Social media is a big part of how people interact with brands these days. Chances are, you’ve heard about the HTC M8 before – many customers no longer make them the main brand for their shopping. The best way to buy this phone would be through online stores such as eBay or Amazon because they offer reasonable prices and a wide selection of different carriers (sim cards).
Being a phone designer is tough. You have to create a phone with visually appealing features, but is essentially just an area for the screen with some extras.
HTC has done it again. They recently released the M8, a phone that had all the features and power of its predecessor but also managed to improve on its external design, which was so popular last year with the HTC One.
Htc is well known for designing some of the best-looking smartphones in the business. Their latest model, the M8, shows off a more refined design than its predecessor while also improving nearly every area. The inclusion of a MicroSD card slot is a nice bonus too.
The HTC One M8 is a beautiful phone with an amazing camera. It has a 4.7 inch LCD, which is larger than its predecessor, the HTC One M7. The resolution is also higher at 1920×1080 pixels. The phone has a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization and a 5MP front-facing camera. It also has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage that can be expanded up to 128GB with an SD card.
The HTC One M8’s design is sleek and elegant, but it does have some drawbacks such as the lack of expandable storage and the fact that it doesn’t have water resistance as its predecessor did. However, these are small issues in comparison to what this phone can do for you in other
On top of that, the chassis has transformed and is now made up of 90% metal – up from around 70% in previous models. The result is a high-quality, heavy-duty design. Just looking at it makes you second-guess your next purchase.
We’re finally past this phone – the HTC U11 is the latest handset from the Taiwanese brand, and is miles ahead of its predecessor. It’s got a high-end Snapdragon 835 CPU, a QHD screen, squeezable sides, and a two-tone chassis.
It can be hard to understand the reasoning behind HTC’s decision to create the One E8 with a plastic chassis while sticking with the same internals but not lowering their price. You can see what these two models have in common here:
The HTC One M9 is on the scene, which means that the One M8 seems a little more outdated than it did before.
That might not quite be the case though, as the new phone doesn’t show an appreciable improvement in what it can do beyond a fancier chassis and higher price tag.
This phone has a lot going for it: it’s got a 20-megapixel camera, shoots in 4K, and has Dolby sound.
But is it the perfect evolution to the One M8? It doesn’t seem so.
Instead of the HTC One M9 Mini, the HTC One M8s has also rocked up. It’s very similar to the HTC One M8 with its metal body, but it is slightly thicker by 0.2mm and doesn’t offer much of an upgrade over the aging HTC One M8.
Looking at a different phone, the HTC One A9 might be better for you. This model is the lower end and shares more similarities in its design to the iPhone than the HTC One M9 does. It still uses mostly plastic for its shell though and doesn’t offer many improvements on specs when compared with the one it’s meant to succeed, the HTC One M8.
It sounds like HTC is undergoing some major changes and could use a little time to regroup. Let’s not get into the company’s naming problems though. When it launched the One X – which we’re reserving judgment on – there was a bit of turbulence, but they started to recover when they released the One M8.
From the heights of the HTC Desire, the world’s first true iPhone competitor, it had fallen dramatically, and sales were in the toilet.
We needed a reboot and the HTC One was just that. The phone was critically superior and even though it wasn’t a commercial success, it helped get us back on track.
HTC had two options: stay the same and make an HTC One S, or try to reinvent the wheel and initiate change. why not try a new phone that could potentially be more impressive than you’re used to, even if this means the risk of it being less popular?
Somehow the company has managed to create something that stands astride both categories.
The HTC One M8 is an even better-designed device that takes the principles of the original One, expands them in the right places, and adds in some more HTC sauce here and there.
The result offers up something that can compete with Samsung on the technological front yet still stand toe-to-toe with Apple, arguably the producer of some of the best-looking devices of all time.
Of course, the One M8 isn’t a phone that’s going to be to everyone’s tastes. It started expensive, coming in at upwards of £450 SIM-free (AU$899, around US$820), but that’s to be expected from a flagship phone like this.
Since its launch, there have been several price cuts which means you can get an HTC One M8 for as little as £250/$270/AU$420 if you shop around, but that’s still a sizeable chunk of change for an aging phone.
It’ll be interesting to see if consumers are still as attached to the metallic chassis when the One E8 is at a much lower price and has similar specs.
You will undoubtedly have to pay a reasonable amount for the HTC One M8, but once you feel how premium it is you’ll accept that it is deserving of its price tag.
Other features will put others off: the fact that the screen is 5″ now and thus a bigger device, one that will require two hands at times and may even be larger than the 2013 version as a result.
HTC needs to focus on smartphones in the mid-to-low bracket, but that’s an issue for another day. The HTC One M8 is a phone that offers the best of what the market has to offer – and it’s able to cope with Apple’s iPhone 6 onslaught. while also preserving HTC’s heritage and helping close the bottom line, which is something to consider.
They’ve done something clever by combining design and technology. And it’s the right move in today’s overcrowded smartphone market- high-end or otherwise.
Design
The One M8 is a phone that stands out from the rest – not just because of its premium and beautifully designed hardware, but also because it includes the latest Android and decent hardware.
The One M8 is reminiscent of the very popular One of 2013 but has made some improvements. You’ll still see the metallic chassis and aluminum casing, but these are now built into 90% of the device’s body, up from 60%. As well as looking sleeker, this has also improved durability.
The most significant change is that the back and sides are curved more this time, which along with the other improvements will bring a really impressive feel to the hand. Alongside this, feedback on first-time users of the One S has been that it feels really lovely.
HTC is proud of the HTC One M8’s design, as it retained it for the HTC One M8s while sticking closely to the look for the HTC One M9 as well.
There will be very few brand-agnostic people that wander into their local phone emporium, pick up the HTC One M8 and a couple of competitors, and don’t find that the Taiwanese brand’s device is streets ahead in the design stakes – and I’d bet that most would be unable to resist a purchase after that.
The difference here between the One M8 and the iPhone 5S – two of the phones that lead the way in the design stakes – is weight and screen size. Having something that feels premium is incredibly important when you’re spending so much on a phone per month, and while the iPhone is beautiful in its metal casing, it’s too light to feel like you’re getting something premium.
Already, there’s a subconscious reaction when you pick up the One M8 for the first time. A natural expectation of how it might feel in your hand, and it doesn’t disappoint. The phone is 9.35mm thick and 160g so between these two factors is a perfect marriage. Though the iPhones 6 and 6S have been doing this for a while, they weren’t as successful in balancing size & weight.
As phones get packed with more features & technologies, their weight increases. Around 3 years ago, the average weight of a cell phone was 120 grams whereas recent models weigh more than that.
Let’s look at the actual design of the HTC One M8 – and the evolution and revolution of its equal parts.
The flagship version will be this metallic grey, although a silver version that evokes the previous model and a champagne/rose gold option are both available too. However, this brushed metal effect is stunning and helps distance the One M8 from its predecessor.
Holding it in the hand is a truly great experience, one that comes with a feeling of luxury.
Quite rightly some will balk at the larger chassis, mostly down to the decision to include the Boom sound speakers above and below the screen, but once you’ve heard them in action you’ll struggle not to agree that they’re a worthy trade-off.
The iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5 have a smaller design language than the One M8, which is larger since its speaker is louder. However, I don’t think it reflects badly on the phone.
Some people might be angry to find that the headphone jack has been moved to the back of the phone, but I’m pleased with that decision. It’s been really easy to use my current headphones with this new model. The argument that it’s easier to slip in and out of the pocket doesn’t stand up. You can’t put the phone in portrait mode when you’re listening to music, and it’s also difficult to grip while watching long videos.
There are a lot of good points to make about waiting for the M8 phone to come out and one of them is that you’ll be able to use increased storage space with the HTC One M8. Better than what its predecessor could offer! citing design reasons, along with the general lack of necessity thanks to cloud storage (which isn’t true for everyone).
To hammer home that the last point, HTC told me that it re-introduced the expandable memory as it was a) able to do so without compromising the design and b) it had heard from so many consumers that this was a real sticking point for not buying the original HTC U11.
It’s encouraging to see brands listening to customer concerns, and now this means even more space for photos, videos, music & movies on your phone!
It also means it can offer expandable storage, giving it a feature that Sony’s flagship from the same period, the Sony Xperia Z3, lacks.
The slot isn’t that easy to access on the fly, as like the nano-SIM port it needs a small tool to pop open the drawer. That might be annoying for the more hardcore photographer, but most people will rarely, if ever, hot-swap cards, so it just offers a cheap and easy way to increase the 16GB / 32GB onboard storage by up to 128GB.
The top of the phone is all plastic still, and this is to do with antenna technology as well as allowing the infrared signal to control home theatre devices.
This, combined with the thin plastic strips on the rear of the phone, allow for phone and Wi-Fi signal to permeate through the chassis… when you hear engineers talk about how hard it is to make a metal phone that can still connect to other devices, the design language of the One M8 is even more impressive.
The design isn’t perfect on the One M8 though – although the following points are little irritations than anything that undoes the work of the overall design ethos.
One of the areas I’m most pleased with is button travel. The original One has very flat keys that were hard to find and press. The One M8 improves on that massively, making everything easier to find in the pocket or bag and tap.
However, I still think the keys are a little plastic and have a little bit of wiggle when rocked back. I had this same criticism with the first one, but it got sorted after a couple of months. but it is slightly disappointing that there isn’t a tight lock between the device’s parts. One of the smallest adjustments can make a real difference, so it’s a pity.
The power button is still on the top of the phone but has been moved from its previous location (the left). I’ve discussed this with a few people, some of whom like this change while others feel frustrated.
I’m in the latter camp – my fingers naturally rest at the left of the phone and I found it easy to unlock the One M8. Now every time I go to turn the phone off after midnight, I notice that it changes ringtone volume and ends up being a pain to go back and fix.
On the one hand, the fact that you have to restart the phone over and over again is infuriating. On the other hand, it can be reassuring in a way as it shows that your phone is running smoothly.
I’m also perplexed about the decision for HTC to drop capacitive buttons (understandable given Android 4.4 KitKat’s love of on-screen keys) yet keep the same big black bar that contains the HTC logo. The brand wanted to have its logo on the front of the phone but somehow managed to keep it in a similar footprint as before.
There is a logical reason for this, given that a device needs to be dense with components but the intelligence shown in the packaging might give you more hope for the future.
The upgrade to the One M8 is great, but there are still a few downgrades from last year’s model.
New metal elements in the chassis make it a lot better to handle. It has an updated design without forsaking any of the heritage of last year’s model. The inclusion of a MicroSD slot is inspired- while I can’t say I’ll ever be on board with the headphone jack being on the bottom, it’s something you can live with.
In short, if you’re looking for a phone that looks like it can be a contender in the smartphone world, which is also built from top-end components- then the M8 would be understandably hard to beat at the time and even now. It’s one of the best-looking phones out there.