New htc one m8. Review of HTC One (M8). Old-new flagship. Smartphones have one or more front-facing cameras of different designs - pop-up camera, PTZ camera, notch or hole in the display, camera under the display

2 years ago 0

0. Nice design1. Good screen: no graininess, pleasant natural colors, good brightness. The glass is almost impossible to scratch. 2. Just great sound! (in the presence of good headphones, of course) By the way, the sound from the built-in stereo speakers is also good (as good as the sound from the built-in telephone speakers can be). High-speed performance. Compared not by parrots, but in the process of working with other devices. For example, a full backup / restore of the system through recovery is done five to six times faster than on my previous device (although the difference in parrots was ~ two times. Both devices have 4 cores and 2 gigs, the flash drive is the same). The interface does not lag from the word "at all". 4. You can easily unlock the bootloader with the help of official services from HTC and download any

2 years ago 0

Excellent screen -Simple amazing sound both in headphones and in speakers (Better than in the old One, definitely) -Attractive design and solid metal body -Improved interface compared to the previous generation of this model (for example, the on-screen buttons are much more convenient than the buttons on the previous one, prettier design, the camera has a lot of new software chips, added a couple of nice little things in the interface, such as the ability to close all applications at the same time in the task manager and gestures for unlocking: double tap, swipe, etc., very convenient) -Improved autonomy -Smooth, powerful (36500 points in Antutu)

2 years ago 0

Nice bright screen. Before him I had Htc one m7, which I really liked. Despite the fact that the M8 is slightly larger in size, it is much more comfortable in the hand. And it looks more beautiful. The battery works longer, spends the first 50 percent as quickly as the M7, as it reaches half, for some reason the percentages decrease very slowly, that is, around 12 at night, about 35% of the charge remains. -Fi, Bluetooth, Facebook and all the news on Blinkfeed, which I really like, thanks to him the phone is "live", something changes there all the time. This is only for HTC as far as I know.

2 years ago 0

Nice body, very nice in the hand. Nice bright screen. Not buggy. Good sound. And the charge holds long enough. Initially, I was going to buy a Sony, Z3, and even ordered in an online store (with the condition of self-pickup from their outlet on Gorbushka), but when I went to pick it up on the way to the 2nd floor in the window I accidentally saw this device :)) already in my store I compared 2 devices and chose, of course, HTC. Moreover, before that there was also an old NTS.

2 years ago 0

Design, battery life, SD card up to 128GB.

2 years ago 0

I bought an excellent device and I am very satisfied. The response time is just excellent, it does not hang. It fits in the hand as it should

2 years ago 0

The screen is not inferior in brightness to the s4, brighter than the One m7. The chromaticity is the same if we compare the same matrices, on the European One m7 (in my case, the Norwegian assembly) cold prevails, here the temperature is lower, the eyes are not so painful. - Sound louder than m7 by 25% percent. Better instrumental. In the headphones, it seemed to me the curve of channel separation is worse, if almost nothing is noticeable in the plugs, then in some BD 990 you can already clearly hear the difference. - Appearance. The back cover is just a reference, looks great. The front is also good. - Battery. During the night, I discharged 1% in standby mode. Generally ~ 40% more than m7 lives. There is an Extra energy saving function, at 15% it lives 40 hours, current calls, SMS, mail are available. - Factory overclocking with one tick. - 3D panorama, looks super. - Sense 6.0, very

2 years ago 0

Magnificent screen, colors are saturated and close to natural -Simple amazing sound, I get real pleasure from listening to songs both on the speakers (of which, by the way, there are two, with amplifiers), and in headphones. Boomsound really improves the sound quality -Sense 6 and Android 4.4.2.The smartphone is very fast, it runs very smoothly -Very powerful and not very power-consuming processor (I have a frequency of 2.3GHz) -32 gb of internal memory (about 25-26 gb available) -Support SD-cards up to 128 gb -The all-metal case is very comfortable in the hand, for my hand like a glove. The quality of both materials and the assembly of the smartphone is at a high level. The design of the smartphone, of course, is a subjective matter, but for me it is great. Holding the phone in your hand, you understand that this is a real thing, worth your money -Is

2 years ago 0

Design, build, battery (lasts 24 hours with average use) At seven in the morning I charge up to 100%, at seven in the morning the next day I put it back on charge at 15%. It charges pretty quickly. An excellent interface, after Samsung's "touchwiz", HTC's "sixth sense" just pleases the eye. The controls are very convenient. Camera for a solid four. For a smartphone camera, you don't need a higher rating, if you want a solid top five, buy a DSLR. Great sound. Loud speakers, even quiet melodies are well heard. Vibration is the bomb. it is better not to put it on the edge of the table, the phone may vibrate down.

2 years ago 0

0. A bad camera in its class, and not a software shell, but its hardware. Color rendering is disgusting. Photos look dark and blue. I would forgive it if the device was 2 times cheaper, but such cameras are not installed in flagships.
1. IMHO - a disgusting shell! In order not to rassusolit for a long time I will write this: Sens, he is like a car, with a huge fuel consumption, which can only be driven directly. At the same time, what is especially delivery, it will eat gasoline, even if you parked it and went home with the keys! This can be easily cured by third-party firmware, but most of them will not be fooled by this, right?
2. Aluminum body. Yes, yes, I wrote it down exactly as disadvantages. In my opinion, there are two reasons for this: firstly, it is rather slippery and often falls, and secondly

2 years ago 0

The rear camera is frankly bad, this also applies to image resolution and color reproduction.
-Although the interface has been improved, but it is not very convenient, you need to get used to if you haven’t used the sensor before
-High price of 33 thousand rubles, could have done less
- The case for a five-inch display is too large
-Inconvenient location of the unlock button, although there are gestures eliminate this drawback

2 years ago 0

I don't really see if the battery would be even more powerful.

Camera. Say what you like, but ultrapixels do not save. However, the pictures look good on the screen, plus an excellent video. It is better not to throw off on the desktop.

2 years ago 0

For those who need a 5-inch smartphone, it may not be suitable, because. because of the on-screen buttons, the working diagonal of the smartphone is about 4.7 inches
-Camera (yes, it's not perfect), but the pictures on the smartphone look great.

2 years ago 0

Various applications open in your pocket and rejects or answers calls by itself if you have Motion Lunch enabled. Without a cover - books, it is better to disable this function. The speakerphone worked twice during a conversation, almost deafened in one ear, given that the speakers are very loud. I do not know the reason for the spontaneous activation of the speakerphone yet, I hope it will not happen again.

He badly needed a successor who would not lose face. In the updated HTC One (it somewhat awkwardly differentiates it from its predecessor HTC by adding the internal model designation - M8), the emphasis is again placed on appearance, body materials and thoughtful software in terms of both design and functionality. For almost a month we have been using HTC One M8 as our main smartphone and are ready to tell you how it surpasses competitors' products, and where it is inferior to both them and last year's predecessor.

Specifications

• OS: Android 4.4.2 with Sense 6.0 shell
• Processor: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) 2.3 GHz
• Graphics subsystem: Adreno 330
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage memory: 16/32 GB, support for microSD cards (up to 128 GB)
• Interfaces: DLNA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.0, infrared port, microUSB (USB 2.0) for charge / synchronization, 3.5 mm for headphones
• Screen: Capacitive IPS, diagonal 5 inches, resolution 1920 by 1080 pixels (FullHD), density ~ 441 ppi
• Cameras: main 4 MP with autofocus, video recording Full HD 1080p, front 5 megapixels, frame depth sensor
• Network: GSM / HSDPA / LTE
• Navigation: GPS / GLONASS, A-GPS
• Radio: FM tuner
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor
• Battery: 2 600 mAh
• Colors: white, black
• Dimensions: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm
• Weight: 160 grams

Design, ergonomics

The manufacturer did not succeed in impressing the press and potential buyers with the appearance of the HTC One M8 - firstly, the official announcement was preceded by 1000 and 1 leaks, and secondly, although the design of the device has changed, it is only evolutionary. The user is looking at the same black rectangle of the screen, to which metal panels with perforated BoomSound speaker grilles are "attached" above and below, unexpectedly it turned out to be very similar to the inverted rear iPhone panel 5s. Here are the most noticeable changes: we moved the buttons from the dedicated strip under the display directly to the screen, changed the location of the proximity and light sensors, and, finally, significantly, especially in length, increased the size.

The latter is not encouraging. If from last year's generation of flagships HTC One was perhaps the most convenient, the new product lies in the hand much less confidently due to the length that has grown by almost a centimeter (up to 146.4) mm and 2.5 mm wide. The thickness remained almost the same (0.1 mm increase is invisible), the comfort of use has increased due to the rejection of the sharp edges of the case in favor of the rounded ones. But the dimensions for many will be on the verge (or beyond) the convenient one, and the weight, having increased by 16 grams, has become more noticeable.

The volume rocker and power / lock button are slightly tighter than the 2013 model and are more comfortable. But the lock button is still on the top, every time you have to train your fingers to stretch with unnatural movements to turn off the screen of the device. Well, at least you can unlock HTC One M8 with gestures on the screen, we will tell you more about them in the chapter on software.

The smartphone requires a nano SIM card (like the iPhone from iPhone 5, Motorola Moto X or Nokia Lumia 1520), it is inserted into the slide out of the body. Similarly, on the other side of the device, you can insert a microSD memory card with a capacity of up to 128 GB.

In the body of the smartphone, there is now even less plastic and even more (90%, if you do not take into account the screen and filling) metal. The surface looks and feels different than last year's One - it is less matte, yet has a subtle yet visible texture, like brushed soft aluminum. It has no immunity to scratches, when used without a cover (with it the dimensions go beyond all reasonable limits), they appear after a week of use. However, the color and texture are chosen so that small scratches are noticeable only if you look closely, and even then they do not spoil the impression of the device.

On the other hand, in the box along with the phone, the buyer will find protective case... This is a simple translucent "bumper" that protects the back panel and the perimeter of the case, but this kind of concern is welcome. Optionally, you can purchase a Flip Case with a hinged lid, a fun multi-colored Double Dip Case bumper or, most interestingly, a Dot View case with rows of small transparent holes on the lid. It allows the smartphone to display basic information such as time and weather by highlighting individual dots. HTC claims that battery life is not significantly affected.

Both connectors - for a USB cable and for headphones - are located at the bottom of the device. On the back is the main camera, complete with dual flash to ensure natural colors in any light, and a secondary camera to measure the distance to objects in the frame. Why you need it (if you need it at all) - in the next section. A short summary of looks and usability: the latter is clearly brought by the developers in favor of the former.

Screen

Traditionally, in recent years, there have been no complaints about the quality of displays in HTC's flagship products - IPS technology provides excellent viewing angles, color rendition and brightness margin. In the bright sun, the image, of course, fades, but at the same time remains no less readable than indoors.

With a diagonal of 5 inches, the HTC One M8 screen has a Full HD resolution - 1920 x 1080 pixels, the pixel density is not a record, but it fully guarantees the "invisibility" of individual points at 441 ppi. The newest HTC smartphone uses Gorilla Glass 3, which protects the screen from most scratches and damage. At the same time, if (like us) you do not take special care of its protection, then small scratches visible upon close examination of the surface nevertheless appear on it after a couple of weeks of use. That is, this is not a panacea, if you want to keep the screen in perfect condition, you will have to use a cover, or rather, a protective film.

Camera, sound

Let's start at the end - with the front camera. Its resolution in the HTC One M8 has more than doubled - from 2.1 to 5 megapixels. At the same time, the size of the matrix has practically not changed (from 1 / 5.8 to 1/5), so there is no need to talk about a significant improvement in the picture quality.

The HTC One M8 is the only smartphone ever released in the world with a higher resolution front camera than the main one. HTC engineers are still convinced that pixel size is more important for image quality than the number of light-sensitive elements of the matrix. Therefore, the main camera still has about 4 million megapixels, but the pixels themselves are several times larger than those of competing counterparts.

Traditionally, in recent years, smartphone manufacturers have increased the number of pixels - the light-capturing elements of the sensor - and users are used to thinking that the more the better. However, the size of the sensor matrix itself and its elements affects the final image quality, contrast and color saturation much more strongly, how we see it on the monitor (with a resolution, as a rule, not higher than Full HD, that is, two megapixels) or on the smartphone screen. ... In addition, the algorithms for processing data from the matrix are important, which are responsible for the correct color rendition and contrast.

Yes, 4 megapixels versus 16 for the Galaxy S 5 or even 8 for the iPhone 5s can be daunting in a flagship smartphone. But this does not prevent the HTC One M8's camera from taking noticeably better pictures than most Android smartphones. Pixels will be missing only in one case - if you want to crop a photo in the editor by selecting and enlarging one area of \u200b\u200bthe image. Then the lack of resolution will, of course, affect the quality.

All this could be said about the camera in last year's HTC One, except that the sensor from another supplier and the manufacturer promises increased color accuracy and saturation. However, there is also a difference - the second camera, located just above the main one. The task of this sensor (technically, this is the same 2-megapixel module that was used for the front camera in last year's One) - working in conjunction with the main camera, determine the distance to various areas of the image.

The smartphone simultaneously saves data from the main and secondary cameras, however, it displays and stores only the first one as a regular one. Thanks to the second camera, a "depth map" of the image is created, dividing it into several zones, conventionally the foreground, middle ground and backdrop. This data allows you to apply a variety of post-processing effects - from simulating a lens with a shallow depth of field (bokeh) to background desaturation. Unfortunately, in practice, the "depth map" is far from always created correctly, as a result, blurry (or discolored, or autumn leaves are flying over them, or snow - effects of varying degrees of naivety in the arsenal are countless) are not exactly the parts of the image that should would.

With proper perseverance in certain scenarios, you can really get the effect of shooting with an expensive camera with a high-quality "portrait" lens, but the system will not be able to magically transform each shot. Perhaps the situation will be improved in new versions of software or products from third-party developers. HTC promises them to open the SDK of their camera so that third-party applications can access the depth-of-frame tricks.

So far, the results from using the Duo Camera look like this. For most users, the new technology will just be an excuse to play around with a couple of shots, rather than revolutionize mobile photography:

Here the result is a little better, but the system still could not perceive the girl in the center of the frame as one object, part of the hair and elbow were in the background and were processed by the effect:

In case you are shooting a half-length portrait or a carefully calibrated still life, the results will surely be better. However, even then, the digital blur effect applied to the background does not look as natural as real optical bokeh.

Sample photos, comparison with iPhone 5S. Full-size images are available by clicking:

The pictures show that HTC is less accurate in determining the required shutter speed - the first two frames differ in overexposed areas, while the third is underexposed. On the other hand, subjectively, the grass and flowers in the second frame turned out to be more pleasant in the Taiwanese phone. This is imperceptible in the miniatures, but due to the higher resolution, more details can be seen in the image from the iPhone 5s (for example, in the third frame, the pattern on the girl's dress in the foreground). Finally, the iPhone introduces less geometric distortions into the cityscape - HTC's lights at the edges of the frame and the State Duma building on the left are more "drunk". In general, the quality of images from HTC is excellent, but the automatic algorithms that determine the required exposure and white balance sometimes work a little roughly.

The rest of the photos taken by HTC One M8 can be found here (Dropbox). The main complaints, if you find fault, are insufficient detailing of small objects (tree branches, for example) and often overexposed bright areas of images. The HDR mode, unfortunately, does not solve the last problem - the smartphone draws out details in the shadows, but bright areas still remain overexposed. However, the color rendition is usually correct, and the contrast is good, the pictures look nice on a smartphone or computer screen. In low light conditions, the smartphone shoots well, but we did not notice any radical difference for the better from other flagships during the test.

There is another problem with shooting videos as well as photos in low light - the HTC One M8's camera lacks OIS. Most likely, the manufacturer decided to save money, or the OmniVision supplier did not manage to produce the required number of modules on time. In any case, the HTC One M8's image stability when shooting handheld or on the move is noticeably lower than its "optically stabilized" predecessor.

It is worth mentioning that the HTC One M8's camera is extremely fast - autofocus takes a split second to work, saving is done instantly. In addition, in burst mode, it is possible to shoot up to 99 frames in succession at a speed of about 12 frames per second. If desired, the selection of the best one can be entrusted to an automatic function. The camera application itself looks very thoughtful, all settings are at hand, but do not get in the way unnecessarily. Unfortunately, HTC has abandoned the simultaneous display of the photo and video buttons, so to quickly jump to the video you will have to go into the shooting modes menu.

Finally, briefly about the sound - HTC has been releasing a smartphone for the second year in a row that leaves behind all competitors in terms of built-in speaker capabilities. Of course, the laws of physics do not allow to fit a really high-quality audio system in a compact body of a smartphone, but among flagship devices, the HTC One M8 is still the leader in both the volume of stereo speakers and the clarity of reproduction. No one has yet made the best built-in alternative to compact Bluetooh speakers.

Filling, performance

Like its main competitors - Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 - The HTC One M8 is built on the most powerful chip available to manufacturers today, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB). In the European version of the smartphone, which is also sold in Russia, the processor frequency is 2.3 GHz. The Asian has 0.2 GHz more, but it probably uses up the battery faster. In any case, the result is one of the best:

For games, the device is also perfect, except it could be lighter. The frame rate at maximum quality hardly differs from that at minimum, that is, the graphics performance margin is huge:

The HTC One M8 has 2 GB of RAM - the engineers considered it irrational to put more. The built-in memory of the device is 16 or 32 GB, but the presence of a microSD slot with support for cards with a capacity of up to 128 GB makes it unnecessary to purchase a 32 GB model. A little over 10 GB is available to the user out of the box:

Another important design feature is that the device requires a nano-SIM, an old mini- or micro-format card will have to be cut or replaced.

The battery capacity of the HTC One M8 remains at 2600 mAh, which is 13% more than its predecessor. During normal use (45 minutes of video, about 15 minutes of calls, regular monitoring of news in the Press RSS reader, from time to time surfing, social networks and viewing e-mail, switching to airplane mode at night), the smartphone has a reserve battery for a day:

This means that even with active use, it will be possible to "kill" the battery a working day before returning home only by trying - for example, playing 3D games for several hours or continuously watching a Full HD movie at maximum brightness. With the brightness set to 2/3 of the maximum, the HD Ready movie in .mp4 format ran the HTC One M8 nonstop until the battery was completely discharged for just over 11 hours. This is a phenomenal result in comparison with its predecessor - the HTС One of 2013 model could work continuously "in the palm of your hand" for no more than 6-7 hours. In the case of web surfing on 3G / LTE with automatic installations brightness, you can count on a result of 7-9 hours of continuous operation, over Wi-Fi - more than 10 hours. And the 2014 One also charges significantly faster than the 2013 model - an average of just over 2.5 hours versus 3.5.

HTC One M8 has no problems with data transfer rates (3G and LTE networks), LTE flies faster than other Wi-Fi. In addition, it was noticed that at points where the iPhone 5s received data over 3G hesitantly or even switched to EDGE, HTC One M8 perfectly and quickly enough transferred data over the 3G network. The disadvantages of the device's communication capabilities include the thoughtful work of GPS. At least in Google and Yandex maps, after waking up the device, the location marker usually appeared in the right place after 10-25 seconds. Most other smartphones find themselves "waking up" much faster. Hopefully, this is a flaw in the software and it will be promptly fixed.

Another feature of every self-respecting flagship smartphone has recently become a built-in motion sensor. Both the iPhone 5s and the Galaxy S5 have a pedometer, as well as the new flagship HTC. The devices are preinstalled with one of the best of its kind FitBit application, capable of analyzing data from the One M8 built-in sensor. There will be another reason to force yourself to leave the chair and go for a short walk. HTC One M8 and iPhone 5s, being in different jeans pockets during the day, record almost the same number of steps.

Features: software

HTC One M8 runs on the latest android version 4.4.2 with HTC Sense 6.0 interface shell. The latter took all the best from previous version, has intelligently integrated the innovations into KitKat and, most importantly, much less imposes controversial usefulness of functions like the universal news feed HTC BlinkFeed or the tool for creating "photo-video-stories" Zoe. However, on the home screen, the Wallet application for NFC payments dangles, which, as it turned out, wastes battery mercilessly in the background. For this reason, and also because of the reluctance to trust the card data to the most vulnerable mobile platform (sorry, Android, but it's true), it was mercilessly demolished after a couple of days of the test.

The appearance of Sense 6.0 is very good, perhaps, this is the only firmware from first-tier manufacturers, which can compete with stock Android not so much with an abundance of dubious functions, but visually. The fonts, the choice of colors, and the design of the widgets are good, the HTC software designers clearly do not eat their bread in vain, unlike their colleagues from some other companies.

In addition to the visual differences, as well as dubious attempts to compete with third-party software developers in their field like BlinkFeed, HTC Sense 6.0 brings some really useful things to Android. One of them is the extreme power saving mode. You can turn it on manually or program it to activate when the battery is discharged to a certain level.

In it, the device essentially turns into an ordinary "dialer" -communicator with access only to the most important: calls, SMS, e-mail (inbox will have to be updated manually), calculator and calendar. At the same time, the maximum screen brightness is limited, the frequency of the processor and graphics core is reduced, background data transfer, motion sensors and screen gesture recognition are disabled, all applications are unloaded from memory. In this mode, 5% of the battery charge, according to HTC, can last 15 hours, and 20% - for 60, that is, 2.5 days.

The second important and really useful feature of HTC One M8 software is gesture control. With such dimensions, nobody wants to reach the unlock button dozens of times a day, so the smartphone can be "woken up" with the usual double tap on the screen, holding it in portrait orientation. To unlock the device immediately, just swipe up from the bottom of the screen. To start the camera, you need to hold the smartphone in landscape orientation and press the volume up button. Unfortunately, there are no gestures to lock the device. In order to turn off the screen, you still need to reach for the button on the top of the smartphone.

Purchase, conclusions

This is clearly one of the best Android smartphones of 2014. The price of the device matches such conclusions - 33,000 rubles at the start of sales, which is 10% more than the obvious competitors - Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2. The device, imported into Russia unofficially, and deprived of the manufacturer's warranty, can be purchased at about 5,000 cheaper, in addition, many "white" sellers are retreating from the 33,000th mark. However, when choosing the best smartphone of 2014, keep in mind that the HTC One M8 is by far the most expensive of them all.

However, the device is not without its drawbacks. The first is average ergonomics due to the size, although the Z2 and Galaxy S5 are even worse with it. The second is a camera, which is great for Instagram and other social networks, as well as mailing, but not much more. If these two factors do not confuse you, then HTC One M8 is perhaps the most impressive smartphone of 2014 in terms of design (including interface design) and workmanship, moreover, it has a very durable battery, best-in-class speakers and full-fledged support for microSD cards up to a record 128GB capacity.

So, here's what the review of the HTC One M8 (2014) smartphone allowed us to find out:

Pros:

• Great design, build and body materials
• High, although not a record, performance
• Long battery life
• Loud and clear sound from built-in speakers
• Thoughtful, functional and stylish software

Minuses:

• Slow GPS
• Inconvenient size, especially vertically
• Inconsistent camera

• The size

  146.41 x 70.61 x 9.55 mm

• CPU

  eight-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon ™ 615

• Memory Configuration 1

  • Total internal memory: 16 GB; available volume may vary.
  • RAM size: 2 GB
  • Expanded microSD ™ memory card up to 128GB (not included)

• Sensors

  • Accelerometer
  • Proximity sensor
  • Light sensor
  • Gyroscope

• Cameras

  • Main camera: 12 MP Duo camera with BSI sensor; autofocus lens f / 2.0, 28mm; shooting video at 1080p
  • Front-camera: 5MP BSI sensor; f / 2.8 lens, 33.7 mm; 1080p video recording

• Network adapter

  • Input voltage: 100-240V alternating current, 50/60 Hz
  • Output voltage: Stabilized 5 V, 1.5 A

• Weight

• Platform

  Android ™ with HTC Sense ™ interface

• Network 2

  2G / 2.5G - GSM / GPRS / EDGE:

  • 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

  3G - WCDMA:

  • 850/900/1900/2100 MHz

  4G - LTE:

  • fDD ranges: 3, 5, 7, 8, 20

• Connectivity

  • 3.5mm stereo headset jack
  • Bluetooth ® 4.0 with aptX ™ codec
  • Wi-Fi ®: IEEE 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
  • DLNA ® for wireless audio and video streaming from your phone to a compatible TV or HTC Connect ™ computer
  • Micro-USB 2.0 combo port (for battery charging and USB data transfer) and mobile video port high resolution (MHL) to HDMI interface (special adapter for HDMI connection is required, sold separately).

• Multimedia

  • Supported audio formats:Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma ( Windows Media Audio 10) Recording: .aac
  • Supported video formats:Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 10), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3) Recording: .mp4

• Screen

  5.0-inch diagonal with Full HD 1080p (1920 × 1080)

• SIM card type

• Navigation

  Built-in receiver satellite systems GPS and GLONASS

• Sound enhancement technologies

  HTC BoomSound ™
  Dual front stereo speakers driven by additional amplifiers
  Sense Voice

• Battery 3

  • Lithium polymer, built-in
  • Capacity: 2840mAh
  • Talk time:
    Up to 20.25 hours on 3G networks
  • Standby time:
    Up to 753 hours on 3G networks

1. The available storage space is less as part of the phone's utility software. Approximately 10 GB is available for user data storage (for the 16 GB device version). Available storage space may vary depending on phone software updates and application usage.
2. Operating frequencies may vary from region to region, depending on the mobile operator and subscriber's current location. 4G LTE technology may only be available with certain carriers and not in all countries. The data transfer speed also depends on the mobile operator.
3. Battery life (talk time, standby time, etc.) varies by carrier and phone use. Standby time specifications (“specs”) are an industry standard intended only to compare different mobile devices in the same conditions. Power consumption in the talk or standby modes depends on various factors, including: parameters of the network in which the device operates, settings, current coordinates, speed of movement on the ground, signal level and load on the operator's equipment. Thus, compare with each other different models devices according to this criterion are possible only in controlled laboratory conditions. In real use of any model of mobile devices, the standby time may be significantly shorter and depend on the factors described above.

HTC is an amazing company. Just five years ago, she was an example of a successful smartphone manufacturer, and today she barely has time to calculate losses. Exactly a year ago, the One phone appeared on the market, designed, if not to save, then at least to help Taiwanese in competition with Samsung and Apple.

The model received many complimentary reviews and, for good reason, became the most awarded smartphone. All the more strange is the fact that, despite the affection of buyers and journalists, the Taiwanese flagship could not improve the financial situation of its manufacturer. The corporation's losses reached $ 62 million, and the market share fell to a paltry 2%.

The One phenomenon lies in the fact that an excellent device from all sides did not sell well enough. This is mainly due to the high price and microscopic marketing costs compared to competitors. The company had no choice but to release an even cooler smartphone. Let's see if it worked.

Design

Today, it is especially clear how many players in the smartphone market have found a recognizable design for their products. Can be confused Galaxy different generations and models, but in general, the plastic rounded Samsung devices are identified at first glance. The flagship phones from Sony, Nokia, Apple, and now HTC are also noteworthy.

The Taiwanese adopted the tactics of the "apple" corporation: the design of One (M8), apart from minor improvements, remained the same. And it is right. Last year's version of the flagship was very attractive in itself, while the new model became even more beautiful. Without exaggeration or exaggeration, the updated One can be safely called the cutest Android smartphone.

During the presentation of the device, the head of the Taiwanese corporation compared it to an expensive watch. The One (M8) really looks like a premium product. This time - no compromises in the form of plastic strips: now the bottom end and sidewalls are neat curves of a solid piece of aluminum.

There is very little plastic left - there are only two thin strips on the back panel. There is also a black plastic panel on the top. There is nothing to be done - all this is necessary for the normal operation of the wireless modules.

It is curious that, unlike last year's flagship, the new One above and below the screen uses not metal, but plastic inserts. It's hard to say why the manufacturer took such a step. It is possible that this is due to complaints from some users about the peeling pads. Perhaps the plastic is more securely attached to the base.

In all respects, the new product has become more accurate than its predecessor. The thin metal volume rocker is perfect for everything from position to feel. The appearance of the audio jack, which has moved to the lower edge, now does not suffer from chipping, and the trays for nanoSIM and microSD look so organic that they do not violate the perception of the solidity of the case.

Fixed a control system that not everyone liked in the One of the 2013 sample. In the new device, there are no touch buttons at all, instead of them, virtual keys are used. They are implemented perfectly well, but we will dwell on them in more detail when considering the functionality of the smartphone.

Due to the increased display diagonal, the novelty has become noticeably larger than last year's model - almost a centimeter longer, a couple of millimeters wider and slightly thicker (9.4 mm versus 9.3). Weight increased from 143 to 160 g.

The novelty can take good pictures, but not the first or even the third time. It is necessary to shoot several identical shots, so that later you can choose from them something of a more or less high quality. Fortunately, the shooting speed is instant. The main thing is that later there will be enough free time to select photos.

Camera One (M8) is more than enough for Instagram and other network services. However, in general, the photo capabilities of the device do not compete with cameras of other flagships.

This is especially offensive, given the software and hardware functionality of the photo module. So, the smartphone is able to change the focus in ready-made shots. This opportunity is realized thanks to an additional camera acting as a scene depth sensor. The sensor determines the distance to objects captured by the lens, after which the system can only change the focus depending on the object specified by the user.

Post-focus examples

The post focus function works much better than the Galaxy S5. In the case of the One (M8), you do not have to maintain a distance of half a meter, choose a separate shooting mode and wait a few seconds for the photo processing. HTC's device does everything instantly. The main thing here is not to obscure the scene depth sensor, which, when the smartphone is horizontally positioned, is exactly under the finger.

The end result depends a lot on the shooting conditions. If there are many objects in the frame at different distances from the camera, do not expect that the device will be able to perfectly set focusing in all cases. Blurring is present in the frame with spots, there can be no talk of the correct focus here. In the “correct” composition, using the post-focus function, you can make spectacular pictures.

Shooting in low light conditions

Photo with animated cherry blossom petals overlay

Other effects are applied to finished photographs, many of which also use data from the depth sensor. You can, for example, retouch the background, insert animated sakura leaves, dandelions, maple leaves or snow. You can also copy an image of a person in one frame and paste it into another, move prepared objects (hats, hats, mustaches, horns, glasses, etc.) to the picture. The 3D function turned out to be very funny, simulating a three-dimensional effect when the photo is tilted.

Photo with overlapping prepared objects

Photo with a retouched background

Most of these features are pampering, but just fine for fun with friends.

Functionality

Smartphone One (M8) runs the latest version of Android 4.4.2 to date with a proprietary interface Sense 6.0. The shell is good. It does not have a heap of unnecessary services and applications, but it works very quickly and is designed in a slightly laconic, but very attractive style. Unlike some Korean devices, good taste is shown here both in the exterior and in the interior.

BlinkFeed News Feed is now less intrusive than the previous One. The number of desktops has increased from 5 to 6, and the news content aggregator no longer occupies the main screen by default. Moreover, the functionality of BlinkFeed has also changed for the better: the number of news sources, including Russian-language ones, has increased, the feed design has improved, and the service capabilities have been improved. Now BlinkFeed can even be used.

The set of built-in applications is small and not very interesting. There is still a child mode, the ability to control the TV via an infrared port, a program for working with Fitbit fitness bracelets has appeared.

One of the most interesting and useful innovations in the One (M8) firmware is the Motion Launch gesture control system. The developers did not copy the functions of other manufacturers that work through the stump deck (like eye tracking), but created an intuitive control service using gestures. The smartphone user can turn it on by double tapping on the display.

Swipe left, right, down, and up to open the widget panel, launch BlinkFeed, activate voice dialing, or unlock the phone. If you press the volume button in the horizontal position of the phone, the camera will start. We've seen similar functionality in other flagship smartphones. In the One (M8) model it is implemented no better and no worse - it is convenient to work, although rare accidental operations are not excluded.

HTC announced its new flagship on March 25 in London. It was decided not to change the name of the novelty, since the One brand is already well known. The previous HTC One was a pretty successful device, if not for two little things: firstly, its camera had a low resolution, so it was inferior to other flagships, despite good shots in low light. And secondly, the One M7 lacked a memory card slot, and this frightened off some potential buyers. What has changed in the updated version?

First of all, HTC has slightly changed the look. In our opinion, the new smartphone began to look "more brutal", however, due to the type of aluminum used, the company could not avoid comparing the novelty with an iron thermos. In addition, there was also a slot for a memory card, and the volume of internal storage was reduced to 16 GB. But the camera has remained the same: HTC is stubbornly unwilling to give up its "ultrapixels". In addition to the main rear camera, this flagship has an additional 2 MP camera that allows you to blur the background in the photo.

Fortunately, in addition to the unchanged resolution of the main camera, the main advantages of the device have remained the same: excellent stereo speakers, one of the best screens among all smartphones, a convenient HTC Sense shell and excellent performance with the Qualcomm 801 chipset. We consider HTC One M8 one of the most best smartphones on Android, it can be safely recommended to those who would like a device with an emotional component of the iPhone, but on Android.

Equipment

In addition to the cable for connecting to a PC and charger, the device comes with a nice wired earplug headset and a silicone case.

Dimensions - 4.0

We compared the dimensions of the HTC One M8 with other popular devices with a similar diagonal, and we can note that the One M8 outperforms the Sony Xperia Z2 in width and (70.6 mm versus 72.5 mm for the Galaxy S5 and 73.3 mm for Xperia Z2) but in terms of weight and thickness it loses to both (9.35 mm and 160 grams for the One M8 versus 8.1 mm and 145 grams for the Galaxy S5 and 8.2 mm and 158 grams for the Xperia Z2). The main material used in the body is aluminum. Most of the smartphone is made of it. Thanks to the use of aluminum, HTC One M8 is very pleasant to hold in the hand, it looks great and is resistant to dirt.

Screen - 4.4

The diagonal of the display is 5 inches, the screen resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels, the type of matrix is \u200b\u200bSLCD3 (a kind of IPS matrix). Screen covered protective glass Gorilla Glass 3, there is an oleophobic coating. Although technically the display characteristics of the new One have not changed compared to the previous model, we would like to note that the brightness and clarity of the image have increased significantly. The screen has maximum viewing angles, good brightness, excellent picture clarity and natural colors. We tested the One M8's display in sunny and semi-dark conditions. In the first case, the display fades, but you can still read information from it, and in the second, the minimum brightness level was sufficient for comfortable reading. In our opinion, the HTC One M8's screen is currently one of the best among all smartphones.

Camera

The phone has a main 4 MP camera with LED flash and an additional 2 MP camera, which allows you to change the focus on the picture after shooting. The camera has a large number of settings, so in automatic mode you can adjust the ISO value, change the exposure, and also the aspect ratio of the frame. In addition, there is a built-in photo editor where you can quickly crop an image or apply one of the preset filters. In our opinion, the key disadvantage of the new One's camera is its low resolution. While other manufacturers install 13 MP modules, HTC decided to limit themselves to a 4 MP camera. And this, despite the large number of settings, is a significant disadvantage. The maximum resolution for video recording is 1920 × 1080 pixels, the recording speed is 30 frames per second, the sound is recorded in stereo mode, there is tracking autofocus and focus on pressing.

Working with text - 5.0

The standard keyboard of the HTC One M8 is one of the best among the keyboards for Android smartphones. It has the function of swiping text (Swype), as well as the ability to enter numbers and most special characters (,!? # -_) without switching to additional characters... To switch the language, just press one key. Thanks to the large screen width and letter sizes, typing with the One M8 is a pleasure.

Internet - 5.0

The built-in browser on HTC One M8 is one of the best pre-installed. In our opinion, its key advantage is the automatic adjustment of the text when the page is enlarged. This allows you to comfortably read articles at any scale, the text will automatically adjust to the width of the screen. Another nice feature is a separate "reading mode", which removes all unnecessary information from the screen and leaves only text.

Interfaces

The smartphone has the following interfaces: Wi-Fi (b / g / n) (dual-band Wi-Fi support is present), Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. It is also worth noting the presence of LTE, which works great in Russia.

Multimedia - 4.2

We tried to play various video files on HTC One M8: the smartphone supports playback of common formats and codecs, and in addition to them there is support for the MKV format. Video resolution can be up to 1080p inclusive. The audio player in the smartphone only plays MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC formats. In our opinion, you can use the One M8 as a portable video and audio player.

Working hours

The smartphone has a non-removable 2600 mAh lithium polymer battery. Compared to competitors, we note that the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a battery capacity of 2800 mAh, while the Sony Xperia Z2 has a 3200 mAh battery. Despite the fact that the One M8 battery capacity is slightly inferior to competitors, the smartphone shows excellent results autonomous work in our tests: when watching HD video at maximum brightness, the device is discharged in 7.5 hours, and when listening to music - in 32 hours. The model has a high power saving mode, in which the smartphone turns off all network connections and leaves only the possibility of making calls, checking mail and sending SMS. Such restrictions can significantly extend battery life if you need to conserve battery power.

Performance - 3.7

The device uses the Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 platform with a quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, graphics subsystem - Adreno 330, RAM - 2 GB. At the moment, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 is one of the most productive chipsets, it can handle any workload without problems, from watching Full HD video to "heavy" games. We tested the chipset in daily use as well. Thanks to shell optimization and powerful hardware, HTC One M8 works very quickly, this applies to both built-in applications and any third-party programs... You can consider this smartphone as a gaming one without any problems.

Memory - 4.0

The built-in memory of HTC One M8 is 16 GB or 32 GB. Of the 16 GB, 10.5 GB is available to the user. Unlike the original One, the updated version has a memory card slot, which is a big plus. The device easily supports cards up to 128 GB.

Features:

The HTC One M8 has several features. The first of them is the presence of two powerful stereo speakers on the front panel, delivering high-quality and loud sound. A smartphone can easily replace a portable speaker. The second feature is the HTC Sense shell. The company has completely redesigned all standard applications: browser, dialer, desktops, audio and video players, gallery. All replaced applications are very convenient in everyday use and are designed to facilitate the user's work with a smartphone.

We also note an interesting branded accessory HTC Dot View, which does not come with the smartphone. This is a folded case made of plastic. However, its main feature is that the front cover has a lot of through holes through which notifications are displayed from the smartphone screen in a special "pixel" style. This solution looks unusual and very impressive. Separately, we note that in the sun the screen brightness drops and you can only see notifications from Dot View covers in dark colors (black, dark blue or gray). In addition to simply displaying notifications, you can also quickly accept or reject a call without opening the case.

Competitors

The main competitors of the HTC One M8 are Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2. All three smartphones are similar in many ways: they all have high-quality large displays, all are built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 platform. However, each of them has its pros and cons. So on the side of the Galaxy S5 is a huge battery life in video viewing mode, waterproofing and a good camera. Sony Xperia Z2 will delight the user with an excellent design, good photos and, again, waterproof. And on the side of HTC One M8 - excellent body materials, loud stereo speakers and a comfortable shell HTC Sense. It is important to note that, in addition to the camera and the lack of water resistance, the One M8 loses to competitors and the price. On April 21 it is 33,000 rubles, while the Galaxy S5 costs 30,000 rubles, and the Z2 (as of April 21) has not yet appeared on sale. To summarize: if you are looking for a flagship with an excellent screen, high-quality body, interesting design and comfortable shell and are ready to forgive him a mediocre camera, then we can safely recommend the One M8 for purchase. If the camera plays an important role for you, then you should take a closer look at the competitors.