HTC One 2014 (M8)

[sze5003]

Indeed. From most of what I'm seeing, the S5 beats the M8 in literally every single category. Thinner, lighter, better screen, more battery life, camera, etc.

In that category I hated how the s4 still felt like plastic to some point. The m7 I feel is the right weight. I still have my droid DNA and that is a decent weight too.

For some reason the s5 looks like a band aid.

 

[zerogear]

http://www.cultofandroid.com/60649/jeff-gordon-explains-point-black-area-beneath-screen-one-m8/

Space behind HTC logo isn't "free space". For people who were bitching about it.

 

[WelshBloke]

http://www.cultofandroid.com/60649/jeff-gordon-explains-point-black-area-beneath-screen-one-m8/

Space behind HTC logo isn't "free space". For people who were bitching about it.

Given how big the phone is I'm having a hard time believing they couldn't put that stuff somewhere else like every other manufacturer.
Or just put some capacitive buttons on it.

 

[sze5003]

Not having capacitative buttons allows developers to map any type of button they want to function for multiple different scenarios.

 

[dawheat]

http://www.cultofandroid.com/60649/jeff-gordon-explains-point-black-area-beneath-screen-one-m8/

Space behind HTC logo isn't "free space". For people who were bitching about it.

Umm that's a horrible explanation for a marketing guy. Of course it's not 'empty' space. However you have a phone that's substantially larger and thicker than competitors, yet can't package components in a way to avoid this dead space? Great at external design, bad at internal packaging.

 

[vshah]

Umm that's a horrible explanation for a marketing guy. Of course it's not 'empty' space. However you have a phone that's substantially larger and thicker than competitors, yet can't package components in a way to avoid this dead space? Great at external design, bad at internal packaging.

on all other phones without front facing speakers, those components go in the bezel between the bottom of the screen and the bottom of the phone. on this phone the front facing speaker takes up almost all of that volume. the other components have to be moved up.

it was either stretch the phone or make it thicker.

 

[kpkp]

With the mess that goes on under the hood, I am not surprised they run out of space. Honestly I never saw so many flat cables in a phone and the circuit board area looks way bigger then the competition.

vs.

 

[ChronoReverse]

In terms of engineering, HTC phones have always been a bit of a mess with copper tape everywhere. They look good on the outside though.

 

[zerogear]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2694621&page=66

Shots by HTC M8, I don't find them too bad at all, it seems pretty good in general, though I wouldn't recommend it for posters/large print outs.

 

[Red Storm]

So I got to see this in person the other day... what a huge phone. The Note line is huge too but it's justified because you get a very nice big screen with it. The One is nearly as big as the Note 3 but the screen is SO much smaller. Design wise I think last year's One was much better.

Also got to mess around with the S5, it felt really light! I was surprised, and the back is no where near as bad seeing it in person. Somehow, Samsung did very little and they did a better job than HTC, in my opinion anyway.

 

[sze5003]

So I got to see this in person the other day... what a huge phone. The Note line is huge too but it's justified because you get a very nice big screen with it. The One is nearly as big as the Note 3 but the screen is SO much smaller. Design wise I think last year's One was much better.

Also got to mess around with the S5, it felt really light! I was surprised, and the back is no where near as bad seeing it in person. Somehow, Samsung did very little and they did a better job than HTC, in my opinion anyway.

Have not seen it in person yet, is it really that big? I mean the note looks wider.

 

[zerogear]

Because they have front speakers, which takes up space. I'm not sure why people aren't taking that into consideration. IMO, it's a much better device than S5

 

[Red Storm]

Have not seen it in person yet, is it really that big? I mean the note looks wider.

Side by side

The Note is wider, but look at the actual screen size difference. Also the One is closer to the Note 3's weight than the S5.

 

[Red Storm]

Because they have front speakers, which takes up space. I'm not sure why people aren't taking that into consideration. IMO, it's a much better device than S5

Then Sony and HTC should maybe rethink their strategy, cause these giant bezels with large phones just looks bad, with or without front speakers.

 

[IeraseU]

IMO, they sort of 'botched' the rear camera. Sure, the selective focus thing is kind of nice to have, but even nicer is having the ability to crop images. This is especially important when using a fixed lens with no zoom function.

On the other hand, I love the front facing 5mp shooter. With 'selfies' going mainstream, that's definitely the future.

 

[zerogear]

Then Sony and HTC should maybe rethink their strategy, cause these giant bezels with large phones just looks bad, with or without front speakers.

Looks fine to me. I'm not really one of those people who see bezel and go "OMGWTF BEZEL NOWAI". If they have actual function/benefits to the device, I'm perfectly fine with it.

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/si...ung-Galaxy-S5/phones/8148,8242,8323,7984,8202

And with S5 added to the mix, doesn't seem like HTC One M8 is overly large either.

 

[sze5003]

I don't mind bezel I like front speakers so it's necessary for the HTC one.

 

[Fritzo]

Side by side

The Note is wider, but look at the actual screen size difference. Also the One is closer to the Note 3's weight than the S5.

It's not as bad as people make it out to be. It feels very comfortable and fits in my pocket just fine.

 

[Red Storm]

It's not as bad as people make it out to be. It feels very comfortable and fits in my pocket just fine.

Note 3 fits in my pocket just fine too, I'm just saying I only get phones that large because they come with awesome large screens. With the One you're getting the same huge phone but with a much smaller screen.

Anyhow, at least the battery life has greatly improved.

 

[Owls]

I'm sorry the Note 3 is uncomfortably large compared to the M8. I had the Note 2 for 8 months and after a while I couldn't wait to get rid of it

 

[Fritzo]

Note 3 fits in my pocket just fine too, I'm just saying I only get phones that large because they come with awesome large screens. With the One you're getting the same huge phone but with a much smaller screen.

Anyhow, at least the battery life has greatly improved.

...and stereo speakers. That's what's taking up that extra space.

 

[ibex333]

How is the M8's in-call volume? Last time I checked(with m7) it was vastly superior to any of the Samsung's phones which require being pressed against the ear to hear anything. (with HTC you can hold the phone a few inches away from the ear and hear just fine)

Also, how's the speakerphone? With the Note 3 and GS4 people cannot hear me unless I am talking right into the phone, which makes it useless. With iPhone 5 I used to be able to talk from other side of the room.

I think in-call volume is much more important than 4k video, air gestures, or 16 megapixels... Maybe it's just me though.

 

[Fritzo]

How is the M8's in-call volume? Last time I checked(with m7) it was vastly superior to any of the Samsung's phones which require being pressed against the ear to hear anything. (with HTC you can hold the phone a few inches away from the ear and hear just fine)

Also, how's the speakerphone? With the Note 3 and GS4 people cannot hear me unless I am talking right into the phone, which makes it useless. With iPhone 5 I used to be able to talk from other side of the room.

I think in-call volume is much more important than 4k video, air gestures, or 16 megapixels... Maybe it's just me though.

I can be 6' away and the speakerphone still works fine. As far as in-ear volume, if you turn the volume past 3/4 you're deaf.

 

[Qbah]

I have the HTC One and I'm tempted getting the M8... the camera on my One is broken though (purple hue on everything, I can forget about pictures). And while the phone lasts me through the day, if I happen to be back only the next day, the battery is dead before I'm back... Also the button backlight is broken. The USB port is rather clunky too, it's sometimes hard to plug it in (and a friend of mine had her port burn down!)

I really love the size, weight and how the One feels in my hand. And apparently the M8 feels even better (I'm gonna check it out in a store).

But, the camera is the same on the M8, so that worries me a lot. Battery size is bigger, but it's still only 2600mAh. I see the USB port is the same too... The buttons are on screen now, so that problem is gone.

I was thinking about the Sony Xperia Z2 this round. But I don't know if the battery will last longer than the M8 (even though it's 3200mAh). Reports saying the phone feels awkward in the hand, which I would absolutely hate :/ Camera also not the best, even though it's 20MP. But I really like how the phone looks like, the charging ports look really nice (I won't have to plug in through USB) and the shape looks nice in general.

So what do you guys think? Will Anand review the Z2? He did the One M8 and he almost convinced me to get it If he would review the Z2, I would have a direct comparison in battery life, camera and usability in general and it would be a lot easier for me to make up my mind.

Also, will the Z2 last longer and have a better camera than the One M8?

 

[Fritzo]

I have the HTC One and I'm tempted getting the M8... the camera on my One is broken though (purple hue on everything, I can forget about pictures). And while the phone lasts me through the day, if I happen to be back only the next day, the battery is dead before I'm back... Also the button backlight is broken. The USB port is rather clunky too, it's sometimes hard to plug it in (and a friend of mine had her port burn down!)

I really love the size, weight and how the One feels in my hand. And apparently the M8 feels even better (I'm gonna check it out in a store).

But, the camera is the same on the M8, so that worries me a lot. Battery size is bigger, but it's still only 2600mAh. I see the USB port is the same too... The buttons are on screen now, so that problem is gone.

I was thinking about the Sony Xperia Z2 this round. But I don't know if the battery will last longer than the M8 (even though it's 3200mAh). Reports saying the phone feels awkward in the hand, which I would absolutely hate :/ Camera also not the best, even though it's 20MP. But I really like how the phone looks like, the charging ports look really nice (I won't have to plug in through USB) and the shape looks nice in general.

So what do you guys think? Will Anand review the Z2? He did the One M8 and he almost convinced me to get it If he would review the Z2, I would have a direct comparison in battery life, camera and usability in general and it would be a lot easier for me to make up my mind.

Also, will the Z2 last longer and have a better camera than the One M8?

The camera sensor is from a different manufacturer, and it has a new front camera. I can't recommend the M8 enough (my office-mate returned his S5 after playing with my M8 ).