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
Battery life remains a huge concern for savvy smartphone shoppers. Opportunistically charging a phone and worrying about making it through an entire day with just a single charge cycle is a common complaint as well. The HTC One max addresses some of the complaints myself and others had with charging on the HTC One which charged at only 1 amp, instead the One max charges at up to 1.5 amps. Although I wasn’t sampled it, the One max box will also include a 1.5 amp charger from HTC that’s slightly taller than the previous generation. This definitely helps offset the increase in charge time that would’ve resulted given the 43 percent larger 3300 mAh 3.8V (12.54 watt hour) battery.
The HTC One charges a bit faster with the latest updates, however the linear region of the charge curve is entirely dominated by that 1 A charging maximum. With the 1.5 A charging in the One max we actually see considerably faster charge times in spite of the larger battery. HTC continues to use BC 1.2 to the best of my knowledge for signaling.
To assess battery life, I ran the One max through our battery life test suite. Our battery life test is unchanged, we calibrate the display to exactly 200 nits and run it through a controlled workload consisting of a dozen or so popular pages and articles with pauses in between continually, until the device dies. This is repeated on cellular and WiFi, in this case since we have an international model of the One max that lacks the LTE bands used in the USA, that’s 3G WCDMA on AT&T’s Band 2 network. The talk time call test is self explanatory and also unchanged.
The results speak for themselves, the One max lasts quite a long time on battery, even with a large display. I expected the One max to lose to the Note 3 on the cellular test initially, but it posts an impressive result. I suspect display power might be the reason here between AMOLED and the more pragmatic LCD in the One max. I measured the One max with the flip case on as well, and it adds about 20 percent more battery time to the device. I'm curious to see how the USA-bound variants with LTE fare, but the One does impress with excellent battery life.
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Dentons - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Brian, we know you hate SD cards and removable batteries. We also know that you are far more impressed by a phone that shows a bit of metal skin than by a phone that has actual features like removable batteries and microSD expansion.Your statement that "SD cards are going the way of the dodo" is laughably out of touch. Despite your personal wishes, the best selling smart phones on the planet, in nearly every size category, still have both microSD expansion and removable batteries.
You don't want these features, we get it. For whatever reason, you embrace the removal of these usable features. You clearly don't appreciate the convenience of being able to carry large volumes of media files at an economical price. Just as clearly, you don't mind having to search for chargers in every airport. Some of us aren't like you, many of us in fact.
It does seem odd that an in-depth technology site like Anandtech puts far more emphasis on the material making up the thin outer skin of a device, than the actual hardware features of that device. Each of Brian's reviews features a long discussion either lauding a metal skin or deriding a plastic one, while almost nothing on SD or batteries.
Is it too much to ask for a little less focus on your metal skin fetish and more focus on a device's actual features.
nerd1 - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Good point. Whenever you go to airport, you'll see lots of iPhones getting charged at power outlets. It's beyond me how people can expose their $$$$$ phone that way.Brian Klug - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
I see lots of every kind of phone being charged at power outlets, and I'm in airports nearly every week :)-Brian
fenneberg - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
keep dissing your base and you´ll be lost Mr. Klug.I am on my third battery and on a SD that holds all of western Europe Garmin quarterly up-dated maps and 45 GB of music on a Garmin-Asus A50 that I love cause it works and works.
steven75 - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
You are the fringe. AT will be just fine.Tegeril - Friday, November 1, 2013 - link
Don't let the door hit you on the way out?superflex - Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - link
Dont be silly Brian.Samsung phones never need to be recharged. Only sheeple and HTC One owners have to recharge.
Sheesh
ddriver - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
It's because apple products don't have mSD slots ;) I bet the moment they start including those (by some miracle of nature I suppose :D ) the extra slot will be the best thing since sliced bread around AT :Dsherlockwing - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Apple won't accept mSD slots on phones, paying Microsoft license fee for every Iphone & Ipad sold due to their FAT 32 patent is too much for them.apertotes - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
Completely agree. This Rivendel Aluminum praise is getting old. Phones are tools, not jewels or fashion statements.