At Phones Review we often bring readers comparisons between smartphones and today we have a three-way-look at the Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone 5S vs. HTC M7. Where this varies from some of our usual phone debates is that these are all not due out until 2013 and so there are no confirmed specs or features available yet. However we do have some idea of what to expect from leaks and rumors and as these are set to be some of the hottest devices next year we thought we’d take an early look to see what they might offer.

The latest in the Samsung Galaxy S series and latest iPhone are always the toughest competition as far as smartphones are concerned and every year we see the battle between them to try to be top dog. Next year will probably be the same and the Galaxy S4 is tipped to arrive in the early part of the year, possibly in March. If the past couple of years are anything to go by the iPhone 5S (may possibly be called iPhone 6) will release in the fall but there are already rumblings that Apple may be returning to a summer launch for the next iPhone. Although most of the attention in 2013 will be on the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5S we’ve recently heard about another upcoming phone that could be real competition for these two, the HTC M7, so we thought it would be interesting to add this to the mix.

Because specs and features for these phones are some way from being confirmed we cannot give you our usual point-by-point comparison. Nevertheless we thought that taking a look at some of the things they are likely to offer would be worthwhile, to give you some idea of what is expected. We’ve written posts about all three of the above smartphones and have seen various rumors and speculation emerge as well as insight from insiders and analysts so hopefully plenty of this will turn out to be accurate.

We’ll start with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and one of the early tips from an insider was that this is likely to feature a 12 or 13-megapixel back illuminated sensor rear camera with stereo sound for 1080p video. As the Galaxy S3 increased in display size from the S2 then the Galaxy S4 could also have a bigger display, following the current trend for smartphones with larger screens. It’s also likely that the display will be of a higher resolution than currently, maybe to full HD and we’d be surprised if Samsung doesn’t give the Galaxy S4 a larger battery to cope with the everyday demands of a modern-day smartphone.

Other things we’ve seen speculated for the Galaxy S4 include Google Chrome as the default browser, enhanced S-Voice, Android Beam and 2GB or even 3GB of RAM. We’ve also seen and heard a lot of conflicting reports about whether the Galaxy S4 may be one of the first Samsung device to feature one of the new flexible displays the company is developing. We also feel that something that would be a real improvement and appeal to many is a totally new design with a more premium look and feel as befits a flagship smartphone. Another leak suggested the possibility of a 2GHz Exynos 5450 Cortex-A15 quad-core processor and of course we’d hope that Samsung might launch the Galaxy S4 on the latest Android OS at the time of release, which could possibly be 5.0 Key Lime Pie. If we could add something from our personal wish list it would be wireless charging but of course that remains to be seen.

Moving on to the iPhone 5S one of the things we are most sure about saying is that, following recent patterns it will arrive running the next major Apple mobile operating system update, iOS 7, so that alone will be a big deal for many. It’s also likely to finally step up to an A7 quad-core processor and have an improved camera set-up. One of the factors creating a lot of discussion is the display size for the iPhone 5S. The iPhone 5 display size went up from 3.5-inches to 4-inches and so you may imagine that Apple would keep this for the next iPhone. However 4-inches is still small compared to most other new and upcoming smartphones so we think there’s a good possibility that Apple may further increase the screen size.

Moving on to design and we still think that in this respect Apple would do well to come up with something completely groundbreaking. We also thought this before the iPhone 5 was released and although there were some subtle changes it still looked very similar to the previous model. Something like a Liquidmetal casing would be a good start as it would be very durable and could be molded to a completely new form factor. We have recently heard that several color options will be available for the iPhone 5S and other leaked information from insiders include a 128GB storage option and NFC. On our personal wish list again is wireless charging and something very unlikely to happen, microSD card expansion.

Finally we have the HTC M7 and this is a phone we only started to hear about this month. Needless to say we’ve heard a lot of good things so thought we’d include it to prove it may not just be a two-horse race between Samsung and Apple. This one is expected to release in the first quarter next year and it has been reported that HTC has already ordered four to five million units, indicating the importance of this flagship release. Some of the first specs and features rumored included a 1.7GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 quad-core processor, 5-inch full HD display, 13-megapixel rear camera, LTE connectivity and an aluminum unibody design.

However a further leak now suggests this will have a 4.7-inch display instead of 5-inches but it will still be full HD with an incredible pixel density of 468ppi. Other inclusions are 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and it’s also thought that the HTC M7 will release on the latest Android Jelly Bean OS skinned with HTC Sense 5. It’s important to note that the M7 may be merely a codename and that this could change before release but it’s basically a successor to the very popular HTC One X. Another leak about the 13-megapixel rear camera says that a new image sensor will be able to shoot super slow-motion video and both cameras on the handset will be capable of 1080p video capture. It seems that further information about pricing and availability for the HTC M7 will become available in February.

It seems to us that the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S are already assured of success in 2013 but we also feel that there will be real contenders out there, such as the HTC M7. Please remember that these are all unconfirmed and unofficial specs so far but we do feel that all three smartphones will have a lot to offer. Of course until the various manufacturers choose to share official specs with us we cannot tell which will be best and for many people it will simply be a choice between an Android or iOS device, or even personal preference on design that helps determine their choice.

We’re really interested to hear from readers about this. Are you already a devotee of the Galaxy S or iPhone line and are already thinking ahead to purchase the Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5S? Maybe you’re open to operating systems and want to see what all of these will finally come up with before you make up your mind? Would you consider the HTC M7 on what we know so far? Let us know with your comments