I'm leaning towards the S5 now after reading some more. What does the M8 have on it? The screens are similar but due to the software keys on the M8 you're likely to get much more actual screen room in real world settings. The S5 seems to have a slightly better battery. The S5 unquestionably has a better rear camera which I use 99% of the time and rarely ever use my front camera. The Sense vs. TouchWiz argument is a moot point for me since I'll be rooting/romming either of them anyways, and I am willing to bet the S5 is going to have better support in the front. The S5 is water resistant which is sort of a plus for me (out on jobsites fairly often). I don't really understand the whole "well the S5 is plastic!" argument. How many of you don't use a phone case? The "elegant" look of the M8 is going to be covered up for me, at least. So again, another moot point. I rarely use the speakers on my phone so whoopeedo on that front.
Am I missing something? I don't get why the hate on the S5 and the love for the M8. For the average user I could see it probably being the better phone but for tech savvy people it seems like the S5 is a no brainer?
Either way I'm walking down to the Verizon store just down the road from me to see both of them in a bit first hand. Hopefully seeing both up close can help make my decision since I'm still on the fence. I wish the Note 4 was close, I'd buy that thing so fast.
Technically S5's camera is better in NORMAL lighting conditions - if you're in any case where you're using lowlight or flash, M8 destroys the S5 - so it depends on the environments/times you plan to use the camera in.
Screen real estate for both is pretty much identical - 0.1 inch difference, but yes S5 is technically larger - colors are going to be a matter of taste between the two screens, S5 is more "vibrant" but to the point of being unnatural to some opinions.
And there's nothing "tech saavy" minded about the S5, frankly - every "tech" feature is either mirrored between the two or weaker on the S5 front. (i.e. their anti-root stance, whereas HTC actually gives you instructions on how to get halfway there and is open to the idea of rooting the phone) [There were dozens of root/rom tutorials on the M8 before it even launched on Sprint when I got mine - likely even more now]
Additionally, it's easy to downplay the value of speakers until you actually have them available - being able to clearly hear the GPS without having to bother with my bluetooth receiver (which it's actually CLEARER than) has been a godsend for example - used to be a running joke between the wife and I that she'd always have to be a repeater for the GPS half the time (100% of the time on my GNexus before I got the BT receiver). Honestly, they're so amazingly convenient to have for so many functions, I can't imagine going without in the future now.
Finally, the "Water Resistance" exists for both phones - M8 just isn't certified, there's even been a 2+ hr dunk test and the M8 came out working fine. The only test out of many I've seen on the M8 and water was one dunk test did "fry the speakers", until it dried out - then they went back to operating normally.
