The HTC One M8 Review, "not what you expected."

[TheSLSAMG]

Okay, okay. Some people have been waiting for this for quite the while. So I bring to you the review.

 

As with my iPhone 5 review, linked here, I am going to structure it in the same manner. So then, on to the show! Pictures first.

 

 

The pictures were taken by the ASUS-built Google Nexus 7 2013. What a load of grains.

 

Hardware

It's the typical Android flagship device for the most part. On the front of the device, you are most prominently presented with a 5" 1080p screen. A 5MP front-facing camera sits at the top of the front, near where the power button is, along with a proximity sensor. Unlike most phones of late, the M8 has one of it's biggest selling points right in your face. The BoomSound speakers. Turning to the back, we find another big selling point - the DSLR-like "Duo Camera", a 4MP "UltraPixel" camera with iPhone 5S/6/6+-esque dual-tone flash and autofocus. Unlike it's previous gen counterpart, it lacks Optical Image Stabilzation (OIS), which we will get onto later in the camera section. Inside, the device beats the heart of a flagship. A Snapdragon 801 (quad-core, 2.3GHz), 2GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, Adreno 330 GPU are what this thing has to kick ass with.

 

Form Factor and Exterior Feel

Mmm, delicious. The device is not thin, nor is it light. It measures 5.76" x 2.78" x 0.37", and weighs 160g. But, with this heft, it feels very nice. It feels about as good in the hand as my iPhone 5 did. It feels sturdy, it feels like it won't shatter if I drop it 1'. There is little else for me to say. I do however, dislike the volume rocker, as it is a single piece. It makes it so I accidentally mis-press and go vol-up or down.

 

Build Quality

In a word, fantastic. It's solid. I have tried to go full-Lew on it and it stays straight. I threw it on the football field at school a few times, and it is still perfect.

 

Software

Android 4.4.4. Normally a good OS. But does Sense ruin it? Now, from here on in, I am using InsertCoin ROM, so there may be issues that standard Sense doesn't have. It's solid enough. It does what I need it to do. But I question too many of the design choices that HTC made. Everywhere, there is this horrible mint green theme. AND THERE IS NO WAY TO CHANGE IT. Why HTC? Why would you do this to your users? The way music displays on the lock screen, the way the quick tiles don't swipe down from the status bar when swiped from the right, the way the device's UI theme looks, the stock launcher. All of these things are small, but they can't be ignored. And for that, I am disappointed. Before you tell me to just go to an AOSP ROM if I don't like it so much, that isn't the point. The criticism must be drawn from HTC's way of doing things, not CyanogenMod's

 

New Section: Camera Quality

It's subpar. I'm sorry, but a 4MP camera, no matter how much fuckery you do with it, will not produce a fantastic result. My iPhone 5's camera looked better, as did my Galaxy S. And that's a 4 year old device. I haven't taken any test images, but they should be pretty easy to find online. CNET actually has an album, found here.

 

Call/Data Quality

Call quality is good. Clear, loud audio and the people on the other side have agreed with such. Good microphone quality. I am on the Sprint Network, and I am largely on a strong 3G/medium 4G connection. My speeds vary from .5 down, .2 up to 35 down, 10 up with the average around 7 down, 2 up. Internet browsing on this is pretty smooth.

 

Random Observations

• Gets very hot, even when not under high-load situations
• Speakers are fantastic.
• Hasn't lasted any longer than a day unless I use it extremely conservatively.
• Feels fantastic.

 

Closing Statement/Pouring of Feelings

HTC has come so far. They are like a new Senior in high school. They have made great strides, becoming a big player in the industry. They established an amazing product with the HTC One M7, but they're suffering from a case of "senioritis". Please HTC, with the next gen One, make a phone that can address these points. Or else, I will likely stick with Shamu or the iPhone 6 Plus. They're just better all-around devices.

 

Overall Rating: It's a tough decision to make, but it had to be done. I commend HTC for making a product built as well as the fruity competition and making something that feels solid. But, I am going to shut them on how much they ruined Android, the choices they made with the camera and the amount of heat this thing kicks out. 5/10

[elecxonica]

Very nice review, although I can't help but notice this:

It's subpar. I'm sorry, but a 4MP camera, no matter how much fuckery you do with it, will produce a fantastic result. 

Not sure if that's a mistake or I'm just confusing it.

[flibberdipper]

Thank god, someone who is willing to bash a product. Not that I did that with my Chromebook.

[TheSLSAMG]

Very nice review, although I can't help but notice this:

Not sure if that's a mistake or I'm just confusing it.

Thank you very much for pointing that out, I have fixed it as of now.

[mr.skyrim_pc]

Go full lew on it? lol

 

If only I could afford that phone.....*sighs*

[Guest]

Very nice review, although I can't help but notice this:

Not sure if that's a mistake or I'm just confusing it.

Lol i read over that. 

[XTankSlayerX]

 

Overall Rating: It's a tough decision to make, but it had to be done. I commend HTC for making a product built as well as the fruity competition and making something that feels solid. But, I am going to shut them on how much they ruined Android, the choices they made with the camera and the amount of heat this thing kicks out. 5/10

 Exactly my thoughts. Its not a very strong phone either, giving in at 70 pounds of weight.

 

I don't like aluminum for those very reasons.

 

Thanks man, a good review. Im definitely not going to be buying a M8

[Flight1sim]

so really, the primary issues is the android skin, and heat?

[TheSLSAMG]

 Exactly my thoughts. Its not a very strong phone either, giving in at 70 pounds of weight.

 

I don't like aluminum for those very reasons.

 

Thanks man, a good review. Im definitely not going to be buying a M8

Thank you, I appreciate it!

 

Honestly, writing this was fairly hard for me. I have felt so mixed about this device. It is so good in some ways, and so bad in others. I just hope HTC take the advice of their fans and users and fix the M9.

[TheSLSAMG]

so really, the primary issues is the android skin, and heat?

The Android skin, heat, and camera.

[QAZ]

Ill agree that the camera isn't the best thing ever but I haven't had any problems with heat, especially compared to other phones that I have used in the past. Also the HTC sense is more a personal thing that I don't really mind too much.

[Guest]

The Nexus 6 looks too good right now for me to consider an HTC One M8. And I'm okay with the size.

[QAZ]

Also it having a metal body means that if it does heat up a bit for any reason, just putting it on a table or something will draw the heat away fairly quickly

[Guest]

Ill agree that the camera isn't the best thing ever but I haven't had any problems with heat, especially compared to other phones that I have used in the past. Also the HTC sense is more a personal thing that I don't really mind too much.

HTC sense is definitely one of the most bearable android skins, but I would rather have stock android or cyanogenmod.

[WinNut]

kewl, nice review.

[Flight1sim]

The Android skin, heat, and camera.

ugh this is actually quite a shock to me

I really want a good camera in a phone, and also want as stock android as possible, and this disappoints me. 

But theres no way that it got worse from the m7 right?

Because the M7 got AMAZING reviews about the camera and overall feel. Or was that just because it was the first 'one'?

[arnavvr]

The Nexus 6 looks too good right now for me to consider an HTC One M8. And I'm okay with the size.

 i dont really like that its almost double the price

[TheSLSAMG]

ugh this is actually quite a shock to me

I really want a good camera in a phone, and also want as stock android as possible, and this disappoints me. 

But theres no way that it got worse from the m7 right?

Because the M7 got AMAZING reviews about the camera and overall feel. Or was that just because it was the first 'one'?

It got worse for one key reason.

 

They threw in the gimmicky Duo sensor and pulled out a useful feature - OIS.

 

Do your hands naturally shake/move when taking a picture or a video? Well then it's going to blur somewhat noticeably unless your hands are still.

[Flight1sim]

It got worse for one key reason.

 

They threw in the gimmicky Duo sensor and pulled out a useful feature - OIS.

 

Do your hands naturally shake/move when taking a picture or a video? Well then it's going to blur somewhat noticeably unless your hands are still.

 

ugh if they dont fix ANY of these issues in the M9, then im buying a Moto X 3rd Gen

[QAZ]

HTC sense if definitely one of the most bearable android skins, but I would rather have stock android or cyanogenmod.

I would like to try out some other ROMs to see if I prefer them but I can't really justify it right now as my problems with Sense 6 aren't really that significant

[Guest]

 i dont really like that its almost double the price

Both are 649 off contract.

[terrytek]

i wonder how this stacks up against the nexus 6. the nexus 6 seems very interesting to me, especially with android 5 lollipop. put i might just put cmod on it. 

[Hawx]

HTC sense is definitely one of the most bearable android skins, but I would rather have stock android or cyanogenmod.

HTC Sense 5 & 6 were always one step ahead of Google in terms of Android design. Google designers have actually praised sense during interviews and such in the past.

 

OP is probably one of the very few people that actually has a problem with Sense. I'm pretty sure the color can be changed via a simple root & sense 6 toolbox, if it isn't in the settings (I swear it is).

[Poohy14]

I got the HTC One M8 harmon/kardon edition about a month ago and love it. The camera is so much better than my Samsung Galaxy S4 and my gf's iPhone 5s. Looked at both pictures on my PC and on the iPhone you could see a hell of a lot more pixels than the HTC. The audio on the phone was the best I ever heard that was ever on any phone. Love the front facing speakers and they get super loud and still sounds good. My HTC doesn't get that hot at all compared to what my S4 was even I was playing a game on it or even charging. I love the way HTC design the OS and felt a hell of a lot more user friendly than the S4 and more stable compared. When I had my S4 and my RAM would be at 800Mb usage, I could feel it lagging so bad and the HTC stays at about 1Gb the whole time and there is not lag for response at all, its superb to me. Wish the phone battery would last a little longer than my normal 1 day 8 hours of use before recharging. If I was to complain about anything on the phone it would have to be the wireless signal for the towers. The design of the phone blocks a lot of signal since its so thick and I'm always in roaming while my gf is at least 2 bars in 4G (we both are on Sprint). The call quality is freaking superb and when I talk its more clear to the other person on the other end and the hearing of the incoming caller varies from phone to phone and can really sound like crap for some phones. I would give this a 9/10 from my experience of it but wish the charging cable was a hell of a lot longer since my phone just hangs in the air from my bed since its way it short.

[beebskadoo]

My phone is hard to kill the battery in a day, it doesn't get that hot either. 

Thought I have the T-mobile version with the most efficient radio and best battery life. The M8 is a beast, you just suck OP