The HTC One (M8) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on March 26, 2014 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
Battery Life
The new One features an integrated 3.8V 2600mAh battery (9.88 Wh), a 13% increase in capacity compared to the previous model. The battery comparison isn’t that simple however. The M8 has a larger display (5” vs 4.7”) but it also has a higher performing and more power efficient SoC (Snapdragon 801 vs. 600). To find out how the new One stacks up against its predecessor, we turn to a mix of old and new battery life tests to help better characterize the device.
We’ll start with our standard browser based battery life tests. Keep in mind here these tests are as much about replicating a particular CPU profile as they are about loading specific web pages in order.
We saw a substantial gain in battery life with Snapdragon 800, and 801 extends that even further. For the same, relatively light (yet constant) workload, the M8 improves battery life over the M7 by as much as 71%. On WiFi the advantage drops to only 38%, but we’re still talking about absolutely huge generational gains.
A constant workload is only one part of the story though. More often than not, when you’re faced with faster compute you end up doing more. To see what the other extreme of battery life looks like I turned to two canned tests: BaseMark OS II and GFXBench 3.0.
I ran both of these tests under the same controlled conditions we always use, with all displays calibrated to 200 nits. BaseMark OS II runs through a bunch of CPU and storage benchmarks (basically the same tests used for the BaseMark OS II system and memory tests), as fast as possible, until the battery dies.
I like this benchmark as it gives us an indication of worst case battery life if you’re absolutely hammering the CPU (and storage) relentlessly.
Despite the faster CPU cores, the M8’s battery life actually goes up compared to M7. Here we’re really seeing the benefits of 801’s updated 28nm HPm process compared to the Snapdragon 600’s 28nm LP process.
GFXBench provides a similar test, with effectively uncapped performance (on today’s devices at least since we’re not hitting v-sync limits), but stressing the GPU instead of the CPU. Here we’re running the T-Rex HD benchmark, onscreen, until the battery dies.
This is the first and only test we’ve got here that shows a regression in battery life compared to M7. The M8 loses about 6% of runtime compared to the M7, despite having a larger battery. Now look at what happens if we look at performance at the end of the run:
Now the M8’s battery life regression doesn’t look so bad. You give up 6% of runtime but you get almost twice the performance compared to M7. Snapdragon 801 is just a huge upgrade compared to 600.
Charge Time
The M8 features a Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 enabled PMIC, which enables faster battery charge times through higher voltage charging. Unfortunately the in-box wall adapter is only Quick Charge 1.5 compliant so you'll only pull 7.5W from the wall. HTC expects to offer a Quick Charge 2.0 compliant power adapter later this year.
The M8's charge time is a bit slow compared to what we've seen from other devices with larger batteries.
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hangfirew8 - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
OK I will admit I'm not familiar with the black model. I do know something about anodization. Properly done, it penetrates into the metal and light scratches still display the same color. Deep scratches of course still show the base metal color. But I have no idea how deep HTC's anodization went, or how deep you're mate's scratches or rubbings went.Scootiep7 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
GAH! So close. This phone is everything I want with the exception of the camera. And the sad part for me is that the camera is so important it trumps all the other outstanding features this phone has. I love everything HTC is doing and the smartphone industry needs them to continue innovating in this direction. But until they can bump the camera up to the S4/iP5s level, I just can't make the switch.HTC, why must you torment me so!
alain2 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Too much useless talk about the camera ! Since last year m7 all comments is about the camera ! But why ! My question is : how many users do actually know how to use the camera ? Even me I don t know how to properly use it. ! So what's the point of all this rubbish comments about the use of ultra pixel camera ! Aside from that HTC proved again that they are the best ! In term of quality and reliability and innovations they are on top !archa1c - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Regarding your UFocus comment:"Here I’m clearly separated from the background. You can see some of the limitations of UFocus here as I’m not the only subject in focus."
Technically, if that table was at the same depth/distance from the sensor as you were, it should be in focus. UFocus isn't going for a subject-specific focus effect. It is applying a depth-of-field effect.
With that said, it appears to be very unreliable, and I don't think it is truly able to capture accurate depth information. I've already seen many sample images in good conditions where part of the in-focus subject has been blurred out of focus with the background.
Demi9OD - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Are there any new cell phones with manufacturer car docks? My Atrix HD comes up for upgrade soon, but these universal docks with no built in charging are a pain. Need more real solutions like the one I currently have.http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Navigation-...
liteon163 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
I understand it has front facing speakers, but you can't tell me there's no way to reduce the bottom bezel, even if it increases thickness. Integrate the "htc" logo into the bottom speaker grille and get rid of the black stripe. If this increases thickness, add a larger battery, too.kg2128 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
wow so much HTC praise on the first page, I was kind of expecting it after last year's extremely biased review but not to this extent. The One still has the best design but does nothing else that sets it apart, and in one respect stayed the same/got worse (camera) and this review is glowing with praise. So disappointing...tytung - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
It's not just Anandtech. Virtually all of the critics on the internet praised HTC One 2013 and it was named the best phone of the year by GSM.hangfirew8 - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - link
Not just that but Anandtech INVENTED an award for the M7. Maybe "the best design" is more important than "does nothing else". Maybe all those reviewers were really, really tired of seeing the same things from the other players. Maybe this thing called "design" really matters?NicoleMWilson - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
It continues to baffle me why no Android manufacturer seems inclined to create an "absolute best." It might add an extra $50 to the phone, but many of us would pay that. If Samsung gave up their addiction to butt ugly polycarbonate pincushions, they'd have it. If HTC offered a version with a 13, or even 8, mp camera, they'd have it. Oddball cost cutting doesn't make any sense to me. If they expect me to plunk down $600+ for a phone, there had better be no compromises. http://num.to/2688-3989-2477