HTC One 2014 (M8)

[dawheat]

After owning a G2, I have to say that if a phone doesn't have physical buttons, then they absolutely need some sort of gesture based on/off. The knock-on/off feature is far far better than having to find the power button on the side or back of any phone.

Is it useful for an iPhone or Samsung phone? Not really - I tried a couple on my Note 3 and S4, but found it no faster/convenient than hitting the physical home button. With the S-view cases, it's doubly unnecessary.

 

[Red Storm]

After owning a G2, I have to say that if a phone doesn't have physical buttons, then they absolutely need some sort of gesture based on/off. The knock-on/off feature is far far better than having to find the power button on the side or back of any phone.

Is it useful for an iPhone or Samsung phone? Not really - I tried a couple on my Note 3 and S4, but found it no faster/convenient than hitting the physical home button. With the S-view cases, it's doubly unnecessary.

The home button only takes care of turning the device on though, not off. Knock on is still better IMHO.

 

[dawheat]

The home button only takes care of turning the device on though, not off. Knock on is still better IMHO.

Fair enough, though I've used s-view cases long enough that I don't ever think about turning my Samsung phones off.

 

[kaerflog]

If only HTC didn't have that useless HTC logo on the bottom.
All screen with just the speaker bars top and bottom would have been excellent.

 

[Rdmkr]

http://www.gsmarena.com/the_all_new_htc_one_appears_in_a_lengthy_photo_session-news-7992.php

size comparison between HTC ONE MAX and HTC M8

 

[blairharrington]

The bottom phone in those pictures is the One Max.

 

[lothar]

The bottom phone in those pictures is the One Max.

Good thing you mentioned that. I was about to go all out on HTC for that one.

 

[dlock13]

I'm getting this phone. I don't care about that bezel. It is looking to be a good, good phone.

 

[zerogear]

http://www.gsmarena.com/exclusive_heres_why_the_htc_m8_has_two_cameras-news-8002.php

Seems like it will have double tap to wake. For people that seem to really want it.

 

[blairharrington]

Tap to wake is a blessing. It makes the placement of the wake button irrelevant. I'm happy to see it included here. I'm guessing this means tap to sleep too?

My confusion comes from the carrier rep on Reddit saying you can swipe to wake, access content, etc. I'd like to see the option for swipe to wake too.

At this point the only letdown could be from the MP of those back cameras. Regardless I'll be pre-ordering.

 

[cronos]

Hands free waking/sleeping are awesome features. I'm glad that manufacturers are incorporating these to their phones.

I've had swipe-to-wake/sleep on my HTC One with mod/custom kernel for a while now and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Zaap]

Their marketing is amazingly bad. Look at their 2 latest videos on YouTube. Embarrassing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0brzd7BfM4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzNgVIZirDk

LOL!
Actually quite fitting for HTC's rudderless flagship.

 

[dawheat]

Umm if this is true, wow, no good. It's so off I have to assume it's fake.

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_2014_detailed_specs-news-8008.php

146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 is massive for a 5" screen phone and 160 grams is very heavy. 2600mAh battery is also a bit disappointing, especially considering how much larger the phone is than the S5 and having a non-removable battery to boot. It's way closer to the height and weight of a Note 3 than it is to the 2013 HTC One.

136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, 130 grams - S4
137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm, 143 grams - 2013 HTC One
151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm, 168 grams - Note 3

 

[kpkp]

Makes sense to me, 1st HTC One was huge for a 4.7"... since the "macro" design remains the same, I expect the 2nd to be huge for a 5".

 

[vshah]

newsflash - stereo front facing speakers make a phone bigger

 

[Bateluer]

146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 is massive for a 5" screen phone and 160 grams is very heavy. 2600mAh battery is also a bit disappointing, especially considering how much larger the phone is than the S5 and having a non-removable battery to boot.

Seeing how the 2013 One had comparable battery to a GS4 with a 2300mah bat vs the 2600mah bat in the GS4, I think we'll be fine with a 2600mah juicepack in the 2014 One.

 

[Red Storm]

I am loving the LED cover case:

If it works with the Google Play Edition I just might have to switch phones again.

 

[dawheat]

Seeing how the 2013 One had comparable battery to a GS4 with a 2300mah bat vs the 2600mah bat in the GS4, I think we'll be fine with a 2600mah juicepack in the 2014 One.

I don't know if I agree - expectations go up with every generation and the G2 has set the bar pretty high with a 3000mAh non-removable battery in a phone 6 months old.

Samsung seems to have given quite a bit of attention on battery life with the S5 along with their addition of some enhancements from Lucid on power management. And there was also some disappointment with the battery size regardless.

I do think it's fair to be disappointed in a 2600mAh non-removable battery in a phone the size and thickness of the M8. I wouldn't be surprised if the G3 has an even larger battery than the G2.

 

[Bateluer]

I don't know if I agree - expectations go up with every generation and the G2 has set the bar pretty high with a 3000mAh non-removable battery in a phone 6 months old.

Samsung seems to have given quite a bit of attention on battery life with the S5 along with their addition of some enhancements from Lucid on power management. And there was also some disappointment with the battery size regardless.

I do think it's fair to be disappointed in a 2600mAh non-removable battery in a phone the size and thickness of the M8. I wouldn't be surprised if the G3 has an even larger battery than the G2.

Keep in mind, the current One has a 2300mah battery life and easily hangs with phones with 2600/2800/3000mah juice packs. HTC, for their faults, do actually know how to design a phone. They've come a long way since the Thunderbolt and Evo 4G.

 

[openwheel]

So far HTC One appears to be the best flagship.

 

[dawheat]

So far HTC One appears to be the best flagship.

On paper IMO I'd give that crown to the Sony Z2 myself if you don't mind big phones. About the same size as the M8, much bigger battery, equally good build quality, stereo speakers.

Frankly I want to see low light photos from all the flagships as I think that, and real life battery life, will be where we see more differentiation.

 

[dawheat]

Keep in mind, the current One has a 2300mah battery life and easily hangs with phones with 2600/2800/3000mah juice packs. HTC, for their faults, do actually know how to design a phone. They've come a long way since the Thunderbolt and Evo 4G.

I don't think we're disagreeing. You rightfully believe that the current One had competitive battery life against the S4. However the G2 blew both phones out of the water when it came to battery life (yes it's not just the battery) and frankly it feels like Samsung was much more serious with the S5 regarding real life usage.

Just taking a wild guess, if the specs turn out to be true, I think the S5 will be closer to the G2 battery life, but still less, with the M8 a bit below both. Disappointing in my opinion b/c I had hoped the G2 would be the start of all OEMs taking all-day battery life seriously. I had thought 3000mAh was going to be the floor for the 2014 flagship phones.

 

[blairharrington]

The M8 and Xperia Z2 are physically very similar devices, assuming the GSMArena specs hold true.

Both have dual front stereo speakers. Whether one is better than the other remains to be seen.

The Z2 is waterproof and features a 20.7 MP shooter.

The M8 features a curved back and I'll take metal over glass any day.

The Z2 has flaps over its ports which drove me crazy on the S4 Active. The M8 appears to still feature a 4MP camera regardless of what the 2nd camera is so you probably are still limited when it comes to cropping or blowing up photos.

In America the M8 should be available on all 4 major carriers from day one, it's unlikely the Z2 is coming to Verizon and last year AT&T didn't even sell the Z and ZL and they currently don't offer the Z1 or Z1S.

 

[blairharrington]

Motion Launch. Double Tap to wake. Swipe Up to unlock.

 

[Red Storm]

Motion Launch. Double Tap to wake. Swipe Up to unlock.

If you have to actually pick it up before doing double tap then HTC is full of fail. Half the convenience of double tap is doing it while your phone is on the desk or whatnot.