The world of smartphones is incredibly fast-moving and we are already looking ahead to smartphones expected to arrive next year. Just yesterday we learned of a new HTC flagship device dubbed the HTC M7 and from what we know so far one of its natural contenders will be the Samsung Galaxy S4. Obviously we don’t yet know official specs and features of either but we thought it would be interesting to look at the Galaxy S4 vs. HTC M7 and speculated judgements on what they will offer.

The HTC M7 first came to our attention yesterday and although so far very little has been leaked we do have some basic information. We should point out that so far all of the specs we mention are unofficial and unconfirmed but based on leaks we have some raw details to go by. The HTC M7 is due for release in Q1, 2013 and is another phone that will fit the current trend for larger displays on devices, with a 5-inch HD screen.

It’s said that production of around 4 to 5 million units will take place ready for launch so HTC is obviously convinced this will be a significant product release. Other speculated features include a Qualcomm APQ8064 quad-core processor, a whopping 13-megapixel rear camera, LTE connectivity, and aluminum unibody design. Although we don’t know much about the HTC M7 at present, we can imagine that this will fly off the shelves and really could be a significant product launch for HTC.

The Samsung Galaxy S line is always hugely popular and the Galaxy S3 released earlier this year to phenomenal success. There has already been speculation that the Galaxy S4 will release early next year and so the S4 and HTC M7 could come up directly against each other, or possibly the M7 could pip the Galaxy S4 to the post to gain an early sales advantage.

Again the specs and features for the Galaxy S4 are not yet known but its success already seems assured on the back of the success of the Galaxy S3. Specs we mention here then are also unconfirmed but there have already been various leaks about what the phone could include. We’ve posted articles several times now about the Galaxy S4 and some of the specs we’ve heard about so far are a possible 2GHz Exynox quad-core processor, 12 or 13-megapixel camera with 1080p video capture in stereo sound and new flexible display, while we also heard recently that it could have a 5-inch full HD screen that is currently in development by Samsung.

When we asked for Galaxy S4 wish lists there were plenty of various suggestions desired such as a larger battery capacity, wireless charging, a step up to 2GB of RAM and maybe 64 or 128GB of internal storage so there’s plenty of food for thought from both leaks and wish lists. Of course it’s also likely to run on the next major Android OS upgrade and by the time of release that could be 5.0 Key Lime Pie. We will be following future developments of both handsets and will let you know further details as they become available.

We’re really interested to hear your views on the HTC M7 and Galaxy S4. As the Galaxy S3 has been so massively successful do you think there’s a chance that HTC could be a credible rival to its successor with the M7? Maybe you’re already a confirmed Galaxy S fan so have already decided to purchase the Galaxy S4, no matter what else is on offer? Let us know by sending your comments.