It depends on what you look for in a smartphone. I personally prefer HTC to Samsung, and I'll explain why.

I associate HTC with high build quality. In my experience, they tend to use good materials in their devices that make them feel good in the hand, give them that premium look, and make them fairly durable or at least long-lasting. I know with Android phones in particular, there are a lot of cheap junky ones in the market, but with HTC you know you're getting a solid device. They do tend to be a little bit more expensive. You can get a little more phone for your money if you opt for another brand usually.

Samsung has more of a reputation for pushing the limits on hardware and size, though that lies mostly with their top of the line devices. Samsung first popularized the phablet, and all of their best phones are on the large end of the spectrum. Whenever Samsung announces a new flagship device, you know that it's going to be sporting some of the most powerful hardware on the market, with more RAM, a better processor, and a larger screen than anything else on the market. They also have included a lot of software features that contribute to that cutting edge image. Design and build quality are where I'd say Samsung falls a little short. Not to say that their devices are poorly built, but their large size and frequent use of plastic just fail to impress the way sleeker phones from HTC, Apple, and even Nokia do.

The reason I'd opt for HTC over Samsung is because Samsung's strong suit only applies to a handful of devices. For Samsung, crazy powerful specs are their thing, so outside of the latest Galaxy S or Galaxy Note device, their mid-range and low-end devices range from nothing special to crappy. Anyone who has ever used a Samsung Galaxy [random word] phone probably knows what I mean. On the other hand, a mid-range HTC device will still be solidly built, albeit with weaker specs compared to their best devices. And while Samsung's Galaxy S devices boast impressive specs, HTC usually answers with similarly powerful smartphones that can hold their own against them, like the HTC One.

Those are my thoughts. However, I should note that the market seems to disagree with me. I don't know their sales numbers, but right now Samsung's smartphone business makes pretty big profits, while HTC has been struggling. At the end of the day, individual customers are the judge.

Source: www.quora.com