The HTC 10 Review
by Joshua Ho on September 19, 2016 8:00 AM ESTVideo Performance
Now that we've discussed how the HTC 10 does on still images we can go over how well it does for video recording. There have been a lot of cases where a smartphone can take great images but the video quality is often appalling and pretty much an afterthrought. In order to try and see how the HTC 10 does we can start by looking at the kind of encode settings that the HTC 10 uses.
| HTC 10 Video Encode Settings | ||||
| Video | Audio | |||
| 1080p30 | 20 Mbps H.264 Baseline | 192 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC 24 bit, 96 KHz FLAC |
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| 4K30 | 56 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 192 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC 24 bit, 96 KHz FLAC |
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| 720p120 | 24 Mbps H.264 Baseline | 192 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC | ||
Right off the bat things are a little concerning here. For some reason HTC is using AVC Baseline for encode in 1080p30 and 1080p60 is absent altogether. I'm not sure why this is but really neither of those things should be the case. 720p120 also uses AVC Baseline which really shouldn't be the case. Interestingly enough, HTC has also included the ability to record video with FLAC audio which results in an mkv file output instead of an mp4 but as far as I can tell nothing else seems to change as far as video encode settings go.
| 1080p30 Video |
In 1080p30 video HTC manages to pull off an interesting trick, which is that their video is actually properly stabilized instead of whatever is going on with the Galaxy S7 and G5. I would say that the color is also a little more accurate from what I saw at the time of recording but without a proper ColorChecker chart I can't really prove this assertion. At this point the HTC 10 and OnePlus 3 both have strange issues with artifacting around the sky that makes me wonder whether the Snapdragon 820 has some sort of issue with the encode blocks leading to such poor quality. Audio quality with FLAC is just clearly superior here though.
| 4K30 Video |
In 4K30 the HTC 10 unfortunately loses the software stabilization so the result is basically just as shaky as the Galaxy S7 and by extension the Note7. Even using AVC High profile I can still see strange artifacts in the sky which is really strange. Audio capture continues to be better as far as suppressing wind noise goes than Galaxy S7, likely due to the use of dual level microphones similar to what we saw in the One M7. I would say color rendition is more accurate here as well but this is a subjective observation. The iPhones 6s continues to be one of the best phones for 4K30 capture almost entirely because it actually has the ISP throughput to process 4K video properly.
| Slow Motion Video |
In 720p120 the HTC 10 really starts to show its weakness. I suspect we're dealing with some kind of sensor limitation here because 4K30 is possible but for some reason 720p240 isn't. Color rendition is mildly cooler here as well relative to the Galaxy S7 but detail isn't great here and obviously it isn't going to be able to capture motion as well as anything with 240 FPS capture. The iPhone 6s would obviously beat it here by virtue of its 1080p120 capture.
Overall, video capture is somewhat disappointing on the HTC 10. It definitely isn't unusable and the FLAC audio is a compelling addition along with proper 1080p30 video stabilization, but things like poor slow motion capture and some strange artifacting and poor encode profiles mar the experience. Relative to something like the Galaxy S7 I would say that 1080p30 and 4K30 capture are clearly superior, but 720p120 and the utter lack of 1080p60 video means that depending upon what you use the camera for the HTC 10 can end up falling short of the competition. 720p240, 1080p60 for next year as well as AVC High Profile across the board would be great to see and would resolve a lot of the issues here.
Looking at the camera overall, I think the HTC 10 is very much the equal of the Galaxy S7 as far as camera goes. The Galaxy S7 and Note7 have incredible user experience due to the sheer speed of capture and focus, but the image quality, oil painting-esque processing, and somewhat off color rendition in a lot of cases means that the HTC 10 can give you a better result if you can tap to focus properly and possibly adjust the exposure metering. It definitely could use some work to clean up the details and loose ends, but HTC has finally shipped a camera that they can be proud of and lives up to the promise of the marketing and specs.
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Zoomer - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
It's not ten times better in the way that a BMW M7 isn't ten times better than a Tata Nano. That doesn't make it vastly better than a BLU.ACM.1899 - Friday, September 23, 2016 - link
i meant if your LCD, Speakers,Buttons, antennas, Charging circuit ... maintain their quality in long term. AND how REPAIRABLE it is.or more importantly Battery.
or the Rom lasts longer before becoming laggy. or how manufacturers support the phone or developers with their custom roms.
ACM.1899 - Friday, September 23, 2016 - link
not the best example though , but i see your point..because almost everybody can afford the best smartphone and when spending a lot of money , he/she would rather not to spend anytime soon.
like you buy shoes ; you can spend 150$ (50+50+50, three new cheap shoes every year) or 150$ (good quality shoes) every 3 years.(fixed prices and incomes)
ACM.1899 - Friday, September 23, 2016 - link
and of course it depends on how you use it.if you run a lot then you need good shoes.but if you just dial and text then a nokia 3310 is more than enough for you.
techconc - Monday, September 26, 2016 - link
I have no issue with you feeling good about your $60 phone. That's great. I'm truly happy for you. That said, your claim that purchasing high end phones isn't sustainable is provably incorrect. For many people, the smartphone is the computing device that people use for the better part of the day. It shouldn't be difficult to understand that even people with lower income would choose to indulge on this particular product category.Impulses - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
Glad you put this review out Josh, having read it I'm a little more inclined to pick a 10 up if the Pixels disappoint me... Despite all the enthusiast belly aching, people tend to keep phones longer those days and are thus much more likely to pick up a flagship model later in it's cycle.Shoot, I went thru three phones in three years (all HTC) before finally keeping one longer than that, still clinging to my N5... Not using my phone for gaming or as my primary camera has really made things like battery life, software, general design, and unique features the biggest differentiators.
Good old N5 got at least two of those right, really starting to want something with better battery life even after a cell swap and wireless chargers all over the house... Gotten quite used to those tho, hoping the Pixel's glass back means it's back in.
nukmichael - Sunday, September 25, 2016 - link
Why NFC looks still active in the battery test ?? Shouldn't be closed?DaFireStorm - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Great review. I use an HTC 10 and have become of the WiFi woes of this device but I think this may be the only review to have picked up on the WiFi problems.Badelhas - Tuesday, October 17, 2017 - link
Hi there. I just upgraded from the M8 and the wifi is not Wi-Fi range is very weak, used to be able to watch videos on the bedroom or kitchen and now it's impossible. Am I the only one? Is there anything we can do to fix it?Cheers
axcelred - Tuesday, November 22, 2016 - link
Thank you for this review, it really helped me make a decision. I was looking at so many midrange and high end flagship phones but wanted an overall good experience and low light camera as my main point to shoot. Mainly in home or social gathering use that has mid to subtle lighting and can pick up details in the shadows with less noise. Coming from a camera on a Lumia, it's hard to let go ir find something that performed similarly. With the current Black Friday 2016 - 200 dollars off, I purchased one; everything in the price range of 399-499, didn't have great reviews for these conditions and even some of the higher end phones. It may not be the fastest or have the latest processor, but it is stable, solid, and has a great community from HTC's commitments and XDA surrounded it and that is important. Really appreciate this and the in-depth reviews this site provides.