mHealth app or service today, but I think it’s just a matter of day when most of us will rely on our ever-powerful smartphones and accompanying gear to get information about our well-being.
So that’s why I would go for the Galaxy S5. Sure enough, I would love it even more if it had a better, QHD screen and an aluminum body. Those two will have to wait for the rumored Galaxy S5 Prime, or so I hope…