If you're into smartphones, you probably already know that Samsung is lining up to be crowned with the Galaxy S7. The company has already seen success with its newest smartphone, but it has another challenger.

HTC is back and this time there's a serious fight for the ascension. The HTC 10 is the newest smartphone from the company, righting the wrongs of the One M9 and looking to take the world by storm.

How do Samsung and HTC compare with their flagship smartphones, and which has the advantage? We've pitched them head-to-head to show you what the differences are and which device comes out on top.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Design

The HTC 10 arrives with an all metal design featuring chamfered edges on the rear and the front. It measures 145.9 x 71.9mm with a curved rear between 3mm and 9mm and hits the scales at 161g. It isn't therefore the smallest or lightest flagship smartphone kicking around but the HTC 10 is a beautiful, solid and well-built device with a slick but understated finish.

A fingerprint sensor sits on the front of the elegant device, flanked by capacitive buttons, while the headphone jack sits at the top and USB Type-C at the bottom. HTC has done away with its signature front-facing speakers found on its previous flagships, optimising the space, but the HTC 10 still supports BoomSound, it's just called BoomSound Hi-Fi edition now. Hi-Res Audio support is also on board and combined, the result is a fantastic sound experience on the HTC 10, one that is much better than the Galaxy S7.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 also has a metal body but adds glass to the rear, meaning it's a little more fingerprint prone than the HTC 10. It measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm, making it a little smaller and slimmer than the HTC 10, as well as lighter, weighing 152g. The SGS7 may not have changed dramatically from the Galaxy S6 but refinements have been made and the result is another beautiful device with a great build quality and lovely design. 

The Galaxy S7 places its fingerprint sensor on the front of the handset, again flanked by capacitive buttons, but the fingerprint sensor sits within a physical button on the Samsung, which it doesn't on the HTC, offering added features. The Galaxy S7 adds IP68 waterproofing and dust proofing though, something to consider if you're prone to dropping your smartphone in puddles or down toilets.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Display

The HTC 10 features a 5.2-inch Super LCD 5 display with a Quad HD resolution. This results in a pixel resolution of 565ppi for a sharp and detailed display that can also be tuned to suit your preferences. It isn't HTC's best display though, even if it a lot better than the One M9 predecessor. The auto-brightness is a little sluggish resulting in a display that looks a little dim, while viewing angles aren't hugely impressive either. The HTC 10 has a great display, it just isn't the greatest around or HTC's greatest for that matter. 

The Samsung Galaxy S7 features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display, also with a Quad HD resolution for a pixel density of 577ppi. AMOLED displays tend to offer brighter and more vibrant colours than LCD, and while they can also be a little unrealistic, the SGS7's display is very capable.

The Galaxy S7 features great vibrancy and punch when it comes to its colours, but it also offers brilliant viewing angles and plenty of brightness. The Samsung does squeeze a few more pixels in per inch too, thanks to the smaller display, but the difference won't be noticeable to the human eye. Overall, both displays are super sharp, but Samsung edges out HTC in vibrancy.

The SGS7 also has the added "always-on" display that shows key features. It's not a particularly new feature, with other manufacturers having dabbled with it in the past, and in reality it could be better than it is as it only offers notification icons from Samsung apps, but it is still an extra feature over the HTC 10.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Camera

The HTC 10 arrives with a 12-megapixel UltraPixel rear camera featuring 1.55µm pixels. It offers an aperture of f/1.8 and features including laser autofocus, optical image stabilisation and a dual tone LED flash.

The front-facing camera is a 5-megapixels, again with an aperture of f/1.8 like the rear snapper. It has 1.34µm pixels, autofocus and optical image stabilisation, the latter of which is a first for smartphones. Both are good performers, with the rear camera being HTC's best camera for a long time. In good conditions, the HTC 10 produces consistently good images and although low light causes some loss in detail, it is still a good camera.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 offers a 12-megapixel rear camera with 1.4µm pixels and an f/1.7 aperture. It comes with OIS, phase detection AF and an LED flash. The front camera is 5-megapixels and also features an f/1.7 aperture but there is no OIS on board. Samsung's camera performance is great on the S7, as it has been on several generations before it including the Note 4 and Galaxy S6. You point, you shoot, and you get consistently good results with no messing about.

If camera is the most important feature of a smartphone to you then the Galaxy S7 is the device for you out of these two flagships, but that's not to say the HTC 10 isn't good. It too produces good results, they just aren't quite as good as Samsung's.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Hardware

The HTC 10 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, supported by 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. A microSD slot is available for storage expansion, which is compatible with Marshmallow's adoptable storage to allow you to combine the SD card storage and the phone's storage.

The battery capacity of the HTC 10 sits at 3000mAh and it is charged via USB Type-C, with support for Quick Charge 3.0. HTC promised two days of battery life for the HTC 10, but as is normally the way, this was an exaggeration with the result being around half of that in reality.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 comes in two models, one of which features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 while the other has the Exynos Octa 8 chip. Both come with 4GB of RAM and in 32GB and 64GB storage options, like the HTC 10, and they both have microSD support for storage expansion.

The S7 also offers a 3000mAh battery capacity, like the HTC 10, but it opts for charging via Micro-USB rather than USB Type-C. Both devices are incredibly powerful and both offer a slick and smooth operation. Neither are amazing performers when it comes to battery life though, with both offering around a day before they need to be topped up.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Software

The HTC 10 launches with Android Marshmallow and HTC Sense, but this is stripped down Sense compared to previous versions. It's a refined Sense experience and closer to pure Android. Think of it as Marshmallow with the best of Sense, so a few additional extras but not an overload.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 also comes with Android Marshmallow but it opts for Samsung's TouchWiz software over the top. Samsung's is the full reworking, with every menu tweaked and changed. 

The HTC 10 is simpler, with less duplication and better use of Android apps, compared to the Galaxy S7, but both offer a refined experience.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a brilliant smartphone, as is the larger S7 edge. Luckily for HTC, its new flagship does a good job at competing against it.

The HTC 10 comes with a great design ad excellent hardware that is on par with the Galaxy S7. It introduces USB Type-C and adds OIS to the front camera, but HTC doesn't quit match the camera capabilities of the S7 with its new flagship. HTC does push audio quality however so it is a better choice for those who want an excellent sound experience from their smartphone. 

There is little to differentiate these two devices in terms of specs, so ultimately this decision will boil down whether you prefer Samsung design or HTC, or whether you want camera capabilities or audio. You can read our HTC 10 review here, as well as our Samsung Galaxy S7 review here.