Now that the HTC U12 Plus is here, let’s see how it stacks up against the other notable plus-sized Android flagship—Samsung’s Galaxy S9 Plus.

Let’s start with their similarities. Both are packing Snapdragon 845 processors and 6GB of RAM and feature a generous amount of storage (64GB and 128GB) while also having expandable storage. The two also share similar dual-camera systems (although both feature different lenses) and a unique display finish with individual marquee names (Infinity Display vs. Liquid Surface).

Samsung equips the Galaxy S9 Plus with a Bixby button that in all honesty sucks because it’s not re-mappable. HTC has a squeezable frame that has more functionality than a single button and is completely customizable. A key difference between the two is the type of displays they use. Samsung uses OLED while HTC uses LCD, yet while both are super high-res, the Galaxy S9 Plus has arguably the best smartphone display around.

There are clear differences between U12 Plus and Galaxy S9 Plus but it’s too early to crown a winner. Once we get in the U12 Plus and review it, we can do so. For now, check out the spec breakdown below.

HTC - U12 Plus Samsung - Galaxy S9 Plus
Display Size 6-inch, 1440 x 2880 pixel display (537 ppi) 6.2-inch, 1440 x 2960 pixel display (531 ppi)
Resolution X 1440 1440
Resolution Y 2880 2960
Display Type Quad HD+ Super LCD 6 Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED
Operating System Android 8.0 (at launch) Android 8 (Oreo) at launch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 10nm, 64-bit, Octa-core processor (2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad)
RAM 6GB 6GB
Storage
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
  • 64GB
External Storage Yes Yes
External Storage Specs
  • microSD up to 2TB
  • microSD up to 400GB
Main Camera (Back) 12MP Dual 12MP
Secondary Camera (Front) 8MP 8MP
Networks
  • 2G/2.5G GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900
  • 3G UMTS: AWS/850/900/1900/2100
  • 3G UMTS: HSDPA 42, HSUPA 5.76
  • FDD: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 28, 32, 66
  • TDD: Bands 38, 39, 40, 41
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2mbps)
Battery 3500mAh 3500mAh
NFC Yes Yes
Connectivity
  • USB Type-C
  • MST
  • USB type-C
Sensors
  • Ambient light
  • Fingerprint
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetic
  • Motion G
  • Proximity
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Geomagnetic
  • Gyro
  • Hall
  • HR
  • Iris
  • Pressure
  • Proximity
GPS
  • AGPS
  • BeiDou
  • Digital compass
  • Galileo
  • GPS
  • GLONASS
  • BeiDou
  • Galileo
  • Glonass
  • GPS
Height 156.6 mm (6.17 inches) 158.1 mm (6.22 inches)
Width 73.9 mm (2.91 inches) 73.8 mm (2.91 inches)
Depth 9.7 mm (0.38 inches) 8.5 mm (0.33 inches)
Weight 188 g (6.63 oz) 189 g (6.67 oz)
Colors N/A Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple
Supported Audio Formats N/A MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF
Supported Video Formats N/A MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM