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
Display
As always, a crucial part of the smartphone experience is the display. While it’s easy to make subjective judgments on the quality of a display, such judgments directly led to the rise of deliberately oversaturated displays and generally worse calibration quality, as while a calibrated display is good for the sake of reproducing an image as the author intended, it may not be as appealing as a deliberately oversaturated display. Therefore, for these tests, we turn to Spectracal’s CalMAN 5 to test the quality of smartphone displays. As always, we target sRGB colorspace for these tests as sRGB is the de facto standard for web content. Adobe RGB can be tested, but only for profiles that are explicitly targeting such a color space. At any rate, alternative color spaces are extremely rare and difficult to use when Android still lacks color management systems.
In the case of the One mini 2, it’s best to start with the basics. In maximum brightness and contrast, the One mini 2 does respectably. The panel appears to be of high quality, which very little color shifting with change in viewing angles, and is only noticeable when at specific angles. The 720p resolution is also a good fit for a display of this size. Although it’s noticeably not as sharp as the 1080p displays found in high end phones, it’s not a significant problem at all. The one potential issue is minimum white brightness, which is 14 nits. This is a bit uncomfortable for reading at night, and HTC should try to target 7 nits or lower for the next generation.
Quick note: This is from the second review unit, and the contrast number is from the i1 Pro, the true contrast ratio is 1332:1.
Unfortunately, this is where we run out of good things to say regarding the display. Grayscale is poor, to say the least. The white point is significantly too blue, at 8701k and 8387k between the two review units that we received. It’s clear to me that HTC has made a strategic decision to go for higher peak luminance and “whiter” whites rather than solid calibration in this department.
The same story can be seen in the saturation sweep test. While the display is strangely slightly undersaturated in the reds, every other color tested effectively made 80% saturation equal to 100% saturation, presumably in an attempt to wow the average consumer trying out a demo unit. There are also some significant issues with cyan and magenta saturations, which are strongly skewed towards blue. Possibly the most telling problem with this calibration is that 20% yellow is the closest to proper white on this phone.
The poor performance in the saturation test translated to the Gretag Macbeth colorchecker, which the One mini 2 also does poorly in. It’s hard to explain just how poor this phone does, but the simplest way to explain it is to say that the performance is on par with the Moto G, and worse than the LG Lucid 3. While some issues are a function of lack of calibration, the saturation compression is most certainly a calculated decision. I understand the motivation behind this decision, but HTC needs to include a toggle to turn off “color enhancement”, and for the price that HTC is asking for this phone, the overall calibration must improve. The One mini 2 is regressed from the One mini in display accuracy, and this is simply a trend that has to stop now.
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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.