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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Mook1e - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Read back one page and you'll see one person who used those features in the last two weeks. Me.phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
So, stop bringing it up.Let sleeping dogs lie.
half_duplex - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Many of you are missing a very important factor. The HTC One will compete not only with Samsung, but also Apple.I don't feel there are very many Apple users who look at the Galaxy line as a serious option, they are too far apart. Apple users are accustomed to top of the line fit and finish, Samsumg users expect the top spot on the specs chart and the largest screen.
I am an iPhone 4 user who's waiting on an Android device for the first time. I'm getting a more powerful device, a larger (not too large) screen, but I don't have to take a step back in build quality.
I don't mind the camera issues, but it would be nice to see this thing launch with the latest Android.
phillyry - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
+1krumme - Wednesday, March 27, 2013 - link
Well you should have no problem as you are used to a smaller screen in a big, heavy and fragile chassis and old softwareDEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
But you're saying you don't have the imagination to see that you could use replaceable battery and SD slots? I am just saying HTC really goofed on omitting those, having those would win them a ton of customers given the higher build quality of the HTC ONE.brandensilva - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Well I certainly plan on getting this phone in the next couple of weeks due to its impeccable housing body and performance. I'm willing to sacrifice the battery and SD storage to be honest. That's hard to say as a techy but I've come to find those features to be unnecessary even for me after I went that route last time. I know I can root this and throw whatever OS I want on it, so sense 5 is a non-issue; although I may give this sense a try as its slimmer.I got tired of changing batteries and losing track of which one was charged and which one was not. I got tired of swapping around SD cards too. I just want a phone that works well, looks good (since I have to stare at the thing often) and can do what I need it to do. Speed, OS customization, and functionality are far more important to me these days.
I think most people don't care about batteries and additional SD slots. It's easy to see that today. Nexus line = no sd card. HTC is going the same route. The iPhone has already been there since its inception. Other handsets following suit or already gone that way.
I did the family test and I'm the only one in my extended family out of 50 or so smartphone users who has ever bought more batteries and sd cards. Half the family uses iphones, the other android. I'm sure if more people in my family were techies, those odds would go up for these features but people just need to stop arguing that these are critical features for the majority of users; they are not and they never be.
With that said, I know there is a small market for these features and I'm sure Samsung will be more than happy to cater to that.
brandensilva - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
I forgot to add the co-worker test. When I worked at a tech company with a group of 18 or so techies, over half of us had additional sd cards and batteries. It's clear, that the I.T industry loves more space (or pr0n I'm not sure) and juice. But then again, it could have just been a "my wang is bigger than yours" statement kind of thing too. I see the trend dying off more and more as internal space progresses.I also witnessed two iphone switch overs and they were content not worrying about the storage/battery stuff anymore. I'm at the same point myself but I just can't bring myself to the iPhone as I got my iPad for my iOS needs.
DEECEE - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I am glad you can let go, but why do you have to let go? I'd love to buy the ONE, but why would a product force you to let go? SD card with 64GB internal storage may not be needed, OK, I can tolerate that, but no replaceable battery? I don't need a spare to carry around, but I know one day that battery will die and I don't want to throw away my device just for a replaceable part, especially if I actually like the ONE. I still have my StarTac's, and with a new battery, they work perfectly well.superflex - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
It would be nice if the comments were devoid of fanboi bravado and would focus on the device at hand.Just imagine if the One had an AMD based GPU. Cerise would have an aneurysm and the comments would have expanded to 100 pages with his trolling.
As soon as this becomes available, I'm buying one and shelving the OG EVO.