HTC One (M8) - user opinions and reviews
- AnonD-274404
- PFt
HTC have built the most beautiful smartphones in the world for the past few years and the HTC One (M8) strictly follows the playbook. M8 is probably the most beautiful smartphone yet, raising the bar set by the yesteryear's One (M7). It's also a true showcase to HTC's leading prowess in industrial design. It looks unmistakenly premium and luxe, and it feels really great in the hand. The build quality is top notch, thanks to nearly all-metal construction and HTC's obsession with perfection. My unit is the gunmetal grey; the hairline finish on the back significantly adds pleasure to the eyes. The subtly curved back improves the grip and makes the device fit my palm like how the heaven has intended. M8 comes with a 5" 1080p display, a slight upgrade to the predecessor but retains the usually beautiful, vivid colors of S-LCD. M8 turns heads from some distance, and sparks wows-and-aaahs upon closer inspection. The Grace Kelly of smartphone realms.
Sound quality ranks M8 among the best (if not the best of the best) smartphones on the market today. Audio output through headset is satisfyingly crisp—listening to Norah Jones' Come Away with Me before sleep feels like a hypnotic experience. The front-firing BoomSound speakers are much improved compared to those on the previous models—it's louder, yet still clear in noisy environments. Call quality has no issue whatsoever.
HTC bring yet another innovation with the Duo camera—yes, two cameras on the back: one 4 MP ('ultrapixel', to be precise) and one to detect depth of field. The ultrapixel is improved, resulting better images in low-lit scenes compared to the original One (M7). Outdoor pictures appear crisp with good color reproduction and details as well. The second camera enables users to create bokeh effect on some pictures after the shooting (there are some pictures of which the effect isn't applicable e.g those taken with macro mode). To put simply: refocusing. This feature is fun to experiment with, and with the latest Gallery update you can control the level of bokeh as you wish. There are more 'fun' features e.g foregrounder, seasons, dimension plus, in-built filters which some people may find useful. It also comes with Smart Flash—two flashes of different colors that reproduce more accurate skin tone in low light shot. Imaging is a department where M8 is rich in features.
Selfie is quite trending these days, and HTC put a 5 MP wide-angle lens front shooter. A perfect group selfie in the dancefloor or at the beach? Checked. Feel you look too chubby on this vanity shot and wish your cheeks were slimmer? Checked.
Zoe is still here, and now with extra kicks. Video recording maxes out at 1080p (sorry, no 4K) with some nifty touches like slow motion. You can compose a highlight video from some photos, videos, Zoes and your own soundtrack with some themes of choice. M8 is a phone that lets out the artist in you.
Sense 6 is much more polished, cleaner and sleeker than previous iteration. Some functionalities stay here, e.g SenseTV and BlinkFeed, with a lot of improvements here and there. You can now pick theme and font to personalize the look and feel of the interface. Sense 6 is an epitome of modern & graceful effort to Android custom UX.
Sense 6 also introduces the Motion Launch—double taps to wake the screen, pressing volume button to launch camera from sleep, etc. I found it very useful at times because these gestures do minimize the contact between thumb finger and power key that is less strategically placed on top of the device.
Performance is fast as lightning and smooth as silk, thanks to quad-core processor ticking at 2.5 GHz (my unit is Asia). Running several tasks at once is no fuss to M8 and gamers sure will love it as well. Battery is decent, running nearly all day long with a single charge in the morning. There's also an Extreme Power-saving Mode that extends battery to days. A perfect solution to avid travellers who do not take many shots for Instagram.
HTC One (M8) is gorgeous inside and out, and easily among the most powerful smartphones you can buy today. It's not revolutionary—and it isn't necessary to be so—but the flagship model is a product of evolution in the right direction. Both HTC and Android evolution, at large. And I can feel more awards are lurking around the corner, imminently waiting to present themselves to this beautiful beast.
- big jim
- s1Y
Instead of longer profile why not make it thicker. Too long is too cumbersome. More battery size and larger speakers can be designed in. Thicker would be much better.
- quitely brilliant
- p7A
I have absolutely no problems with this phone , whoever talks about poor image quality obviously hasnt used this phone !
The phones camera , sound , battery life has largely improved without a doubt !
Thank you htc for this awesome phone ...
- Anonymous
- tes
HTC response when your newly bought phone is not working and when i send an email to the relevant country which is UK they dont even reply (been 4days now ).
thank you for replying back to us.
Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience caused to you.
This is in continuation to our previous conversation.
In regards to your concern, we regret to inform you that we are currently supporting phones manufactured for India. Since, there could be difference in settings for phones from different countries/regions even when the models are the same. Hence, we request to coordinate with the country support for further assistance.
- quitely brilliant
- p7A
The m8 is an absolute charm , i cant describe how amazing this phone is , the camera is surprisingly sharp ! And the sound is AMAZING literally ! Battery life is the best soo far , i download music and chat on bbm , whatsapp , insta , snapchat . And it lasts for 14 hours of continuous use !
Thank you htc for such an amazing device !
- AnonD-274023
- t}g
Almost 2 Weeks with HTC One M8. awesome phone. Superb Audio Quality. Excellent Battery Backup. Beautiful gaming experience. **********
- AnonD-128617
- v@H
darkgamer, 14 Jun 2014You please comment after knowing some facts. 1. m8 has 5" FHD screen and not qHD. qHD... more:) i like ur comment!!!
- darkgamer
- YQr
[deleted post]Sorry but i don't have a profile on XDA. You must have a misunderstanding.
I never said I know everything. But I only say facts. point anything that is wrong in my comment and I lose.
Have a nice day
- Jack
- AJy
Wendi, 12 Jun 2014Please does it mean HTC has stoped producing Beat Edition phone or is just GSM Arena missing i... moreThe phone still has the awesome speakers, just not the name of beats as HTC sold their shares in Beats.
- AnonD-273861
- bCq
AnonD-273837, 14 Jun 2014At first I was skeptical as to how HTC was going to improve M7, the best smartphone of 2013. T... moreVery nice write up. Helpful indeed.
- AnonD-273837
- y$g
At first I was skeptical as to how HTC was going to improve M7, the best smartphone of 2013. This year I think it is safe to say they did it again !
The M8 has 20% more metal than the M7 and this gives the M8 such a remarkable premium feel to hold with its aircraft grade aluminum. The wrap around edges shows that the metal casing has been designed to perfection, to make the device fit the palm of your hand. This device has beautiful rounded corners that is not just incredible to look at, yet this gives the device much better stress concentration on impact. This is why M8 prevails on drop tests. Engineering wise this takes detailed manufacturing processes yet HTC crafted a masterpiece.
I'm sure you get the idea on how well build the M8 is. I will talk about how optimized Sense 6 is, this is currently the best UI out there! No wonder that a lot of people seem to prefer Sense 6 over Vanilla Android on Nexus or GPE devices. Everything is smooth, sleek, elegant, basically extremely fast and simple and does not consume much battery life. Kudos to HTC for that. I love all the color combinations and the themes, the colors blend in perfectly and nice to look at. I, every now and then, swipe to the right to open blinkfeed, and just scroll continuously, which is great and timekiller, plus the addition of offline reading capabilities is well appreciated.
Although some would want higher MP, the 4 MP Up on the M8 is great for me as I don't really crop images or zoom in on pictures a lot. Overall I am very satisfied with the performance of the main camera. Color reproduction is good and manual shot capability is very nice. Dual LED flash works very well. Plus depth sensor capabilities is still being developed, so expect a lot from Duo Camera in the future ! At current stage only, uFocus works well and Dimension Plus (3D effect) works excellent.
When you rotate the phone and talk about the front facing camera, It is another league compared to other flagship devices. The 5 MP wide angle shooter is definitely one of the best if not the best front facing cameras out there. I find myself taking selfies and even wefies more than ever.
The screen size is perfect IMO. I am not a fan of thin bezels and I think bezels on the M8 are of perfect size. Plus the beautiful S-LCD 3 screen is submerged between the BoomSound speakers, which is definitely the best speakers on any smartphone at the moment. I don't mind it taking more space as long as the SQ is amazing.
I will now talk about the battery life. It may not be of the biggest capacity but it has incredible battery life. With low to mid usage I usually end up with 50% after a day of use, I could easily get to 2 days. That's how optimized Sense is.
I have used lots of phones and I will have to put M8 on the very top of my list. This device screams quality. The premium feel and quality of M8 stands alone. Simply the best smartphone ever!
- Omidvar1987
- 6w@
Hi,dear friends.I want to disclose the fact in fact writing GSMarenaMobile about M8!?But the price of this highest end quality ultra smartphone is so much high that my hand shakes while trying to write my best scientific comment about this HTC masterpiece!!!?Nevertheless I congratulate HTC for making such top advanced devices and creating more jobs!Also thanks for GSMarenaMobile good review !Just justice rights
- LikeMeOscar
- wHT
HTC M8 Boom sound better beats~i'm user ~
- darkgamer
- YQr
AnonD-273688, 13 Jun 2014Early 2014, HTC won the most pretigious and coveted award in the Mobile industry. The award wa... moreYou please comment after knowing some facts.
1. m8 has 5" FHD screen and not qHD. qHD is used in low end phones ans is even lower than HD.
FYI,
WVGA- 480*800
FWVGA- 480*854
qHD- 540*960
iphone-640*1136
HD- 720*1280
WXGA- 768*1280
HD+- 900*1600
FHD- 1080*1920
2K/QHD- 1440*2560
2. The previous htc one had a 4.7 inch screen and not 4.5. And this one doesn't have a larger screen. It has a 5 inch which when subtracted the space for on-screen buttons leaves 4.8 inch which is not that larger.
3. This doesn't have the 'LOUDEST SPEAKERS'. Even galaxy s5 is louder than this and the loudest smartphone is LG optimus G. However you can say this phone has the 'BEST SPEAKERS ON ANY PHONE' as they sound better with great depth.
Have a nice day
- keke
- f09
[deleted post]If you don't know what to write just go and take a nap. HTC for life no matter what
- AnonD-273688
- tE%
Early 2014, HTC won the most pretigious and coveted award in the Mobile industry. The award was " GSMA device of the year 2013" . For those who know, GSMA is the world Mobile operators association. In 2013, HTC One won the best smartphones awards in numerous categories. After having set the benchmark so high, I was wondering what will HTC do in 2014 to raise the bar. The answer was there on March 25th 2014 - The HTC One M8.
One look at this sheer beauty and the first word to erupt from your mouth shall undoubtedly be " WOW" .
HTC took the bar it set with HTC One to a whole new level in 2014. HTC One M8 surpassed its predecessor in every angle, every aspect.
After having used the HTC One M8 for month, here are what I feel about it:
Design: HTC took the One and bettered it. From 70% metal to 90% metal. The phone has brushed metallic finish which complements its size. These brushed design are smoother.The sides are gripper. The phone has 5" qHD display unlike the 4.5" of HTC One. The display is crisp and brilliant.
Sound: No second doubts about the Boomsound speakers. They are "THE MOST LOUDEST" mobile speaker setup right now. No unwanted noises in the speaker. Pure music experience.
Battery: 2600mAh battery is the powerhouse of this cell. They are highly effective. They are optimised for high performance. A full charge for me lasts upto 12-14 hrs with a good usage of 3g and calls. The cell supports quick charge. upto 70% of battery charges in first 1 hour. One of the best features of this phone.
Camera: People need to look beyond the Megapixel myth. Ultrapixel have a high performance. The pictures are crisp, clear and bright. The nighphotography on this mobile is a sheer pleasure. The dual tone flash helps to get a better pictures dudring night shooting. The various camera adjustments lets you explore and adjust the ISO, Exposure, Temp, Saturation according to you.Either choise the Manul mode or Auto mode. I feel like a DSLR in my hand. There is so much you can do with the camera.The U focus is a charm of a feature. The cell takes 0.3seconds to lock focus on a subject. The front camera is a 5MP wide angle and serves as perfect selfie camera.
UI: Sense 6 or Sixth sense is a butter smooth UI. It adds to the Android experience. So much customization is now possible. Blinkfeed serves as the daily news app for me, the color or the sms, juke box, music player, fonts etc. now change according to my mood. It comes with a new power seting called "Extreme Power Mode". Its a life saver at times of low battery.
Everything is customizable on the phone now after Sense 6.
The cell brings in a new range of flip covers called DOT VIEW those are simply awesome.
I am very happy with my mobile. Thank you HTC for making an awesome device like HTC ONE M8.
I would rate it a PERFECT 10.
- AnonD-273646
- Rw4
Just want to point out that the technology in this phone presents some issues for users in the California SF Bay Area. Apparently i am told it has Spark network built in which has yet to come to the Bay Area. By default it is set to look for Spark network thus doesn't want to connect to the 4G network we FINALLY are experiencing here (mostly we are still on 3G). So it tends to roam a lot or NOT PROVIDE ANY service. I have had over 90% failure connecting no matter what options i try to override (or change in my settings). I have been to the tech centers 7x and no one has been able to resolve the problem. I am told i Must wait for Spark to come to the Bay Area, which, by the rate of such slow progress even implementing 4G here, i am certain this could take years. I just want to warn potential buyers about this problem we seem to experience uniquely.
- brilliant ....
- p7A
Before I got this phone I was always worried about the camera and the image quality..
But when I got it , my gosh I was surprised !!! The 4um camera has been improved significantly...
I can now say that the HTC's one m8 camera is clearer than the Samsung s4 that I have used !! (My friend's s4) and also the battery life is very very impressive !
I really recommend this device to all , don't follow the specs sheet ! Use it in real life and you will know what I'm talking about ! And I guarantee that you'll be satisfied 😉
- AnonD-112957
- mHX
Well, it's hard to believe but HTC managed to massively improve on their previous flagship, the 2013 HTC One.
1. Camera - they have removed all hints of overexposure and aggressive sharpening from the previous phone, and left us with beautiful, strong photographs which really shine. In addition they've added a "depth sensing" second camera which allows some pretty funky effects on the images after they're taken.
2. Sound Quality - this is absolutely beyond reproach. The sound out of the phone's internal speakers is the best you ever heard, and then when you route it through another device (home hifi, headphones etc) it's enough to blow your mind. Really excellent kit here, well done HTC.
3. Screen - I don't know what it is that's been done; maybe it's contrast, maybe it's colour definition - but this display is far better looking than the M7 was - it's stunning - and readable in direct sunlight too.
4. Ease of Use - Sense 6.0 vastly improves on the previous editions, and this phone is ridiculously easy to set up, use and enjoy.
5. Battery Life - I cannot say enough here - for the techies, I can easily get 10 hours screen time on a charge, and for the non-techies, you won't have to charge every night - unless you play a lot of games in which case it's STILL better than other phones. There's also an emergency mode "Extreme Power Saving" which disables all but the basics, and can make 5% last several hours.
6. Look and Feel - go see it in the shop if you don't have one. This phone looks and feels perfect IMO - it's delightful.
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