We’ve all seen the reviews… yes, the HTC One (M8) is a superb phone on technical aspects, but from a consumer point of view, is it pleasant to live with? After spending 3 months with HTC’s new flagship smartphone, I find out whether or not the One M8 is worth its hype.
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| Lovely box design |
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| I kinda miss the old One X sticker that said "I'm the ONE you've been waiting for" |
To start off, I have been a proud and extremely satisfied owner of the HTC One X for two years now, and despite it’s age, it has yet to disappoint me. Superb build, user-friendly interface (especially after the Sense 5.5 update), and great performance makes the One X one of the best smart-phones I’ve ever used, and it’s also the reason why I’ve never considered switching to newer phones such as the One (M7).
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| The One X still looks stylish! |
With that in mind, can the M8 surpass the standards set by its epic pre-predecessor and become my new favorite?
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| 5 inch vs. 4.7 inch |
Exterior Design
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| Dat brushed metal finish... |
Just as I took out the brand new device out of its box, I was immediately mindblown by its design. Mind you, when the original One (M7) came out last year, my I had already been mindblown once (yeah, it’s starting to hurt); the sleek all-metal unibody chassis was frankly the most handsome smartphone design the industry had ever seen, and it was hard to imagine that anyone, even HTC themselves, could outdo the M7’s stylish looks. Yet they did.
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| It's big, but nice to hold actually! |
I was skeptical about the updated looks at first… it was more conservatively styled compared to the M7, and the elongated screen seemed a bit off upon first glance. Yet once I got the device in my own hands...my my, how stupid I was to even doubt the M8. Make no mistake about it: the One M8 is the sexiest handset you can buy today (or any day, as a matter of fact).
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| Some say it's "slippery to hold"...pfft, they must have butterfingers. |
Everything about it just looks and feels premium. The brushed metal finish (which HTC calls “hairlines”) at the back, the reflective/chrome-looking bezel, the metal “feel” has you grip the device in your palm (it’s now 90 percent metal after all)… no matter how you look at it, the One M8 is a definite luxury device. It makes my One X, which is actually pretty well designed itself, look and feel like a Samsung (quite an insult, I know), which says something. Just see for yourself!
UI/ Software Design
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| So sleek. |
The beauty of the HTC One (M8) is more than just skin-deep… beneath the premium build quality, you’ll find an UI just as elegant and sleek as its outer body. The One (M8) runs the Android 4.4.2 KitKat, which bring a cleaner look along with more Google search integration.
But the truth is, unless you’re a true tech geek, you probably won’t notice much difference compared to the Android Jellybean.
The new Sense 6 UI, however, got a more noticeable overhaul...some good, some bad. The most notable change, perhaps, is the new color bars on-top of apps, which switches color according to the app you're using (as seen in the pictures above).
Blinkfeed continues to be an impersonal way of “staying updated”, it’s now forced onto One M8 users as it takes up one of the 6 home screens. That’s one less for you to personalize… However, this latest Blinkfeed allows you to pick your favorite topics, such as "gaming news", and it'll return all the articles it finds relevant from the internet. What bugs me is that you can't choose the source (RSS feed)...but at least you can choose which country the article comes from, which is quite nice.
And speaking of personalization, Sense 6 still feels restricted in terms of customization. While there are now 4 themes to choose from, all it really does is change the colors of the apps tabs. Plus, the lock-screen themes (something I really loved on the Sense 5.5) have been removed...you can now only add certain widgets now, which frankly, doesn't work the same.
However, there's a neat new feature implemented in Sense 6, where you can double tap to unlock the phone, or swipe left/right/up to enter different screens instantaneously.
Display
The One M8 features a 5 inch LCD screen which produces bright, clear images with vibrant colors along with a wide viewing angle, which are very pleasing for the eye. With full HD resolution, everything looks crisp on the phone's screen...definitely a big plus!
Performance
Now now, again, I won’t be going technical. You can read all about the specs on a tech blog anyways… however, I do need to point out that the One M8 is extremely fast and smooth to use. In these 4 months, I’ve never experienced lag or sudden freeze-ups (which were quite a pain in the neck back in the One X days), and my, what a joy that is. Boot-up takes less than 10 seconds (every time), internet surfing is stable, and multitasking doesn't slow the phone down at all.
The battery life has dramatically improved since the original One, for the M8 can go almost 2 days without charging! If you use 3G, then it’ll last about 10 to 12 hours on a full charge. To compare, my One X only lasted less than a day with a full charge, and even less if I turned on 3G/Wi-fi. Also improved is the charging speed of the One M8, which according to HTC is now 75% quicker to charge than the previous One M7. While I haven’t timed the charging speed yet, it certainly does feel a lot quicker to fill up than the One X.
One of the biggest and greatest features of the One M8 has to be it’s improved front-facing “Boomsound” speakers. While the original One M7 had superb Boomsound speakers itself, the M8’s speakers are on a whole different level...it’s phenomenal. Songs sound so crisp and LOUD that I could easily replace it as my portable speakers. Trust me, these speakers are killer.
The most significant change to the One M8, however, is its new duo camera (and duo LED flash), which is great for the most part, unless you take your photography very seriously (although if you did, I can’t understand why you’d be using your phone as your camera). The 4 “Ultrapixel” camera takes good photos, which you can see below (much better compared to the One X which had 8 MP), and it performs extremely well in low light situations thanks to its Ultrapixel sensor.
However, in the broad daylight, the camera struggles a bit with the lighting, and I often end up with overexposed/underexposed pictures, while details always looks too “soft”. Don’t get me wrong, the pictures are not bad, it’s just not “exceptional” like some other phones on the market, mostly the Lumias, are capable of taking.
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| It also takes superb panoramas! |
However, in the broad daylight, the camera struggles a bit with the lighting, and I often end up with overexposed/underexposed pictures, while details always looks too “soft”. Don’t get me wrong, the pictures are not bad, it’s just not “exceptional” like some other phones on the market, mostly the Lumias, are capable of taking.
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| The trees/grass seem underexposed and look almost dead. |
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| HTC One (M8) - 4 "Ultrapixels" |
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| HTC One X - 8 Megapixels |
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| Depth of field effect (U-focus) |
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| Sketch effect |
You may be wondering, “so what’s that second camera for?”. Well, all it does really is capture depth information, so it can tell the distance of the objects in front. It’s pretty neat, as you can later make adjustments to the subject in front or the foreground, as seen in picture below. You can even create the shallow depth of field effect you get from professional DSLRs!
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| Animated cherry blossoms |
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| Cartoon background |
So the phone’s camera is great to have some fun with, especially if you use it for social media purposes (you can spice up your photos a bit with that duo camera). However, if you intend on using it as your “main camera” for more serious photography, I would recommend a Lumia instead. (Or just get a freaking camera for crying out loud…)
Another small issue that may arise is that the One M8 isn’t waterproof...unlike other competing flagships such as the Galaxy S5 or Xperia Z2. No worries though, it’s not as if you’re going to be pouring water over your phone every day… although I did feel somewhat disappointed when I was at the pool some days ago.
Sample Pictures from the One (M8)
Conclusion
The HTC One (M8) is a superb looking phone with great performance, marred by a somewhat mediocre camera (which really shouldn't make much of a difference, asides less positive reviews from tech blogs), making it one of the very best android phones on the market (if you don’t take your photography too seriously on your phone).
And on a side note, HTC has done it. They’ve won me over and convinced me that the One (M8) it’s time to let go of the One X. ( I still love my One X though, and I’m still using it...long live the One X!) Which means you should also be convinced that the HTC One (M8) might just be the best smartphone you can buy on the market.
Pros
- Fabulous industrial design
- 90% metal makes it feel premium
- Epic “Boomsound” speakers
- Clean and sleek UI
- Great full HD (1920x1080) display
- Solid battery life
- Fun camera software and advanced camera modes
Cons
- Mediocre camera
- Limited personalization
- Not waterproof (not a major issue though)
YUI Rating: 9/10
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