Last night, the second iteration of HTC One announced by Peter Chou and most of the critics were satisfied with the new device and except the camera quality issues, there was nothing major to complain about.
See: HTC One M8 Specifications and Features
Since the design of the new HTC One is almost the same as the HTC One 2013 and the differences are about some hardware improvements and new software features, in this AW Center article we compare the new HTC One with the old HTC One to see what’s changed and what’s improved, and answer to this question that Is it really worth upgrading HTC One M7 to HTC One M8 2014?
First, let’s compare the specifications of the new HTC One (M8) and HTC One 2013 (M7):
| HTC One M7 2013 | HTC One M8 2014 | |
| Dimension | 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm 143 Grams |
146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35mm 160 Grams |
| Display | 4.7", 1080x1920, 468ppi | 5.0", 1080x1920, 441ppi |
| Memory | 32/64, 2GB RAM | 16/32, 2GB RAM, SD Card |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth V4.0, NFC, Infrared |
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth V4.0, |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (US) |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | Adreno 330 |
| OS | Android 4.3 (Upgradable to 4.4) | Android 4.4 Kit Kat |
| Camera | 4MP / 2MP 1080p@30fps Dual Shot, Panorama, HDR |
Dual 4MP / 5MP Dual Flash, BSI sensor, Pan 360, Duo Camera |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 2300 mAh | Non-removable Li-Po 2600 mAh |
Design
According to HTC, 70% of the HTC One’s body was covered with metal, but on the new HTC One the number has reached to 90% as the curved sides are made by metal and M8 is literally a metal unibody device.
Dimension and weight wise, the new HTC One is about 17grams heavier and a little bit taller, thicker and wider. It depends on how big your hands are to understand whether this change of size and weight is a problem for you or not.
Hardware
The hardware pieces on M8, including CPU and GPU, have been updated with the latest available technology which makes the new HTC One one of the best choices for playing games and doing heavy stuff. In case of comparing, we are dealing with a fast device and a faster device on the other hand, and if you are not a fan of playing games with your device this speed improvement may not be a big deal for you. But the game changing feature is indeed the support for microSD card, as you can add up to 128GB of storage to your new HTC One while this amount is fixed for the old HTC One.
Camera
Let’s be honest. Although HTC managed to add the Duo Camera feature on the new HTC One, but the quality of taken shots are still disappointing and we didn’t see much difference between HTC M7 and HTC M8, camera quality wise. While the video recording quality remains the same, the quality of front facing camera has increased to 5MP.
The new HTC One’s camera uses a dual-LED Smart Flash and BSI sensor for better photography experience, and the Duo Camera let the users refocus the already taken shots whenever they want and take shots with more depths.
Battery
Battery life was one of the most discussed topics about the HTC One, and the Taiwanese company claims they have improved the battery as it lasts 40% longer. Since the new HTC One is just out, we need more time to analyse the battery life, but the initial tests showed some impressive and solid results.
Software
It is still unclear whether the HTC One M7 will receive the M8’s software features or not, and therefore we cannot really discuss the differences here. For now, the M7’s users are going to miss the new features of Sense 6 including updated BlinkFeed, Zoe, HTC Sense TV, and our favorite M8’s feature Motion Launch.
So, is it worth upgrading HTC One M7 to HTC One M8?
First of all, keep in mind that we didn’t include the price in the comparison as both devices are available with different plans and deals based on the markets, and we couldn’t find a suitable benchmark to compare M7 and M8 price wise. Putting the money discussions aside, we believe if you don’t care about having a faster device and you are already satisfied with the limited HTC One M7 storage, the reasons to upgrade your phone is first the design and refreshed look, and second the new camera features including Pan 360 (taking 360 shots), dual shot and duo camera.
