The HTC One (M8) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on March 26, 2014 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
Display
The new One increases its display size from 4.7” to 5.0”. The M8’s IPS Pro panel (read: IPS) still features a 1080p resolution. There are no funny subpixel arrays here, just a standard RGB stripe. HTC isn’t using in-cell touch, although Synaptics supplies the touch controller for the M8. The display is a MIPI command mode type panel (effectively supporting self refreshing of the panel).
The overall display experience on M8 is near identical to M7 from a color accuracy standpoint. Black levels are higher than our original M7 sample, but max contrast ratio is still a healthy 1300:1.
The M8’s display isn’t bad by any means, but I continue to be disappointed in the lack of attention paid to pursuing greater color accuracy among most Android OEMs. The Nexus 5 and 7 are the targets to aim for in that space - I hope we’ll eventually have more than Google pursuing them.
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Jeffrey Bosboom - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
I guess I should clarify: that means headphones, not speakers. (I share an office.)jk1 - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - link
i'd like to second this. i know htc is making a big deal out of its double camera, but we get endless details about the camera, special effects, humorous overlays and on and on. but we get nothing in any of these reviews about the quality of the dac for headphone use, or the quality of the sound of an incoming voice call or how you sound making a call using the phone.djvita - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - link
from gsmarena:"The HTC One (M8) audio quality is by far the best we've seen a mobile device produce so far - and that's including tablets. Even its impressive predecessor pales in comparison with the latest HTC flagship, which is not only the loudest around, but also delivers perfectly clean output.
The HTC One (M8) did perfectly in the active external amplifier part of the test, posting great scores all over the field. In addition it had volume levels higher than every other mobile device on the market right now.
More impressively, there's virtually no degradation when you plug in a pair of headphones. The stereo crosstalk rises so little that it remains better than what some smartphones deliver without headphones. The rest of the readings remain perfect too, while the volume is as high as they come. What do you know - dropping the Beats logo actually led to even more spectacular performance by the HTC flagship."
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m8-review-1062p7.p...
dylan522p - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
The One was great for audio after you disabled beats EQ, so I'd expect the same.CoryWeston101 - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
Amazing. Best audio experience headphones or no headphones on a smartphone.RaistlinZ - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
The lack of OIS really sucks. The difference is just painful to watch.fokka - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
but at least we can add bad looking "bokeh" to our shots...really, going for the second camera, which adds cost, requires space and is just plain ugly to look at, all while dropping an important feature for true photography has been a big mistake, if you ask me.
CoryWeston101 - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
There is not difference. The duo camera does OIS but in a better way. With the second camera it doesn't need OIS because the second camera acts in the same way but better.Samuel Lord - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
@CoryWeston101:A nice theory, utterly untrue with the M8. No, it needs OIS for decent video but HTC punted, end of story.
Fergy - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
I love my HTC One. It feels great. Has great sound. A great screen. Good battery life.What I wanted improved: better camera and smaller. If they could just make the 4.7inch screen borderless and integrate the HTC bar buttons in the screen it would be the perfect size for me.
Instead it is larger in every way and even heavier! And the camera is the same...
The HTC One m8 is still the phone I would recommend to people but for me I have to keep on the lookout for a phone I can use with one hand.