text:
The HTC One Reviewby Brian Klug on 4/5/2013 8:50 PM EST
- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Android
- Mobile
- HTC One
- Snapdragon 600
626 Comments
Back to Article
Paulman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkNow I can finally look forward to the next episode of the Anandtech podcast :P Reply
Brian Klug - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkHa, heck yes!
-Brian Reply
Bull Dog - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYea I missed you on the last podcast. It just wasn't quite the same without (what I like to call) the "Klug rants." Reply
phillyry - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkLookin' forward to it! Reply
leexgx - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linki am very interested in this HTC One phone but i am also interested in the RAZR HD maxx as well but it does not seem to be much of an upgrade from the razr maxx i currently own
issue i have is will it Really last an full day on one charge of real world use, as i have seen a lot reviews of phones and the battery life part of the reviews to me seem an Lie quoting Twice the real world battery life, yours included as well i got the HTC One X (uk) and it was an Joke to use as it would not stay on for long (only one that gets close to correct battery report is the razr Maxx and the Razr HD) only one site seems to side with poor battery life or currant smartphones correctly and that is "theverge" but other sites and other users do not like the site and tend not to agree with there results
on the razr maxx that i own it can go nearly 2 days or 1 day if i go nuts on it, i really love HTC phones but with the Joke of an phone HTC one X (its like an portable gaming laptop your lucky if it lasts 2 hours on battery) that got rid off in less then an month of owning it, every phone i have had has been poor battery life, i had the G1 and HTC desire (the first one) but i could use an extended battery on them yes it made them an brick but it lasted long time
i do really like HTC phones but as all other smart phone makers are doing still is neglecting the battery size so it can Just about make it last an day if you use it lightly Reply
leexgx - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkbut to add this is an running battery life with any one person i have come across who has got smart phones Reply
henrybravo - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkIs the period key broken on your keyboard? Nothing but run-on sentences. Reply
leexgx - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - linkwas bit long my bad, just i find battery tests that sites do seem to be more then half what is reviewed as to why i norm just divide it by 2.3x ish to get real world results
there needs to be a real world tests as well (facebook, twitter, skype, youtube, browsing so on), as there is no way you can get the times you see on review sites (HTC one X international version and the iphone is good example of unrealistic battery life is when reviewed) Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkInteresting that you acknowledged that you had not punctuated your post you then made another post and again you didnt use punctuation it is interesting i was going to ask you why you did it i have decided not to do that that would be redundant i am of the opinion that you are going to continue to post this way as a result of that i am going to disregard your posts in the future . Reply
sosrandom - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkat least ieexgx has punctuation in his sentences, anybody should be able to tell when a sentence starts and ends without thinking about it Reply
Thud2 - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkIrony, look it up. Reply
Flunk - Monday, April 22, 2013 - linkA native speaker, probably, but it's a hell of a lot harder for people where English is their second language. Reply
MobiusStrip - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - linkhe also has a problem with capital letters you would think that using a shift key wouldnt be too hard since even elementary school children understand capitals but apparently its too easy to get online now Reply
leexgx - Saturday, May 04, 2013 - linkWell i am going to get the HTC ONE (pre Order UK Orange, probably Wednesday 8th) and see how it goes, i really do like the front speakers but i still think battery mite be an issue but i may be more concerned about the GPS shutting down if the phone gets to hot (like the HTC One X does)
Guess i can always sell the phone and get the Moto razr HD (or S4 maybe) but it is not much of an upgrade from the RAZR MAXX currently own (mostly faster CPU and little better screen +2600 bat) but i would really want the HD MAXX version (not for sale in UK......) just for the little bit more power to last the day if i have used it a lot, as the 2600 on the RAZR HD should be fine as the phone is not going to be pulling much power compared to S3/S4 or other random HTC phones incarnations Reply
MobiusStrip - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link"if the phone gets to hot"
What? How do you "hot" something? And why would the phone get to do it? Reply
efeman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkThe depth of this review is astonishing. Excellent work, Brian. Reply
MilwaukeeMike - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYes, it is. The word 'review' doesn't cut it. It's a comprehensive analysis. This site teaches you more about a product than like the rest of the internet combined. Reply
Sabresiberian - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThis kind of review is why I come to Anandtech. :) Reply
PC Perv - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkToo many quality control issues from what I've read around the Web. I would wait out the first batches. Reply
Crono - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI have to say that I am really drawn by the build quality and construction detail of the HTC One. Even if the specs of the S4 are marginally higher in certain areas, I prefer a device that feels solid and comfortable to hold. "Ergonomics" doesn't matter for my desktop, but for a cell phone it's almost first priority when all other things (camera quality, screen quality, CPU, etc.) are equal or close to equal on competing phones.
I'm a Windows Phone user at the moment, but the One is bringing me over to Android. Pre-ordering right now on my carrier's website. Reply
Death666Angel - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI haven't had build quality issues with my 2 Samsung phones so far (SGS2 and GN). You may be confusing build quality with material choices. I personally don't give a damn about my phone being metal. It gets a case around it anyway and then I want to get the weight saving from plastic. :) All else being equal, I'll probably always choose the plastic phone. :D Reply
theduckofdeath - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI agree, the SGS2 is a solid phone. I remember mine getting squeaky after I dropped it pretty hard on a pavement once, so hard that the back popped off and the battery flew out. For a while I thought that I had bent the whole phone, but after looking it all over I realized that it was just the battery that was bent. I flattened it as good as I could, and after that the phone was nice and solid again. :) Reply
vvk - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkAgree. Plastic survives falls much better than metal and frankly who has not dropped their phone at least ones? And if you use case with the phone the argument for metal becomes even murkier. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkNo it doesn't. Go over the the Squaretrade site and see what they have to say about it. Metal does better Mostar the time. Samsung is just being cheap. Reply
Crono - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI'm not "confusing build quality with material choices", though I see what you are getting at.
While materials aren't everything, they are at least half the equation when looking at build quality. If you have a flimsy plastic housing, but great internals, the result is cheap feeling phone. My current and previous phones have all been plastic, but they've all taken a beating in regular use and look worse for it. I prefer to not need or use a case.
In any case (pardon the pun), HTC phones have better in-hand feel in my experience even when using plastic. Reply
AZsoul - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIf you are an existing att customer, no pre-order and no free media link. Another example of their superior customer service. Reply
horay - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThat's because AT&T wants you to buy the iphone. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkNo carrier wants you to buy the iPhone. They sell it because they have to due to customer demand. they ay more for iPhones and can't load them up with logos and bloatware like Android phones. Reply
IsthatyouBevis - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThat is not true. I went to the AT&T store and preordered and recieved the media link. Please don't spread dis-information Reply
erikiksaz - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThe fact that carriers don't want you to purchase an iphone is absolutely true. The margins are so low that the CSRs very little bonus when they sell an iphone relative to any android product. Reply
jbrandonf - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI don't think you know how it works but carrier reps receive no additional money for selling a specific platform. -ex carrier rep Reply
bnathan - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkMaybe with your one carrier in your one country but most carriers offer commissions for selling handsets and plans. The carriers I have dealings with they ALL offer commissions as incentives to sell and the Iphone gives the lowest commission to sales people as there is no money in Apple products. Sell and Iphone and the payment (handset subsidy) barely covers the cost of giving the handset away for free with the plan, sell Android or WP8 and the payment covers the handset and you get enough to make a tidy sum of money. The only saving grace to sell an Iphone is that you can just be an order taker there is no selling involved so you can do the contract and move onto the next customer hence higher numbers to make the same commission and the fact there is so many add ons which you can add to an iphone. Walk into any shop and they will have 100+ Iphone accessories and a couple for each Android handset if any. The only people who make money out of Apple products is Apple. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkA ridiculous comment. Apples cost are only a little higher than the rest and they make more from android because they can load up the devices with their garbage software. All the developers of iOS devices, accessory makers. People who produce using would find your comments ignorant and amusing. Compare that to the meager Android aftermarket and developer revenues. Not even close. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkHe didn't say "Carrier Rep" Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkThe OP I mean. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkEither you weren't really a carrier rep or you are lying. Reply
TinaE - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkMe too. I ordered today at the ATT store and received the media link for free. Reply
sjain - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkJust pre-ordered on the AT&T website and got my free media link. I am an existing customer so am surprised at your comment. They clearly spell out that you have to add the media link manually and it shows up as $0.00 in your cart. Reply
Sabresiberian - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThe thing that stops me from jumping off the Win 8 phone ship is that I think MS is just beginning to get serious about smart phones. The idea of a Surface Pro Smart phone, with its VaporMg body and full-blown Win8 OS, isn't all that far-fetched, and until MS proves they are never going to make such a thing, I'll be waiting for it. :) Reply
kyuu - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkFull Win8 on a smartphone isn't going to happen, and I'm not sure why you'd *want* it in the first place. Reply
MobiusStrip - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYeah, because on a 32 GB device, 16 GB is consumed by Microsoft's bloated hog of an OS.
Sounds like a winner. Reply
MobiusStrip - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkUnfortunately the continued failure to put audio line-out jacks on Android phones makes them an inelegant pain in the ass for anyone who cares about music and sound.
Actually, I can add the iPhone 5 to that complaint, since Apple royally bungled the new (disgracefully bad) dock connector. Reply
danbob999 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkYou already have bluetooth, USB, and headphones out. Use one of the first two if you want quality. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkThe new dock connector is excellent. Thin and small, carries audio, video, and data works great in the USB port of my car. Far more capable than microusb.You just don't know what you are talking about. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkWell thats a really reliable source... Reply
nehway0912 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkSamsung isn't the one who made the screen, JDI is. Samsung is the one who made the driver chip. Reply
Brian Klug - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkAhh is that how you'd parse the string? That makes much more sense.
-Brian Reply
nehway0912 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkYes. xda has a thread about who the manufacturer behind the screen is. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3... Reply
elmicker - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkGold? I really don't think I've ever seen one of those awarded before. I don't even think I've seen any phone win any award before. And that's not even your highest accolade? What is the highest? Reply
Brian Klug - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkPlatinum is highest, it's a new awards tier.
-Brian Reply
elmicker - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI look forward, therefore, to never seeing one awarded. Reply
Brian Klug - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkYeah for me at least, platinum would imply absolute perfection.
-Brian Reply
Paulman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkCorrection: Diamond, followed by Masters/Grand Masters is higher than Platinum. #Starcraft Reply
marc1000 - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linklol! yeah, diamond after platinum! that will be the phone that survives the "Blender test"! Reply
Paulman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkWait, what?! You should REALLY add "spoiler" tags to your comments, man. Ha ha, jk. But I've never seen an Anandtech smartphone (or tablet) review EVER give out an Editor's Award. Wow. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYes, the new Awards Tiers include the "Pig Iron" award, specifically created for the Pantech Jest review. And Brian this review was riveting. No shit. Reply
meelahi - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI must say, I feel pity for those who'd buy the Galaxy S4 over this. This is one gorgeous device, and also goes head to head with Lumia 920 in imaging! Reply
Paulman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI'm a Nexus 4 user here, and I'm not going to upgrade any time soon, but I think that consumers will be pleased no matter which of the two "flagship" phones they choose (HTC/Samsung). They both look pretty solid. Reply
tipoo - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkSome would have to, because of carriers. Reply
s44 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI pity the folks who'd buy inferior hardware because of design, finish, etc etc that they'll have under a case forever anyway. Reply
EnzoFX - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI pity plastic. Samsung of all companies can't spend the cash on something better built? As for the faster hardware, I have no doubt you wouldn't notice the difference in your usage. Reply
s44 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkDrop 'em both, see which breaks faster. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt appears plastic breaks faster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5q5TRuAsY Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkPlastic. Reply
dkr88 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI'm torn. I've dropped my sgs3 several times on concrete and the wounds are barely noticeable. I suspect the One would not fare so well... Reply
augustofretes - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHow is it inferior hardware? You may believe a removable battery means "better hardware" but putting a plastic door at the back of a phone is not an impressive feat (nor a relevant feature for the vast majority of users), Micro SD is another feature that requires no major effort to include an is not something the general public cares about.
The screen, as usual, will be better in the One, the camera is better, the build quality is superior, the speakers are better, the screen size is more comfortable (and so is the shape of the phone), what exactly is better hardware-wise from Samsung? Reply
poofyhairguy - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThe Qualcomm SGS4s will have a higher-clocked CPU (1.9GHz compared to 1.7GHz on the One) and a higher-clocked GPU.
And many people would much prefer an AMOLED screen to a LCD one. Reply
augustofretes - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkPeople may prefer AMOLED (I don't know exactly who except fanboys, regular customers I'm sure don't know what AMOLED is) but is objectively inferior.
The CPU and the GPU will be clocked a tad faster, but I don't think that's "superior hardware" is the same processor, just clocked higher. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkBut now we know the S 4 lags all over and has a little worse battery life than the one. Reply
sAiyAnstAr - Wednesday, May 01, 2013 - linkIt's the same CPU just over-clocked faster. So in that respect, there is no difference in the CPU hardware... Reply
danbob999 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThe Samsung is smaller despite a larger display. A 4.7" phone is not more comfortable if it is larger than a 5" one.
Even if you don't care about the removable battery, it is larger in the SGS4 so it will last longer.
Also while I understand that some people prefer the look of metal, plastic is more practical as it is lighter and absorbs shock better. So plastic is better build quality.
And I will wait for reviews about the SGS4 before telling which one has the best camera. Reply
blacks329 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkSo you won't wait for the reviews and eventual drop tests to see which is better between the two for battery and build quality?
Also larger battery does not always mean last longer (as is also mentioned in the review; it comes down to software optimization, hence why the iPhone generally does better with considerably smaller batteries). Especially with a higher clocked SoC it might not be 'better,' as you've expected.
I'd be surprised if the SGS4 garners any sort of Anandtech Editors Choice award. While HTC is actually making functional improvements in terms of how they think hardware and software for a phone Samsung just throws horsepower. I hope the One sells well enough for HTC, b/c this is the phone all other manufacturers should be striving for. Reply
augustofretes - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkOf course it's more comfortable, especially because the biggest issue with phones is not the size in every dimensions, the problem is width, and the S4 is wider than the HTC ONE.
"it is larger in the SGS4 so it will last longer" Is just false. Especially considering how inefficient AMOLED is while displaying whites.
"And I will wait for reviews about the SGS4 before telling which one has the best camera." I don't need to. The S4 will take better pictures when there's plenty of light, and it will be abysmal when there's no light. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkTurns out the larger battery in the S 4 doesn't last longer. Also if you had read the review you are commenting on you would have seen Brian say the same thing. Reply
superflex - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkSamsung users need a removable battery because they need to force reboots of the crappy Touch Wiz UI. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkNewsflash..not everyone uses a case or wants one. Its a pretty pitiful comment that cheap plasticky phones don't matter because you can slap a plastic case over the existing plastic. Smells like rationalization. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkNot everyone uses cases and who has inferior hardware. Reply
nyrulez - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI am surprised why folks don't care about SD card expansion at all. For big media consumers, that can be huge. I was constantly hitting the wall on my 16 GB iPhone. It was extremely annoying and not much I could do about except delete my music ir apps. After moving to a Motorala Razr + 64GB micro SD card, it hasn't been the same since.
Though this one is super awesome and would love to get it, the horror of running out of space all the time stops me. Thoughts ? Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkyou do know this phone come with 32 and 64GB right? then you can buy a USB-OTG cable and connect any 64GB or 128GB usb stick to it as you like. This is better because you don't have to take the back cover in/out constantly.
In my opinion, 64GB internal on the HTC one is way faster performance compare to 16GB s4 with 64GB sd card everyday. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt's not just your opinion, r/w on internal was 19/14mbs on the galaxy s, class 10 sd cards are stuck at 10mbs (and that's if you shell out the money for class 10). Reply
comomolo - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIn no way Class 10 SD cards are stuck at 10MBps. That's just the minimum.
I'm simply not buying a non-expandable phone. The same with battery. I'm not the kind of person who changes devices every two years. I just had an iPhone 3G battery die on me and I swear I'm never going to experience that again. In a couple of years, 128GB very fast SD cards will be cheap.
I also dislike physical buttons. I think Google is right putting them inside the screen and both Samsung and HTC are wrong putting them outside it.
Finally, all this trouble to get through metal seems pretty silly to me. Coloured polycarbonate (Nokia N9-like) is my first choice regarding materials.
I'm definitely no the target for this phone. Reply
thesavvymage - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkxperia ZL has a micro-sd slot and has on screen buttons :) Reply
MobiusStrip - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkOn-screen buttons suck because you have to look at the screen and poke at them, whereas physical buttons can be felt and operated without looking. Reply
Nuren - Monday, April 29, 2013 - linkHTC just released the One here in China. It's exactly the same awesome phone but has a removable back with dual-sim card and SD-card slots. I still use my 2007 iPhone with its original battery and it still works fine. I love my Nokia Pureview 808 with it's lovely and tough polycarbonate (plastic) body. The plastic of Samsung phones is real cheap-looking and crappy, and easily damaged. I had a Samsung Note that I got rid of whilst still keeping my antiquated iPhone. This review has convinced me to get the HTC One instead of waiting forever for the iPhone 6, which I seriously doubt will be better than or as innovate as the HTC One anyway. And I must express my gratitude for the most thorough and thoughtful phone review that I have ever read to date. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkYou are wrong about card speed. Ask Brian. Reply
eebrah - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkIf you have to remove the cover in order to access the MicroSD card then they have designed it somewhat poorly, that is not the case with all microSD equipped phones.
That being said, It is unlikely that one will be constantly removing and switching microSD cards, hence the inconvenience of removing the back cover once every few weeks for whatever reason may be justifiable.
The higher capacity versions of these phones come at a SIGNIFICANT premium, you may not feel like it is an issue to you but for others it may be when compared to the cost of acquiring a similarly sized microSD card.
USB OTG cables are fine .... when copying files, but not when you wish to have the expandable storage with you at all times e.g music playlist? It would just make holding and carrying the device awkward and increase the chances of doing damage to the device when compared to microSD card. Reply
augustofretes - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThe developer edition costs $649 and is 64GB, game set and match. That's my next phone. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYeah thats a deal. Any word on when they are selling these? i assume developer edition means you don't have to root it.. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThe carriers know that very, very few people ue SD card slots. Google doesn't like them either and never has. Reply
FITCamaro - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIt has nothing to do with Google or manufacturers not liking them. It is application developers that don't like them. Apps being stored on SD cards means easier piracy. That is why Apple has never allowed removable storage. And application developers love them for it. Google and Microsoft are moving more this direction to appease developers. Reply
phillyry - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - linkGood point on the piracy FITCamero, I hadn't thought of it like that but it makes total sense. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkLack of sd cards has nothing whatever to do with piracy. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkGoogle has made public statements for years that they prefer contiguous memory and took out sd card support in the latest version of jelly bean so you have to root to get it back. Pretty clear how they feel about it. Reply
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - linkSd cards are slow and unreliable that's why. Reply
darwinosx - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkKind of screwed if you are on Verizon though and want their coverage. Can't believe they aren't offering this phone. Reply
bleh0 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkSounds like an absolutely wonderful device but I'll wait the Galaxy S 4 reviews. Reply
dylan522p - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI forgive you for disappearing on us, and becoming so much less active. This review is quite possibly the best phone review I have ever read. Reply
StormyParis - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkCommenting as I read
- wow, that's a lot on the casing. isn't buying a phone for its casing like buying a gift for its wrapping ? Also, who cares ? phones need a sleeve, especially expensive Ones (pun !)
- "This is what build quality is about, making an actually solid device." Nope. It's about making a resilient, durable design. I suspect Aluminum is bad at withstanding daily use (scratches...), and mishaps (falls). I'd rather have something a bit bendy, with a bit of amortization, and less visible scratches.
- good sound, at last. Nice !
It's a bit sad to see HTC misdirecting their efforts (the casing of the HD2 was already very good, no need to get overly fancy), and forgetting the basics: an SD slot, a removable battery, timely updates, a big screen.
I was sad to not have an upgrade path from my beloved HD2 to another HTC. I'm on a Note right now, and the One is not what I'll be upgrading to later this year. I think HTC went for premium-mainstream, and forgot about the nerds. I wish them well. Reply
Pylon757 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkThen go buy an S4 then. You're clearly not the target audience. Reply
Pylon757 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkIn the end, Android is about choice (well, except in the case of screen size). If you want a premium metal phone, get the One. If you want a plastic phone with a removable battery and SD slot, then get the S4. Reply
jayseeks - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkForm and function go hand in hand. It's the form that pushes engineers to advance function. To squeeze more pixels in the screen, to create a thinner case, to extend battery life all within a pleasant form requires the engineers to push their efforts in order to create components that can accommodate such needs. By your logic, we should all use a uniform design based on who can max outs specs the quickest and easiest. Reply
jayseeks - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkAnd if you want to talk about misdirecting efforts you might want to direct your efforts at Samsung who's spent more on marketing than R&D in 2012. Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkSamsung may spend more on marketing than R&D but Samsung also spent about 3x the money on R&D than Apple did. Something like $10B versus $3.4B last year. I don't know how much HTC spends, but it's probably a lot less than Apple, which is again, 3x less than what Samsung spent on R&D last year. You might want to educate yourself on more than the most popular talking points on tech blogs. Reply
hc - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkSure Samsung spent 3x more R&D than Apple last year, but what proportion of that is for foundry, TVs, or DRAM etc? Putting all that in perspective, Samsung is spending even more marketing per mobile R&D dollar spent just because it can shift its cash within the conglomerate. I don't see how your argument is any more educated just because they spent more overall.
They spent more on marketing than R&D in 2012. Fact.
They spent more R&D than Apple last year. Irrelevant. Reply
jayseeks - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkConsidering that Samsung ELECTRONICS consists of their TV, semiconductor, LCD panel, AND mobile phone divisions, spending 3x on R&D than Apple or HTC is still a rather weak number. Which is not surprising, cause it's Samsung. Reply
jayseeks - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkYou might want to not try and mislead people by not indicating that that R&D figure is for Samsung ELECTRONICS as a whole. Reply
harshilshah - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link"isn't buying a phone for its casing like buying a gift for its wrapping ?"
No it's not! Do you chuck the casing of whatever phone you buy and then use it? As Brian said, the casing really does matter a lot for a device you use all the time. To each his own, but the casing is definitely NOT equivalent to a wrapper.
"a big screen"
Agree with the rest, but since when is a big screen a basic aspect of a phone? And how much bigger than 4.7" is your 'big"? Reply
sherlockwing - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGS4's 5" is largers, and I haven't seen the casing of my GS3 for more than 3 minute since I bought it 8 month ago, it have been sitting safely in a $50 case. The only thing I need to see on a phone is the screen anyway. Reply
Tyronius - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkIf I had a Samsung, I would also hide it in a case... Reply
amdwilliam1985 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkyep, because Samsung users are copying iphone users by hiding their smart phones inside huge protective cases. Reply
RichPaterno - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - linkLOL! My thoughts exactly. Samsung makes some of the butt UGLIEST phones on the market for sure. I went with the HTC one x instead of the GS3 last year for three reasons:
1. the aesthetics. the samsung is plain and simple an ugly phone. i'd put it in a case just so i can remain in denial as to what it looks like
2. the annoying bluish tint on the samsung display
3. the oh so cheap and plasticky feel
and I will buy the HTC One over the GS4 this year for the very same reasons... Reply
Toss3 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkPretty ironic considering the blue tint of the display of the HTC One. Reply
harshilshah - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkSo basically the One sucks because it's 0.3" smaller than the S4, whose size suddenly has become your new basic standard for size, and because your phone choices are so bad in design that the screen is the only part worth looking at? Reply
hartwicklax22 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkyou dont get a gift and walk around with it day after day week after week month after month all year like it is part of your body with the wrapping paper on do you ??!! .... i didnt think so, yes "trivial" but in response to your lame analogy. I like the rest of your post however. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI won't say it's just a wrapper, it would be like saying the outside of a car is "just" a wrapper. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHurrumph. Dagnab newfangled fancy lunimum phones. Mine BENDS! Like a willow! Who needs quality! My Pinto gets me to work fine. Reply
sAiyAnstAr - Wednesday, May 01, 2013 - linkMy HTC Sensation has an Aluminium case and Gorilla Glass (which the One has too). I have dropped it many times on tile and concrete floors both back and face down. No cracks on the screen, no scratches or dents on the case. Reply
Scottneon - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkThis has to be the most in-depth,thorough review I have ever read. I appreciate all your attention to detail in explaining how things work and perform. I was planning on getting this phone and after reading this review I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. Thank you for all your hard work Reply
sherlockwing - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkCould you do a Airplane mode H.264 Video playback battery test for Smartphone reviews? A lot of people including me use their large(4.5"+) smartphone to watch videos during long flights. Reply
danbob999 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI agree the current battery benchmarks are not enough. A white background will favor LCD, and black background will favor AMOLED phones.
I'd rather have a benchmark were all phones sit idle, display turned off, until they run out of juice. With a few emails getting in of course. Reply
JebbyC - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkThe beats logo goes a long way towards ruining it.
Vivek's not going to like your flippancy towards plastic, polymer and polycarbonate, they all mean different and specific things :P Reply
Paulman - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkDoes "plastically deformable polycarbonate polymer" make any sense, perchance? :P #YOLO Reply
VivekGowri - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkWow, I laughed at that. Reply
dylan522p - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link#HOLOYOLO Reply
jjj - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkWell, since it has no SD (unlike the China version) they can burn in hell for all i care but i was curious to see battery life with 802.11ac ,hope we get that soon.
As for thinking this is innovative ,you are going way too far.They are doing minor things that don't solve big problems ,a lot more can be done now and maybe we see a few far cooler things soon. Reply
radiotrib - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWhat a sorry response to well written article explaining in depth and detail what actually IS innovative about the HTC One ... or perhaps explain what, in your opinion, would constitute true innovation. Reply
dylan522p - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkChinesse Version is proven fake. Reply
htvu91 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkBrian: Seem like the battery test is very bad comparatively. For me the iPhone is just about on par and this phone perform way worst in the web browsing test. Reply
Hunt3rj2 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkThe iPhone 5 is on LTE. Don't compare apples to oranges, LTE makes a big difference in battery life performance on this current rev of battery life testing because of how much faster LTE is. Reply
AZsoul - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAnd the HTC One is not on LTE??? Reply
jeffkibuule - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThe HTC One Brian tested does not have US compatible LTE bands, it is the EMEA version (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Reply
teiglin - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAs he stated, Brian tested the EMEA One, which does not have US-compatible LTE bands (4 and 17 basically). So he wasn't able to do any battery testing on LTE, meaning the test was performed on HSPA+. I assume this was AT&T, meaning 7 or 14Mbps HSDPA, though he did mention testing it on T-Mobile since they have 1900MHz UMTS deployment in his area.
I'd actually love to see battery comparisons on different network operators and types--it'd be interesting to see how much efficiency varies from, say, AT&T LTE to VZW LTE, or from ATT HSPA+ to T-Mo HSPA+ to VZW/Sprint EVDO. Reply
phillyry - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - linkYes. Please update with LTE numbers Brian. Reply
Joshdan - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkA stunning review with greater in-depth analysis which is not found on any website.
Marvelous work, reviewer, Brian Klug. Reply
fabarati - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkFun fact: The Nokia N95 from 2007 had bigger camera pixels (2.2 microns) and a bigger sensor (1/2.5"). And in this comparison, doesn't avail itself at all badly for a 6 year old phone.
But all in all, great review Brian. Seriously, great review.You probably nudged me into getting this device (95% probability). If only the Xperia Z wasn't so gorgeous in purple, and waterproof to boot. Reply
phillyry - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - linkThat's a great camera phone review. Love the comparisons. Reply
MadMan007 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI've got to say I'm surprised there are so few phones (are there any others?) with front or dual front speakers. There's such a natural and obvious place to put them in the top and bottom bezel where there's already a speaker at least (top) and a mic or nothing (bottom). I hope that becomes a common design feature going forward. Reply
IsthatyouBevis - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt requires a bigger phone for a given screen size. Reply
David Velar - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI live in London.. I purchased the One two weeks ago.. I must quickly tell you I am a big phone enthusiast.. I have owned the Samsung galaxy s3, The One X,The Note 2 and the Nexus 4.Ye currently own the lot.. I was keen on getting the Xperia Z but after playing with it decided not to because of poor screen calibration and an overall feeling of disappointment in the fact it felt very 2012..I then decided on getting the One.. It is without doubt the best phone I have.. By a long long way.. It feels right, the hardware, software, screen, speed etc etc.. It feels more of a whole than any other Android phone thus far..I like Samsung and I love the Nexus 4 but for all the goodness those phones bring I don't love those phones. I love the One.. The screen is amazing. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is.. Sharp, vibrant, colour full, bright it is absolutely incredible. The hardware you just have to see it to believe it.. Pictures do not do it justice.. Personally I think it is even more beautiful than the IPhone 5..I never thought Android would ever be able to match such precision but this knocks it out the ball park. A great review by a reviewer I have the utmost respect for.. A wonderful review for a wonderful phone.. Keep up the great work Reply
landerf - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkI'm glad to see advancement in a new area, but I'll be much happier when that advancement doesn't require a "beats" logo. Few brands are more detestable. Reply
s44 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkAll that and no headphone output analysis... Reply
HackerForHire - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkBrian, you get the Platinum award for the most thorough HTC One review on the Internet. Reply
bcg27 - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkIncredible review, great job Brian. Pretty good chance this will be my next phone, although I'll wait to see the S4 review before deciding. Reply
Thehumorpolice - Friday, April 05, 2013 - linkBrian- What did you think of the 720p60 video quality? I've seen others reviews that say its terrible. Reply
crabnebula - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian, thank you for a delightful in-depth review that leaves no question unanswered to even the most discerning reader -- except only one :-) -- how is the audio quality through the headphone jack?
Please tell us audiophiles that it is as exceptional and brilliantly engineered as just about every other aspect of this phone... Please? Then I'll be truly excited! Reply
MrMusicMan - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkNice review. But I have to ask: Cases but not a peep on headphone audio quality? Kinda weird. Reply
karasaj - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWow this is amazing. Thanks so much! This is almost enough to tempt me back to Android, but I love the Lumia 920 and Windows Phone in general. I would love to see more Android users go this route though. Camera performance is so cool to see advance. Reply
Thermogenic - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThe Lumia totally trounces the HTC One in the video test - that was surprising. The Lumia also is better in night photos, in my opinion - even more so when you compare full images (since the Lumia is at 8MP).
That being said, HTC One's camera is much better than anything else in the Android world - it will be interesting if they can sell it when people will just think 4MP = bad. Reply
randomhkkid - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian, articles like this are why Anandtech is at the forefront in my mind as the best tech review site on the internet. Reply
Megacharge - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWhat are those two things in the sky in the first iPhone picture? They don't quite look like planes. Reply
andyd - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI don't understand why none of review charts (such as the display one) include 920. You have included Lumia 800 and 900 but still not 920. Reply
Owls - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkCan you guys begin testing phones for in car connectivity as well? These days a lot of vehicles can display email and text so it would be nice to know if these phones come with a complete bluetooth stack. In addition bluetooth call quality should also be reviewed. Thanks for the great review! Reply
Krysto - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI still think HTC could pull off an 8MP camera with a 2/3" sensor (7x bigger pixels compared to a 1/3" 8MP sensor, which is what most phones used last year, if my math is right). They don't even have to make it a phone from the "One" series. Just make it another niche device meant for "amateur photographers" market or whatever, that they'd release in the second half of the year.
Then they'd have almost the exact same strategy as Samsung, releasing the Galaxy S flagship in spring, and the Galaxy Note one in fall. HTC needs something like that, and I think they should take this market with the best "no-compromises" camera, even if the phone itself is a bit thicker 10-11mm – which is how thick Lumias have been anyway, and I haven't seen their users complain too much about it.
Not to mention that if they do this, they also don't have to let Nokia win the "camera of the year" award in smartphones, when they launch their next gen Lumia, which is in fall. HTC could beat Nokia and everyone else in fall (including the new iPhone) with the best camera on the market. This is a huge potential market. Sony is also rumored to release a 20 MP camera with pixel-binning this fall, by the way.
If HTC hires some Nikon/Canon engineers to help them get the camera hardware and software right, even better. I do think it's time for smartphone companies to start at least collaborating with DSLR camera companies. If only the slightest know-how and technology trickles down from DSLR's into smartphone cameras, we'd still see huge improvements in smartphone cameras.
So I do hope the next vector of competition in smartphones is camera quality, just like it has been for processors and screen sizes and resolutions so far. HTC could be at the forefront of this movement if they really wanted it. The question is how badly do they want it, because they'll have to go a bit outside of their comfort zone. I don't know how badly they want it or not, but I'd say they badly need it to recover as a company. Reply
UpSpin - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThey don't need a phone only 1% want, they need a phone 99% want, and the One is that type of phone 99% of people want.
If you want a 2/3" sensor inside a smartphone, then don't expect to get a chassis as small as 10mm, that's physically impossible. Take a look the the Lumia 808 (uses a sensor only slightly larger than 2/3"), but fat as hell (18mm!)
HTC did what was physically possible and which made sense. Current technology does not allow significantly more. And HTC does not develop CMOS chips or optics, so they can't improve it further.
If HTC fixes the software issues of the camera it's probably the best smartphone camera available. If you want better quality you have to buy a thick point and shot or DSLR. Reply
Krysto - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link2/3" sensor is quite a bit smaller than 1/1.2" sensor. So the bump itself would be smaller than 18mm in thickness. Plus, the technology has improved a lot since then, and we can now see 1/3" sensors in 7mm flat phone bodies, when they used to fit only in 12mm phones a few years ago.
I wouldn't mind a small bump anyway. Also the Note was considered "1% of the market" too back then. Most of the media was saying how nobody would want it. So I wouldn't be so quick to judge that. Reply
youwonder - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHot damn I'm only on page 2 but this is in depth as hell. Just one disappointment though: no LTE battery life numbers for the one? Wondering if it would dethrown the iphone 5 as the king in that area. Reply
BrianTho2010 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFantastic Review Brian. The One will continue to be my recommendation for any Android shoppers.
Depth of the review just keeps getting crazier. I can only imagine the time spent on this.
Any reason why you think the iphone 5 mic cuts off at 16Khz?
Please explain "you could make an argument about nyquist and covering a few edge cases where the 50 percent square wave assumption built into 1 arcminute doesn't hold up" Reply
mchart - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkNyquist's theorem states that you want twice the sampling rate / resolution of what your highest end is. So if the target is a top end of 4khz you want a sampling rate of 8khz. I've never heard of this being applied to display technology as he does. I guess you could though. Basically he is saying that a LCD display applies here because you are using individual pixels to display something to your analog eyes. So according to Nyquist's theorem you'd want twice the number of given pixels for a resolution that one would consider to be 'max ppi' for that given resolution.
IMO, the theorem is kind of out of place here but I guess it makes sense. Reply
BrianTho2010 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThanks for the explanation! Reply
Lynxwound - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHi mchart. Actually, as you intuitively know, the concept of spatial frequencies means that the theorem can applied to images. Images can be decomposed into "waves" with different spatial frequencies, just as a signal into sines. Regards Reply
Tunnah - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI feel that after I buy this I should send you some money too because I've never been so sold on a device!
Alas, I won't do though...I hate android phones - not that I think anything is wrong with them, but I'm a bit OCD, and a very casual phone user, winmo suits me so perfectly with the tiles...but god damn do i want one of these... (i currently have the HD7 and it has less than 10 apps, thats how little I use my phone ha) Reply
Tunnah - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAlso as a side note, I have to to say Brian, your writing is just damn FANTASTIC, I've been reading Anandtech for years now and you've really come into your own, I'm a casual techie, I understand that stuff works blah but not quite HOW, and you go into just the right amount of depth so I don't skip anything or have to look anything up..well done mate :) Reply
harshilshah - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIs there any way to add the WHOLE massive article to Pocket as one item? Or am I missing something? Reply
sunaadh - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThe pocket bookmarklet works. The entire article is saved, but a few images are out of place. Reply
UpSpin - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkbottom right corner 'print this article'. Maybe this helps. Reply
TareX - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThis is how every review on Anantech needs to be written. Bravo and thank you.
My quick thoughts on the phone: It's a no buy. I currently use a Tegra 3 One X, and no way in hell am I paying for a phone with comparable battery life. Call your tests accurate as much as you want, but the truth is always way worse. I'll be going for one of those 3000mAh battery phones for my next purchase. As much as build quality, software and the camera are important, nothing really approaches significance with smartphones as much as battery life, which literally changes the way a phone is used. Reply
jeffkibuule - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYou're pretty much stuck with a Galaxy Note then, which has plenty of compromises of it's own. Reply
tipoo - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYou know there's a lot more to it than battery capacity. The Tegra 3 wasn't particularly efficient. Reply
DarkStryke - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI'm just waiting for the HTC zealots to buy this, then proceed to slap a $70 otterbox on it. That's the problem with these alu phones, and the iphone is no different. People harp on how awesome the design is, but at the end of the day, 95% of them get slapped into a plastic / rubber protector which makes those 200 minutes of CNC time, and the cost associated with it - useless.
It's a great phone no doubt, but day to day use it's not going to be left 'naked' by the vast majority of buyers. Reply
Krysto - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI have a HTC Legend from 2010, and it's almost fully aluminum too. I've never had the need to keep it in a case. I've dropped it 3 times on concrete, and I only have a few dents in it, that you can only see if you look close on it. I'm sure all the iPhone 4 and 4S's out there look a lot worse, if used without a case, which is why most iPhone uses do use a case. Reply
Krysto - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian, why didn't you use GLBenchmark 2.7 and 3dmark when testing the GPU?
The Nexus 4 benchmark also seems to be "old", because I think Google drastically improved the drivers in Android 4.2.2 for the Nexus 4, which should've made it a lot more equal to the HTC One in performance. That's why you were getting such different results. I think HTC One uses those updated drivers, too, even though it's not on 4.2.2. But since you compared with the old Nexus 4 benchmark, you couldn't see that.
I think it's time to dump all the other benchmarks, and test the devices on the latest benchmarks. At the very least I suggest keeping ONLY the old GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD on-screen and off-screen benchmarks (dump all of the old fill rate and what else ones) and then add the GLBenchmark 2.7 and 3dmark benchmarks to your new reviews. This way you can transition to having only the new benchmarks soon. Reply
varad - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYou can find the HTC One benchmark numbers for GLBenchmark 2.7 and 3dmark on Anand's article in the following links:
But i agree those graphs should also have been included in the device review here. Reply
beginner99 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGreat phone but to large, like all top notch phones... Reply
UpSpin - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkOnly in large phones you can stuff a large enough battery, high resolution display and a powerful SoC. That's the reason all high end phones are somewhere around 5". Reply
comomolo - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI'm pretty confident this trend will soon be reversed. The size of these so called "high end" phones is just too big for typical pockets in clothes. Women may put them in a purse, but most men don't use a purse. I believe the industry will crawl back to 4" and smaller soon. Pocketability will be the trend after this absurd 5" FullHD screens fad passes. Reply
futuregerald - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI'm a guy who wears normal straight leg jeans and I keep my galaxy note 2 in my front pocket without issue. being that this phone is much smaller I don't see the issue here. I had the one x that was the same size and size is not a problem. 4.7 to 5 is perfect for me. I don't want anything smaller or bigger. Reply
beginner99 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYeah but with a smaller 720p screen you also can get away with a smaller battery for the same amount of battery life.does phones just don't really fit in my pockets and thats were i want to carry it around. Reply
blacks329 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI presume you mean only for Android? As the iPhone has what is considered a high resolution display and a pretty powerful SoC, while it doesn't have a large battery it has one that gives it comparable battery life. Reply
Mitch89 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAgreed, would love a 4.3-4.5" 720p phone with this level of design, 4.7" is just slightly bigger than my ideal.
Didn't stop me ordering a black HTC One when it came up for preorder though. Reply
manik. - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGreat read. Reply
latenlazy - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkExcellent read! I've been waiting weeks for this review, and it was well worth it.
I was wondering if you could comment on whether it would be possible to fit a 1/2.3" sensor in a profile the size of the HTC One's, and if not how much thicker a device we would have to expect to fit such a sensor. I'm wondering if HTC should have pursued the same strategy of bigger pixel sizes, but not have skimped as much on the pixel count, or alternatively go with even bigger pixel sizes on a bigger sensor. I guess I'm also wondering if increasing sensor size is a direction we might see the mobile industry move towards. Reply
momoX52 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI also would like to know about headphone jack quality.
If this phone had iOS I would definitely buy it.
Enjoy your sleep Brian, you've earned it. Reply
Diagrafeas - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkExcellent Review...
Welcome back Anandtech...
I agree about the benchmarks comment above, but in no way this spoils this awesome review (not even 1%). Reply
radiotrib - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian I felt the need to congratulate you on such a deep, well researched, well supported, and honest review. It definitely spoke not only of your opinions of the phone, but of your impartiality and integrity. I will be using it as a reference whenever I need to answer questions about my phone.
As you pointed out, I am also of the opinion that Zoe (and Zoes) really set the entire HTC experience apart from anything the others can offer. It's not just yey another added-in piece of bloat like some of the current offerings from other manufacturers - IMO it's an integral part of the phone experience, and (hopefully) Ultrapixel technology and Zoe could be the catlyst for a re-definition of the concept of smartphone camera usage.
Thanks for all the hard work you must have put into the article. It was well worth it. Reply
Elroko1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkExcellent review Brian!. As a radio HAM, I especially appreciate the detailed attention to the radio & antenna parts. It's after all a phone we're talking about :) Once again, really good work. And props to HTC for creating such a terrific device! Reply
n3xas - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGreat review Brian! Only problem is what about real life battery performance? What is the screen on time and battery percentage after a full day of usage? Reply
mayankleoboy1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAre the screens pre-caliberated ? Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRead the article Reply
ratte - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFantastic indepth review, thank you! Reply
pliablemoosethebanned - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGreat review, and I'm excited that HTC seems to have gotten it's mojo back, I was a big fan back in the day.
I know many of you must visit XDA Developers site and forum (I have for years now), it even got it's name from an HTC phone. Reply
boozed - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link"Most digital photographers know that bigger sensors are better somehow, fundamentally what they're talking about are bigger pixels with more sensitivity."
Noise is a function of sensor size, not pixel size. In addition, smaller pixels make the noise finer grained in relation to the detail in the image, which means it's less intrusive and easier to process away.
If you have a 12MP sensor and want to emulate a 4MP sensor, you simply resample the images to 4MP. Having done this you'll also get an image that's superior to that from a 4MP sensor because it's not being demosaiced at 4MP. If however you have a 4MP sensor and want to emulate a 12MP sensor... Well you have to go down and buy something with a 12MP sensor. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkActually, according to gsmarena, gs4 camera (13MP with the same sensor size) is better in both resolution and low light handling than One. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThey were using pre-release software. Reply
augustofretes - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYeah, I surely trust them... either Samsung discovered that the current laws of physics are wrong, and will soon get a Nobel Prize... or GSMArena is wrong. Reply
lorribot - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWhy is this (and every other phone) released with a single OS? Surely it is not beyond the wit of manufactures (Apple excepted) to be able to offer a choice of OS rather than just one as the hardware is basically the same for for all. With Mozilla and Unbutu making noises about phone releasing OSs surely it is time manufactures started taking a more agnostic approach to the OS that comes pre-installed?
We would see less customisation of the OS and less requirements for validation which would mean faster releases of updates. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI have seen a number of really serious build issues with this phone. Even the reviewed unit had clearly visible gaps for some cases. Wonder why those build issues are not covered by any of reviews so far. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAlso sammy cameras have a special long-exposure mode (night scene mode or something)
That mode should be used for comparison IMO. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThat's apples and oranges. The longer the exposure the more blurry something is. You can get daylight photos out of a tripod at night. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThat's because the speakers grills aren't part of the one piece design... Reply
scaramoosh - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFor me the design sucks, the speaker grills are stuck one, so there are gaps, my friend has exchanged 3 and there are visible gaps between them and the phone, that ifixit teardown proves this. If they were part of the construction, then I'd be impressed.
Also though I dropped my phone on Wednesday and had to repair it, I found it very easy, took me 10 mins. Looking at the ifixit teardown, the phone looks pretty impossible to repair yourself. Reply
scaramoosh - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkon* no edit... Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkbs, your friend changed 3 and the phone barly been out and no review has complain about quality. quit the trolling and lie. Reply
DestroyThaNet - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt's pretty hilarious that you say, "There's something inherently valuable about metal that I can't convey, and those materials choices drive the rest of the experience so strongly that I can't help but get stuck on it every time I pick the phone up," then proceed to have an entire section where you talk about covering it with a plastic case. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHe does say that he didn't want to use a case... he was merely reviewing the option. Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThis is the best review of the htc one I have read. very detail and fair. I love how Brian go in depth into the technical stuff and explain why thing work or don't work and what can be done to improve. just a lovely piece of review. I read the whole thing from beginning to the end.
based on this review, what I can tell is the HTC one is the most innovative phone of this year and everything HTC did was exactly what we need as consumer. boomsound, zoe, ultrapixel for low light, smaller file size, faster shutter speed, quality build and high grade material, best screen in the business, good battery life, beautiful and simple sense interface, very faster performance, feel thin and comfortable in your hand, amble amount of storage, audio quality that best all other phone, great call quality, and the list goes on. all of these are head and shoulder above iphone 5 or galaxy s4 to me. there is nothing else one can ask for in a phone this year.
Let see, s4 looks exactly just like s3, sd card and removable battery which I don't even use in my s3. thinner but you talking about 1mm (hardly noticable compare to s3), still plastic, touchwiz is awful looking with ugly icon and everything are blue/green (eye sore), too many gimmicky feature that you don't use. I turned off smartscroll on my s3 and never used it even once. smartstay is slow as hell on the s4 and i can see not much use of it, airview is useful but you can look like a tool using it in public. imagine the look you get when doing that waving on your phone on the bus.
I have not read a phone review from Brian/Anandtech before, but now this is my favourite review site just for the sheer honesty and technical info that I can get out of it.
phonearena and gsmarena even went on record saying the low light performance of the htc one is not any better than other smartphone and worse than the s4. one of them even say the htc one camera cannot even compete with 2010 phone camera. This doesn't make any sense to me because real world sample from many said otherwise. Those two reviewers are definitely trolling and has zero idea what they are talking about. I hate how they give false message to potential buyers who get turn away from this beautiful phone based on their inaccurate review. Another thing is they said the battery is poor and below average (many users/reviewer said the htc one batter is better than s3 and iphone, that is good, not below average). are those guys expecting the htc one to outlast the note2 battery overall, ridiculous (well it does beat the note 2 and everything else in browsing battery test which is amazing)? Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI just cannot see any innovation HTC has made, except for using the CNC unibody (like apple) and put a lower-resolution camera. And One's camera is actually worse than GS4 one in most situations. Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linklol, the uninformed. Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkand you are totally blind. I seriously think you either trolling or has zero idea what innovation is. s4 is innovative to you? Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkS4 packs larger screen in smaller and slimmer case, and still offers micro SD and removable battery (which is larger too). Has the first big.LITTLE AP. Has the best camera so far (both in daylight AND indoors, confirmed by gsmarena review)
I haven't included all the software features like float touch, two-screen multitasking and so on.. Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkyou believe gsmarena? the one that said htc one low light camera is no better than iphone5 s3 but many sample said other wise? then went on to the low light shot in semi low light condition (you can see from the pic they posted, the low light shot is about 6-7pm outside which is not low light to me). you believe reviewer who has no idea what they talk about? use your brain a little bit. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThey DID compared with GS4 and they DID provide comparison samples. This review DIDN'T.
And you can clearly see the resolution is terrible even compared with 8MP phones. It cannot hold a candle against new 13MP+ sensors. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRead the article Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link@tainguyen81
Then.... You trust only those who praise the HTC one ??? LOL
Great !!! Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt boggles the mind how you can so HTC has not innovated yet you imply marginal spec bumps in the S4 are in fact innovation. It's also funny how the people that tout the S4's "slimness" as an advantage are often the same people saying that design is overrated when it's the HTC One receiving the praise.
In general, when has Samsung ever innovated in the smartphone sphere? They've always been a market follower and continue to be with their gimmicky S-features. Being a component manufacturer, of course Samsung would love to trick the mainstream into thinking all that mattered was specs because they lack the vision to innovate. Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkcorrection: It boggles the mind how you can say* Reply
Sachin1 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkmicro sd and removable batteries are the innovations..........looool........hover your fingers to get the info rather than just deep touch.........loooool...........useless dual camera view.........looool.....and go back and see their launch event..........biggest loool Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkSo please let me know WHAT innovation this phone offers. Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkdual membrane mics, actively tuned antennas, dual stereo front facing speakers, new case, etc etc Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkDual membrane mics? How is that an innovation? I don't recall any phone in recent years that had issues with microphone performance. Actively tuned antenna? How is that an innovation? More like a way to deal with a metal body surrounding the antennas. Front facing speakers? Who cares? Does anyone really put their phone in front of them and turn up those awesome cellphone speakers to get great audio? New case? You're really reaching... Reply
hc - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - link@h4Idol
How is dual membrane mics not an innovation? Who cares about you not being able to recall anything? HTC clearly engineered a solution to allow very wide range of volume and it is unique in the market place. Innovation? Truth. Same logic applies to all other new features.
Who cares about you caring or not? Fact is a fact. You are irrelevant. Reply
Bhairav Pardiwala - Monday, May 06, 2013 - linkIts a part of nokia copied Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRead the article Reply
Pylon757 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkDual membrane mics? Actively tuned antennas? Stereo front-facing speakers? Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRead the article Reply
superflex - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkproof? Reply
Nuren - Monday, April 29, 2013 - linkQuit trolling. I'm sure you didn't read the review. Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkWhy not just focus on the One rather than bash a Samsung phone that hasn't even been released yet? It's not just laughable but a rather unsubtle way of telling everyone that you're either a HTC fanboy or paid shill. Reply
hc - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkEverything tainguyen81 commented on has been very reasonable. Even though the opinions show some bias but all statements have sound basis.
Everything you said so far are irrelevant. By your reasoning, you are a Samsung fanboy and you are a joke. Reply
piroroadkill - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRegardless of everything else you said about aluminium: I have a Desire HD, dropped many times, never used a case (using a case on a beautiful smartphone is like covering your Aston Martin in a cheap body kit) and the back looks just perfect still.
Well, I now have a motorola Droid RAZR MAXX HD, but don't write off HTC aluminium devices - they don't scratch and look like crap after heavy use. They just don't. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHi brian, you did a "good" full review but I think that this sometimes turns is an biased review and give some clues to discredit other models
I copy and paste:
"Or instead of plastic, polymer, or polycarbonate, or whatever overly-specific word we use to avoid saying plastic"
"I've never given any smartphone an editors choice award before, though I daily regret not giving the One S an award of some kind. For the HTC One I'm giving our Editors Choice Gold award, which is our second highest award. The One is an incredibly awesome device.
"I'm a big fan of the HTC One and can see myself using it for quite a while, even without seeing necessarily everything of its main upcoming contenders"
Ok, then .... please give the task of the review to another editor (unbiesed and not HTC user)
I have written this with respect to you Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkso a decent review of the htc one and you say he is bias. common now..... Reply
tainguyen81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkthe phone itself is phenomenal. why would someone say it is bad? LO just too funny the samsung fanboy. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWait wait wait, I know this Htc one is very very good phone, but must be reviewed by unbiesed editor....(not htc user) just saying. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkthe only site who praises htc one, giving gold award.... and u call this decent?
and you dare to call me fanboy. LOL Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI find it more likely that you're either a Samsung employee or a paid shill employed by a marketing firm hired by Samsung. There are tons of both infesting and trolling the tech blogs for the sake of Samsung. Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkfind it more likely that you're either a HTC employee or a paid shill employed by a marketing firm hired by HTC. There are tons of both infesting and trolling the tech blogs for the sake of HTC.
See what I did there? Lol... Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRead the article and then attempt to find unsupported claims or incorrect conclusions based on the very thorough and empirical evidence referenced. Good luck. Reply
Toss3 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkPretty easy. Just check the display numbers and read the text associated with them. The display is far off 6500K and yet here we have Anandtech praising it. Then we have the dynamic contrast that you cannot even turn off, because that's what we want in 2013. The camera has also shown to be less than ideal in every condition I've seen, and the Lumia 920, which is not even that great compared to the iPhone 5, consistently performs better.
Not even going to mention the sound test of the speakers.
Phones is one area where I just don't trust Anandtech, as they have shown significant bias towards Apple' and HTC's phones, even when they have performed worse than the competition. The HTC One is nothing but a let down. Reply
cryosx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI think Anand came away impressed from this phone as well (according to his mini review). Clear your mind, use the phone. If you still have complaints, then by all means, complain. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThe fact that well researched findings do not agree with your world view does not a bad review make. Reply
cmikeh2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIf you follow him on Twitter he isn't really an HTC user. He uses the phone he reviews and recently I believe his go to phone has been an iPhone 5. He's sees a ton of phones in his capacity as phone reviewer and obviously likes using the One. Reply
Sm0kes - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkYour comment doesn't even make sense.
This review shows absolutely no sign of "reviewer bias". Brian did an excellent job. What you copied and pasted is well supported if you read the review.
Also, wouldn't the fact that Brian intends to actually use the device be consistent with his conclusion that it's a incredibly awesome phone and testament to what HTC produced with the One?
Don't confuse reviewer bias with disliking the reviewer's conclusion. Reply
Amit kumar - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHTC One is surely a excessive phone with its smart aspects. Really this is specific phone. I checked full specification of this phone this website as well. http://www.gadtecho.com/ Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link"Great build quality" with "tiny, tiny gap"?
Never seen such a bad QC with any other phone so far.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/36077148/One_QC.jpg Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkLOL, even iphone 5 QC is much better. Reply
Comply - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIt's fake. Notice how the paper ''somehow'' gets less wide inside the screen? Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link@Comply
hey butthurt !!!! Visit xda developers forum.... many many pages talking about this Reply
therealjoshhamilton - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkfake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP49XOA-KTA Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkYou realize that QC issues do not mean that every phone has a given issue, but that the quality of a given model can vary from phone to phone even from the same batch? Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYou really think they bother to make elaborate fakes? for what?
The gap is even clearly visible with the review samples. Check this.
http://www.notebookcheck.com/typo3temp/pics/366408... Reply
Comply - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYes I do, how do you explain a piece of paper going through the camera module... lol
Having said that, there are a few early models with gaps yes, simply first batch problems, like every other manufacturer. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFor what? yeah there's the millions of dollars... but ....what else? Reply
maximuss - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkCome on. Don't fool people. Before you drop this comment do you know first and second photo are faked? Or you provide this wrong information deliberately? The Chinese characters on the second photo explain the photo is faked. There is a Taiwan tv news report explained this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP49XOA-KTA Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkSimply first batch problems ???? Zero Gap technology !!! FAIL
Ok, ok, I accept that gap sample pic is fake (piece of paper)
Then can u accept that manufacturing and QC not is "perfect" as they say. Reply
maximuss - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAnyone can criticize QC level of any manufacturer, but please use true information. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYea, but Htc one isnt cheap at all, they claim his phone is perfect Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkOmiaz, how many pieces of propaganda are you required to produce daily? Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkS4 dont need propaganda, actually the "plastic" is selling well Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI'm sorry but it seems the first two pictures are PSed.
However I still see a surprising large number of 'review units' having that gap issues. Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkStop trolling for Samsung, do you guys over there have no shame at all? What a poor reflection of an already corrupt company run by a felon for a CEO. Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkStop trolling for HTC, do you guys over there have no shame at all? What a poor reflection of an already corrupt company run by a felon for a CEO.
See what I did there? Lol... Reply
hc - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkYou should call yourself h4joke Reply
Nuren - Monday, April 29, 2013 - linkYou are a stupid morn parroting utter rubbish. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHa ha, redacted! Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkStop talking (or writing) and see sample comparations on gsmarena.
U can see the diferense betwen S4 and One. Samples with medium/low light. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkZero Gap technology !!! FAIL
http://gsminsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/H... Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linktrolling hard. Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkhttp://www.dailytech.com/Samsung+Emails+Bolster+Ap...
Samsung or Scamsung? Shameless either way. Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkmore food for thought
http://news.yahoo.com/132-page-internal-document-s... Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkthe student surpasses the teacher !!! my friend ..LOL Reply
bulletdig - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkOMG... I thought Nokia and Iphone trolls are the worst..but the "sammy" legion( yes sad but that's how they call it) are the worst. (sammy fans = pathetic human beings without a social life) PLEASE TROLL somewhere else. I happen to have the One and you know what sammy nerds ??? IT'S AWESOME best piece of kit i had since EVER !... and my previous 2 devices were a NEXUS 4 and a SGS3. I never went ONcE on a forum to complain about how crap it is and how cheap it feels..and how after i bought the Nexus i thought I'm in heaven.
short story..get a HTC One...hold it in your hand and play with it, and you will see what happens.
p.s Omniaz....Nerd1...and so on.. GET A LIFE TROLLS !..go and play with your fisher price plastic toys... Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link@bulletdig.... dont get mad, accept that the "unibody" not is perfect.
Hold a htc one ?? no thanks, there is gap and some kind of dent betwen.
I prefer durable "plastic" with body easy to repair, NOT the recycled coke can phone, with unperfect "unibody" and imposible to repair. Reply
bulletdig - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linklike i said in my comment...have fun with your fisher price plastic toy ?!
Was i not CLEAR enough that i for One HAVE THE ONE and there isn't some kind of dent or gap ...
My friend ...I had the SGS3.....and it's ok...had a few signal issues and not the best build materials but overall was ok...had the Nexus 4 after still have it but don't use it, i can't because of the One. Back to SGS3. The design, let's be honest...since 'sammy' decided not to copy the little fruit any more their phones lack the wow factor..(not sure if they ever had it...maybe the S2)...but still i keep my own business and u know mind my own life. It's not like "sammy" is feeding you trolls is it ?! What I can definitely say about the One is...that from my point of view..it's the first android device to surpass the build quality and design of any Iphone build to date.
As for Brian...he's review is brilliant..as always. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkSo you accuse samsung for copying iPhone design and praising the one's design and build? Reply
bulletdig - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkcan you really tell me that the S1 in particular was not a blatant copy ? And i mean design and even touchwiz...How in the God's name does the One resembles the Iphone ?!?
Listen trolls..i for One (see what i did there ?) have a social life and I don't have time to spend on forums to keep bashing about stuff... I also like to think that I have more than half a brain.
Happy trolling ! Try not to get wet ! Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkhttp://news.yahoo.com/132-page-internal-document-s... Reply
jayseeks - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkTo accuse would be to imply it wasn't proven, but its been proven Samsung intentionally copied the iPhone despite Apple being their client.
http://news.yahoo.com/132-page-internal-document-s... Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkOk !
Then if i say: Htc is perfect wow, aluminium wooow, no gap, no dent, 4mp the best (im brillant like Brian, and i can be ur friend, im a good person with own life, maybe rich)
If i say... there is gap, dent, battery nots very good, not sd, no removable batt (im troll, your enemy, nerd with acne, fanboy, poor, stupid)
Your logic is nice Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI don't know Brian, and this is the first time I'm aware of reading his work but having now read his work and your comments it's pretty easy to see that Brian is obviously very intelligent, and learned and you my friend... are not. Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkOMG,
"dont get mad, accept that the "unibody" not is perfect.
Hold a htc one ?? no thanks, there is gap and some kind of dent betwen.
I prefer durable "plastic" with body easy to repair, NOT the recycled coke can phone, with unperfect "unibody" and imposible to repair."
Possibly the most inane, biased, foolish post I've read recently. Try writing your posts down on paper and reading them until your biased fervor has subsided. Them you may be able to see clearly how foolish they are. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkdont cry ! Reply
fernandosor - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYou are a blithering idiot Reply
fernandosor - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkReferring to the comment you quoted by omiaz Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkhey hey...take it easy.
Are u defending to ur girlfriend? Reply
cryosx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI'm betting they don't like seeing people being converted over to the other side. They were probably heartbroken when team hacksung refused to support the next Galaxy S. *sigh* Now they're raging over here trying to break any momentum HTC may have gained from this review. . . Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkTeam, hacksung ???? S4 dont need that,,,,
HTC phones not receive support even same HTC
LOL Reply
fokka - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkdidn't read the whole thing yet, but as so often, i think you are setting the bar for technology-reviews.
what i'm very happy about is your inclusion of low-light comparisons complete with exif-data. i'm always astonished when sites are reviewing a phone with even the slightest emphasis on camera, most of the time they only feature outside-shots in bright daylight, a setting even my first vga-resolution toy-cam could handle to my content.
i also like how one can really feel how much you enjoy this phone, which doesn't come as a surprise with an engineering marvel as the one. if only it had a sd-slot, i would be all over it, too, but ok, can't have everything, right? Reply
A Geologist - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link*Looks out of window... strange, no flying pigs... :-) Nice review Brian, worth the wait. Reply
firstname.lastname@example.com - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian - A couple of things: Have you experienced the HTC One getting warm with extended use? Do you know if the phone is being shipped with the new software to address some of the camera's daylight issues? Is it also coming with the new facebook skin? Why do you like Swiftkey over the stock keyboard? Reply
bulletdig - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link@ firstname.lastname@example.com
It doesn't get warm..not like the Nexus 4 warm issues any ways..warmish maybe under heavy demanding apps but more than acceptable. Mine had shipped with the latest software version. i can tell you that if you know how to make photos..it will make great photos. (www.androidcentral.com has a good story on how to make photos with the One).
No there is no facebook skin. I dig the stock keyboard. but then again swiftkey is not bad either..it goes down to personal taste and preferences really. Reply
Peroxyde - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAny idea about rooting and installing custom ROM on the HTC One? Reply
sjprg2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkDammit! HOW does it work as a PHONE? I'm still looking for a "smartphone" that works hands free with any of the BT earpieces (Motorola elite, ,etc) I have had to go back to my old Motorola VT750 flip phone to get a hands free solution that actually works correctly. If they could do it then, why can't they do it now? All of the reviews completely skip a report on this important function. Here in California it is illegal to use a cell phone while driving a vehicle. Come on reviewers, get your act together and cover the whole set of functions in smartphones. Right now they are good play toys but lousy phones.
Paul Reply
bulletdig - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI use it with a car holder stuck on dashboard (on of the original htc accesories for this phone). The front speakers are very load and .The people I was talking to were hearing me load and clear. I even used it to skype. haven't used it with a BT tough so i can't tell you. hope it helps. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGap too bad !!!
Plastic is fantastic !!! Reply
Krysto - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYou may post your "plastic is fantastic" comment 100 times in here. It won't change the fact that Samsung's cheap plastic phones feel crappy in-hand. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkthe "plastic" is selling well...very well Reply
richy184 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkso is justin beiber Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkfacepalm for u Reply
richy184 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkIt's interesting that you believe that the more popular something is, the better it must be. Justin Bieber being a frame of reference there.Hope that clears it up for you. Reply
fernandosor - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkCan someone hit this guy with a frickin mallet? Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkMr. Omiaz B. Samsung. Reply
haze4peace - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkIf you are going to shill for samsung at least stay on topic. This reply has nothing to do with what you are replying to. Reply
Saxie81 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAnd this is why I continue to go to Anandtech for anything review related. Reply
richy184 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWow, what a brilliant review. You just confirmed what I already suspected, it's simply a stunning bit of kit. Don't think anything can come close, HTC have really nailed it. I will be purchasing this phone asap, thank you. Reply
sherlockwing - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI have a problem with the forced 200nits brightness during battery, while that is OK when comapring LCD vs LCD, for a AMOLED device that's almost max brightness, hence why OLED devices such as Galaxy Note2 & GS3 perform abysmally in AT's battery benches compare to their reviews elsewhere. Reply
Comply - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linknotsureifsrs
so basically you want to compare battery life with devices having to display over twice the amount of brightness, brilliant, absolutely brilliant Reply
sherlockwing - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFact is most people are fine with default brightness on OLED phones and few will use it at max brightness like tested in the AT benches. Reply
sherlockwing - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYou also don't understand that 200nits on an OLED is much brighter than 200nits on a LCD Reply
sapient2k7 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHow can they be different. There are being measured on the brightness levels; that is what a nit is.
According to whatis.com
"nit is a unit of visible-light intensity, commonly used to specify the brightness of a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display computer display. One nit is equivalent to one candela per square meter." Reply
lukarak - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAnd a kilogram of feathers is much lighter than a kilogram of lead. Reply
kyuu - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link... Lol. Too funny. 200 nits is 200 nits is 200 nits. Unfortunately lukarak beat me to the punch on making a weight analogy. Reply
supersox - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkMost comprehensive and empirical review I've read anywhere, great job! It makes same review on the verge look like kids stuff. Reply
Death666Angel - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkCool review.
On the materials choices for phones: I wonder if professional reviewers are biased because they get to play with so many different phones that protecting them from the environment is not an issue. A few scratches? I'll have a new phone in 3 weeks, so I don't care. For me, metal is not needed in a phone. It adds weight, it usually reduces customizability, it often adds to the price and it usually doesn't increase protection. I never see the phone itself for more than 30 minutes which is how long it takes me to plug in the SIM, apply a screen protector and push it into a case for protection. So I have no qualms with plastic phones and loved my SGS2 as well as my current GN. I also experience no flex in them, at least not when I push with any reasonable amount of force. :P
So while I appreciate the 2 pages of industrial design talk, I pretty much disagree completely with the material ranking. :D Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI agree, Thats why they make Saturns out of plastic and Mercedes out of metal. Oh that's right, they stopped selling Saturns. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI repeat.... the "plastic" is selling well......so plastic is fantastic. LOL Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkJust to make it clear, Omiaz likes plastic. OK Omiaz? Now everyone knows.
It's one thing to express your opinion, which you've done. It's another to be an ass, and you've done that too. Reply
peterg21 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThe sad thing is, no matter how wonderful a review site is or the review (or how abysmal) the content of many of the comments seems to have been penned by semi-literate fanbois who are compelled by some psychotic need to denigrate the "competition". One could swear that [insert-company-name-here] despoiled their sister or killed their cat. Reply
biassj - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThanks for another quality review, I think I might pick this over the Galaxy S4 after reading this. Of course the downside is not expandable storage and removable battery, but I never really use them anyways. Since prefer using a tablet for most mobile apps and the phone is just a the pocket able device needed for backup. Reply
Toss3 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkWhy not wait for the S4 review before making a decision? The other review sites have already declared a victory for the S4, so it's going to be interesting to see what Anandtech have to say. Reply
gnx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAmazing review, but confusing too.
I'm most confused about the camera, which is for me, the deciding factor. I understand the reviewer's enthusiasm at HTC taking a different novel track, but the reviews from The Verge, Engadget, Phonearena, GSMArena all mentioned the problem of noise making it less desirable than expected. When the recent blind test by Phonearena ended with users preferring images by iphone5 > galaxy s4 > galaxy s3 >Htc One >Sony Xperia Z ... Even nice images in low-light are still useless if it's compounded with noise.
Is this noise problem in HTC One something that can be solved by HTC tweaking the camera software a bit more, or is it an inbuilt problem? Can the reviewer help us more on this? Reply
Thud2 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThere are images and videos from many phones for viewing in the article. Make up your own mind based on the evidence maybe? Reply
gnx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI've seen the one's here, and the ones on the verge, engadget, and phonearena, gsmarena and noise is unfortunately evident.
I'll make up my mind one whether I want to switch to the HTC One when I know is whether I can expect the noise to be remedied by some later software updates (as the reviewer mentions for excessive sharpness and ISO setting bugs), or whether it's tied to HTC's propriety camera hardware, thus something I have to give up for good low-light photos.
Can the reviewer help us here? Or will the review be updated when the U.S. version comes out? hopefully with HTC's software updates? Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkPLease please please... dont ask for help to the reviewer, I guess he will say: "htc one is better since his camera update" Reply
sonicxml - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThey were probably using pre-release software, a later software update helped fix a lot of the camera issues Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link13 mpx > 4 mpx
Ultrapixels = just deceptive marketing
http://gizmodo.com/5985348/what-is-an-ultrapixel Reply
UpSpin - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linknope, just read the article. It just explains what Ultrapixels means, it doesn't judge the term at all. You judge it, because you don't understand it. Reply
tipoo - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThat makes no sense. Not all megapixels are created equal, it's like comparing processors just by MHz. Reply
mikelsyn - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkI don't get you. What's your point? You've made it well and clear. Yes your dick is bigger than my aeroplane. This is the htc one review. It is about the htc one. He could very well give the s4 another gold, or if it's as good as what you claim it is, maybe a platinum. Let the reviewers talk. Your talk is just annoying and childish. Now go away until anandtech reviews the galaxy s4, and comment there. Reply
numberoneoppa - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkGreat review, Brian. I'm only on the first page, but I noticed one issue. You mentioned that for a material to be more easily machinable, it should be more malleable. This is absolutely false. Harder materials are by far easier to machine because they cut more easily without becoming soft and gunking up/ruining the cutting tool. For this reason, a lot of machinists prefer working with steels/brasses over softer aluminum alloys. Thus a harder aluminum alloy, as you propose they used, is actually pretty good for machining. (I'm an ME). Reply
nerdstalker - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkHTC One is a good looking phone; but I don't think it deserves the "unibody" or "full metal body" titles. I've looked at its photos on the web and from the teardown of iFixit. My understanding is: the big backplate piece in the middle is connected to top and bottom backplates using injection molding, what HTC calles "zero gap". This process also forms the plastic frame all around. Then, the speaker grills (top/bottom frontplates) are adhered to the rest. Display snaps to plastic features in the frame.
I think this type of design may have some drawbacks. First is reliability. There are 4 small pieces of metal that are kind of floating. Any drop to corners and it is very easy to make a damage. See here for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwE9PGDnlvs Other issue is reparability. It is not uncommon that the display glass can be broken or other parts of the phone may need to be serviced. One's approach makes it almost impossible to pop open a unit w/o damaging the plastic frame. The display assembly is designed in a way to cause this. Also, I cannot imagine the trouble engineers had to go through because they cannot easily open and work on these units.
The curved back of the phone helped HTC to avoid a bulge due to rear camera (which sticked with HTC phones for quite some time). The thin edge implementation contributes the ergonomics and psychological thinness effect. But, the curved body results in a very long CNC time and staircase volume. Such volumes cannot be used effectively and can easily result in tolerance stack-up issues.
I think everyone, including Brian, is pretty surprised to see a phone with metal almost everywhere, and it can still have a decent wireless performance. To me, this is not very surprising. Active tuning and switching of course mitigates the loading by user. The important questions are: how efficient are these antennas (passive, active, TRP, TIS, etc), how is the performance when the base station's signal level is not decent. From what I understand, Brian tested the case where signal levels are good. I'd test the case where signals are borderline and call drops can happen. In Rate Vs. Range situations, close range is always ruled by the radio (RF back end), long ranges are where RF front end gets really important. I don't expect HTC One to have a superb performance to pass carrier specs and have the upper hand during subsidization negotiations. Also I wonder how many bands (and bandwidth) this device covers and how it compares with its competitors.
A final remark is about the next generation HTC One. With this kind of design, I find it much difficult for HTC to go to a thinner design in the future. Reply
gnx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkWow .. that youtube is scary ... I don't put a case on my phone, so the HTC really appealed to me, but if the speaker grill separates like that, that is not "unibody." :( Reply
cryosx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYeah, only the back is really one solid unit. Reply
nerdstalker - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkActually, only the big middle section is really one solid piece. I think the smaller top and bottom plates are not part of the bigger middle plate. They may be connected at a few points for shorting pins/plates of the antennas and that's it. Reply
risa2000 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkActually, what is interesting is the bend in he made into HTC One bottom with the last drop. I would expect scratch, or dent, but not that the whole part gets deformed. Reply
IsthatyouBevis - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI kind of agree with this. I pre-ordered the phone, but am pretty disappointed to see the front metal is just glued on decorative pieces. I had assumed there was a metal chassis of some sort in the front. Basically, this is just a metal back phone. Reply
nerdstalker - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkI'm also baffled how Brian depicts the primary transmit cellular antenna being at the up as a good thing. This immediately limits the conductible power due to SAR (since upper antenna is closer to head than lower). Also Brian mentions how the Qualcomm field test app is missing and blames the carriers for it. Likewise, I've read some other reviews on the web that blame the carriers for mediocre LTE performance of The One. Does it appear to anyone that this may not be a carrier issue? How about testing The One against competitor devices on the same network, at the same time and same spots. I wonder the results. Also, I wonder if Brian measured the 5GHz WiFi throughput while the device is sitting just on top of the router, as the photo shows. :) As I wrote above, peak throughput is mandated by the radio in the near region. I wonder how quickly the 5 GHz throughput dies with range and how well the hand-off to 2.4 GHz is implemented. I was expecting Brian to spend more time to Wireless section, but I think he was too busy with the camera since it was more interesting to him (naturally it is his major field). Reply
TechTranny - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkExcellent review!! It was the most thorough I've seen since ever. Its an amazing phone i actually gotten a chance to play with it yesterday & I was quite impressed. I don't understand why people keep saying why does the appearance matter, it's only gonna end up in a case. I don't understand the logic but if that's how you need to justify your purchases so be it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't think for a second that plastic is premium over metal. Its just not the case whatsoever. Also everyone does not use cases!!! Reply
Omega215D - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkNever used a case on any HTC or Motorola phone I've had. When I bought a Droid Charge it got dinged pretty easily so I had to encase it and my sister had to do the same for the S3. Quite a shame really as the phone felt quite nice without one. Of course it was a slippery little bugger like the new iPod Touches. Reply
gnx - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link
Oh, also, a question about the battery life, which is the second deciding factor for me. At the moment, it seems the HTC is fine, if not quite top, on 3G, but what about 4G LTE? My one fear about the HTC was that'd be decimated on LTE, kind of like my friend's miserable experience with HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon, and at the moment, it seems to be doing just okay on 3G which doesn't bode well for LTE. Will the reviewer also update info on HTC battery life on LTE, when it becomes available in the U.S.?
I'm guess since the HTC One isn't out in the U.S. yet, the reviewer couldn't test battery life on AT&T or Verizon or even T-mobile's LTE. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkS4, much better, wait for octa core.... (battery friendly)
Visit gsmarena
Battery test: (incluiding standby)
S4: 64 hr
HTC: 48 hr
HTC: http://blog.gsmarena.com/htc-one-battery-test-is-c...
S4: http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-battery... Reply
zilm - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkahaha, what a lie, look at their numbers carefully:
HTC One: Talk: 13:38h Browsing: 9:58h Video: 10:02h Rating: 48h
Galaxy S4: Talk: 13:53h Browsing: 8:42h Video: 10:16h Rating: 63h
So S4 (compared to HTC One): Talk: +2% Browsing: -13% Video: +2% Rating: +31%
Ehhhh, they call it review? More like buyview Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkdont cry.... :(
htc one battery drains in standby.....thats important to me, cuz i sleep 8 hrs and drive 2 hr.
S4 dont drain :) super battery friendly.BTW....S4 has bigger screen and ddr3 ram. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkDogmatic much? Look it up. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkCuz yur it. Reply
zilm - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkDid you test it? Did they test it? Reply
xnay - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkThank you Brian for the most comprehensive review out there. It changed my opinion about the One (in a positive way). Reply
theduckofdeath - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAaargh...! Excellent review. Now I'm back to, not being know what to get again, this or the S4. Because other sites really didn't show the quality of the camera in their reviews like you did... Ah well, still a long time for me to make up my mind, because the S4 probably won't be in Ireland until June anyway... :) Reply
theduckofdeath - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAfter watching a drop test at Android Authority, I am back at 'probably getting the S4' again. The speaker grills are glued on!? Reply
Thegonagle - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkI'd wait for the S4 drop tests, because if the S4 is anything like the S3, well, I wouldn't want it. I just watched the top 6 you tube search results for "S3 drop test," and most of them result in a cracked screen within two drops, especially if they land on edge. Reply
Abacus0101 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI found your review to be extremely thorough. I was very excited about this phone. My concerns are many though. Firest off I owned the HTC flyer tablet and it took forever for Htc to do any sort of updated to that device. Htc is on a respirator as far as the company is concerned and unless they really step up the advertising this may be their last chance. as good as the hardware is, Im very concerned about the capabilities of the software. the more I look over what the new Samsung S4 will be capable of, the more I move away from the HTC one. I personally think the S4 blows it away from a software standpoint. why I find interesting is that you never really mention the s4 in comparison to this phone. Yes the s4 is plasticky, but you can add storage, change out the battery and i,ve seen photos taken with it and all that i,ve seen have more detail and seem more vibrant than this phone. Yes i think boomsound is great as well as blinkfeed but the s4 has smartscroll, s translator,s health, is shipping with jellybean 4.2.2 and will be the first to get jellybean 5.0 in mat. You can get a wireless charging adapter it has a nice smart cover and tons of software features this phone is lacking so im still on the fence. Voice quality for me is a big issue. Also the iphone 5 seems to have beaten this phone by many gpu benchmarks which is troubling to me. Id love to see you do a full in depth analysis on the S4 before making my decision. Reply
richy184 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkAll of the heralded software features on the s4 seem quite gimmicky and just marketing junk to me. s translate? I'll prefer google translate personally, s health? There's so any fitness apps out there. Wireless charging is also a gimmick and is not an efficient charging method. Is plugging in a cable such a massive problem? Gesture scrolling etc seem likes a feature nobody is really going to use to replace finger scrolling.
I like the fact the HTC have just focused on a few small areas software wise and really focused on nailing them at the same time stripping down and simplifying sense. The whole camera/zoe package looks so clever and useful. I particularly like the video and audio recording quality highlighted in this review. The picture quality of the camera looks superb, and who really needs anything above 8mp considering it is rendered pointless if you are mainly using your photos for facebook/social media or viewing them on a 1080p monitor!
The attention to detail on The One and overall design makes it a far more appealing option to me personally. Each to their own in the end though, just nice to se HTC really upping their game, I think everyone has been surprised with the quality of this device. Reply
Abacus0101 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkgimicky..i guess thats your perception..to me its features that i'd at least like to have in the phone...gimicky or not that's available to me to play with...and the camera is better in detail than the HTC One..and I have the iphone..so i have no allegiance to Samsung...just that the features are better..its a preference thing..and i do think the HTC One is a very well made device..so until i can test and feel both..i'll reserve judgement. I just pointed out that im starting to lean in Samsungs favor. thats all. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkMarketing junk like the "ultrapixels"?
http://gizmodo.com/5985348/what-is-an-ultrapixel Reply
richy184 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkNo, not like that at all. You need to improve your reading comprehension, you crashing bore. Reply
akdj - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link"and will be the first to get jellybean 5.0 in mat."
LOL---I remember THAT promise when I bought my 'OG' Galaxy Note--LOL---Don't fall for that BS. The ONLY guarantee your phone WILL get the latest updates is to buy Nexus. Period. As far as mentioning the S4 in the review---it's about the HTC, not the latest, unavailable (at this time)...just announced S4. Why in the world WOULD he mention it? There's NO comparison @ this time. He can't have one...neither can WE! The comparisons made SHOULD only be made to phones currently on the market, for sale and available to the masses. Not a future product that no one has extensively had an opportunity to use yet. As far as HTC's viability as a company---that's a tough one. Your call if you are a 'believer'. Samsung WILL obviously be around...but not necessarily to update their handsets. They, like other manufacturers are also bound by carriers when it comes to releasing updated versions of Android. Reply
dawheat - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkCan you add the S3 and Note 2 to the rest of the display tests? More importantly, please include them all (including the One), when you test the S4. The Samsung phones are missing from most of the display tests and only appear in white brightness test. Reply
hvalrgir - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link"Up top, the One locates the headphone jack off-center..."
lol Reply
Omega215D - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkSeriously, what's up with all the Samsung douchebags coming out of the woodwork? They'll just troll everything that's not Samsung and are becoming just as rabid as Apple fanatics. S4 this, S4 that, Note 2 this, Note 3 that. It's like they want everyone to conform and use their products instead of allowing for choice like they keep shouting about when something about the iPhone comes up.
On topic, I would hope Verizon gets the HTC One (at least one as close to the original) soon. I would love to get a feel for this phone, the Nokia Lumia 928 (finally Verizon) and Galaxy S4 and make my purchasing decision from there. Reply
Abacus0101 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkand i guess that makes you an HTC One douchebag... Reply
Omega215D - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkRe-read the damn post asshole. Reply
mikelsyn - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkAnd I guess that makes you a douchebag. His comment was completely reasonable. Is it douchebaggery to wait until the phones are actually out first before you do your own comparison? Too much for you? Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkMany of the post raise relevant questions but one poster (Omiaz) has turned this into a monkey throwing it's shit fest. Reply
akdj - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkI love my iPhone..>BUT, I also dig my Galaxy Note;) I'm an Apple fanatic, I suppose you could say...BUT, I certainly don't want to be 'grouped' in to some of these Sammy fans. They're completely out of control, doesn't matter which board you visit. In most cases, it seems they've not even taken the time to read said review. In this case especially---hard to believe (after reading some of the comments from you know who) that he/she would even Understand the content!
Sorry---had to get that off my chest, as not ALL of us Apple fans are DBags:)
J Reply
MykeM - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkJust wondering if anyone knows if HTC provides warranty that covers accidental damage- something akin to the AppleCare + ($99 purchase which also extends the warranty to 2 years) which allows 2 accidental damages where the customer only have pays $49 to get his or her phone replaced. May not be a concern to those in contract but off contract, damaging a $600+ and being able to pay a small fee for replacement is a necessity. Reply
superflex - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkYes. It's called TEP on Sprint. $9/month and $99 replacement cost. Cancel when you reach the break even point. Doesn't matter whether you are on contact or not.
IDK about AT&T. Reply
tlo07 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI recommend SquareTrade. I buy this on all my gadgets now. Reply
mike656 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI wonder if there is a good solvent that can remove the beats audio logo without damaging the metal? Then IMO it would look nice on the backside. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAgreed! Reply
mschira - Monday, April 08, 2013 - link+one.
Not that I mind beats audio, the headphones are decent enough, if extremly overpriced. Reply
superflex - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkBrian,
Thank you for the excellent review. The wait between Anand's teaser and your review was painful but worth the wait. Once it gets to Sprint SERO, I'm all over the 32Gb model. $199 purchase price, $40/month and no contract!
The Sammy trolls sure appear envious and their broken English is hilarious. Reply
dyc4ha - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkgreat job on the review! Reply
otokoyama - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI always look forward to the reviews, by far the most comprehensive and informative. I consider the other "reviews" out there to be more like first impressions. I can't wait until your review of the Galaxy S4.
I'm pretty disappointed that the HTC One doesn't have a removable battery and that might be the deciding factor between that and the S4. I like to keep my devices for 3-4 years. Do you know if it will be feasible/reasonable for the battery to get replaced? Thanks and keep up the good work. Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI've had my HTO Evo 4G 3 years still on the original battery. Reply
nerd1 - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkI just cannot understand why some people are over agressively defending the one and calling everyone trolls. Ultrapixel is not a innovation - its clearly a marketing gimmick, and has clear disadvantages as well. Machined alu case looks good (if not covered) but anyone can do that, apple has done it earlier, and also it has disadvantages too.
I always thought anandtech a techy site - i really dont like to see people following form and marketing over function here. Reply
ninety - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkUltrapixel is not a marketing gimmick. The trend is seen in DSLRs as well. Why do you think Canon only increase resolution from 21.1MP to 22.3MP for the new 5D Mark III? And the EOS xxxD line has stayed at 18MP for three consecutive releases. Pixel size matters. Reply
nerd1 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThey are not. 36MP D800/D800e is just as good as any lower-MP FF cameras out there in terms of dynamic range and noise. Reply
UpSpin - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkyes, but the sensors are much larger and so are the pixels in the D800 much larger than the pixels found in smartphone sensors. With decreasing pixel size you hit a physical limit and noise gets worse and worse.
It's possible that increasing pixel count works for the D800, but this doesn't mean that it still works for much smaller sensors used in a smartphone. Why do you think does the Lumia 808 have such a huge sensor if they could have fit all those pixels on a 1/3" with the same quality according to you? There are many limiting factors, like dispersion, diffraction, shot noise, ...
Additionally does the HTC One have an OIS, which is impressive in itself and only the Lumia 902 has one, too. Just the OIS alone puts its image quality above any other smartphone without one. Reply
nerd1 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkActually I thought 13MP sensor for phone camera wouldn't do any good, but actually GS4 camera is quite good (according to the examples from gsmarena) They have very good pixel-level acuity, and quite good (on par or sometimes actually better than the one) in terms of available light pics.
And I totally agree that OIS is a great feature. Reply
Sm0kes - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkDid you read Brian's review? I mean, he went into immense detail about HTC's decision to pivot from the mobile industry's race to the bottom with MegaPixels. While it might not be the revolutionary innovation, it's one that is worthy of the discussion its getting. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - link13 mpx > 4 mpx
Ultrapixels = just deceptive marketing
http://gizmodo.com/5985348/what-is-an-ultrapixel Reply
hp79 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThe gizmodo article doesn't really have anything saying it's a deceptive marketing. In fact, they explain why HTC created another term for the bigger pixels. I think this is totally different from cases like Apple's "Retina Display" marketing term. Now that's something really useless term Apple uses. In HTC's case, they needed to market it one way or the other for people who don't know the technology of the camera sensors.
My priority is low light performance. If you take pictures mostly on bright sunny days, then 13MP would probably be better. Reply
hp79 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkOmiaz, after flipping couple pages back on the comments, I feel stupid replying to your post. Why are you posting the same comment on and on? I wish there was a vote-for-ban button. Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkexactly !!!! "created term" :) Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkif i gonna take pictures in low light or night then I carry my digital camera with xenon flash....
easy my friend....better than any smartphone. Reply
hp79 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSure, no problem if you can plan ahead. Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linki carry a digital camera to all importants events (clubs, birtdays, wedings) I dont need to "plan ahead"
plan ahead???? LOL. Obviously all the plans are ahead.
or....can u plan the past......??? Reply
cryosx - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkso. . . what about those unexpected times where you really need a good low light sensor? i'm not going to carry a camera with me everywhere i go. Reply
Omiaz - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkunexpected times = 5% ???? Reply
UpSpin - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkthe name is marketing, because 4mpx seems worse than 13mpx for dumb people. But it isn't.
How else can HTC explain that their 4mpx sensor has larger and more sensitive pixels than a 13mpx sensor. How else can HTC explain that the 13mpx sensor is useless, because optics and noise can't make a use of it. How else can HTC explain that they integated an OIS which gives you sharp shoots at normal light conditions. (most reviews only test the smartphone cameras in well-lit areas, which you normally don't have) Reply
nerd1 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkIt's a marketing BS. Low-MP sensor is clearly worse when there are enough lighting. It is a FACT, and comparison pictures speak for themselves. It 'may' be better for low lighting situation, but gsmarena comparison test tells that is not the case. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkIf you disagree with the assertion that there are advantages to larger per pixel sensors then read other reviews and take into consideration the Low light and fast panorama performance and get back to us. Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThe pictures and video speak for themselves.
Too bad Brian didn't use the crappy S3 camera for for a comparison. You'd be self immolating right now Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linklol Reply
amdwilliam1985 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkFor whatever reason, in real life, my crappy S3 camera always beat my friends' iphone 4s and iphone 5. They must be using it wrong, or are they using shitty(worst than crappy S3 camera) camera. Reply
akdj - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkNo it didn't Reply
ninety - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkFinally finished the whole thing. I wished this review came out a bit earlier (than ATT pre-order starting date) but that's fine. Already made my decision and I believe the right one. I value camera functionality of a phone so the One is a better buy for me. Find out what fits you. Convincing people S4 is better (or worse) does you no good. Reply
Omiaz - Saturday, April 06, 2013 - linkis your money my friend :) Reply
bsl100 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHi Brian. Fantastic review. What's the Frequency Response of the external speaker? Reply
winddroid - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThis is the most detailed, comprehensive review I have ever read. Thanks for the technical detail in the review. Reply
Sabresiberian - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link200 minutes on the CNC just to machine one case?
Wow. I mean, I know it's an assembly-line CNC, but that just blows my mind. I wonder how much that adds to the cost of manufacturing? It's not cheap, I'm sure. Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSame price as the SGS3 and 4 without the crappy plastic case. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkCNC time is much less expensive than hand assembly time. Reply
bminor13 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThis device sounds phenominal, but I am still put-off by the high monthly service charges for smartphones here in the US. Does anyone know if it's possible to buy a device such as this outright, and use it without cellular voice/data (using WiFi only) as a glorified PDA? Reply
hp79 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYou can buy the developer edition 64GB model for $650, and then there's a $100 trade-up program. I would at least use cellular voice though. If you look at T-mobile prepaid service (pay-as-you-go), you can charge $100 and become gold member, and you get 1000 minutes which will expire after 1 year. Charge another $10 before the 1 year, and your minutes extends another year. Reply
Omega215D - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYou can probably buy them unlocked and unsubsidized but it will be pretty expensive. How about the Samsung Galaxy Player? Those are pretty cheap and can be used as a glorified PDA. Not too sure about voice if you need it. Reply
Thegonagle - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkPositively possible, but an iPad Mini or Nexus 7 tablet will offer better value for that kind of usage. Reply
oneandonly - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkGreat review! Thanks for all your efforts. I would like to add just one thing. You claim that comparing between platforms is somewhat irrelevant because people will not switch over because of the camera. I have owned an iPhone4 for two years, which I love and hate for all the obvious reasons. For me the camera of the One and the ideas and innovations behind it are a big reason to go for HTC and android the next two years.
I'd allready have one if only HTC would not have the Apple-esk delays...
http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-iphone-5-pre-orders-d... Reply
chocolaking - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI love this beautiful phone! I am getting this phone no matter what!
HTC ONE ! I want you bad!! Reply
osikiri - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkDoes this phone look cool? Not for me...
This phone's design looks very 'China', just like other HTC phones. Especially on the back. Pointless horizontal and vertical lines 'hanging up' the camera hole, overly big HTC logo... Everything is far from a premium feeling. A cool design is not a matter of 'plastic or metal'. What is important is the beauty of moderation. Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSince image is everything, shouldn't you be at the Apple Store sipping a latte or at the plastic surgeon getting your girlfriend's boobs redone?
HTC has struck a nerve with the Apple and Sammy fans. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSorry to say...that sounds racist. Reply
DeadeyeM - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI cant seem to find Audio quality using headphones? Does Anandtech do this kind of stuff? Reply
Klug4Pres - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkGreat review! Will take me a while to wade through it, but in the meantime, some edits for you.
Conclusions page:
solicit laughter --> elicit laughter
remaining of the Sense experience --> reworking? Reply
TechTranny - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAmazing phone. Amazing review... What's going on with all the Samsung shills? Really is that what it comes to. How dare somebody tell another person how to spend their hard earned money. Buy what works for you Reply
Chloiber - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI still don't quite get how you test battery life. Because no way in hell can you surf for 7+ hours on a One X. Same goes for the test on GSMArena by the way. Reply
piroroadkill - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkUh, they're the antennas. You need to have gaps in solid metal for the antenna to work. Way to read the review.
Maximum trolling detected. Reply
bulletdig - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link"maximum trolling detected" really like that :))
the plastic fisher toys aka sgs1234... are very "premium" Reply
long John - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkbest phone review i have ever read in a very long time , such attention to detail, and just what i needed to solidfy my choice to buy this phone. hope to see a comparison with the SGS4 when available. Reply
Ann E. Bartley - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkmy neighbor's sister makes $85/hr on the computer. She has been fired for nine months but last month her paycheck was $12266 just working on the computer for a few hours. Read more on this site... Snag4.cℴm Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkOmiaz is moonlighting? Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkdo u miss me? Reply
scaramoosh - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkWhy does no one mention how the speaker grill doesn't sit flush with the screen, so when you swipe near the top and bottom, your finger hits that bump up tot he speaker grill and it's very annoying. The whole surface of the front should be flush, there shouldn't be anything like what the HTC One does.
It doesn't have good build quality, it doesn't even have premium materials as they're as cheap as plastic. What it has is design, all that people like about the phone....... Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSamsung should teach you better English.
Your envy is showing Reply
scaramoosh - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkEnvy? I have neither phone and a free upgrade..... Reply
EDALBNUG - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI didn't see a battery rundown test in the review this time. Is that coming up in its own article later? Reply
EDALBNUG - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkwow I meant to say headphone output quality. Can't think properly without sleep. Reply
bulletdig - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link@ EDALBNUG
Mate, it really really good. I use it with a pair of beats by dre and it's amazing. To be fair it's the first time when i feel the beats software tweaks as being more than a gimmick. Hope this helps. For more technical wait for Brian. Reply
Toss3 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link*facepalm* Reply
perry1mm - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYou state in the BlinkFeed details that it only auto-refreshes on Wi-Fi, but I believe it does on mobile as well, but has a longer break in the refresh. I thought it was 2hrs on mobile data, 1hr on Wi-Fi, and 30mins if on Wi-Fi and plugged in charging. Was this changed? Reply
IsthatyouBevis - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI believe there is a WIFI only option. Saw it on android central. Reply
Androidtech - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI really like this phone and i have both the Evo 4g LTE and the Galaxy S3 right now. Three things that may keep me from purchasing the One are Sprints lack of the 64gig model at launch, no sd card and no removable battery. I use my Galaxy S3 to listen to podcast all day at work just because I can change the battery out for a new one. My Evo will not last all day even if I charge it at lunch ! With out an sd card slot how will I load radios and firmware from the bootloader with a separate sd card that I use just for that. They should have put a sd card slot on the outside like the micro sim card slot. A slot the Sprint version will not have. I suppose I will just have to put them on the internal sd and then erase it immediately afterward. I would like to know how good the reception on Sprints LTE will be because the Evo (LTE) is no where near as good as my S3. It sounds like it should be good since the maximum RF on Sprints version is centered around Sprints 1900 mhz band but I guess i will not know until I get my hands on the One or someone test that. Brian I would like to know how much space is available for Apps because I run out on my Evo with 2 gigs. A problem I have yet to encounter on my S3 because it shares all available internal space with what ever needs it. In the end I could just get the 32gig One I suppose and keep using my S3 for podcast but I really want the 64 gig One and have no idea when Sprint will get it. I really hate to break the tradition of carrying one HTC and one Samsung phone which started with the original Evo and the original Galaxy S but this decision is a tough one mostly because of the lack of a 64 gig model. Great job on the review Brian looking forward to the next podcast ! Reply
superflex - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkRegarding your listening to podcasts all day at work, it's called a battery charger. You ought to get one for your cubicle. Replacing your battery and forcing a reboot is so caveman, but I guess that's how Sammy shills roll. Reply
Craig234 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkWhy the heck do they use the gold award as the second highest? Way to risk confusion. Reply
co4nd - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAmazing how the iPhone 5 released nearly 6 months ago still destroys everyone on gpu. To bad you can't get an A6 in an android device. Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkwrong !!! my troll friend.
S4 octa core version has PowerVR 544 Gpu (533 Mhz)
iPhone 5 has PowerVR 543 Gpu (350 Mhz)
Yeah !!! Reply
amdwilliam1985 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linktoo bad iphone 5 runs ios. Reply
eiriklf - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI would say the nexus 4 and the optimus G surpass the iphone in graphics performance of the iPhone, they generally score higher in the actual (demanding) graphics tests, like Egypt HD and t rex HD. Reply
co4nd - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkAccording to the results in GPU performance above iPhone bests them in most or is at least competitive until you go 1080p, and again the iPhone using a 6 month older processor Reply
netmann - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkNice Review Brian! I see that you used a Nokia Lumia 920 as a comparison on the photo and video portion of your review, but I do not see a detailed review of 920 on Anandtech.com! It's been 5 months since 920 is out! What's going on?! Reply
kyuu - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYeah it's a bit perplexing. At one point I even saw it specifically mentioned that Klug was working on a review of the 920 but it never materialized and I never saw any comment on why it was shelved. Maybe they'll review the 928? =/ Reply
Dark_Archonis - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkShame you didn't test the One's microphones versus the 920 Rich Recording High Amplitude Audio Capture Microphones, which also can record clear audio in extremely loud environments.
http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/1696152/data/2/-/Do... Reply
kyuu - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHuh, that's interesting. Didn't know Nokia was doing anything like that. Is that tech in the Lumia 920? Reply
Dark_Archonis - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkYes, that tech is included in the Lumia 920, and was first included in the Pureview 808 a year ago, so Nokia beat HTC in terms of that innovation. In fact, all of the Windows Phone 8 Lumias, starting with the Lumia 620 and above, have these high amplitude audio capture microphones. Where as compared to HTC which only has it on the One, all of the WP8 Lumias except for the 520 have these high-end microphones. Of course, the 920 has more microphones than say, a 620. Reply
kyuu - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkCool, thanks for the info. Reply
nerdstalker - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkHTC is in trouble with this. Too bad... http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/22/nokia-prelimina... Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkGuy's, Nokia has its strong points (camera) but otherwise it's irrelevant. Sorry. Better to focus on phones people buy. Reply
Becherovka05 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkI agree with everyone's comments about what an amazing writeup. I have done some experiments with my phones photo settings since HTC one was announced. I have a Nexus 4 and it produced poor quality photos in low light situations, but by lowering the size to 3.1MP it actually gives a much better photo indoors. It would be good to see if others can repeat this and see if they get the same results I did. Reply
Becherovka05 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkIts just 3MP's not 3.1 Reply
Neo-ST - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThis is, hands down, the best review of a phone in a very long time. Congratulations and keep up the good work! Reply
lilo777 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkAs usual, author's attachment to aluminum cases is somewhat irrational. Sure aluminum has some perks in the looks department but that's about it. Technical review though should also clarify how much sacrifices the design makes when going with aluminum. Here are some of those: bad (cold) feeling, easily scratchable (and looking real bad after that), no replaceable battery, no SD card, no wireless charging. Is it worth it? Or perhaps it's an Apple-like form over function compromise? Reply
richy184 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkNone of those are sacrifices or compromises really though. I would say the cool touch of metal is a good thing as a lot of people have already mentioned and the battery/sd card is really a non issue for the vast majority of users. (what percentage of people are away from a charger for more than say 12-24 hours? What percentage of people will use or need more than 64gb or even 32gb of storage?)
I certainly have no real desire to use wireless charging, what problem does it really solve? You still have to plug the charging pad in don't you? Is plugging a cable into your phone such a labour? Reply
lilo777 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkOne can argue whether the features present in Samsung phones are more or less important but they are still very much real. Much more real than the good looks of the aluminum case which disappear right after the phone is purchased (because it goes into a plastic case). The simple fact is that most aluminum phones are used in side plastic cases. If people preferred aluminum as much as many reviews would let you to believe why would people then stick their aluminum phones into plastic cases? Apparently people prefer plastic.
As far as wireless charging is concerned, there is a big different between connecting a amt (once in the phone lifetime) and a phone (at least once a day). Besides, when you need to accept a call, it's much easier to do it when the phone is on e the mat (than when it's connected to the wall). Reply
nerd1 - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkAt least most 'techy' people need replaceable battery and storage. And Anandtech is supposed to be a techy review site, not a fashion blog.
And then what percentage of people actually need to upgrade their phone anyway? Good old GS2 or 4S is still very functional now. Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linksame opinion here .
Htc one is a good phone. But i prefer S4. Why?
* I prefer amoled 5"
* Octa core
* Gpu PowerVr (octa core version) this more powerful than adreno 320
* Sd slot (good me, cuz i use many music,photos,video,games etc)
* Removable battery
* Good update suppot.
I repeat...The htc is a very good phone. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - link"The HTC ONE is a good phone" ????
What, did your bosses tell you that the rude troll approach was actually turning opinion against your cause? Because you seem to have changed your strategy rather abruptly in light of your previous posts.
"I prefer durable "plastic" with body easy to repair, NOT the recycled coke can phone, with unperfect "unibody" and imposible to repair."
"The gap is even clearly visible with the review samples. Check this."
"Simply first batch problems ???? Zero Gap technology !!! FAIL"
"Zero Gap technology !!! FAILHold a htc one ?? no thanks, there is gap and some kind of dent betwen."
"HTC phones not receive support even same HTC LOL"
"13 mpx > 4 mpx Ultrapixels = just deceptive marketing"
"dont cry.... :( htc one battery drains in standby..."
"Marketing junk like the "ultrapixels"?"
and a duplicate post- "13 mpx > 4 mpx Ultrapixels = just deceptive marketing" Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkGreat article Brian Reply
Omiaz - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkjust for the record..... I was buying a htc one (pre order), but the S4 was announced.
Now i prefer S4. cuz I had htc one x, xperia s, Lg optimus black and galaxy s3 and now Note 2.
Im not a fanboy loyal to samsung, maybe im an android fan. YES.
But nowadays i prefer samsung update support and many other things (e.g. galaxy S2 receibed android 4.1.2) Reply
haze4peace - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkSo many fanboys. Let people like what they want to like. Reply
Flash783 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHTC one. what does HTC actually engineer or make? they just repackage parts. Heck they don't even make their own OS. why are they considered a 1st class company?
1. good idea to make the phone aluminum. If I was the CEO of Samsung, I would have made the GS4 Aluminum.
besides that what did HTC exactly create?
It has a Samsung Screen
It has a TSMC processor
It has a Samsung RAM and Flash memory.
Any chinese company can do the exact same thing as HTC. it takes no ingenuity whatsoever
So my opnion is that Cher Wang(her father is an ugly monkey) and Peter Chou are big time scam artists playing the innovation card when they do NO innovation at all. they are frauds Reply
Commodus - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHTC designed the phone and chose which components to include -- those make all the difference.
Also, news flash: even Samsung chooses non-Samsung components for some of its devices, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 in some Galaxy S 4 variants. The notion that you have to design and manufacture every significant component yourself for a phone to be innovative is ridiculous.
It's doubtful that just "any Chinese company" can do what HTC did. Huawei hasn't done it. Lenovo hasn't done it. ZTE hasn't done it. Who has? The closest parallel to HTC's work on the One is, if you hadn't already guessed, Apple -- which spends loads of time on custom design work for the iPhone, but still has to outsource from other companies for parts. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkWhat is this "Chinese Company" thing. You don't sound good speaking in those terms. Reply
thesavvymage - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkHTC now remake your g2 sliding keyboard phone with this level of detail! Only me and probably 10 other people will buy it, but we will love it! Reply
mschira - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkHaha. Yea keys. Funny things those. I kinda like them, but do I wanna carry them around in my pocket?
I guess I would rather like a top quality smaller phone, you know with a 3" LCD.
Not sure.
M. Reply
Neo-ST - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkWait, "There is no question in my mind that the One includes the best camera in the Android space right now". The best - really? I wouldn't agree, it's average in daylight at best. This sounds like infatuation and hinders objectivity of the review. Reply
VorJoshigan - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkMost of my photos are not taken in full daylight. I would really appreciate a better low-ish light camera on my SGS3. I'm on contract until next year, but this has me definitely keeping an eye out for HTC. Reply
nerd1 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIt's actually WORST among current-gen phones, at least in daylight situation. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkHammering your dubious opinion, aren't ya. Reply
Ehlo - Sunday, April 07, 2013 - linkThere appears to be many commentators on this website who have the time and energy to keep bashing HTC all day long..even though they do not actually have a HTC One..and even after they read in the review that Brian Klug spent so much time reviewing the phone and declared that it deserves a gold award. I am from Taiwan and just read some recent news reports here reported that Samsung appeared to have hired a team of "website posters" whose job is to fake consumer comments and post negative things about competitor's products on various websites here in Taiwan. If this is true, I wonder if the same strategy may be undertaken by Samsung here, i.e. hire people to post negative comments and present such comments in such a way as if they come from consumers. Here's the news report (it is in Chinese) in case anyone is curious: http://mag.udn.com/mag/digital/storypage.jsp?f_MAI... Reply
firstname.lastname@example.com - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linki suspect that how many comments here are actually post by people hired by sxxsxxg .
even the news already prove sxxsxxg is actually manipulated all these.
sxxsxxung taiwan already applogize for this
https://6584-ps.googleusercontent.com/h/appnews.fa... Reply
vvk - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI used thee last years HTC one X for a couple of weeks and then returned it due to the terrible multitasking (to optimize the battery life HTC went very aggressive with the memory management thus despite having enough free memory the background applications were automatically closed) and relatively weak support on xda compared to Galaxy S3 that was introduced roughly at the same time. Finally, the dreaded multitasking overlay did not help the HTC cause.
I wonder how the things have improved in the current generation ...
Anyways I would go for the either the next Nexus (timely software upgrades are guaranteed) or Galaxy V.
Finally, the gadget reviewers seem to be in love with the superficial aesthetics (aluminum case, gapless design etc.) that once we factor the case that most people would likely use does not matter much. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkI don't understand what you are referring to when you speak of problems with multitasking. I have use the One and background (or closed) apps reopen INSTANTLY. No lag at all. I am amazed at the performance of this phone. Given, I had been using an Evo 3D, but zero lag is zero lag. I think in many ways performance wise we have arrived with this phone. Reply
habbakuk87 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThank you Brian and anandtech.com, for the great and an encyclopaedia entry worthy article.
It was a great read. Reply
mschira - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkWow, this is turning into a fanboy & nationalist bitch fight. Get a grip your are embarrassing yourself, the countries, the brands.
If one listens to this one has to worry a next world war is about to break loose.
I wanted to say that I like the fact that there is coming some more action in the game and we are getting decent choices now.
And awesome review indeed Brian.
Almost too much for me...
M. Reply
Death666Angel - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkSo, finished the review now. :D
I'm missing a few things here. You don't talk about the bootloader and how easy it is to run custom ROMs. In the distant past HTC was relatively easy with that and then there was a time when they were pretty hard to run custom ROMs on. What is the situation with the HTC One? That needs to be in any smartphone review in my opinion.
You talk about USB-OTG, but don't mention the file system of the devices you used. It's important to know if the device can run anything from exFAT to NTFS out of the box or if there needs to be additional software installed to run anything besides FAT32.
You test wifi 5GHz only with ac, but I myself only have n and am not planning to upgrade (bought my n-router not quite a year ago and am happy with speeds, not going to spend 100+€ for a new one) and I can see many people in such a situation. Can you test 5GHz-n-speeds as well?
I'd also be interested in tests of the internal memory speeds, I think Anand tested Apple products and some high-end Android phones for their eMMC speeds. Can you continue to do that? :)
As for the device itself: The display sounds great, though after having 4.7" for a while (GN) I'm looking for 5+ inches myself in a phone now (yes, I have big hands and big pockets) and I'd be hesitant to give up my AMOLED as well. I'm interested in the stereo speakers, though I hardly use them since I have portable BT speakers for on the go and when I'm alone I always use headphones. Same thing with the camera, interesting to have, but I don't see increased usefulness opposed to other smartphones for me personally. The metal construction is great from an engineering point of view, but as a consumer, I don't value it in my purchase decision because it is utterly unnecessary. Sense 5.0 looks better than most other skins and it seems to not be a resource hog anymore. But I'm going to use a different launched with AOSP/AOKP or a something so that is not going to influence me either (unless I cannot use custom ROMs, but I wouldn't buy such a device then).
And the Zoe and Highlights Reel things, I'm totally not interested in either of those. I haven't seen any HTC ads, but your review and the podcast talking about that leave me very cold about the feature.
All in all, I can understand some excitement about the phone, but it just isn't pushing many buttons for me. I'm a bit stunned that you gave this a gold award. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - link"You don't talk about the bootloader and how easy it is to run custom ROMs."
First things first. Reply
idris - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIt's Aluminium - http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.h...
It's an "ium"... You don't exactly say "sodum" or "potassum" do you?! Reply
iAnonymous2001 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkAm I correct to assume that the T-Mobile version is the one to get for some one in the us who uses GSM phones? The radio frequencies you posted appear to suggest that the ATT version lacks support for AWS , other than that they are very similar? I don't have a contact so I am free to choose my carrier.. Thx Reply
nerdstalker - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIf you have low yields, you're gonna have a bad time. If you have low yields and if you cannot do proper failure analysis, rework and revenue units, you're gonna have an even worse time. Good luck with that... http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/8/4195948/htc-one-d... Reply
Joseph D. - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkExcellent review, thank you! Depending on the Galaxy 4 this will probably be my next phone!
I know it might not be a popular feature, but I would like to know how well the IR blaster actually works. I know the G4 should have one as well, and I don't know if it will be a trend, but I would really appreciate it on my phone. Especially if it can do power on macros as well as volume control on different devices on the same profile (ex. my TV down when I start using my receiver).
Again, thank you for the review! Reply
hbsource - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkCan't help you on the macros but the IR works fine on my 5 year old Panasonic plasma and UK Humax Youview box. Setup took about 2 minutes. Reply
Joseph D. - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkThank you very much Reply
Harry Devlin - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkExcellent review. IMVAIO,HTC made the right decision with a 4.7" screen.Still comfortable to use as a phone and to carry around, but close enough to phablet size. That 0.3" does make a difference.
Too bad Verizon won't be carrying the HTC One. In my part of the country, Northern California, you really don't want to be on any carrier other then Verizon, especially if you venture outside the urban centers. Reply
nerd1 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIn fact GS4 is actually smaller in every dimension, even with larger screen and larger capacity (also replaceable) battery. And 0.3" does make a difference - see comparison pics. Reply
niva - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkGreat hardware, too bad it's not a Nexus phone.
The original HTC Nexus was an awesome piece of hardware for it's time. HTC needs to go back to that. Sense is nice, but if it delays a phone from getting the latest Android version I will pass. Reply
Yojimbo - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkNice camera comparison. You're making me miss Tucson/UA... Reply
shasarak - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkNot a single mention of the audio performance via the headphone jack? No discussion of Bluetooth audio? No analysis of the IR blaster? Reply
batongxue - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkAwesome review! Makes me even more excited about the ONE!
I kind of don't get what part of the ONE is shown in the picture "Zerogap gap". Reply
guyg - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkimpressive WiFi throughput.
would be interesting to see the CPU utilization under such scenario (275Mbps TCP traffic)
Guy Reply
h4ldol - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkNot sure why the One deserves a coveted "editor's choice award" when it doesn't offer anything more than incremental improvements in specs and software besides a metal body (which the editor admits he values above almost all else). I used to like HTC due to the Evo 4G (which had its flaws no doubt but was a great phone and I still use mine today, although as a ip camera monitor) but the direction that they've been moving over the past few years -- basically trying to be the Android version of Apple -- has been disappointing. All the focus on style over substance has been disappointing. I just sold my wife's third copy of the One X which continually suffered from battery failures (and replaced by AT&T after confirming failure) and vowed, at least for now, not to buy another HTC. I'm not saying that Samsung is the answer, just that HTC is heading in the wrong direction and will be bankrupt in another year or two if they continue with their current strategy. Reply
hc - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkh4Idol is a troll. Stop making up stories. What a joke. Reply
puremind - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkAgreed. He is trolling. The review is showing him the exact opposite of what he is stating. One things he says is true, HTC is trying to take market share away from Apple (this is obvious - retina killer display, style, premium feel, zero gap aluminium body, 4.7" instead of 5").
But what this review shows is that HTC has gotten all the ingredients right this time around, that every detail has been taken care of to make a very balanced phone. Reply
Sarvesh - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThanks for great review Brian!
Regarding the 802.11 ac support, you mention that "potentially better battery life given a shorter duty cycle for the same amount of throughput". But this got me into thinking that most people, including me have internet connections much slower than that so wouldn't the device be bottlenecked? Are there any benefits using 802.11 ac if i stream content from my pc to phone? Reply
strifec - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI don't see how that makes sense. Apps are pirated the same whether there is internal or external flash memory. All you need is an apk and you're pirating. Reply
Kratisto - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkExtensive analysis as always! Great read!! :-) Reply
Murtuza Khoso - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkA very in-depth article that is articulately written. Thank you very much and excellent work, Mr. Brian Klug. Reply
secretmanofagent - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkIs it possible to get a DSLR camera for shots as well? The thing I'm curious about is color accuracy, like the night shots. The Lumia has a much brighter white in the night shots than the other cameras, and I don't know which is actually accurate because there's no point of reference. Reply
The0ne - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkPhone looks really professional. I'm actually jealous compared to my Note 2. Still, I have to want the larger screen for reading and work though. Reply
prophet001 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkAwesome review.
Thank you. Reply
vlad0 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkI am very happy that they've included better mics for audio recording.. very important, and it gets overlooked by most OEMs, until Nokia did something about it.
If you want to learn more about the tech they use, here: http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/1696152/data/2/-/Do... Reply
vlad0 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThis tech is only included in the 808, not the 920. The 920 got only the HAAC mics, and not the rest. Reply
nerdstalker - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkApparently Lumia 720. This thing will hurt HTC. http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/22/nokia-prelimina... Reply
Qellion - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkWow, all the reviews i read on the Lumia 920 clearly didnt do the camera justice.
The One's camera is good, but the lumia camera is pretty fantastic Reply
sigsegv0x0b - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThere is only one problem with HTC's ultra pixels. DXO Mark seems to disagree
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOM... Reply
delahaya - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThis review was so beautiful I almost cried. THIS is what a smartphone review should be. Excellent work Brian! Reply
minichaz - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkExcellent, excellent review. Thanks.
Does anyone know if you can access the camera on the HTC One from the lock screen without having to enter a password if one is set? I was an iPhone user and this is one feature I still miss on my current S3.
Thanks. Reply
mirkster - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI have the HTC one and yes you can access the camera from the lock screen without unlocking the phone. Just make sure you have leave the camera shortcut in the dock bar as it is setup this way by default. Reply
danbob999 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkGood review, with details that matters and that we can't find anywhere else.
However I think you put too much emphasis on materials and look. I tought this was a tech site. If I wanted to read about fashion and look, I would read the HTC One review in a women magasine next time I go to the dentist. Reply
bigboxes - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkDude, materials and manufacturing are so tech. How it looks and feels in your hand is part of the experience just as the GUI. You're just finding a reason to nitpick. If it's not for you then don't buy it. Don't clutter up the comments with your snide remarks. Reply
danbob999 - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkManufacturing? There is nothing about manufacturing in this review.
And it's not as if the materials choice was anything high tech or special. It's plain aluminium. Wake me up when they use carbon nano tubes or something high-tech. In the mean time you are confusing fashion and technology. Reply
bigboxes - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkIf you have nothing to add please do just that. Reply
puremind - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkDesign/premium feel is actually quoted in many polls as being the 3rd most important feature in a smartphone these days (behind battery life and processor speed). HTC is naturally looking away to grind market share away from Apple.
Just because design and build quality is not what you are after in a smartphone doesn't mean that this review's audience doesn't care about it. You are in a minority here. Reply
bernardos70 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkOne of the best reviews yet. As expected from this site.
One tiny note: "a phrase that usually will solicit laughter from me" on the conclusion.... I think it is supposed to say "elicit." I'm just saying that not to be a grammar Nazi, just trying to help improve it, and I have seen it the word used incorrectly way too often as of late.
I am, however, terrible at math and I wonder if it is feasible to keep such low profile on a phone, and still have "ultrapixels" AND something around 8 Megapixels, or if this would cause a Droid X-style bump on the back in order for it to work? Reply
mlpjunior - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThis review is the new yardstick by which all others must be judged. Thank you, Brian, for being committed to excellence in your craft. First ≠ best. Reply
amats69 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkwow! this is the BEST Review of a mobile phone ive read!..this is my first time on this site and 100% not the last one. Good Job Brian!
About The HTC One i really excited for this device to come to our market. ill be buying this as long as its arrives to our area...
btw this is my first comment on this site! :) Reply
JRewing - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThe king of the north err cell phone reviews Reply
mye - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkWhat's the highest editor's choice award? Which product has received such an award? Reply
Crono - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkPlatinum, and there are none (see Brian's comment of page 3), as it was just created.
There are a few products I think that have received gold, but not many. They reserve awards for very highly recommended products, which is a very good thing. Reply
joe1234567 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linklmfao... the camera doesn't even come close to the one on the Nokia Lumia 920. This is the biggest load of crap since phone arena did their so-called "blind test".
I really wish tech bloggers would remove their android googles before writing a review. Reply
Thud2 - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkSomeone should take off their goggles, look up the term "Empirical evidence" and re-read the article. Reply
superflex - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkUh, Dude. Brian carries an IP5 as an everyday phone. How's that Android goggles? Reply
Duddy - Monday, April 08, 2013 - linkThis review is above and beyond. But of course I expect nothing less from Anandtech. Reply
eiriklf - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI thought this was a great review, and I think the conclusions seem solid, but I think the benchmark comparisons between Krait 200 and 300 show a larger difference than there actually is, and that one should mention that the benchmarks also depend on the software/firmware of the device. After all, the butterfly and the One clearly have quite different firmwares, since one has sense 4+ and one has sense 5.
I ran geekbench 2 on my nexus 4 (which of course also runs on APQ8064), which has completely unmodified firmware ( I haven't even rooted yet), and I found that in both the integer and floating point tests I got performance which was closer to the scores you posted for the One, than the scores from the butterfly. The memory performance was, however, pretty much the same as what the Butterfly got.
My section scores were:
Integer: 1600
Floating Point: 3291
Memory: 1463
Stream: 584 Reply
robarrow - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkHi Brian
Is there a separate GPS antenna? If GNSS antenna is combined with the secondary cellular antenna and the antenna is a frequency-switched antenna, can GNSS and LTE operate simultaneously?
ZL Reply
tchsvy - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI am blown away! If this is called review then most of the tech sites have to cover their faces with shame, so saving them from this, I call this beyond review, this is kind of a science fair visit, where someone takes you on a journey to discovery! Reply
marc1000 - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkall I can say is: I want ONE!
I once had a HTC Touch HD (blackstone) and it was a really good phone, sturdy and well finished. Unfortunately the Windows Mobile 6.1 did not help it much... but now this phone makes me want to have a HTC again! Reply
Mugur - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkGreat review, great phone. Possibly HTC's swan song, though... Reply
puremind - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkYou realize that in Swan lake the black swan rises to be more majestic than all the others, right? :-) Reply
Belard - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkFront facing stereo speakers isn't really new.
My last feature Sony phone has them, always loud.... Even compared to my modern Motorola phone. Typical smartphone speakers suck so much, I've missed calls with my old Samsung GS1. I had to use the Sony as an alarm clock becauses the SGS1 speaker was too weak to wake me up! When I got my atrixHD, I finally retired the Sony.
HTC did a great job here, I hope they sell these like hotcakes. I'll never get another Samsung pastiche phone... Hate the way they feel. The SGS4 does NOT excite me. Reply
seekified - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkThis phone seems to be exactly what I want. I'm of the opinion that if you're going to put a case on your phone, it might as well be a plastic rectangle devoid of any design elements - I simply put my phone in my pocket and try not to drop it.
That said, the Snapdragon 600 SoC, the camera and to a lesser degree the speakers are all excellent reasons to get this over an S3, which I find far to plastic-y and tainted by a rather ugly UI skin. Reply
RostokMcSponge - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI've just got one of these, and so far I'm really pleased with it. Build quality, superb screen, and the brilliant speakers are the three features that sold me on it, and have continued to impress since purchase. It did heat up like a 3 bar electric fire when I used it for navigation on a long trip though.
I probably will hide the beautiful design in some cheapo case in the near future, but I'm occasionally clumsy so it'll have to be done.
Brian - that's a superb review you've put together - it's made me feel very comfortable I've made the right choice! Reply
NexusD - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkBrian, I was wondering how the HTC Once developer edition stacks up to the ATT version? Would we get updates to android faster with the Dev edition ?????? Reply
geniekid - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI doubt this will ever be read because it's so deep in the comments, but in any case I want to say this is a very good review. I've read several reviews about this device and this is by far the most thorough and informative. Great job. Reply
Hrel - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkThe Jedi Batman, is the ultimate hero. Reply
Arbie - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkI get it that folks like the feel of a metal phone. But the difficulties that entails, and the incredible amount of extra design work required to get around those, makes metal seem like a very bad choice. I'll go for the plastic too... it should both cost less and be more reliable. Reply
puremind - Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - linkThe HTC One actually costs less than competing flagship devices that use plastic, so all the more reason to choose the premium feel then! Even better for us! Reply
Ehyeh - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkLOL, HTC One unlocked costs $800 - $900 right now if you pre-order (which you could receive within 1 to 2 days). let's see how much price will this actually drop considering it's only a couple of weeks away from its launch Reply
superflex - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkSprint's price for a contract free 32 GB phone is $549. 64 gig model will be $649.
$800-900? Is that coming from Samsung's PR dept? Reply
Thegonagle - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkInitial pricing will be the same. Maybe Samsung will have more margin to drop the price sooner, but to anyone considering both phones at or near release date, pricing is not a concern because it is identical. So regardless of the manufacturers' standpoints, from my standpoint HTC is the winner.
(P.S. Do you hold stock in Samsung or something? Seems like a good reason to look at it from their point of view. For the rest of us... We don't care if Samsung spent less money and had an easier time building a clearly inferior chassis. We'll take the better product.) Reply
Thegonagle - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkSamsung does nothing for me. I have a Galaxy Nexus for Verizon. Its SAMOLED screen is fine, the front looks slick, the shape and form factor are nice, the OS is current (although I think "pure Android" is too plain and overrated) and the SOC is fast. Other than those points, my old HTC Thunderbolt is a higher quality smartphone.
It's not true that HTC didn't update the software. With the 4.0 OTAs from Verizon, the Thunderbolt is quite serviceable, although with its single core at 1 GHz and 728 MB RAM, it feels slow. However, the HTC's camera takes better pictures, it holds a signal much, much, much better, the mobile wi-fi hotspot is more reliable and more configurable (plus it runs in AP mode, not ad-hoc mode), and it's less prone to overheating, especially while simultaneously charging and running as a hotspot.
Based on my previous experiences with both brands, and knowing what we know about the both HTC One and the forthcoming SGS4, the decision will be easy for me. I'm not impressed by Samsung's phones, I never have been. HTC has always built more solid hardware, and the One just takes Android to a whole new level. I do hope I'm not stuck waiting too long for the Verizon version though. Reply
Krysto - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkBrian, are you guys going to use Basemark X in your cross-platform benchmarks, too? Please do.
Also keep an eye for Unigine's cross-platform benchmark, too. I think they want to release one for mobile, too, and that one also supports Linux.
Instead of posting 10 different tests from GLBenchmark, just do the ones that really matter, like the Egypt HD ones from v2.7, then the IceStorm from 3dmark, and now this one from Basemark X, so we get a better idea of how the mobile devices actually work with real games/graphics demos.
I'd recommend against using the Unreal Engine one right now, since it's pretty useless if all devices can reach 60 FPS on it or close to that, even on 1080p. But keep that one in mind too if they decided to update it to some kind of Samaritan version for mobile, or to an Unreal 4-based one. Reply
theduckofdeath - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkI get the feeling that you're exxagerating the quality of the microphones for video recordin a bit. You made me believe that it was actually good, but then I went to Youtube and checked if I could find someone who had uploaded samples from loud events, and boy, was I disappointed. They're barely better than the One X, and the problem is, since they don't balance the noise filtering synchronous on both speakers, it actually ends up being a pain in the ass to listen to when they keep having completely different recording levels on each microphone.
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcejt6ICk8E Reply
superflex - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkSo your comparing Brian's analytic review with calibrated test equipment to Wolfgang's rave party You Tube video?
Seriously? Reply
theduckofdeath - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - linkYes, really. Seriously.
Look at *any* video recorded with the HTC One in loud environments posted on youtube. They all have the exact same result. Really poor audio performance.
I am saying that Brian's "analytic review" is at best flawed, but I would say it is completely irrelevant. Just theoretical values with no connection to real performance of the microphones.
Maybe it can be fixed with firmware, if the the hardware is actually as capable as for instance the microphones in the PureView 808 phones. But until anyone proves me wrong, I would really take that part of the review with a pinch of salt. Reply
superflex - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkLets stop the non-replaceable battery fallacy. My son is using my wife's old iPhone 3gs and with the original battery. No, it doesn't hold a charge like it used to, but it still gets him through the day, and that's a 3+ year old phone and battery.
Batteries can be replaced, even in sealed phones. Reply
Ehyeh - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkyou're wrong. your family probably doesn't use the phone that much. heavy users will definitely feel the significant effects of battery degredation within 2 years to a point of being unusable.
as for battery being replaceable in sealed phones, what's for iPhone doesn't necessarily follow for HTC. unfortunately based on HTC One's repairability, it got a score of 1 out of 10 in the teardown http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC+One+Teardown/13... and one of the most notable things about it is that it's virtually impossible to replace the battery without damaging your phone. for comparison, iPhone 5 has a score of 7 out of 10 http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+5+Teardown/1... , the battery can be replaced relatively easy here Reply
nerdstalker - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkI can replace an iPhone battery blindfolded while jumping from one helicopter to another. Changing the battery is difficult on HTC One, even for me or Chuck Norris. Cheers... Reply
superflex - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkYou dont know my wife. She uses over 2500 voice minutes a month in her sales role. Granted, my son doesn't use 10% of her talk time, but he makes up for it in texts and social sites.
Nice ASSuming Reply
srkelley5 - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkThank you for the extremely extensive review. I'd been pining after the Lumia 920 for a while now but was constantly thinking that the 920 is a great phone despite it running Windows Phone. Now we have the HTC One which run Android and does nearly everything that the 920 does that I cared about while having an equally strong design aesthetic. Thank you, this is at the top of my want list. I definitely can't afford it but if I somehow can afford it by the summer then it's mine. Reply
HotInEER - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - linkI can't believe how many times I have read this review. It is hands down the best review of a phone I have ever read. I have recommend this site and this article to countless friends and family. This has me so hyped for my HTC One to come in next week at Best Buy. I was going back and forth on this and the S4 but after reading this article it assured me I made the right decision.
I'm giving HTC another chance after being a former Hero and Evo 4G user. My current smartphone is the S3 and before that the S2. Reply
name99 - Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - link"The bzip2 front end does a lot of sorting, and is thus very branch intensive..."
I haven't looked at the bzip code, let alone how it compiles, but on an architecture like ARM aggressive sorting would not have to use much branching, and code that branched would be suboptimal. Far better would be code that, after each comparison, used conditional moves to (possibly) swap the two items being compared, rather than using an unpredictable branch.
Re streaming:
"The only difference there is the use of two FP operations, with the add being dependent on the results of the previous mul."
Are you sure this is the relevant issue? The important difference between the different sub benchmarks of Stream is how many pages the benchmark requires be open, and the frequency of toggling the RAM between read and write. An optimal memory controller will do what it can to bunch writes together and delay them until it handles them all at once, as well as keeping pages open when appropriate, and may even do things like pre-emptively opening pages based on patterns it is seeing. (Whether this makes sense or not will of course depend on the relationship between RAM page size to VM page size...)
What Stream may tell us is that while the RAM bandwidth has been improved, the memory controller has not, and so anything even slightly tricky remains gated by RAM latencies, with few smarts in place to improve the situation. Reply
ijudge - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkSuper detail review , require a lot of time and hard work but looks like sponsored by HTC in someway to me . Reply
SanX - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkBrian, In the Display Quality section your pictures clearly cry for better microscope. Like this one for example http://www.it168.com/picshow/index1370065.shtml Reply
worldbfree4me - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkI certainly agree with the appreciation that most have for the in-depth analysis that Anandtech provides for its consumers. While most think the HTC One is one hellava piece of Kit including me, I just cannot make a deal on a phone that's launching with an outdated OS. KLP probably won't even see the light of day on the "One" but I know HTC well, Key Lime Pie will likely rear it's head on the "TWO" if they are still in business. Apple got it right, and now Sammy has it right. One, no pun intended, World Phone for them all with plenty of Post Sale Support. If you speak to anyone who has owned an HTC Phone in the past, and the landscape is scattered with many of orphaned examples. Remember the EVO LINE, orphaned. HTC will not be getting their business in the future. The previous Q-ship the Droid DNA was EOL by Verizon and not brought back no doubt because of complaints from consumers, but the reality is that it has been sat on the front porch and is now looking for caring customer to take it in, because the next best thing has already pushed it out. What's ironic is that the "First" another Carrier exclusive will likely beat the One to market in the States. But I digress,
Brian clearly likes this phone like he has so many others and I have no doubt when Sammy sends in a GALAXY S 4 for them to demo, we will hear and read similar nice things as a result. Me, I'm sticking with Sammy this year polymer body in all. Reply
Despoiler - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkThe kernel source has already been released for a few of the HTC One variants. There is going to be an amazing amount of community dev support for this phone. Having the latest and greatest AOSP code won't be an issue. You just won't be getting it from HTC. Reply
Toss3 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkDoes the HTC One come with an unlocked bootloader? Becasue if not, AOSP is not going to be an option. Samsung also released their sources for the S4 btw. :) Reply
quiksilvr - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkYou guys do realize that your offscreen 1080p tests are invalid for any Apple product using a lightning port, right? It outputs at 1600x900, not 1920x1080, which is a near 30% less. Reply
krushnam - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkReading the first few pages of the review, the feeling one gets is that it's rather biased towards HTC.
One gets the feeling that he's trying to mediocre battery more than it needs to be.
They've traded off battery capacity, endurance and replaceability for great design, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a bad battery choice.
I'm currently reading the camera section, and, to my disappointment, the only real competitor of the One doesn't get even one mention... The Lumia 920 is the new standard for camera quality, and while Sammy's offerings may be more popular, I'd certainly expect a site like AnandTech, especially with a review like this one (ie, one written by an optical engineer) to at least mention one of the best mobile cameras around. :/ Reply
rliao12 - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkHuh? Almost all of page 7 is dedicated to directly comparing the One against Lumia 920.
http://anandtech.com/show/6747/htc-one-review/7 Reply
leexgx - Sunday, May 05, 2013 - linkproblem is even thought i have Full respect for anandtech and all the reviews, But all smart phones i have had could Never get the results he gets on the tests in an real world use, most iphones and android max is 2-3 hours screen on time, apart from the Moto razr maxx that seems 4-6 Screen on time hours from my normal day to day use Reply
machdisk - Wednesday, May 08, 2013 - linkI bought a one and I'm getting about 6-7 hours of uninterrupted screen on while internet browsing on 3g. May be able to kill it faster by gaming but I doubt it will go in less than 4 hours unless you have the screen at 100 percent brightness ( which would be pretty uncomfortable given how bright it is) Reply
mschira - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - linkWell that tough to change battery is a bit of a worry. And the iFixit guide is not very reassuring.
So one would hope HTC will offer battery replacement services?
Do they comment on this?
Cheers Reply
superflex - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkWhen you battery wont hold a charge to your satisfaction, drop the phone in the toilet and make a claim on your insurance. That's how the iPhone crowd rolls. Reply
nerdstalker - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkWhat insurance? Does HTC confirm to have it 100%? Reply
Sir_Funk - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkIJudge, it seems nothing like a sponsored review please give anandtech some integrity.
Anyone who is worried about the sealed battery they usually just replace the phone rather than the battery. Also anyone who is that worried about not having a replaceable battery just take out a small battery charger which isn't much bigger than a replacement battery. Great review and a great phone. Reply
mebalzer - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - linkGood point, I have a Galaxy Nexus and never replace the battery. It is always easier to hook up a charger, or external battery pack than to pull of the case, then back of the phone, which could lead to dropping it or worse. Reply
Thud2 - Friday, April 12, 2013 - linkCan anyone say if this phone has a clearcoat type finish? I would guess it does but I am going to take some PPG Eldorado aircraft paint remover, tape of the area around that "Beats" logo and remove that shit. It will not damage Aluminum (or Aluminium). I really do not want to carry around an $800 sandwich board for Dr Dre. Reply
CNP-Keythai - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - linkFantastic exterior accessories. As good as ours, I bet. Reply
mebalzer - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - linkI have a lot of respect for the writers on this site as well as their podcasts. These are real technical writers who go the extra mile to provide a complete analysis. This review will go a long way on determining my next phone. I hope they provide a comprehensive report on the Samsung S4 as well. Sadly, am I correct to believe this will not be offered by Verizon? Reply
Commodus - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkVerizon has so far said that it's not planning to carry the One, but there's been conflicting talk on that front. One theory is that it's repeating a 2012 strategy of demanding a custom device, or else waiting for another device timed for later in the year (a la Droid DNA). Reply
superflex - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkVerizon will get the HTC One Droid Razer Maxx HD in sucker blood red with a SD slot and a extended replaceable battery.
Of course, the screen size will have to be reduced to allow for their carrier branding. Reply
funnyhog - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkSigh .... you seems to have a misconception that Aluminium is a better material than Plastic composites? You do know that Aluminium is one of the softer and weaker and cheapest metal around? Unless they start using stainless steel, please tone down the exuberant over what is essential a very cheap and basic material in the engineering world.
While I do not think Samsung uses top range composites (that are expensive AND can rival the properties of top range metals, although not usually all at the same time), from the reviews, it seems that the plastics used are consistently more scratch proof AND tougher than the aluminium used, which is so prone to dent and scuffing that you need to a cover over it at all times. Reply
Thud2 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkSigh ....
Harrumph... Reply
funnyhog - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkAs for the camera, you are right in saying that it is a compromise and trade off instead of a glowing fanboyish review like so many other reviewers. And in terms of trade off, it works if the person only wants to share over the web (and not to large screen format either, else it really really look horrible) or view their photos over small format viewers.
But for most consumers who wants to print their photos, view it on their 17 inch HD laptop display or otherwise needs large format printout, it is a no go as the lack of details really really show, especially when the composition have lots of details or words/numbers. It is so bad that it can really detract from the overall quality of the photo, if it is enlarged and viewed over a large display or printed out onto just an A4 size paper. ( I tried both using the review images that claims to be the actual full size). Reply
repoman27 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkYou do realize there are no 17-inch laptops in existence with displays that have more pixels than this camera sensor? The only laptop with a screen resolution greater than 4 megapixels is the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Also, prints up to 5"x9" could still be output at 150 LPI from a 300 DPI source.
So yeah, the camera in this phone isn't exactly the same quality as a DSLR, but it is very well suited for "most consumers". Reply
peter123 - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkYou people need to calm down with the bashing of this review. Anandtech also reviewed SGS2 and it was highly praised, REMEMBER? If you don't accept that a company other than samsung can produce an excellent device than I'm sorry but you are a fanboy. HTC is an excellent device. Period. Reply
praftman - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - link17 Pages and only one on UI? How can I have just read every comment and yet nobody speaks with surprise about this amazing lack in an otherwise exceptional review?
I'm purchasing this phone, and I like it for many of the same reasons Brian gives. I respect this review and yet…
The UI is probably more important to the experience than all of the hardware; It's at least as important. Yet we receive one of the slimmest run-throughs of Sense 5.0 I've come across. I was hoping this indicated a companion review…but weeks in and there remains no Sense 5.0 review. What sacrifices are made by the lack of Jellybean 4.2.2? How do the quick-access functions differ from main competitors (silence, notifications, etc.)? How does the browser stack-up (it's an internet device after-all)? There is not even a quick breakdown or reminder of the main bullet-points for any of these significant topics, though apparently we need a refresher on all sorts of other things, hardware based of course.
Moreover, the obvious competitor to this phone [GS4] has built its efforts with a particularly strong focus on software tweaks. But evaluating the phone's hardware with such heavy emphasis…the very battleground most-contended is largely ignored, making the real-world use of this review questionable. Did anyone really wonder if the HTC ONE was going for build-quality? Did we need this review to figure that out? It seems two-thirds of the review speaks the language of the obvious, the fact obfuscated in magnificent detail...Detail that almost no bearing on purchase-decision. I love that kind of detail, but I certainly wouldn't want in to substitute the meat of what determines a review's real-world value: Should I buy this?
As a doc on technology, and to learn about the development of hardware, this is a fantastic piece. But in that sense [pun!] it is like a case-subject for technological education in general, industry education or even archiving. It's akin to the [deservedly beloved] engineerguyvideo series. That isn't for purchase decision, unless the reader is swayed by being lost in the brilliant and impressive information-overload, information that ultimately…isn't the right context.
Context…that fails to address the blogosphere. We see no redress to the rumors of QC issues with gaps, no mentioning of availability or carrier-exclusivity. No discussion of carrier-comparison at all. No setting-the-record-straight with regard to inaccuracies in well-published reviews. No discussion on sticking points for many reviewers (such as the difficulty in customizing the home-screen with an awkward increase in dragging, pausing, dropping). …Part of the advantage to such a late review is to address all the other reviews and opinions now out there--but this one seems largely in a vaccum. Those concerns floated to the top, virally, for good reason. With each further review the gaps [pun!] they all share become more apparent. Here we have the best review to-date, but it's merely rehashing what we've already seen, just at a finer level. The community is asking questions this review still does not begin to address.
Then there are the sort of flaws we'd expect when one reviewer attempts to 'do it all'. No single person designed this phone, and a single reviewer expecting to be minute in detail and *definitive* in their review is not likely to succeed. So we see the claim:
…that softer metals are easier to machine; False in most situations.
…of performance based on benchmarks Anand.com itself refutes with newer, better methodology. Odd that.
...that larger photosites are best to fight noise; Despite his expertise in this specific area Brian continues this simplistic and ultimately false refrain. Technology does not develop uniformly, and the nature of noise is multi-faceted. All things being equal bigger photosites are best. But…all things are not equal. Increasingly the best real-world strategy for fighting noise has been an *increase* in pixel count up to our current limits. This is from page 46 of the comment section, and many here would do well to read it:
sigsegv0x0b - Monday, April 08, 2013 - link
There is only one problem with HTC's ultra pixels. DXO Mark seems to disagree
People have said the HTC ONE is just flash and form over function. Another iDevice [if you believe the common anti-fanperson's refrain]. I think it has stellar function, and again--this will be my next phone--but admittedly it does trade some real-world practicality for that build 'quality' [and here I thought quality was something built right, not something built to give the appearance of right]. The phone has a smaller screen [but I think that bezel will protect against errant contact] and they could have used that extra wiggle-room to protect the glass from all sides…instead they used the same glass expanse as the GS4, just with a large able unused portion. That's form over function...and over build-quality. No SD-card and the poor excuse they couldn't fit it in. The GS4 does. The Sony Xperia Z does, even though it's water-proof. The metal will not be comfortable in the sun (glare, hot to the touch) so when you place it on your accessory car-dock…make certain it isn't catching rays the whole time across its various edges. The metal will not be comfortable in the cold (now we have a reason not to wear gloves with this phone…and to wear gloves with this phone). The battery…ugh. I replace my phone every year and I still think this is an obvious misstep. Even the iPhone, while not user-replaceable, has a battery that a service technician can remove. It's clear that with the ONE many more phones will need to be fully replaced over otherwise minor fixes. I'd pay money to have this phone *not* constructed in this manner. I'll take a subtly rubberized exterior, please.
This review is being celebrated as some sort of benchmark. It is…with regards to hardware. I'd hate to see the ball dropped so heavily on the software side by its blogger-imitators. This review, with its undue focus on the physical object, and its stark glossing over of the actual battlefield this phone faces, shares the same superficiality. Well made [review/phone]? Yep. Like an Armani Jacket. Functional [review/phone]? Not as much as it might have been…had the focus been on wearability. Reply
dyc4ha - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkill be honest i didnt read the whole thing, but just a quick comment: I believe the black version is the polycarbonate version, similar to the one x (someone correct me if im wrong) Reply
nerdstalker - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkSee my reply two posts below... :) Reply
Thud2 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkI HAVE USED THE PHONE. It is extremely solid, really nice looking, VERY fast, Browser is very fast. Apps open instantly, screen is bright and sharp, it's very thin and fits the pocket well. Sound is better than any phone I've heard. Camera is fast and gets great shots that you would not be able to get with other phones. Stop fanboy trashing to start rumours. Nobody wants to hear your biased bull****. Reply
praftman - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkMaybe the comment system is messing up, or maybe you are responding to the wrong comment by accident, or maybe you just didn't read my [admittedly] lengthy comment...but I'm no fanboy. Not biased. Not much anything like what you're saying. Reply
gnx - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - linkJust one point on why there isn't enough analysis of UI. This is Anandtech, a site built on review of hardware, which began with reviews of motherboards. Software and UI is really not the main focus of Anandtech. Hardware and Build, whether as in the external aluminum case, or in the internal SoC, are the main (and strong) suits of Anandtech and their reviews. Reply
praftman - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - linkI would direct you to the reviews of Surface or iPad Mini or any number of similar UI/Hardware products. That detail is at least approached in those reviews. I'd agree hardware is the comfort zone here...but it certainly isn't the only element reliably addressed. Until this review. Reply
firstname.lastname@example.com - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkThis was an awesome review. I look forward to the S4 review and then a comparison to the HTC One. Great article!! Reply
nerdstalker - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - linkBlack one is aluminum. Some say it is anodized, some say it is painted. Any case, it smears and scuffs for sure.
http://dl.xda-developers.com/attachdl/6a36212254dc... Reply
SlimShady1398 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkOMG you live near Tucson! :D Reply
repoman27 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - linkI'm with superflex on this one. I have an iPhone 3G that has been in constant daily use for over 4.5 years now on the original battery. A decent quality lithium-polymer battery can manage 800 charge/discharge cycles while retaining 80% of its original capacity, which would be 2.2 years even if you discharged it fully once a day.
If your battery won't hold a charge anymore, you replace it. If you're squeamish about doing so because you bought a sealed $800 smartphone with no user-serviceable parts, then either pay for extended warranty coverage or just take it to someone who knows how it's done. Reply
Capricorn1 - Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - linkThanks for a fantastic review on the HTC One. I'm not sure I have a reasonable idea of how much work really went into this, but I'm guessing it was even more than I think, which is a lot. I probably learned as much about how to compare phones as I learned about the HTC One itself. Reply
hp79 - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkI already pre-ordered this HTC One, but today I went to the store to check it out. I must say I am kind of disappointed in the build quality. The seams where the screen and the aluminum meets were not even on the four corners. I hope mine is completely flush.
This is one of the reason I returned Surface, not exact problem but similar. The screen on Surface was wobbly on the bottom center edge where the Windows soft key is. I don't think many people noticed or care though and I'm just being an ass on quality aspect. Reply
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkWell I did this the other way around...
I went to the store first, checked the build quality, and THEN bought one. Seemed lovely to me.
...Despite how much I wanted removable battery and microSD slot.
Oh well... Reply
robinkings - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkGreat review. I have this phone and I am quite pleased with it. Can someone tell me if the glass covering the camera on the back scratch resistant gorilla glass please? Can't seem to find this information anywhere and it looks like the glass covering the rear camera already has a few tiny blemishes even with careful use. Thanks in advance Reply
hp79 - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkSad to hear there's already blemished on your device. I thought it's supposed to be sapphire or something which causes the purple haze when directed on bright light source. I read that iPhone5's has the same purple haze because of this, but I don't know. I'm just going to put some kind of protector on the back so the camera is recessed from the rest of the back.
Can you comment on how the condition of the screen/plastic and aluminum seams are on your device? I read there are some quality control issues. I expected it to be Apple iPhone quality, but maybe it's not up to that level yet. (I'm a Note 1 - N7000 user.) Reply
quiksilvr - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkGo to HTC's Smartphone page and see how many phones are called the "One" or have "One" in the name.
SEVEN. SEVEN phones have "One" in the name. What the hell were they thinking? Why didn't they call it the HTC Aluminium or the HTC Ultrapixel? Something that distincts it from the flustercuck of phones it has. Reply
dyc4ha - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - linkyou want to count how many samsung devices are named galaxy? they are building a brand name, it is the right thing to do. Reply
hp79 - Friday, April 19, 2013 - linkThey should have named it HTC One Ultrapixel or something. Samsung's Galaxy is the family name, and then there's a model name which makes the distinction. Every time I search for something related to HTC One, I have to do "htc one -v -x -vx -h -evo -z" to filter out everything. It's kinda crazy.
Anyways, I received my HTC One today and I'm dissapointed at the build quality. What's with the gaps between the screen and the aluminum speaker grill, and one of the corner has a protruding black plastic (which wraps the screen on left and right edge). The sim card eject hole looks like the plastic has been drilled with a electric home drill. I can probably drill it cleaner than that. Maybe I was expecting too much from them. I do like the performance overall, but the quality control really sucks. Reply
dyc4ha - Friday, April 19, 2013 - linkAre you guys going to review the US version with LTE and update the review by any chance? That would be greatly appreciated! Reply
gnx - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - linkI second this. I checked out a few at the AT&T store, and the screen, sound and form were gorgeous, but would appreciate a updated review that considers the US models (rather than UK/international ones) with LTE and more importantly updated software (especially for the camera, hopefully).
Also, I have to say, 3 of the 5 models displayed at the huge AT&T store had a visible slight gap on top and bottom where the white metal strap meets the back aluminium. It was disturbing to see, and I even took a photo, lest I get accused of being a nay-sayer. Personally, I'm guessing this is just first production model quirks, like the first round of Iphone5s having chipped strips on the side, so I'll wait till the more mature batches come along, and hopefully an updated review to help me settle on what to buy too! Reply
rohini - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - linkI've become a fan of aluminium body. It was iphone 5 first but now i've fallen in love with the HTC One. The camera is also very impressive and the quad-core processor is more than capable of doing any task that you throw at it. Talking about the octa-core phones, do you really think that you'll really require 8 cores for doing some calculation on a smartphone?
I've prepared a table of what Samsung has been doing for years and what the Koreans must learn from HTC.
http://www.speedmango.com/htc-one-the-last-flamboy... Reply
sAiyAnstAr - Wednesday, May 01, 2013 - linkAre you saying that the iPhone first came out with the Aluminium body, or you liked the iPhone 5's aluminium body first? My HTC Sensation came out in 2011 and it has an aluminium body... Reply
Thud2 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkAll bullshit about camera resolution aside this camera is great , AMAZING in daily use. The HDR mode produces great indoor photos. Just captures everything. No black holes or white flares. Great for the average user (me) Reply
Thud2 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkOK, just got home and took a pic out my back window in night mode. Have never been able to get anything but black noise with other cams (albeit phone cams and low end cameras) I wish I could post this pic, amazing! They have achieved their goal of expanding the useful range of the phone cam. Reply
Thud2 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkIn the interest of full disclosure I do have to say that I am a fan of great industrial design and precision machining. I was enamored with the CNC work described in this article. I am on Sprint but before I went in order to the phone I went to AT&T to get a look at it and found that the speaker cover had a sharp overhang and was not smooth to the body. I looked at many phones and the "GAP" described in some comments was nowhere to be found but I guess early production models were not smooth from body to speaker cover. Knowing this, when I went to the store to pick up my phone I noticed the rough edge. the store rep noticed to and said he was sending the phone back. I went to another Sprint store and their phones had no ridge, smooth as ... I don't know, but pretty smooth, so I bought it and it's really really nice. Enough said. Reply
Pazz - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkI picked up a HTC One at the weekend over here in the UK. The build quality was terrible, the top front aluminium section was too wide for the housing and left a lip on one side. There was also a gap between the middle plastic housing and the aluminium on the top face, so big I could fit a finger nail almost down it. This gap flexed and closed up with pressure. Was this sample provides to Anandtech by HTC? Reply
Thud2 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - linkMine has no gap and I looked at at least 6 of them at AT&T and Sprint stores and never saw a gap. An overhang yes but mine is smooth as silk. Reply
Bhairav Pardiwala - Monday, May 06, 2013 - linkApparently the microsphone test would have to be redone as the HTC one microphone will now be using a diffrent part Reply
KarlSmith432 - Monday, May 06, 2013 - linkThe one-piece aluminum case is amazing but the other specs are also unique, like: the fastest OS and the built-in amplifiers. I saw a list of them @ http://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Products/HTC-One/Speci... but I would like to read a review on these specs Reply
m0nz - Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - linkAs always, an amazing review from Anandtech. That is why I try to find a review from you guys before anyone else. It's just sad to see such crap around the net, but such a breath of fresh air from here. Good job. Reply
ELPCU - Wednesday, May 08, 2013 - linkIt is quite surprising anandtech says its finish is excellent.
I just bought HTC One yesterday, and I found it frontal aluminum(top and bottom portion of front) aligned improperly.
This issue seems pretty pandemic.
Yes, all product might have few defective products, but disappointing part is I can see same issue at Anandtech's photoshot as well, and anandtech said its finish is excellent, so not even have to read about it.
Closely look (zoom if you do not see)
at photoshot of bottom side of phone and top side of phone.
Seam between frontal aluminum and plastic portion is bigger compared to that of back aluminum and plastic portion. Reply
Montago - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - linkFirst world problems much ?
its not by Apple standards, that's for sure...
it rings, it plays games, aren't you happy ? Reply
Montago - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - linkBTW... the biggest problem with the HTC One is not the build quality of the phone... but the software... Android still needs a lot of work :-(
it's insane that the OS can't handle power usage and CPU/GPU usage better... Reply
Montago - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - linkI just got my HTC One yesterday... i used it all day and installed a lot of apps and configured what antennas to be turned ON...
I charged the phone 100% and put it on power-saver ... but overnight i lost 30% battery !
jebus ! Reply
Gorgenapper - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - linkStep 1: Buy a metal phone because it looks and feels premium
Step 2: Cover the phone in a matte black plastic case
This is why the materials used to make a phone are largely irrelevant to me. I always put a case on my phone for extra protection in case of a drop. Reply
TEJASH - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
I actually did quite a bit of research on these cell phone trade in programs, and www.smartphonecashin.com is definitely the highest paying site. They are also very straightforward and easy to use. Reply
batongxue - Monday, May 20, 2013 - linkHope Brian will update some parts of this awesome review according to latest software update for the ONE.
I really hope that HTC could make better use of OIS with further updates. Reply
matthewls - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - linkI ordered the HTC One after liking a nexus 7 tablet. After getting the HTC One I spent a few days frustrated with the phone because I couldn't mod the launcher to my liking--couldn't increase the icon spacing enough, couldn't change the dock settings, all this annoying crap on the "sense 5" and "blinkfeed." Then I discovered launcherpro, and now the phone is a delight. I would like to get the 3 bottom "buttons" working to have separate, single tap "home" and "running app list" control, but I'm sure that will get here soon enough. Reply
vipuls1979 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - linkthere are certain cons compared to Samsung Galaxy S4 , 1st , battery is not removable secondly storage cannot be increased , for more comparision you can visit http://mobiknowhow.blogspot.com Reply
htj - Thursday, May 23, 2013 - linkGreat detailed review. Very refreshing compared to other sites.
I picked up an HTC One on Sprint... the quality control seems really bad. The buttons were recessed and difficult to press. I swapped it out for another one with better buttons, and that one had 2 stuck pixels out of the box. Returned that one and will get an S4 eventually. Reply
getoliverleon - Sunday, May 26, 2013 - linkThank you so much for the long, detailed and absolutely fun to read review! I've been reading for years, but this review made me register to comment.
One thing I sorely miss from your review: The Sense UI used to have very enticing features in the contacts app for power users. You could have something like a unified messaging view for your contacts. I would love to read about this, the good contacts widgets and the other changes HTC made to the stock Android experience. Sadly the review falls short of this. But the rest is great!! Reply
arunbala - Thursday, June 06, 2013 - linkWhy I'm Going Back to my 18-month old iPhone 4s...
I've been on iOS since the smartphone revolution. I use my iPhone a lot for browsing the web (on the chrome app), corporate email (stock iOS mail client), Gmail, Whatsapp, paid navigation (Navigon), Netflix, Lots of music, Facebook, following sports scores through built in apps, shopping apps (Amazon, Red Laser, BestBuy) some games and financial management apps.
I'm clearly a techie and not averse to tweaking my phone. I've been a serial jailbreaker on both my old iPhone 3GS and my current iPhone 4S. I mostly jailbreak for the all the efficiency tweaks and customizations. When my iOS 6 jailbreak crashed I was forced to restore to the stock iOS experience.
Right around this time the HTC One rumors started pouring in. I was growing sick of all the customizations I lost as I followed the HTC One's launch very closely and waited with bated breath for Brian's full review after the teaser mini-review from Anand. I got the black HTC One 32GB from Costco online for $129.99. I thought this was an awesome deal. Here are some of my thoughts and observations after a week with the phone and why I returned it.
What I LIKE about the HTC One:
32GB, 129.99 on contract, LTE, Ultrapixel Camera, Awesome 4.7" screen, great Industrial design and iconic look
I really loved the industrial design of the black HTC One, except for one glaring aspect that has been oft repeated in other reviews. The speaker grill assembly has very poor quality. The bottom speaker grill was not sitting flush with the screen and formed a small ridge under the screen. This ridge acted as a convenient platform for dust and grime to collect on. This was just from 2 days of use.
What I HATE about the HTC One:
Battery life, Battery recharge time, Android app quality, Blinkfeed, Facebook shares showing up in Gallery
The battery on the HTC One lasted way less than the iPhone as mentioned on the Anandtech detailed review. This was something I expected. How long it takes to charge up was also mentioned on the detailed review but I was shocked by what this meant in real time use. The painfully slow recharge time in combination with the low charge retention made for an awful real world experience. Coming from an iPhone I found myself really paranoid about even using my phone for basic stuff worrying if I was going to drain the battery.
I've been reading over the last couple of years about how the Android app marketplace has now completely caught up with iOS. I found this to be grossly mis-representative. I went hunting for an exchange email client app for my corporate email not realizing at the time that this was one of Android's weakest links. After trying the stock HTC mail app, K-9 and a free version of Toucdown I was left very disappointed about the quality of these apps. I tried the built in browser, Firefox and Opera browsers for kicks and found them seriously lacking in the polish that I observed on the chrome app. There were a couple of similar examples but the end result of all these app hunting exercises left me seriously missing the app experience I had on my iOS device.
I came to Android thinking I would be getting the added benefit of customizations and widget screens without losing out on app quality. I found out how big of a compromise I would be making in giving up great iOS apps for not so great equivalents on Android. I was left feeling that most app makers did not care about creating great experiences on Android or that the severe fragmentation significantly hampers their ability to translate their vision into reality on a consistent basis. This seems to me like a disadvantage Android will always have over iOS that I am personally surprised by this having misled by the generous amount of press Android's emergence seems to receive.
This combination of crappy real life battery usage and the Android app experience has me running back to my iPhone despite an otherwise lovable HTC One for all the things they did right - Ultrapixel Camera, Top notch design (even though manufacturing quality control doesn't come close to Apple's), gorgeous screen etc.
I've still not given up on the HTC One. I read rumors about a 4.3 inch HTC One mini with a 720p screen. Maybe the HTC One mini will have better battery life? I want to see if HTC will release the stock Nexus ROM for folks that buy the HTC One on contract.
Having said all this if I do decide to try a HTC One again, I will do so with the full realization that I will be compromising significantly on App quality. I will have to plan better to use specific apps on my iPad to make up for crappy ones on Android and prepare myself for a less compromising transition from iPhone to HTC One. At the end of the day I'm not sure if the compromises will be worth it if the next iPhone manages to meet or exceed the current expectations set by HTC One hardware and iOS 7 brings some degree of compromise in terms of efficiency focused features and customizations.
For now, I'm going to wait till fall..... Reply
npnpatidar - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - linkI really like this mobile. My only concern is battery longevity that it will become "use and throw" after 2 years. As I am spending 40K Rs., I want to hold it for long time. Could HTC Service Center replace the battery ?
By the way great review Brian !!! Reply
erickr.cr - Sunday, June 30, 2013 - linkI was told HTC that the EMEA WCDMA Bands do not use the 850mhz frequency, do you check that? Reply
TinCity - Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - linkMy mother just bought the HTC One and it is just awesome. Got her a case from Amazon and couldn't believe the discounts they have. I'm sharing this with everyone, here's a list of the cases with the biggest discounts and best reviews: http://amzn.to/1ayqnnq. Very Happy. Reply
Mdaf123 - Thursday, July 18, 2013 - linkIt sound weird question but does anyone know if this mobile has dual receiver such that it can measure 2g/3G at the same time without entering compressed mode? Reply
chanakyaz - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - linkThis is what i just wrote in my facebook timeline when i shared this review..enough said, i guess! :-) "Darnnn, this is probably THE MOST detailed review I've seen on ANY kind of a gadget!! AMAZING ground work and research,Brian Klug!!!" Reply
chanakyaz - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - linkoh, btw..this is nothing to do with the gadget in question (HTC One) itself, cos I was already sold on it even before i started reading the review and now i can't wait to lay my hands on it! Reply
abye - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - linkthe comparisons between the various phones with the differing angles / zoom etc. make it difficult to understand the true differences. In general the HTC one phones appear nearly as good as the Lumia 920 and in some specific cases much better than the 920. I'd go for the camera on the 920! Reply
Diorarat - Friday, August 02, 2013 - linkI read a lot of comments about removable battery and SD card and frankly it's a problem that's not really a problem. People always say that removing the battery is a must but most of them never pulled out the battery even once. Let's be honest, it's too troublesome to swap batteries and charge the extra battery vs bringing a powerbank. Expandable memory is a joke to get people to buy 16gb models at the price of 32gb. 32gb is the sweet spot for me with games, movies and music. If I go out on a trip and want to bring a host of hd movies there's the other usb function which basically let's you watch media directly from a flash drive. I honestly don't see how you compare the one with the s4 or even the iphone. They're great phones but nothing that htc one brings to the table with the same buck. It has better screen and sounds. Software and camera is opinionated but you can't argue that hardware wise nothing comes close to it. Reply