HTC One mini 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on May 26, 2014 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- One mini 2
Outdoor Scenes (Night)
Next we transition to some shots on location. First up is the same night shot of a storefront that we used in the Galaxy S 5 review:
The mini 2 does a reasonable job of using available light here and ends up picking similar shot settings to the M8 (1/10 vs 1/11s, ISO 2000 vs. 1600 on the M8). The difference in resulting image is pretty substantial though. The M8 produces a far brighter scene. Overall the mini 2 does well here, but let's see what happens when we remove some of the direct lighting:
In true low-light situations, the mini 2 suffers considerably. Using a 1.12µm sensor with a weaker ISP (and likely weaker optics), the mini 2 loses nearly all detail in the car. You can't see into the car at all and move a little up the hood and you lose virtually all contrast. The big M8 by comparison produces an image that almost looks like it was captured under different lighting conditions (it wasn't). Most of the similarly priced competitors do better here than the mini 2. For as strong of a low light performer as the M8 is, the One mini 2 is the polar opposite. Only the Galaxy S 4 is worse.
Outdoor Scenes (Daylight)
With the worst out of the way, now it's time to see where the One mini 2 really shines compared to the One. All of the photos below were taken during the late afternoon with very little cloud cover and tons of sunlight. The M8 struggled against modern competitors in this type of a situation, but let's see how much moving to a cheaper, but higher resolution sensor can help.
Right off the bat you can see the advantage of the mini 2's higher resolution sensor. Remember the sagittal and tangential crops from earlier? Here we see those advantages play out in the real world. Detail in the horizontal lines on the building and especially in the crane is all but lost on the M8, but it's preserved on the mini 2. Although you can't see it here in this crop (check out the gallery below), there's a ton of detail in the trees in the background that's simply lost on the M8 that you regain with the mini 2.
The mini 2 does a reasonable job here compared to other similarly priced, former-flagships.
This next scene takes a different angle on the crane and mixes more subjects at varied distances from the camera:
The One mini 2's spatial resolution advantage is less pronounced here compared to the M8. We also see more pronounced differences in color handling between the two devices. It's interesting to correlate the differences we saw shooting test charts with how these devices behave in the real world.
The mini 2 does a reasonable job here as well, although some of the competitors do pull ahead.
For the last shot I'm looking at a crop of downtown Raleigh, taken from a distant bridge.
Here we have another great example of the One mini 2 outperforming the M8 when it comes to resolving fine details. I'm actually pretty pleased with the One mini 2's performance here. Interestingly enough, Apple seems to do a better job of capturing detail in the foreground at the expense of background image detail in this case.
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devione - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Why, oh why, can't more manufacturers follow the Sony Z1 Compact route..Johnmcl7 - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
I'd be interested to see the sales figures for the Z1 Compact in Europe where the phone is widely available to see if Sony's strategy of producing a flagship phone with a smaller screen has worked out for them. On paper the phone looks pretty much exactly what everyone has been wanting for a while in Android with a top end SoC, camera, micro SD, decent screen even weather sealing and without much compromise either as the price is reasonable as is the batterylife. It makes a complete mockery of the HTC Mini 2 as they both appear to be a similar price despite the Sony being a much more capable device.Yet I've not seen anyone with a Z1 Compact despite plenty of other Android phones and I've hardly seen any second hand for sale (I want a cheap one for going out cycling) whereas there's quite a few S5's around even though it's only recently released. I realise none of that's statistically relevant hence I'd like to see the sales data.
I do think Sony were too slow releasing the Z1 Compact, I think if they'd released it around two years after the Galaxy S2 they'd have been in the perfect position to catch those who wanted a similar sized phone with top end specs. I knew quite a few people who had S2's and didn't want an S4 due to the increase in size however as there wasn't anything suitable in a smaller form factor with Android they went with the S4 and find the size is fine.
A few friends and family have 'mini' phones particularly the S3 Mini and S4 Mini but they didn't just want a smaller phone they also wanted a cheap phone so wouldn't have considered a Z1 Compact if available.
Laxaa - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
My brother just bought the Z1 Compact, and it's an impressive piece of kit. I only wish it had OIS and a better camera app(like Nokia Camera on the Lumias)Death666Angel - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
From the article: "HTC then proceeded to launch the One mini, a phone that was the size that everyone had been asking for"From Johnmcl7: " On paper the phone looks pretty much exactly what everyone has been wanting for a while in Android".
Really? Everyone wanted a phone like that? I didn't. I was fine with 4.3" in my SGS2 when the iPhone established the 3.x" form factor. I liked my 4.65" Galaxy Nexus when that was becoming the norm and I like the 5.2" LG G2 which is doesn't feel much larger than the GN. So count me out of that "everyone" group, please. Not everyone is looking for smaller flag ship phones, just like not everyone is looking for microSD card slots, replaceable batteries or phones made out of aluminum. Some are, others aren't. I'm someone who is fine with lugging around his Nexus 7 when I'm wearing a jacket. The 5.2" G2 fits perfectly fine in all my trousers and I have never thought "bly me, that size is really bothering me".
Johnmcl7 - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
OK, wrong turn of speech - my own phone is a Sony Z Ultra (6.4in screen) so I certainly appreciate the benefits of a larger screen.fokka - Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - link
i'm really happy for you and you're right, not "everyone" wants all those things you list. the problem is that for people who are happy with 5"+ phones there already are many options - the whole flagship-segment caters to them.but for those who want all the power in a slightly smaller form factor there is exactly one viable offering - not much considered the dozens/hundreds of models on the market. and even this lonely smartphone will be "obsolete" in a matter of months, considering the specs of current and coming flagships.
in a market like this, i think it's clear and also warranted, that people are complaining. but even if we aren't "everybody", it's still important that we voice our opinions. sorry if you felt collateralized ;)
sfuzzz - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
I feel exactly the same. Z1 Compact is a great phone (with some flaws like other) and the right size for everyday life, you don't have to carry a bag or a jacket only for your phone. I own a Nexus 5, coming from a Xperia U (perfect size for me) and this summer will see if i go mad feeling it in my pockets all day. As for the sales (of Z1 compact) It's difficult to tell the real figures, here in Italy is available for 450/420 euros or less, but anything that is not Samsung or iPhone is a "niche" phone. I own a N5, my sister owns a Moto G, and we are considered some kind of "geeks" only for that :)Gich - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
4xCortex-A7 can't keep up with 2xKrait 200 on benchmarks that do stress all core... and it should be worst on "normal" apps.Isn't this... very bad?
Gich - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Also "it’s not much of an improvement"? I feel is more of a step back.tipoo - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Yeah, I'd take dual krait over any number of A7 cores any day.