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
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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uhuznaa - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I love the design and materials and HTC has to be lauded for their camera approach. But the actual pictures still don't look very exciting. The software seems *very* limited (the fake scratches in those movies are just awful), the "hub" has no RSS... looks very much like gimmicks to me.I hate to say it, but I think the S4 will sell vastly better and I can understand it. And what will happen to HTC anyway? This phone really is a "One", but I think I would prefer to wait for the "Two" (and they should have added a kickstand which would go very well with the front-facing speakers. Which I think every smartphone should have, by the way).
ydoucare - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Please add the IR LED to the HTC One spec sheet.Chloiber - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
In the spec comparison, IR seems to be missing from the One?Miko3d - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Hey anand, thanks for the quick look for such an interesting phone, although I have a feeling that if HTC situation wasn't as it's there would have been just one main review. I really like HTC and can't wait to see them back with heavy duty and innovation products as before. Really like your views and I would love to see you reviewing more interesting and innovative phones, one that comes to my mind as a nice surprise is the Asus padfone 2 or even better the infinity, I think their concept is spot on shame that without a proper marketing it will always stay as a niche.Regards
IHateMyJob2004 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Can I assume that a Blackberry Z10 review is coming seeing how it is getting released tomorrow?darwinosx - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
For all three people dumb enough to buy one?CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
See the entire US federal government, never mind sequester this is important !Barky gets the special made NSA version.
flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Can you please address smartphone battery life? Who cares about 8.6mm thickness when the phone only lasts a few hours during actual use? The DROID RAZR MAXX set the standard with a massive 3300mAh battery in a 9mm thick phone. IMO that should be the bare minimum. Then 5050mAh in 11mm, and 6600mAh in 13mm.There's no question a lot of people would be willing to sacrifice thinness and PPI for a larger battery. Here are some recent quotes from the comments sections of the recent HTC One article on Anandtech, and the GS4 and HTC One articles on Dailytech (all articles are dated Feb 19):
"I really hope they work on battery life...maybe this rant should be at the battery makers...damn energizer bunny."
"I think an S3 Maxx (thicker with larger battery) would be popular with a lot of people. It would have the potential to be their 2nd or 3rd most popular model. It makes sense to me. Everything else has gotten amazing and battery life has remained mostly the same."
"What I would want most is better battery life, minor improvements in video resolution, and better sound quality through the speakers. "
"I'm an extremely heavy user and my galaxy nexus can burn through its battery very quickly, its my main gripe with it. It is also one of the key features I will be looking for in my next phone. I don't need more processor speed, focus on giving me better battery life."
"need to see battery Tests."
"Well, I'm fine with 720p in a 4.7" screen but the battery is the key. If it's not at least a full day battery, then there's no point."
"That User Experience is horrible! Give me the option to double the battery size (Motorola got the idea with the MAX), I'm willing to take the size/weight consequences."
" Now, if they just improve the battery life we have a home run."
" All those updates to the tiles keep burning battery. As for the battery, it needs to be larger. Phones do not need to be so thin you can shave with them. The DO need to last all day (with all day use). I don't think this is "the" phone for me but I hope HTC uses some of these features in future phones (a max battery version would be nice)."
"All these sacrifices for silly 1080p marketing gimmick nobody will distinguish from normal distances. Maybe in one year or two, some OEM will say that PPI race is meaningless and they will give 2x battery life instead. Ironically, HTC did the same with this phone with their camera MP count."
"I'd rather have a larger battery, sane front buttons (HTC logo in the middle, whut?), microSD card, and definitely require inductive charging. I also have no interest in a 1080p screen on a phone. It's a phone. You do not need or want a 1080p screen. You may think you want it, but in reality it just adds a bunch of cost and battery drain, for a very pointless difference over 720p."
And my own comment:
"Until smartphone battery life during ACTUAL usage at least DOUBLES (let's say 16 hours, to allow for human sleep/phone charging for the other 8 hours of the day), there will be LOTS room for improvement. I look forward to that day."
Listen to your readership! Help put an end to battery anxiety.
TrackSmart - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I agree that longer battery life would be nice, but I've never had battery anxiety with my current phone (galaxy S3). That's a world of difference from the previous smart phone generation. I usually put it on the charger at night with 50% to 75% battery still left. Maybe 30% if I am traveling on vacation and taking lots of photos, yelping restaurants, and navigating around town without bothering to use a car charger. Would I like two days of battery life? Sure. Do I need it? Not the vast majority of the time. And I could carry a second battery if I needed it.flyingpants1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
1. Your personal measurements are irrelevant and inaccurate.2. Modern phones get around 3-5 hours of screen time. The only way to reach the numbers you gave is by not using your phone. You may feel like you used it "all day", when in reality you only used it for 3-5 hours, in which case you are one of those people who does not use their phone.
3. Noone said anything about "two days" of life (although it would be nice). Just one day of constant use (as defined in my comment above) without a charge or a second battery.
3. You shouldnt have to carry a second battery to get a full day of actual usage. Plus you could only do that with a GS3 anyway. N4, XPZ, HOX/One and iPhones require you to carry a recharger pack which you must plug in while using your phone, another unnecessary inconvenience.
This all goes away if you make the phone 3mm thicker (6000mah).