HTC One max Review - It's Huge
by Brian Klug on October 28, 2013 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- One
- Snapdragon 600
- Android 4.3
- One max
Concluding the One max review is difficult. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about the larger sized smartphones and the state of that market, which seems to serve two purposes independently. For users who either don’t want or can’t budget for a tablet, the larger sized phones seem to bridge a functional gap between smartphone and tablet. Simultaneously, there are users who want the larger screen just to have it, and maybe there’s the perception that the larger phones still have some elevated status that comes with it. There’s a regional bias at play here too, and the One max seems to be a product designed to cater maybe more to some regions where supersized smartphones make up a bigger part of the market than others.
For me, the One max is probably a new upper bound in terms of size. It’s a very large phone, and although it fits in the front pockets of my jeans and shorts, it’s sometimes a stretch to sit down comfortably with the One max in a pocket. In terms of ergonomics, the One max is very much a dual-hand device.
The One max is really a product designed to fill out a hole in HTC’s One series portfolio than anything else, and doesn’t really change up the formula too much. It’s literally a scaled up version of the HTC One with few changes – OIS is unfortunately gone, the screen is obviously huge, there’s now a microSD card slot, and of course the new fingerprint sensor. Other than that though, the One max really is the One scaled up to gigantic size, with parts of the One mini tossed in for good measure.
I’ve said my part on the fingerprint sensor on the One max already. It works but isn’t the best or most intuitive implementation to date, although I think it’s fairly easy to make the case that nobody, not even Apple, has nailed a fingerprint sensor yet. The fingerprint scanner’s location on the back makes sense when you’re holding the One max in one hand, but becomes a problem when you’re using the phone on a flat surface. The use of a swipe sensor as well makes positioning on the back somewhat problematic unless you enroll fingers at a natural angle.
There’s also that elephant in the room about platform, specifically HTC’s inclusion of Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T instead of the faster Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 we’re seeing devices start shipping with right now. Although 8064 is still plenty fast and no slouch, there’s still a perceptible performance delta between an 8064 device and the newer 8974 phones I have on my desk now. I worry a lot about whether HTC will fall behind on platform, especially since it used to be the one OEM always shipping new Qualcomm silicon first. I have a feeling the One max saw platform change at the last minute, delaying its launch, but that's almost entirely speculation.
If you want a larger-screened smartphone and liked the One but have been waiting for a long time for the One max, by all means, get it. If you want a larger screened smartphone however, I think it’s easy to make the case that there are better devices out there right now. Had the One max arrived a month or two after the launch of the original One, this conclusion would've likely been a very different one.
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Steven JW FCK - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
"I’ve said my part already on microSD cards and the fact that they’re going the way of the dodo in smartphones, I just don’t need one anymore, and definitely not at the expense of build quality. It is convenient not having to use a SIM ejector tool though, even if I carry one around all the time anyways"I'm sorry, you carry around a sim card removal TOOL, at all times with you, and you don't think micro SD cards are relevant any more? I don't think you are qualified to write a review about this phone if that is your opinion. I mean you would rather use a cloud/pay the extra money for inbuilt storage, than use an affordable, replaceable, micro SD card... But you paid to have a sim card removing tool, and then chose to wear it upon you? At all times?...
10101010 - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
I'm glad to see that you are not letting this issue with Brian's Klug's anti-local storage bias slip away. The sad fact of the matter is that most reviewers are notoriously biased. Some are biased due to ignorance, some are biased due to payoffs, many are biased due to both.The fact that Brian Klug has some sort of hate trip on SD cards is not surprising. All the big money players in the US want to get rid of local storage so they can (a) increase data revenues (b) mine and sell more data (c) comply with NSA directives to collect more data on people. So we have one of Anandtech's top tier reviewers going off on how bad micro SD cards are, i.e. implying you cannot build a high quality phone if it has a micro SD card. And then the same reviewer disparages the many millions of people who depend on SD cards every day as some sort of unimportant minority.
It seems obvious to me that objectivity and balance have been lost, that the reviewer is just a tool pushing an agenda.
Brian Klug - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
I clearly am an agent of the NSA and this is a long-game to get all of your data. Clearly.-Brian
nerd1 - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
So with the same logic laptop should get rid of SD slots too, especially macbooks with SD card sticking out. Heck, earlier macbook pros didn't have one!fenneberg - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Still dissing, eh..PC Perv - Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - link
I don't think what 10101010 said translates to your intelligence, lol. For one you are not really a big money player. I think what 10101010 meant is that you happily obey.Dentons - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
Wow, your arrogance is astounding.Stop listening to your friends in the phone manufacturing business for a minute and start listening to the technical crowd that makes up the majority of your readership.
piroroadkill - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Hey, HTC, how about the Butterfly S?dawheat - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
I'm having a tough time liking the One Maxx - it's such a big phone for .2" screen increase over the Note 3, with the on screen buttons eating a decent part of the increased real estate.Also the Note 2 was pretty heavy, the Note 3 was a nice decrease in weight. The difference in weight between the Note 3 and One Maxx is close to the difference in weight between the iPhone 5 and Note 3.
Mondozai - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Well, the fingerprint issue isn't really resolved yet. We will have to wait and see how the security aspect goes. Still, my guess is that Apple is probably better at this generally than Android OEMs, specifically 2nd tier ones like HTC.This seems like an unnecessary review, especially as many much bigger launches were ignored. Who will buy HTC One Max? Very few people. HTC is going down anyway.
I'm still waiting for the mother lode: Nexus 5.
I also hope Brian can overcome his WP8 bias and review a few Nokia phones out this fall.