Two top-tier flagship phones were just announced within hours of each other: the HTC One M9 Samsung Galaxy S6. ich is the one you’ll want to carry in your pocket? Obviously, there are still some important details we don’t know yet (like price). But ahead of our final reviews, having spent hs-on time with each of them, I’m ready to make a very early judgment, it’s not good news for HTC fans.

Industrial design

HTC had a great design with the One M8. Yes, it was a little too tall, but the all-aluminum body with no gaps or seams was really nice. The M9 is a refinement of that. The curved back is slightly flatter it’s easier to grip. It’s a hsome phone that feels good in the h. But it’s still a little too tall heavy.

After years of flagship phones with a cheap plastic feel, Samsung needed a new design with the Galaxy S6. And they knocked it out of the park. The phone is beautiful, lightweight, feels great in the h. The protruding camera on the back is a bit of an annoyance, but both aesthetically ergonomically, I give the edge to Samsung.

Advantage: Galaxy S6

rformance

The One M9 uses the new Snapdragon 810, while the Galaxy S6 uses Samsung’s own Exynos 7420. Until we run some benchmarks, it’s going to be difficult to declare a winner. Samsung is also employing lightnight-fast UFS 2.0 flash storage in its phone, which could really help speed up application loading.

Both phones feel like real powerhouses during real-world use. The stuttering lag that plagued the Galaxy S5’s interface appears to be completely gone. HTC already had a lightning-quick interface with the One M8, it’s still buttery smooth on the M9. I was able to quickly launch switch between applications on both phones, touch response was snappy.

Advantage: too early to tell

Camera

This one’s not even close. I’m not a fan of the One M8’s Ultrapixel/DuoCam design, I’m glad HTC dropped it for a single high-resolution camera on the M9. But the test shots I took were… not great. They were average, really. There’s still a bit too much shutter focus lag, low light shots still aren’t as good as they should be. I won’t know for sure until I examine lab photos more closely, but it seems like there’s a lot of post-process sharpening combined with over-aggressive noise reduction.

The Galaxy S6’s camera is, in my admittedly limited first-h experience, very impressive. The camera app pops up instantly with a double-tap of the home button, no matter what you’re doing with the phone. Focus shutter latency is greatly diminished—his thing is fast. ke, ione 6 fast. The lighting was pretty good where I was testing, but there didn’t appear to be any major problems with the images being over-processed. The camera software is clean, intuitive, has just the right amount of features to satisfy both casual shooters more serious photo fans.

Advantage: Galaxy S6

Audio

I’m thrilled to see Samsung move the speaker from the back of the phone to the bottom, but that’s still not good enough. It needs to be on the front, really, flagship phones shouldn’t still ship with mono speakers. I see no reason to believe it’s going to be an especially great-sounding phone.

In the audio department, the One M9 delivers. It has a pair of nice clear, loud (for a phone) speakers with Dolby Audio technology above below the screen. It might be the best-sounding phone ever.

Advantage: One M9

Interface

HTC’s new Sense 7 looks a lot like Sense 6. Sure, it’s built on Android llipop, but you’d never know it, as many of the interface elements look largely the same. For example, the multitasking screen is still a grid of thumbnails instead of the Rolodex-style flipbook introduced in the new Android OS. It’s a good interface, clear readable, but I wish HTC had done more to make it follow ’s new design. The custom themes stuff is a nice touch, but I’m not greatly impressed by the widget that shows different apps when at home, work, or away. There are lots of existing solutions for that sort of thing in the ay store.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think Samsung’s Touchz is…better. That annoying bright blue color abounds, but with new theme support, you can download a palette that appeals to you more. Samsung has a tendency to use abstract obtuse icons for its apps, but the new Touchz replaces most of that with clear text. Everything is flatter, cleaner, less busy. Samsung follows more closely to the new Android design guidelines, too.

Advantage: Galaxy S6

Display

I don’t think 5-inch phones necessarily need a Quad HD display, so I’m not worried about the fact that the One M9’s D screen is “only” 1080p. It looks sharp, clear, bright.

But Samsung has shown great prowess with its SuperAMOD technology, the 5.1-inch Quad HD display is gorgeous. It’s really bright, too. If Samsung calibrates colors as well as it did in the Note 4, it’ll be the best phone display on the market. This is a case where, after some limited use, I’m impressed with the display on both phones. But I still have to say…

Advantage: Galaxy S6

Other technology

If there’s a fault with the One M9, it’s that it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It’s got a faster processor higher-res camera, but there’s nothing cutting-edge in there, really. It seems like “only” a really good phone.

The Galaxy S6, on the other h, promises everything but the kitchen sink. The fingerprint sensor works like Apple’s, only requiring you to hold your finger on the home button (at any angle) instead of swiping carefully downward. Samsung y uses technology from recently-acquired opy to work with any credit card reader that takes magnetic stripe cards. It has wireless charging built right in, it supports both A stards. That means it’ll work with both the Duracell wermat / Starbucks chargers the very popular Qi wireless charging stations.

Yes, the heartbeat sensor is still there on the back, this time it actually has a decent use: You can tap it to act as the shutter button when taking a selfie with the front camera.

Advantage: Galaxy S6

still don’t have the whole picture, but after spending a little time with pre-release versions of both phones, I find myself far more impressed with Galaxy S6. That’s a complete reversal from my opinion of last year’s flagships from these two companies.

But there’s still a lot we don’t know. Those cameras need to be tested under real, controlled conditions. need to see if there’s a substantial difference in wireless reception. need to see how long the batteries really last. need to check out the displays in a variety of lighting conditions. And of course, we need to know what they cost: If the One M9 is a couple hundred dollars less expensive than the Galaxy S6, it would be a lot easier to swallow its comparative lack of features.

Stay tuned for final reviews.