HTC One M8
The HTC One M8 is HTC’s flagship phone of 2014 and takes over from its predecessor the HTC One.
The original HTC One left a large gap for the M8 to fill, it was the company’s best-selling phone ever and won various awards, such as the 2014 Global Mobile Award for Best Smartphone.
So does the HTC One M8 live up to the standard?
Thankfully, we can truthfully say YES. It is sure to be remembered as one of the best phones of the year, +HTC has done well with this one.
Design:
I would be wrong to say that the M8 is ANYTHING but GORGEOUS.
The quality of the materials and the finish really shine, it boasts a new curvier design, from the metal back to the Gorilla Glass front, and it is stunning.
It has a sturdy cold feel of metal while remaining light enough to not weigh you down on your long Twitter’ing sprees!
The quality of the materials and the finish really shine, it boasts a new curvier design, from the metal back to the Gorilla Glass front, and it is stunning.
It has a sturdy cold feel of metal while remaining light enough to not weigh you down on your long Twitter’ing sprees!
There are dual rear cameras, a front facing camera, plus the front facing BoomSound speakers, which all tie into the design as expect, you can tell a lot of thought was put into the aesthetics of the M8.
As for colour, the HTC One M8 comes in 3 colours ‘Gunmetal Grey’ (which is what I have), ‘Amber Gold’ and ‘Glacial Silver’, all of which in my opinion look great. So you won’t be disappointed.
HTC decided to switch to Nano-sim as opposed to the more traditional Micro-sim, you can get these sent by your provider for free usually so it’s not a big deal, but might be an issue initially for some.
The M8 also incorporates a new Micro-SD card slot which enables you to upgrade your storage and is a much welcome addition!
HTC decided to switch to Nano-sim as opposed to the more traditional Micro-sim, you can get these sent by your provider for free usually so it’s not a big deal, but might be an issue initially for some.
The M8 also incorporates a new Micro-SD card slot which enables you to upgrade your storage and is a much welcome addition!
A few funky additions are on the cards too, such as the top mounted IR blaster (inside the Power Button) which enables users to control their TVs as well as various other devices, I’ve had a bit of fun with this one!
As far as interface goes, the M8 uses Android 4.4 with a new revision of HTC’s custom interface, Sense 6.
You have your standard back and home buttons, but also the Android multi-tasking app button which lets you see what apps are running and close them down if you so wish, very handy.
HTC has applied its own visual style with the M8 interface, but it is familiar enough for casual Android users that it’s very easy to navigate.
You have your standard back and home buttons, but also the Android multi-tasking app button which lets you see what apps are running and close them down if you so wish, very handy.
HTC has applied its own visual style with the M8 interface, but it is familiar enough for casual Android users that it’s very easy to navigate.
From the lock screen, you have the ability to swipe three ways, each one doing a different job, you can swipe up to simply unlock, swipe left to access a specific set app or screen, or swipe right to access Blinkfeed.
Blinkfeed provides you with a scrollable page of Twitter, Facebook and other app messages, as well as being able to pull in articles from your favourite websites. I personally didn’t use this as much as I thought I would, but I am sure there are many that would.
Blinkfeed provides you with a scrollable page of Twitter, Facebook and other app messages, as well as being able to pull in articles from your favourite websites. I personally didn’t use this as much as I thought I would, but I am sure there are many that would.
Sound:
BoomSound, BoomSound, BoomSound, this is all you will hear when the sound of the HTC One M8 is mentioned, and for VERY good reason. These are quite easily the best sounding built-in speakers on ANY handset to date.
Thumping lows and crisp highs, it is everything you could hope from handset speakers and they do the job wonderfully. It makes listening to music a joy, and represents the songs far better than other competitors’ speakers.
Everything from calls to music is easy to hear, clear and earns much respect for the system designers, it is truly the way forward for sound system designs in phones.
Thumping lows and crisp highs, it is everything you could hope from handset speakers and they do the job wonderfully. It makes listening to music a joy, and represents the songs far better than other competitors’ speakers.
Everything from calls to music is easy to hear, clear and earns much respect for the system designers, it is truly the way forward for sound system designs in phones.
The only small problem I witnessed was when playing games, occasionally your hands will cover up the speakers, but in all honestly it isn’t much to complain about.
Camera:
The M8 houses dual cameras on the rear and one front facing camera, the setup on the back is what intrigued me most.
There are 2 lenses and 2 sensors, the top most being the camera that provides depth data which can be used by the software to recognize what in the scene is closest and what is furthest.
This allows you to apply a multitude of effects in post, such as using ‘UFocus’ which enables you to artificially choose a specific point of interest and play around with the Depth of Field.
There are 2 lenses and 2 sensors, the top most being the camera that provides depth data which can be used by the software to recognize what in the scene is closest and what is furthest.
This allows you to apply a multitude of effects in post, such as using ‘UFocus’ which enables you to artificially choose a specific point of interest and play around with the Depth of Field.
The main rear camera is a 4 ‘Ultrapixel’ sensor, and the depth data sensor is of lower optical quality, but that doesn’t matter as it doesn’t supply any actual image data to the final image.
The front facing camera is 5 Megapixels, and provides fantastic ‘selfie’ images for all those concerned!
So what is an ‘Ultrapixel’? An Ultrapixel is in laymen terms just LARGER pixels, which inherently provide better low light performance, and in some cases better quality in general.
The front facing camera is 5 Megapixels, and provides fantastic ‘selfie’ images for all those concerned!
So what is an ‘Ultrapixel’? An Ultrapixel is in laymen terms just LARGER pixels, which inherently provide better low light performance, and in some cases better quality in general.
In my day to day testing, I found that compared to other leading phones the HTC One M8 DID provide better low light images, less noise and better saturation and contrast.
During the daylight however I wasn’t as impressed, there is a lot of purple fringing in high contrast areas, and detail is not up to par with other ‘Higher Megapixel’ handsets.
Although I’m sure if they managed to put an 8 ‘Ultrapixel’ sensor up against the likes of the iPhone 5S, it would trump it in all respects. It’s an innovation that I would like to see HTC expand on and I’m sure in the future they will.
There are various modes built-in with the Camera App that the M8 uses, and they are all pretty standard nowadays so I won’t go into detail, but I can assure you it offers something for everyone.
From typical landscape, portrait, macro photo modes, to Slow Motion and HDR video modes, you will certainly be likely to find what you need.
During the daylight however I wasn’t as impressed, there is a lot of purple fringing in high contrast areas, and detail is not up to par with other ‘Higher Megapixel’ handsets.
Although I’m sure if they managed to put an 8 ‘Ultrapixel’ sensor up against the likes of the iPhone 5S, it would trump it in all respects. It’s an innovation that I would like to see HTC expand on and I’m sure in the future they will.
There are various modes built-in with the Camera App that the M8 uses, and they are all pretty standard nowadays so I won’t go into detail, but I can assure you it offers something for everyone.
From typical landscape, portrait, macro photo modes, to Slow Motion and HDR video modes, you will certainly be likely to find what you need.
Was overall impressed with the ability of the phone and even used it in our food blog to capture some snaps and at larger web size they are pretty great, so for consumer use it will work a treat.
Screen:
A 5inch 1080p SLED screen with a 441ppi pixel density, bright, truthful colours it is everything a flagship phone screen should be.
The screen response times are fantastic, allowing you to easily read text even while using your finger to scroll.
The M8 screen can go VERY bright if you pump up the brightness slider, which I never do personally as I can imagine that draining the battery life.
To be honest it doesn’t need that level of brightness unless it’s an especially sunny day (not TOO likely in the UK most years).
Deep blacks, fairly consistent whites and top notch viewing angles also help to broaden the viewing experience, and is especially noticeable in darker rooms.
The screen response times are fantastic, allowing you to easily read text even while using your finger to scroll.
The M8 screen can go VERY bright if you pump up the brightness slider, which I never do personally as I can imagine that draining the battery life.
To be honest it doesn’t need that level of brightness unless it’s an especially sunny day (not TOO likely in the UK most years).
Deep blacks, fairly consistent whites and top notch viewing angles also help to broaden the viewing experience, and is especially noticeable in darker rooms.
I don’t really have many complaints in day to day use of the phone and it holds up VERY well to it’s competitors, an overall great screen.
Performance:
The HTC One M8 uses the Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, and also utilizes their ‘Motion Launch’ processor which monitors their sensors while also in standby.
These specs are on par with other flagships and you notice the same fantastic performance, from just the general swiping around the phone to hardcore gaming, you will be impressed.
I tried a variety of games that are quite well known to test the hardware capabilities of tablets/handsets, such as EA’s Real Racing 3, and the M8 handled it gracefully.
Occasional dips in performance but not enough to hamper the playability of the game, and I think that is more down to the developers perhaps not utilising all the power the handset offers, rather than the M8 not being up to the job.
These specs are on par with other flagships and you notice the same fantastic performance, from just the general swiping around the phone to hardcore gaming, you will be impressed.
I tried a variety of games that are quite well known to test the hardware capabilities of tablets/handsets, such as EA’s Real Racing 3, and the M8 handled it gracefully.
Occasional dips in performance but not enough to hamper the playability of the game, and I think that is more down to the developers perhaps not utilising all the power the handset offers, rather than the M8 not being up to the job.
Battery & Call Quality:
The one thing people want from a handset (which funnily enough isn’t as widely talked about as the sound/graphics capabilities) is a reliable phone that has good battery life and good call quality.
After all, what is the use of a fancy phone that can’t handle actually phoning people!?
Glad to say that this is another area that the HTC One M8 shines, the call quality is fantastic, reception is held just fine with minimal drops, and the battery life is great.
I can quite EASILY manage a full day of standard use, calls, internet, a bit of gaming and only have to charge it overnight. This is all anyone can ask for of such a large screened, powerful phone, and is more than sufficient for day to day use.
After all, what is the use of a fancy phone that can’t handle actually phoning people!?
Glad to say that this is another area that the HTC One M8 shines, the call quality is fantastic, reception is held just fine with minimal drops, and the battery life is great.
I can quite EASILY manage a full day of standard use, calls, internet, a bit of gaming and only have to charge it overnight. This is all anyone can ask for of such a large screened, powerful phone, and is more than sufficient for day to day use.
Conclusion:
A worthy successor to the already great HTC One, the HTC One M8 will be sure to win over many more fans for HTC over the coming year.
Feature rich, fast, accessible and stylish, it’s a big thumbs up from us.
Go follow HTC - @HTC on Twitter
Feature rich, fast, accessible and stylish, it’s a big thumbs up from us.
Go follow HTC - @HTC on Twitter
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