The HTC One: A Remarkable Device, Anand’s mini Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 21, 2013 4:49 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/6851/DSC_9915_678x452.jpg)
For the past week and a half our own Brian Klug has been hard at work on his review of HTC’s new flagship smartphone, the One. These things take time and Brian’s review, at least what I’ve seen of it, is nothing short of the reference piece we’ve come to expect from him.
In the same period of time I’ve been playing around with a retail HTC One and felt compelled to share my thoughts on the device. It’s rare that I’m so moved by a device to chime in outside of the official review, but the One is a definite exception. By no means is this a full review, and I defer to Brian for the complete story on the One - something we should be getting here in the not too distant future.
I’m not a financial analyst, but HTC hasn’t been doing all that well over the past few quarters. There’s a general feeling that the aptly named One is HTC’s last chance at survival. Good product doesn’t always translate into market dominance, but it’s a necessary component when you’re an underdog. Luckily for HTC, the One is great.
Design
Over the past two years HTC has really come into its own as far as design is concerned. The difference between the HTC One X and the plethora of flagships that came before it was remarkable. Moving to the One, the difference is just as striking.
I don’t seem to mind plastic phones as much as everyone else, but the One is in an appreciably different league compared to its peers. It’s the type of device that you just want to look at and touch. Given how much you do end up looking at and touching your smartphone, HTC’s efforts here seem well placed.
The One looks and feels great. The proportions are a little awkward in my hands, but I fully concede that’s going to vary from person to person. Despite the heavy use of aluminum, I don't feel overly worried about scratching/damaging the finish.
The challenge with any smartphone is to build something that looks distinct in a sea of black rectangles on a wall in a store. With the One (and arguably the One X before it), HTC does a good job of balancing the need to be seen with the need to be subtle. Elegant is the right word here.
While I’m sure there will be comparisons to the iPhone, the fact of the matter is that the design cycle on these smartphones falls somewhere in the 12 - 24 month range. With something as sophisticated as the One, you’re looking at the longer end of that spectrum. For what it’s worth, if I had to estimate I’d say design work on the One probably started before the iPhone 4S came out.
Smartphone Spec Comparison | ||||||
Apple iPhone 5 | HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S 3 | Samsung Galaxy S 4 | |||
SoC | Apple A6 1.3GHz | Snapdragon 600 1.7GHz | Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz | Exynos 5 Octa (1.6/1.2GHz) or Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz | ||
DRAM/NAND/Expansion | 1GB LPDDR2, 16/32/64GB NAND | 2GB LPDDR2, 32/64GB NAND | 2GB LPDDR2, 16/32GB NAND, microSD | 2GB LPDDR3, 16/32/64GB NAND, microSD | ||
Display | 4.0-inch 1136 x 640 LCD | 4.7-inch SLCD3 1080p, 468 ppi | 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 720p, 306 ppi | 5-inch Super AMOLED 1080p, 441 ppi | ||
Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE Cat 3 (depending on region) | ||
Dimensions | 123.8mm x 58.6mm x 7.6mm | 137.4mm x 68.2mm x 4mm - 9.3mm | 136.6mm x 70.6mm 8.6mm | 136.6mm x 69.8mm x 7.9mm | ||
Weight | 112g | 143g | 133g | 130g | ||
Rear Camera | 8MP | 4MP w/ 2µm pixels | 8MP | 13MP | ||
Front Camera | 1.2MP | 2.1MP | 1.9MP | 2MP | ||
Battery | Internal 5.45 Wh | Internal 8.74 Wh | Removable 7.98 Wh | Removable 9.88 Wh | ||
OS | iOS 6.1.2 | Android 4.1.2 | Android 4.1.2 | Android 4.2.2 | ||
Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, USB 2.0, GPS/GNSS | 802.11ac/a/b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, IR LED, MHL, DLNA, NFC | 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, USB 2.0, NFC, GPS/GNSS, MHL | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (HT80) + BT 4.0, USB 2.0 NFC, GPS/GNSS, IR LED, MHL 2.0 |
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darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
No it doesn't.krumme - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Go take your rubber onphillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
'Display calibration options' and calibrating a display are not the same thing.The manufacturer needs to make sure that each hue is actually pretty close to its intended colour, not just saturated into some theme like 'movie' aka make everything darker.
KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
No kidding, images look so bad on their products. They charge as much as Apple for their devices, they should at least put some effort on basic things like proper sRGB color profiles.darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
Name a high end Android phone that isn't at least as expensive as an iPhone and the sold at cost Nexus 4 doesn't count. Not that it sin the same league anyway.CeriseCogburn - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
All of them with expandable storage, DUMMY !flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
The counterpoint to this is that the S3 screen is invisible outside even in dim light, even on 100% brightness..phillyry - Sunday, March 24, 2013 - link
If the S4's screen is anything like the S3's it'll be a disappointment when viewed side-by-side with the LCD3 on the OneGenericuser1234 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I saw an review of the HTC ONE where the review spokes person noted that HTC uses plastic as the lense material. (easy to scratch) Have you had any problems of this kind or have they switched to glass lenses on the rear camera?extide - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Pretty much all cell phones use plastic lenses.