The latest HTC phone has already arrived. Thanks to HTC, I am able to have a preview of the phone before the launch date. As expected with all the leaks, it has a 5-inch screen and an MicroSD card slot. And surprise, surprise. It comes in two colors. The Gunmetal Gray and the Glacial Silver. The phone will be available in April 2014.
Specifications
Key specifications
- Dimensions: (LxWxT): 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm
- Weight: 160g
- COLORS: Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver, Amber Gold
- DISPLAY: 5.0 inch, Full HD 1080p Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- CPU SPEED: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (2.5GHz quad-core CPU in Asia/China, 2.3GHz quad-core CPU in US/EMEA)
- PLATFORM ANDROID: Android™ 4.4 with HTC Sense 6, HTC BlinkFeed
- SIM CARD TYPE: nanoSIM
- MEMORY (1): Total storage: 16GB/32GB, available capacity varies, Expansion card slot supports microSD™ memory card for up to 128GB additional storage (card not included)
- RAM: 2 GB DDR2
NETWORK (2)
- 2G/ 2.5G – GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- 3G – WCDMA:
- EMEA: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps
- Asia: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps
- AT&T: 850/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps
- Sprint: 850/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA up to 14.4 Mbps
- Verizon: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 14.4 Mbps
- Tmus: 850/AWS/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps
- 3G – CDMA
- Sprint & Verizon: 800/1900 MHz
- 4G – LTE:
- EMEA: 800/900/1800/2600 MHz
- Asia: 700/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz
- AT&T: 700/850/AWS/1800/1900/2600 MHz
- Sprint: FDD 800/1900 MHz , TDD 2600 MHz
- Verizon: 700/AWS/1800/2600 MHz
- Tmus: 700/AWS MHz
CAMERA: Duo camera
- Primary Camera:
- HTC UltraPixel camera , BSI sensor, pixel size 2.0 um, sensor size 1/3”, ƒ/2.0, 28mm lens.
- HTC ImageChip 2. 1080p Full HD video recording with HDR video
- Secondary camera:
- capture depth information
- Front Camera:
- 5MP, ƒ/2.0, BSI sensor, wide angle lens with HDR capability, 1080p Full HD video recording
- Gallery with UFocus, Dimension Plus, Seasons, Foregrounder, Image match
MULTIMEDIA:
- Audio supported formats:
- Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 10)
- Recording: .aac
- Video supported formats:
- Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 10), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3)
- Recording: .mp4
GPS: Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS, Digital compass
SENSORS: Gyro sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
CONNECTIVITY(3): 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, NFC (3), Bluetooth® 4.0 with aptX™ enabled
Wi-Fi®:
- IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz)
- DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer, HTC Connect
- Micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)
- Support consumer infrared remote control
SOUND ENHANCEMENT: HTC BoomSound Dual front-facing stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, HTC Sense Voice
BATTERY (4):
- Embedded rechargeable Li-polymer battery
- Capacity: 2600 mAh
- Talk time: Up to 20 hours for 3G
- Standby time: (5) Up to 496 hours for 3G
- Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
- DC output: 5 V and 1.5 A
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Available storage is less due to phone software. Approximately 10GB (for 16GB) /24GB (for 32GB) storage available for user content. Available storage is subject to change based on phone software updates and apps.
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Network bands in regions may be different, depending on the mobile operator and your location. 4G LTE only available in select countries. Upload and download speeds also depend on the mobile operator.
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NFC availability depends on the mobile operator and your location. Please check with your mobile operator.
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Battery times (talk time, standby time, and more) are subject to network and phone usage.
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A Standby time specification (“specification”) is an industry standard that is only intended to allow comparison of different mobile devices under the same circumstances. Power consumption in a standby state is strongly dependent on factors including but not limited to network, settings, location, movement, signal strength and cell traffic . Comparisons of different mobile devices using such a specification can therefore only be done in a controlled laboratory environment. When using any mobile device in real life circumstances for which the mobile device is intended, the standby time could be considerably lower and will be strongly dependent on the factors as mentioned above.
First Impression
As usual (as compared to HTC One M7), the HTC One (M8) feels premium. HTC has managed to improve the built with 90% of the phone in metal. And when you hold it in your hand, you will realize that it has a very ergonomic design. HTC has also made the built stronger. The phone now comprises of 2 main parts. They are assembled just by sandwiching them together. I am sure repairing it will be challenging.
HTC has spent a great deal to ensure the quality. They called the finishing a Premium jewelry grade finish (fine hairline brush, diamond quality chambers, micro drill holes). Put it simply, this is one of the best Android phones I have held.
Front View
Lets go through the features on this phone. First, on the front side, it has the front facing camera. HTC has improved the quality by placing a 5 megapixels wide angle, low light capable (f2.0) camera on it. HTC even says that it is the best selfie camera.
The 5 MegaPixel front camera
And if you love BoomSound on HTC One, you will be thrilled. The HTC One (M8) is 25% louder. It has a brand new speaker and amplifiers. From my conversation with HTC spokesperson, the reason for new hardware is because it now has 2 rear camera now and the hardware has to be re-designed to accommodate everything in it.
Back View
When you turn the phone to the back. This is where the magic really is. As far as I am concern, no one has used the rear camera like what HTC does.
Here is a closer look of the rear cameras. Contradict to most leaks, the HTC Duo Camera is not used as 2 separate camera. The top camera acts as a depth sensor to determine the object and the surroundings. When you snap a picture, both cameras will fire at the same time and because they are of different position, the information can be combined to provide a richer information of the picture.
A close view of the top camera.
The main rear camera with UltraPixel technology. HTC is not willing to share the megapixels details but we do know that it is a new hardware and improvements have been made for capturing images in low light and etc. In the picture below, you can see a dual color LED flash. It is supposedly to be able to capture subject naturally. I did not really go in-depth with it.
With the 2 rear cameras, HTC is able to provide a few features not seen on any other phones. They are: –
Duo effects
- UFocus – Focus anywhere on the picture. Some may say that this feature is also available on other brands. However, none (at the moment) can capture the image and refocus instantly (all thanks to the Duo Camera)
- Foregrounder – Now, you can separate the foreground and the background. And you can change the background with special effects provided.
- Seasons – Now you can add seasons to the still pictures and save it as a MP4 file.
- Dimension Plus – This is based on 3D camera effect where the software will piece together the images of the two rear cameras and provide a 3D style picture.
- Touch Up – Touch up the face.
- Copy & Paste – I have not tried it. As mentioned earlier, it can separate the background and foreground. That means it can extract the foreground, copy and paste it on another picture.
Did I mention all these effects are available when a snap a picture (except in macro mode, HDR mode and using front facing camera). You can take your time to “play” around with that picture and don’t worry about damaging the original file. It will save it as a separate file (original is safe).
Here is a short video on the camera features.
Top View
The top is the only “plastic” I see on the phone. It has the usual IR sensor (hidden), the on/off button on it
Bottom View
HTC has decided to place the 3.5mm jack to the bottom. Beside it is the Micro USB data/charging port.
Side View
Finally, a MicroSD Card Slot (right) on the HTC One (M8). It can support up to 128GB MicroSD card. On the left is actually the rocker volume button.
HTC One (M8) in Gunmetal Gray and Glacial Silver
Here are the HTC One (M8) in two colors. In my opinion, I will definitely go for the Gunmetal Gray. The Glacial Silver has a “matt” feel on it. And it looks too similar to the HTC One M7.
More views from the Glacial Silver HTC One (M8)
This is the SIM Card slot. HTC decided to use a Nano SIM Card. I believe this may be a good marketing gimmick to get iPhone users (my opinion) to switch to HTC One (M8).
Accessories
The “Magic” Dot View Case from HTC. It is a very light flip cover. Once you paired it with HTC One (M8), it will be able to display notifications, information and even answer calls without opening the cover.
Inside the cover.
It comes in different colors (5 colors). Notice that the wordings is matching the color of the cover?
The trick as to how HTC shows the information on the cover is that the phone will detect via sensor the cover and display the images when the screen is turned on.
Comparing the HTC One (M8) with HTC One M7 (2013).
Software
Actually, that is not all as the above is mostly external looks. On the internal, HTC has upgraded the HTC Sense to HTC Sense 6.0. In HTC Sense 6.0, HTC has codified the tasks to different colors. For example, app for entertainment (like media player) will have the top task bar in RED. For settings, it is in BLACK and for syncing, it is in BLUE and etc..
They have also improved the keyboard and now you can even install your own fonts! They have also incorporated gestures for the screen. A tap on the screen will wake the screen and another tap on an active screen to switch the screen off (powered by the new Sensor Hub technology).
BlinkFeed is a love it or hate it thing, in my opinion. HTC has gathered the feedback and the new BlinkFeed is very customizable. It now has smooth scrolling and when a topic is displayed, it will curate similar topics from social networks and etc. You can now access the topic quickly with search feature, simple access side bar.
Another important change is the Zoe highlights. Now, you can share the Zoe highlights with others (even without the HTC One (M8)). There will be a Zoe app for Android when the phone is launched and iOS users will get it towards the end of the year.
Summary
I am excited on this HTC One (M8) with its improvements over the predecessor. The preview is based on production unit. Thkidere is no word on pricing and but it will be available in April 2014.
Overall, I love the built and Duo Camera. I am still undecided on the UltraPixel as I need to see the actual image myself. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will get try to get the answers you need.
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