HTC One Max vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Heavy hitters

28 October 2013
The Samsung Galaxy Note may have started the phablet craze, but history won’t count for much when the Note 3 faces the HTC One Max. The Max takes the lauded HTC One design and build and trumps the Note 3 in terms of screen size...

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 4QS
  • 29 Oct 2013

AnonD-77852, 29 Oct 2013One Max over Note 3 any day. I bit underwhelming it doesn't... moreAt least the S600 is still very powerful and they made great improvements on it.

And definitely preference is preference...Most of which you mentioned is anyway and that is fine...

However as far as display the HTC...And just about any other display are no match. The Note3 followed by S4 have the best available mobile displays...
The LCD's of phones like the One and G2 are even over saturated themselves somewhat...Not perfect colors.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 4QS
    • 29 Oct 2013

    Anonymous, 29 Oct 2013Sorry but if you read the review you will see there is no w... moreDid you even read the review or my comment? That was a copy and paste of the display part of the review.Yes the Note3 has the edge, but that's not what I was pointing out. It was the inaccurate information....And oddly miss call even including the false info.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 4QS
      • 29 Oct 2013

      Anonymous, 29 Oct 2013my best guess is that the s600s should compete with each ot... moreIt was a phablet package review not a power comparison. Same chip or not these are two big competitors...

      And actually it did have a couple tricks. It's slightly more refined. Improving on some bencnh scores.... And most interestingly a massive improvement on battery life.

        • D
        • AnonD-77852
        • gDL
        • 29 Oct 2013

        One Max over Note 3 any day. I bit underwhelming it doesn't have OIS AND S800 for FullHD 60fps but it's a negligible setback. The build, the feel (hard and software wise), BoomSound and the better screen makes all the difference.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 2GX
          • 29 Oct 2013

          Anonymous, 29 Oct 2013Winner: Tie. The HTC One Max has size and raw brightness go... moreSorry but if you read the review you will see there is no way it is a tie... no matter how you cut it. NOTE 3 BY A FAIR MARGIN!

            • T
            • The Man
            • N9@
            • 29 Oct 2013

            Both are very good phablets although i much prefer the Note 3. The price of the One Max must be reduced, even if it's just a little.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • u0x
              • 29 Oct 2013

              my best guess is that the s600s should compete with each other and not with s800s, not to mention without any other stunning tricks up their sleeves....

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 4QS
                • 29 Oct 2013

                Anonymous, 28 Oct 2013Only if those aspects are not:watching videos,browsing,musi... moreWell videos depends on how you look at it...As far as watching goes the Note3 has the best mobile display there is.

                It still has an etiquette speaker with same volume levels and cleaner audio output. And volume levels can easily be adjusted with or without root. As well as a really good set of headphones picks up clear sounds and high output...That will depend on the music you listen to...If you just listen to bass or popular you won't really notice the difference in most phones except for standard volume.

                Also browsing and overall battery life is still up to par with addition option of spare battery....

                And looks and feel is all preference. Metal does not equal premium and plastic does not equal cheap.


                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 4QS
                  • 29 Oct 2013

                  AnonD-126854, 28 Oct 2013The ugly, heavy, cheap tin-can brick in no way as beautiful... moreThat is entirely user preference. There is no need to be a useless troll.

                  They both look great and work great. What you like is preference.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 4QS
                    • 29 Oct 2013

                    AnonD-111968, 29 Oct 2013Soon Nokia Lumia 1520 will join this battle,armed with higl... moreCan't wait to see that one either

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 4QS
                      • 29 Oct 2013

                      I'm quite impressed by the battery life of the One Max.

                      It even stands to outlast the Note3 in many aspects which has monster battery life for a phablet...

                      Most of all it's still on an S600 chip which all other devices have shown the S800 to be much more efficient...Until the Max. It even greatly improved on the standby problem of the One.

                      However removable battery is a big thing...And to have a removable back and still non accessible battery is kind of a down...
                      And again...HTC uses a non removable Lithium Polymer battery in a very thick device yet some how does not trump others in capacity....That is one of the biggest advantages of LI-Poly

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 4QS
                        • 29 Oct 2013

                        Winner: Tie. The HTC One Max has size and raw brightness going for it, but doesn't do too well in the sun. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3, wins on the sunlight legibility test and thanks to its color profiles gives you the best of both worlds (either extra punchy or very accurate colors). The high sensitivity is also worth a point for the Galaxy Note 3, helping it even the scores here.

                        That said alone is a win for the Note3...Then you factor in...FALSE INFO! The Note3 in auto brightness can reach 660CDM! So brighter, more accurate, better in sun display.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-111968
                          • Iac
                          • 29 Oct 2013

                          Soon Nokia Lumia 1520 will join this battle,armed with higly sophisticated specs it's gonna heat up everything. Please GSMArena bring it on, I like reading these kind of comparisons, they are giving a an idea which one is worth for our hard earend money.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-168700
                            • XMF
                            • 29 Oct 2013

                            By pricing the One Max with its one yearold internals (cpu-gpu, camera) the same as Note 3 that even has 16GB of more internal storage, the guys at HTC must be beyond stupid/greedy. We will see some major price slashing actions of the One Max.

                              • r
                              • rajasasuke1
                              • t1$
                              • 29 Oct 2013

                              If htc shed out fingerprint sensor and added snapdragon 800 and ois camera then it will be a good fight

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • Kg$
                                • 29 Oct 2013

                                Note 3 is typical Samsung, throwing p00 on the wall and see what sticks. I had a Note 2 and it was bad, not a pleasant experience.

                                The Max seems like a great device, perfect size and great battery makes it the obvious choice over 7 inch tablets when price doesn't matter, but then there's Sense, BlinkFeed and UltracrapPixels destroying the package.

                                  • R
                                  • Rayan
                                  • PAX
                                  • 29 Oct 2013

                                  Galaxy Note~3 is my choice.i want to own it.

                                    • s
                                    • st
                                    • tyi
                                    • 29 Oct 2013

                                    note 3 looks old

                                      Sigh. Samsung's competition aren't getting it right. Samsung may have the Mega 5.8 and 6.3, but the original concept (which I saw in my opinion) of the original 5.3" Note 1, 2 years ago was the concept of an A6 sized notebook that can be placed in a top shirt pocket. Most opinionated people laughed at its big size.

                                      I've been really looking for a possibility of getting something other than Note 3, just to change from all the other Note series I already have. But Note 3 is currently has the most features, versatile and powerful processing hardware.

                                      Granted the One Max is excellent enough with an impressive battery performance power charge, it's not holding up to the Note 3's features and performance. I don't see aluminum body and fingerprint scanner as major features.

                                      Looks like it's Note 3 for my data contract renewal.

                                        • S
                                        • SAMPOO
                                        • 49x
                                        • 29 Oct 2013

                                        SORRY im not hater but Note 3 please :)