If two became one: The Droid DNA and Razr Maxx HD reviewed

Just as the Megazord took the best of each “zord” to assemble in order to fight Rita Repulsa’s monster creations, some smartphones make us wish that we could mash them up together to create an über-phone phone, more than the sum of its parts. The HTC Droid DNA and Motorola Razr Maxx HD are two such phones. On their own, they’re just two new handsets offered by Verizon Wireless, but if there were a way to make one phone out of them, together they would be the device that Android users have been waiting for.

On one hand, the Droid DNA’s 1080p display currently holds the top spot for highest pixels-per-inch of any smartphone. Unfortunately, it also features a less-than-stellar battery life, which doesn’t bode too well for users looking to maximize the usage out of its high resolution display and powerful processor. On the other hand, the Razr Maxx HD comes equipped with a 3,200 mAh sized battery, which can get it through almost an entire week on standby without needing a charge. But, when it comes to looks, the Razr Maxx HD is in desperate need of a makeover, not to mention that it’s still sporting a dual-core Snapdragon processor, putting it at a disadvantage compared to the increasing number of quad-core Snapdragon competitors.

We’ll review each phone individually to look at the features they offer, how well they perform, and where each handset has some room for improvement.

Meet the phones

When Motorola revived the “Razr” branding for its Android handsets, we expected that it would stick with svelte handsets. Instead, the pudgy 9.5 mm thick Razr Maxx HD feels like a relic; its antiquated aesthetics make it look like less like a Razr and more like a 1996 StarTac.

Kevlar coating covers the backside of the Razr Maxx HD, which makes the phone tough but—when paired with the thickness—also makes it feel quite a bit dated. The right side of the phone features a volume rocker and a power button, while the miniHDMI, microUSB, microSIM, and microSD card slot all reside on the left. The awkward placement of the charging port makes the Razr Maxx HD difficult to use, and there is no way to unseat the battery without unscrewing the two Torx screws at the bottom of the device. There are no hardware buttons for Android’s action keys on the Razr Maxx HD.

HTC’s Droid DNA, on the other hand, can teach the Razr Maxx HD a few things about style. Lined with red accents, the top of the phone features a slightly recessed power button and a pop-out slot for the MicroSIM, while the volume button resides on the right-side of the handset and the microUSB port hides behind a tiny pull-out tab on the bottom. The Droid DNA also features three physical hardware buttons for actions, and it comes equipped with Beats Audio, which only engages with headphones plugged in. Both phones come with an 8MP rear-facing camera, as well as headphone jacks on top and notifications buttons on the front. As an added bonus, the Droid DNA also features a flashing light on the back, so you will never miss a precious text message, as well as a 2.1MP front-facing camera.

The Droid DNA comes equipped with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but it also features HTC’s proprietary Sense UI. Sense UI can have a bit of a learning curve if you’re going over to the handset from a different Android phone, but it’s got several perks like a categorized app menu that sequesters Verizon’s bloatware applications in their own menu screen and a nice looking user interface. However, it doesn’t come with all of the typical Android fare, like the Jelly Bean keyboard, and the phone is set by default to launch its own browser rather than Google Chrome.

The Droid Razr Maxx HD, on the other hand, came preloaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but it received its official over-the-air Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update while we were reviewing the unit. If you stick with a Motorola handset, you get a user interface that’s as close to stock as possible, but do yourself a favor and take some time to spruce it up a bit—those preloaded Droid wallpapers can be a bit much when paired with the Razr Maxx HD’s widgets. Still, rest assured that Motorola will continue to hold hands with Google and frolic through the forest, so while updates may not be as consistent as they are for devices in the Nexus program, at least the UI is.

Display

The Razr Maxx HD features a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1280 x 720 resolution at 312 PPI, which places it at the halfway point between the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy SIII. While it does a fine job of displaying video, it was difficult to distinguish the content in direct sunlight. In normal indoor settings the colors appeared to be more saturated than other displays, but that is often the case with Super AMOLED.

When it comes to displays, the Droid DNA is the real talking point. At 440 PPI, its 5-inch, 1080p Super LCD 3 display far exceeds the pixel density of any current smartphone. Video was clear and its colors were well distinguished. We were also particularly impressed with its rendering of 3D graphics—even the GL Benchmark was impressive to watch on the Droid DNA’s high-resolution display.

The Droid DNA’s individual pixels are almost impossible to distinguish with just the naked eye, but as previously noted by Associate Writer Andrew Cunningham, it can be difficult to point out the difference between 720p on every other phone and the Droid DNA’s 1080p. However, it is definitely obvious when it’s scrutinized under a microscope (or, a very capable camera lens, as exhibited in the picture below).

Text, perfectly displayed by the Droid DNA.

Credit: Andrew Cunningham

It’s also important to consider that not all content is prepared for the Droid DNA’s honkin’ 1080p resolution. As noted by DisplayMate CEO, Raymond Soneira, it’s not entirely worth adopting a 1080p screen if there isn’t enough content to take advantage of it.

Battery

The 1080p display certainly takes its toll on the Droid DNA’s smaller battery pack. In previous battery tests, the handset’s 2020 mAh had performed horridly. At 100 percent brightness, the phone had a fully drained battery in about an hour and 45 minutes, and it was clear then that the Droid DNA has some trouble not only making it through the workday, but maintaining enough power to entertain you on the train ride home. In further testing, we discovered that its battery pack can’t even get through 20 minutes of Triple Town without dipping down 8 percent—the same amount that the Razr Maxx HD used up to stream Twin Peaks over Wi-Fi with the brightness and volume turned all the way up.

In the end, the Droid DNA ended up making it through two days of minor usage before it needed to be plugged in. However, it remained mostly in standby mode, with sporadic Instagram check-ins and a few phone calls here and there. In most real world situations, we’re constantly checking our phones, perusing email, or picking up a quick puzzle game. It’s important to note how long a battery can last if the situation calls for a day or two without a charger. The Droid DNA is the kind of phone that needs back up.

The Razr Maxx HD’s 3200 mAh, on the other hand, truly shows the worth of a bigger battery pack in powerful smartphone. After an hour of streaming Netflix at full volume and full brightness the phone had used up only about 8 percent of power. It stayed more or less consistent through two and a half hours of Netflix streaming—battery life had only fallen 24 percent. Better yet, when left in standby mode through the night, the Razr Maxx HD only used up 5 percent of its battery life. In the end, it managed seven days of minor usage before the battery indicator started screaming for a charge. While the Razr Maxx HD does use up a chunk of battery life when streaming content over Wi-Fi, it is much more capable of getting through a whole day without charge.

Performance

The Droid Razr Maxx HD is powered by a dual-core, 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM. This particular SoC is especially power efficient, so it’s paired well in this handset. The Droid DNA, on the other hand, contains the same quad-core Qualcomm 1.5GGhz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and Adreno 320 GPU as some of the more recent competing handsets to enter the market, including the Nexus 4 and LG’s Optimus G. It is very powerful and proved to be one of the speediest mobile processors available right now—and the graphics power is especially needed considering that bright and vibrant 1080p display.

Overall, the Droid DNA is quite the contender among the latest smartphones to hit the scene. Its overall Geekbench score yielded almost similar results to the Nexus 4’s and the Optimus G’s, which isn’t too surprising because the two handsets share an SoC. However, the Droid DNA performed lower in memory bandwidth tests because of how many pixels it has to push through to the display.

The Razr Maxx HD—the only other dual-core handset on the chart besides the A6-equipped iPhone 5—didn’t perform too exceptionally among the crowd. It’s a solid phone in its own right, but not one you’d pick out if you’re interested in utilizing the latest components.

Droid DNA’s onscreen Egypt Classic benchmarks performed just as well as its hardware counterparts, but it’s unclear why it lagged behind in Egypt HD tests.

Stitching together an imaginary Frankenphone

If we could fuse the two handsets together, we’d have the perfect phone: a speedy SoC and a 1080p display with enough battery life to get it through an entire day’s work. Essentially, the Droid DNA and Razr Maxx HD’s major selling points are the other’s biggest detriment. The Razr Maxx HD is a slowly aging phone with a massive battery pack that a device like the Droid DNA could really use to power up its high resolution display. A 3,200 mAh would give the Droid DNA the energy it needs to stay fueled throughout the day and give it an edge on other phones with the same components. All of the processing powering and display output in HTC’s Droid DNA is very difficult to execute with a measly 2020 mAh.

The Razr Maxx HD could also greatly benefit from the Droid DNA’s style. While a Kevlar backside and durability might seem appealing to a certain demographic, it seems lackluster for users who want a 3,200 mAh battery pack in a slimmer package.