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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cgramer - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Could you post a photo of the new One in its included case (and a photo of the included case by itself)? You mentioned it in the "what's in the box" section, but I'd love to see it. :) Thanks!cgramer - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Never mind, I hadn't checked the gallery yet. D'oh!Jodiuh - Monday, April 7, 2014 - link
I want to print this out on all 60 pages or whatever and take it to the pool w/ some green tea and have my AT time, but I'm afraid I will ruin something if I read about it before experiencing it. Maybe I'll just look @ the pictures? :Dthekeelo_g - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
I'm curious which carrier model was tested. I've checked out a couple unboxing videos in anticipation of picking either this or the GS5 up tomorrow, and I'm not seeing the case or headphones mentioned in this review with the T-Mobile variant. Are they exclusive to getting the phone directly from HTC? If so, that's garbage.purerice - Saturday, April 12, 2014 - link
So I am rather behind the times in reading this article but it is a hoot to see 20 pages of comments virtually obsessed with... not the screen quality, not the performance, not the interface, not the feel, not the size, not the battery life, nor anything else... but the STEEEENKIN KAMERRRRAAAAAThe review is great and I enjoyed the various shades of Anand as well as the detail here.
I haven't been in the smartphone market for a while, but these types of reviews keep me in the loop for when I will be in the market. As such I appreciate them, even if most comments are single-minded.
elotrolado - Saturday, April 12, 2014 - link
This phone looks great. However, it is simply too large and heavy for optimal ergonomic utilization in my hands and comfortable pocketability for my pants (I have average male hands and don't wear skinny jeans). Shrink it to the phone and screen dimensions of the Moto X (perfect!), slightly improve the camera and keep everything else and it will be, by far, the best phone for most people.petar_b - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
One reason I won't buy this phone again - is camera. When I zoom-in and crop photo to see desired subject better - I see pixels - I don't like it. Samsung galaxy doesn't have this problem. Regarding water proof tests - is it like rain proof or it's really water proof, or it can take photos in the sea...eagle_eye - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
Could you please write a review on the Sony Xperia Z2? Thanks.mchart - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
FYI, I bought this at T-Mobile yesterday and their version of the phone does not come with earbuds or a case.Also, mine appears to have a slight bend in the ring near the screen where the SIM card goes. I bent it back to straight a little, but there is still a gap.
This is my first Android phone and it was the phone that compelled me to switch from the iPhone. That being said.. I'm missing a few things about the iPhone, and it's frustrating as all hell trying to figure out a new OS.
WiredTech - Friday, May 23, 2014 - link
I have the M8 and several others. Folks the M8 build makes the iPhone 5S a bit jealous. The camera is weak. Didn't stop me from buying it as I have other options and I love *everything* else about the M8.As so many like to point out, the camera isn't just about megapixels. The iPhone 5S has 8 and is very good. The Lumia 1520/Icon down-sample a 19MP image to 5 megapixels and the images are great (at only 5).
Are the M8's 4 megapixel images good? Not compared to my other devices mentioned above. I think there is no dynamic range and lots of CA.