Camera
The HTC 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 range are sitting pretty with the joint highest mobile DxOMark scores, so you can expect a lot from both of their snappers.
In practice we're not entirely sold on the HTC 10's camera just yet, with early tests revealing erratic light levels and a finicky autofocus, but we'll be putting it through a full review before we pass final judgement.
On paper it certainly sounds promising, with a 12MP sensor on the back, packed with larger UltraPixels to let more light in, optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a 5MP front-facing camera which also has OIS.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a 12MP snapper of its own, which again features OIS and hugely impressed us in tests, even in low light, so HTC's UltraPixels will have some competition here.
The front-facing camera on the S7 is a bit more run of the mill though. It's a 5MP one, but with no OIS. So if you're serious about selfies the HTC 10 looks to have the edge there.
Battery
Both the HTC 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 have 3000mAh juice packs, which combined with the similar specs and screens suggests they might have comparable life.
We haven't had a chance to fully put the HTC 10 through its paces yet, but HTC reckons it can last for up to two days on a single charge, helped in part by its 'Boost+' system, which runs in the background to optimize performance.
If true that gives it an edge on the S7, which we found could stretch to a day and a half at a push, but not to two days.
Another stat given by HTC is that it can last for up to 27 hours of talk time, which compares favorably to the Samsung Galaxy S7's 22 hours. Both phones support fast charging, so when it comes time to juice them up you can do so quickly.
Audio
This is one area where HTC could have Samsung beat. First there's the BoomSound speakers, which this time around fire out of the bottom and earpiece of the phone, rather than the front. They're loud and bass-heavy, though not being front-firing is a shame.
Not that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is any better here, or even as good, with just a single speaker grille on the bottom edge of the phone.
When it comes to headphones both handsets excel. They both support Hi-Res audio, tailored sound based on your hearing and audio upscaling.
Release date and price
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is out now and priced at around £569/$650/AU$1,149. The HTC 10 is launching later in April and will probably land for a similar price. The exact cost hasn't been confirmed, but it's certainly got the tech to justify a price tag as high as the S7's.
Early verdict
The HTC 10 looks to improve on the HTC One M9 in almost every way, with a sharper screen, more power, a superior camera and the addition of a fingerprint scanner.
Yet while it's a clear upgrade on last year's handset it doesn't really have much that we haven't seen elsewhere, such as on the Samsung Galaxy S7. On paper these are very similar phones, with just a handful of substantial differences, such as the S7's waterproofing and the HTC 10's OIS-packing selfie snapper.
We'll let you know how the HTC 10 really stacks up once we've put it through a full review, but on the evidence we've seen so far it should be mentionable in the same breath as the S7, but probably won't topple it.
- Not sold on either of these? You could always wait for the iPhone 7.
