The HTC One: A Remarkable Device, Anand’s mini Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 21, 2013 4:49 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
Final Words and the Galaxy S 4 Comparison
The One is without a doubt the best Android smartphone I’ve ever used. HTC’s build quality and materials choices have been steadily improving over the past couple of years and I honestly don’t know a more fitting name for its latest flagship other than the One - it’s the one to get. Even iPhone users looking for something different might be tempted by the One.
For me it’s the camera performance and the highlights reel that really seal the deal. The fact that the One is an excellent looking device built out of top notch materials is just icing on the cake.
The rest of the spec list is equally fitting. I’m glad to see 802.11ac make the list. The great speakers and display are both useful and impressive.
Sense took a real step towards subtlety with 5.0, and it’s finally at a point where I don’t really mind the customizations. My preference is still for vanilla Android, but the latest iteration of Sense is far closer than it has ever been. The real trick is ensuring timely updates with major Android releases. If you’re an infrequent smartphone upgrader, the Nexus line is still the best option there.
Despite how well the One does in the build quality, looks and camera departments, HTC has an uphill battle ahead of itself. Samsung is clearly the dominating incumbent in the Android space, and it has the luxury of an order of magnitude higher quarterly revenues to support its smartphone business. If there ever was a David v Goliath race in the smartphone space, it would be between HTC and Samsung.
Zoe and the highlights reel are great features that need marketing to demonstrate and spread their word. The litany of new camera and interaction features that accompany the Galaxy S 4 will likely translate very well to cleverly crafted TV ads. I’d argue that HTC’s camera features (great low light performance, highlights reel) are more useful to me personally, but Samsung’s features (touchless scrolling, dual camera, smart pause) are easier sells to the mainstream smartphone market. Similarly, design and materials choices are obvious advantages for the One, but it’s easier to market a thinner and lighter phone.
Ultimately, HTC appears to have built a great phone for enthusiasts and one that can be marketed, with some effort, to the mainstream. Samsung, by comparison, seems to have its targets set squarely at the mainstream and it has the features and the marketing budget to really capture the attention of that audience. You can argue about the merits of features like the ability to automatically pause video based on whether or not you’re looking at it - personally I’d take better camera performance - but that’s a much easier feature to explain in a TV commercial than why larger pixels matter.
The One is expected to be widely available beginning next month.
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RicGrupe - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
As a photographer, I can assure you that the amount of "megapixels" is not a determining factor to image quality.....but, rather a consideration.Your eyes will do the determining!
Smaller file sizes and the need for less storage, IMO, are more meaningful for this type of photography.
Death666Angel - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Nice first look. You are missing PPI for the iPhone5 in the table. :) Thanks for the metric units used!I doubt I'll be buying a smartphone in '13 (still very happy with my GNexus). But both the One and the S4 look nice. But I'd probably take an S4 over the One. Material choice is moot for me, all my smartphones get stuffed into full cover cases and I don't see them again unless I'm changing the SIM, the battery or the SD card. While I can tolerate Touchwiz I cannot stand Sense (though I'd use none in the long run). I also have less faith in HTC updating the software and the community always seems larger with Samsung devices. And I don't like that HTC locks the bootloader for non-developer devices. 32GB is great for the low-end configuration of the One. But I'd still take a 16GB S4 with mSD slot over 32GB onboard with no mSD slot. I don't use the camera on my phones for anything worth remembering a day later. So I really don't care much about either camera. SGS2 camera was very good. GNexus is fine as well. If all were equal, I'd chose the One over the S4 because of the camera though. As for screen, I like my AMOLED and I like 5". Coming from a 4.7" device, I would not upgrade to a 4.7" device if the competition was offering bigger screens. I'd take a Note2 if I was going to upgrade this year. Hell, maybe the Note3 will get me to upgrade. For me, the larger the better until ~6". I don't see myself using either Zoe or the highlights reel a lot either.
What is your distinction between enthusiasts and mainstream users. You say the One is geared towards enthusiasts while the S4 is for mainstream users. Based on what features do you make that assessment? I consider myself an enthusiasts (albeit with a limited budget) but I don't think the HTC One caters to me (see my paragraph above).
I hope the One sells well for HTC.
I got an email from my carrier some days ago that they were the firsts to send out HTC Ones worldwide. Seems like the people who ordered one from them will be getting it at the start of next week. :)
Pjotr - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
You don't wanna make iPhone look bad, so you omitted the DPI on the screen for it?phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
It's 306PPIGimpsUnlimited - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Wait, this little phone as an 802.11 ac radio and yet I can't buy one for my laptop? What the #$%! I want 802.11 ac module wifi module for my laptop now.groundhogdaze - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
Can someone point out to me why it's so hard to include an SD Card slot? Is there some sort of patent royalty involve? Does it significantly drop battery life? "Because you don't need it" is not a strong case for excluding a feature that some folks are pretty fervent about. Many people do not need it but enough people still want it for it to be a marketable feature. Consumers are looking for the best bang for the buck, having an SD slot gives you a cheaper alternative than paying $100 for the next 32GB increment up. Listening to some of the folks on this thread, 32GB would all that you need, the manufacturers shouldn't even waste their time with the 64GB models. Is there some reason you don't want the slot? There might even be dirt cheap 128GB SD cards a year or two down the road - but you won't be able to use that unless your phone has a slot. Having extra storage allows us more ways to be creative with what we do with the devices. Why not include it?? "Oh 32GB is a loss leader, they can only make money if they sell 64GB to you. Poor manufacturers, boo hoo"... Don't give me that crap, I don't care. I am consumer. I want Bang for the Buck! I want Love me Long Time! Give it to me.Samsung teabagged HTC on the last go around - does HTC really want a repeat? Put the SD card slot in and be done with it...
tommo123 - Saturday, March 23, 2013 - link
IMO google don't want mSD so you have to use google drive and pay them for more space for your stuffhaze4peace - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
They chose to omit mSD slot for the form factor.piroroadkill - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
Yeah, just not true. Plenty of thin phones that have micro SD. Also, mSD would be "milli SD", no such thing exists, so surely it would be µSD if we're going to use an incorrect form of "micro SD" in the first place.haze4peace - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
They didn't omit it for the thinness, but for the unibody design.