It won't be an exaggeration to say that HTC set the benchmark
among Android smartphones with its 2013 flagship model. HTC One is a stunning
smartphone and the first one to challenge Apple's dominance in the sphere of
design. The phone was very well received among critics, even though it did not
break records in sales.
One year later, HTC has managed to improvise on One and come up with a more powerful version of the phone - One (M8). Is it just an iterative update, or has HTC done an even better job this time? We try to find out in our review.
Build & design
There is no doubt that the original HTC One is a great looking phone with its all-metal construction giving it a premium, yet solid, feel. With HTC One (M8), HTC decided to improvise on the design, without making major alterations.
At first glance, you may not notice much difference between the One (M8) and its predecessor. On closer inspection, however, you'll notice that the new One (M8) is slightly larger and sports a bigger display.
Thanks to the use of on-screen navigation buttons, there are no hardware capacitive keys at the front. The full HD IPS LCD display of the phone is flanked by two speaker grills, a sensor and the 5MP front camera lens.
Unlike the original HTC One which features flat edges, the new One (M8) sports rounded edges. The all-aluminium chasis has chamfered edges at the front and white polycarbonate inserts at the back. It doesn't feature polycarbonate inserts at the side edges that were seen in the original One. The edges are rounded when they meet the back of the phone.
The left edge of the phone features the sim card tray while the right one is home to the volume rocker key and the microSD card tray. The volume rocker key is not flush with the edge like the original One but is a bit raised. The key offers good tactile feedback. Opening the sim card tray requires some effort.
The original HTC One did not feature an external storage slot (though the dual-sim version featured one), so it's a welcome move.
The back of One (M8) includes not one, but two camera lenses, part of the One (M8)'s Duo Camera set-up. The UltraPixel camera lens is accompanied by a dual-colour LED flash similar to iPhone 5S. Our grey coloured review unit sported a brushed metal finish that looked more polished compared to the original HTC One.
The power/ screen-lock button sits at the top edge of the phone, with the Infrared blaster (that covers the entire top edge) while the bottom edge features the micro-USB port and the 3.5mm headset jack.
The form factor of the phone makes it fit for one hand use even though it now offers a bigger display.
Display
HTC One (M8) sports a 5-inch, Full-HD display that looks bright, offers great viewing angles and vivid colours. Colour reproduction is among the best in class. Pictures and text look crisp and sharp. Although it is a bit reflective, we did not face issues while using the phone under sunlight. We'll have to say it's one of the best displays we've seen off late.
The display comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection to guard against minor scratches.
User Interface
HTC One (M8) comes with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the latest version of the OS with Sense 6, the new version of HTC's custom UI, running on top. While it looks very different from stock Android, we quite like the Sense 6 interface. It doesn't look very different from that of the previous version of Sense.
It sports the on-screen navigation keys, which hide while playing games and using apps that make use of Android's new immersive mode.
HTC has not skinned the notifications tray and has sobered down the settings menu which is now devoid of coloured graphical icons. As with the previous version of Sense, the app launcher involves vertical scrolling.
The phone includes a new version of BlinkFeed, HTC's homescreen utility that brings personalized updates from the user's preferred news sources and social networks. BlinkFeed now offers automatic recommendations from the user's Google+ and Facebook networks. It also integrates information related to the user's fitness statistics from the built-in Fitbit app.
The native apps sport background colours depending on the theme applied by the user.
Transition effects are subtle and look beautiful.
HTC has also included new gestures for unlocking the screen and going directly to Blink Feed or other home screens. The phone can now be unlocked with a double tap or by swiping up. Similarly, voice dialling can be initiated by swiping down the screen when it's locked. All these gestures worked as promised.
The phone includes very few preloaded apps, including 7digital music store, Fitbit fitness tracking app, Polaris Office 5, Scribble (a note-taking app), Tasks and a Car mode app. The phone also has a placeholder for the upcoming Zoe app which will allow users to share montages created with their video and photo content.
Fitbit app is capable of recording steps, distance and calories burned. We found that it's not very accurate and often registers shakes as steps.
The new Sense UI also features an improved keyboard which is easier to use and more accurate in recording taps.
Camera
HTC One (M8) sports an UltraPixel Duo camera at the back. The primary camera has essentially the same 4MP lens as the original HTC One. HTC claims that it captures 300% more light compared to other phones. The second camera lens, part of the Duo camera setup, helps in detecting and separating backgrounds and foregrounds as it scans depth and adds that information to the picture. It doesn't capture images.
The feature allows users to refocus on an object after shooting a picture, similar to Nokia's Refocus app which is available on high-end Lumia phones. The Duo camera feature also allows users to create silhouettes, alter depth and add bokeh effect through the UFocus feature, in tandem with the phone's software. One can even cut and paste subjects across photos.
It also lets you shoot 3D-like pictures with the Dimension Plus effect though it will be visible only on the One (M8).
We found the Dual Camera feature a bit gimmicky with the only good use case being the UFocus feature that lets you refocus. It worked most of the times and results were good. However, we don't like how HTC has hidden the feature. It's only visible when you edit a photo. Also, the Duo Camera features don't work if the LED flash is used, or if zoom is not at the minimum level.
The phone's camera app now includes controls for granular settings, including contrast, saturation, sharpness, ISO, and White Balance for users who like to take full control of their photos. It also offers pre-shoot filters for adding effects before clicking the photo, Panorama, Burst and HDR mode in addition to a Zoe mode that lets you capture a full-HD video and convert the footage into stills, or take a sequence of pictures with brief video for use with other effects such as object removal.
The camera boasts of 1 second launch time, focus time of 0.3 seconds and 11fps burst shot mode and is one of the fastest smartphone snappers. One disappointing bit is that unlike the original One, the One(M8) doesn't feature Optical Image Stabilization that offsets distortions due to camera shake. However, the digital stabilization offered by the phone manages to mitigate the flaw to some extent.
In terms of quality, pictures taken during daylight appeared good, especially when you're not zooming in to 100%. However, at full resolution you'll notice that it misses out on detail. Also, we observed that some daytime shots looked overexposed. While the UltraPixel camera captures more light, it lags when it comes to detail. With the competition offering higher resolution sensors, we feel that HTC should have upgraded the camera.
Pictures taken indoors looked good with accurate colour reproduction and low noise. The ones shot in low-light also looked great without the use of flash.
HTC One (M8) features an iPhone 5S-like dual-colour LED flash to balance light. However, we still found that the pictures taken in low light with the flash on, did not look natural.
The phone takes good quality videos and even offers a slow motion recording mode.
HTC One (M8)'s front-camera features a 5MP sensor with f2.0 wide angle lens for taking selfies. It also includes a timer switch and touchup feature for enhanced selfies. The phone clicks good quality selfies and offers a number of options to eliminate blemishes, fix red eye and whiten skin tone.
Overall, we like the Duo Camera's UFocus effect, but other than that, the camera lens could have been upgraded for capturing more detail.
Performance
HTC One (M8) is one of the most powerful smartphones available right now. The variant available in India comes with a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and 2GB RAM.
Thanks to all the power under the hood, we did not notice any lag while launching and switching between apps, editing photos, browsing the web, clicking pictures, watching high definition videos or playing graphics-heavy games.
There's no doubt that HTC One (M8) offers one of the best smartphone experiences.
We were able to play videos of popular file formats barring MOV, without any hiccups. Additional file formats can be played through third party video player apps. We'll have to say that the sound delivered by the phone's front-stereo speakers is unparalleled in terms of both quality as well as loudness.
Call quality was excellent and the phone works well even in weak signal areas. We also observed that the phone catches even weak Wi-Fi signals.
The phone comes with GPS and A-GPS for navigation and maps and was easily able to lock a signal.
It comes with FM radio and NFC connectivity options. The phone also offers LTE 4G connectivity and HTC has promised that after a software update, the phone will support Indian 4G networks.
HTC One(M8) is backed by a 2600mAh battery with a claimed standby time of up to 496 hours and talk time of up to 20 hours.
We were satisfied with the battery backup delivered by the phone. With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone will last you a full working day, even if you put the screen brightness at the maximum level and keep 3G turned on.
The phone also comes with an Extreme power-saving mode, activating which will make the phone's battery last for 2 weeks, as per HTC. It also claims that the phone can offer 30 hours of talk time in the mode even when the battery's charge level is 10%. The mode restricts background data and offers access to Phone, Messages, Mail, Calendar, and Calculator apps.
Gaming
We were able to play games like Temple Run 2, Riptide GP2 and Asphalt 8(with Visual Quality set to high and Engine at 100%) without encountering any frame drops or freezes, on HTC One (M8). The phone tends to get a little warm after long gaming sessions.
Verdict
HTC One (M8) is among the best Android smartphones available in the market in terms of performance, build quality as well as software. The camera is not exactly the strong point of the phone and the Dual Camera feature is gimmicky, but it still does a fairly decent job.
Having said that, One (M8) doesn't bring something new to the table, which is a bit disappointing. Unlike the competition, it's not water and dust resistant, doesn't feature a heart rate sensor, 4K recording or a fingerprint scanner. The different sensors and 4K recording are more of futuristic features which will take some time to become mainstream and not everyone will find these useful.
At a price of Rs 49,900, the phone competes with the Samsung Galaxy S5. The Galaxy S5 features a plastic body, doesn't look as good as HTC One (M8) and is more expensive. Also, the Indian variant of the phone doesn't feature a Qualcomm processor and comes with Samsung's Exynos processor which does not offer the same level of performance as its Qualcomm variant sold in US and other markets.
If you're fine with a non-Android phone with a smaller display, then Apple's iPhone 5S is still a good option. The Sony Xperia Z2, which is a powerful smartphone, is also expected to debut soon.
However, if you want the most good looking smartphone and price is not a consideration, we'd highly recommend buying HTC One (M8).
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