Last year, the well-appreciated HTC One received almost every prize for the best smartphone’s design of the year, and this year the Taiwanese managed to make its next flagship even more beautiful and eye-catching.
As almost the entire specifications and features of the new HTC One, including the video comparison, unboxing and several high quality pictures had already been leaked, the HTC’s event in London (and New York) was more of a confirming event than a surprising unveiling event. But, it just felt so nice, seeing one of the biggest OEMs (used to be, of course) in mobile industry is still alive and tries to get more market share in 2014 and turn the company in to a profitable company.
Before revieing the hardware, software, price and availability of the new HTC One, first let’s take a look at The new HTC One General Specifications:
- 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm, 160 g
- 5-inch Super LCD3 screen, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 441 ppi
- Quad-core 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (in US/EMEA)
- Quad-core 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (in Asia/China)
- Adreno 330
- 16/32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, microSD card support (up to 128GB)
- Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC (market dependent), LTE-Enabled
- 4MP main camera (Ultrapixel, Duo Camera), 5MP front camera, 1080p@30fps video recording
- Android 4.4 KitKat, HTC Sense 6
- 260 mAh Li-polymer battery (Non-removable)
- Colors: Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver, Amber Gold
Design
As you can see, although HTC has used the same language design as the HTC One, but the new HTC One (M8) is just more beautiful and we can confidently say the design has reached a maturity that can absorb everyone and we really couldn’t find any flaw in the design while working with it.
The metal unibody design along with the gorgeous Gray color and the curved metal sides are the main 3 reasons, we fell in love with the new HTC One’s design and since it features a 5-inch screen and 9.35mm thickness some might find it not pocket-friendly.
The new HTC One will be available in three colors upon launch and you shouldn’t be surprised if the Gray color gets the most attentions and outsells the other 2 colors.
Hardware
So, what’s under the hood? These days it is really hard to find a 2014’s Android flagship with any hardware specs other than a Snapdragon 801, Adreno 330, 2GB of RAM (or 3GB of RAM), NFC, LTE-enabled and Full-HD screen. And the new HTC One is not an exception.
The new device will be available in 2 versions for US/ EMEA markets and Asia/China markets and other than the LTE settings, the only difference is about the speed of processor which the Asian users will get a faster 2.5GHz model compared to the 2.3GHz CPU for US and EMEA markets.
The battery is still un-removable and HTC believes the 2,600mAh Li-polymer battery with software enhancements and aggressive battery saving options delivers a solid battery life.
Camera
HTC One was announced with a big surprise: an Ultrapixel camera which was supposed to take the smartphones’ cameras to the next level, but the results were kind of disappointing. The new HTC One is also equipped with a 4MP Ultrapixel camera, and thanks to the Duo Camera feature you are able to take some professional shots, apply different 3D effects and refocus still images.
Other than Duo Camera, you can take high-quality selfies with the 5MP front facing camera, take quality pictures with the dual-flash, record 1080p and HD slo-mo videos and take advantage of the HDR video feature.
Last but not the least is about the front facing stereo speakers, which use the HTC BoomSoundTM technology and deliver a clear and high-quality sound.
Software
The new HTC One comes with Android KitKat, HTC Sense 6 and HTC BlinkFeed. There have been so many articles about Android Kitkat features, so let’s skip this part and discuss more about the new features available in the latest iteration of the HTC’s launcher, Sense.
Here are the main software features you can find on HTC M8:
- HTC BlinkFeed: This is the HTC’s solution to follow your favorite news and articles right from the Home Screen and the new version of HTC BlinkFeed provides an easy-to-read interface for following your favorite topics and categories with more customization options. Having access to and subscribing your favorite news sources are now easier and since developers (partners) have access to the SDK, they can freely create their own content and integrate them with the HTC BlinkFeed.
- HTC Zoe: this social network has been also updated and now you can use your creativity to create, remix and share the highlight of your life with different effects and options.
- Motion Launch: This all about quick access to your phone while the screen is off. Turning on the screen, unlocking the phone, launching BlinkFeed, launching the camera app and many more actions are just done by a simple swipe, double tapping and some other gestures.
- HTC Sense TV: Other than following the 10 most popular sports in the world and getting instant access to live scores, you can participate in discussion about the programme online via Facebook or Twitter.
Accessories
The new HTC One’s cases are the most innovative accessories we’ve ever seen for a smartphone. For now, Flip Case, Double Dip case and Dot View case are the new accessories for HTC’s new flagship, and we are sure you’ll love it when seeing your notifications, battery status, and weather conditions via some colorful dots on the case.
Availability and Price
The new HTC One will be available all around the world carried by more than 230 operators, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless in the United States, and Bell, Rogers and TELUS in Canada.
In the US, AT&T has already started to receive orders for the Gunmetal Gray color and the regular price is set at $639.99, while you can save $440.00 if you go for a 2-year contract with $199.99 up front payment.
Verdict
Well, we believe the new HTC One can easily receive the same appreciations and prizes as its predecessor did last year, and it can be simply the best Android phones of 2014. But, what about the sell and market share? We are not sure whether HTC could be successful on the market or not, as Samsung is absolute dominant in the Android market and there are other powerful competitors like the Nexus 5, Sony Xperia Z2 and LG’s new devices.
As we mentioned at the beginning, the design is really flawless and there is really nothing to discuss about, the hardware specs are just the things we expect these days, and Sense 6 is a huge step forward for HTC. Battery wise, it really is an improvement over the old HTC One and HTC has managed to deliver an acceptable battery life. Our only concern is about the camera and its quality as we are not sure whether the Duo Camera feature can cover the poor quality camera compared to the already available smartphones.
