HTC One from an iPhone 4

[AndyR]

Hey guys,

Currently been using an iPhone4 since it came out and its been starting to get on my nerves, seems to be getting slower and slower, battery if horrible now and the camera is rubbish, well to me anyway. I've had every iPhone since the original and stopped at the 4 as couldn't afford to upgrade. My wife has the iPhone5 and I think after using that I've fell out of love with my sluggish 4.

Anyway, I am thinking of trying Android now and really like the look of the HTC One. I tried a friends S3 and just couldn't get past the plastic feel of it, hence the HTC One is on my rader.

Question is has anyone gone from an Iphone4 to the HTC One and if so what were your thoughts? Specifically on the camera difference from the 4 to the One?

Thx,

Andy

 

[Southernboyj]

Hey guys,

Currently been using an iPhone4 since it came out and its been starting to get on my nerves, seems to be getting slower and slower, battery if horrible now and the camera is rubbish, well to me anyway. I've had every iPhone since the original and stopped at the 4 as couldn't afford to upgrade. My wife has the iPhone5 and I think after using that I've fell out of love with my sluggish 4.

Anyway, I am thinking of trying Android now and really like the look of the HTC One. I tried a friends S3 and just couldn't get past the plastic feel of it, hence the HTC One is on my rader.

Question is has anyone gone from an Iphone4 to the HTC One and if so what were your thoughts? Specifically on the camera difference from the 4 to the One?

Thx,

Andy

Be prepared to love your phone again.

 

[AndyR]

Be prepared to love your phone again.

Which one?

 

[T5BRICK]

I went from an iPhone 4S to an HTC One and everything about the phone is fantastic, except for the camera which is just ok.

 

[AndyR]

How do you find the camera from the 4S then? Was the 4S much of a jump, camera wise from the 4?

Not looking to print out large prints anyway from the camera, but as the phone is always with us while the NEX-6R isn't, I want the phone to take decent snaps while we are out, which my wifes iPhone 5 does but my iPhone 4 just plain doesn't. Plus by the time my iPhone 4 has opened the camera app and focused the moment has generally passed anyway

 

[Southernboyj]

Which one?

The HTC One.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

I didn't come from an iPhone 4 but I have used my Dad's iPhone 4 extensively

You will be amazed at how smooth the HTC One feels. It's like no other Android phone imo

It also is no where near as big as you think, it feels so light and looks incredible

 

[wasimyaqoob]

I've been using iPhone/iOS since day one, however been contemplating the jump to Android for many months.

Once the HTCOne was announced, I love the design and quality of the handset plus HTC Sense (far more superior to Samsung TouchWiz)

I've had my HTCOne since launch day and I'm absolutely loving it.

 

[AndyR]

Thx both. What do you think of the camera? Thats the only thing I see negative comments on with the One. Played with the One in the store a bit and love the feel so far. Just trying to toss up getting 2nd hand or buying new (sim free as I'm payg) because of getting the warranty as its an expensive purchase.

 

[0dev]

The camera on the HTC One is crap and you probably won't ever get any Android updates. Well, maybe one or two.

It's still a lot better than an iPhone 4 though, if you're okay with those caveats you should enjoy it. I myself have just replaced my iPhone 4 (which I agree is a terrible phone by today's standards, how does Apple get away with still selling them?) with a Galaxy S4, should arrive tomorrow

 

[AndyR]

The camera on the HTC One is crap and you probably won't ever get any Android updates. Well, maybe one or two.

Urgh thats not good I read some reviews and some photo reviews where its compared with other phones and it seems 50/50, on one review its good and another its not so good. I am not going to print anything large so thats not an issue, but I still want them to be decent as the ones from my iPhone 4 are pretty much not usable so have given up using the camera on it, plus it takes a good 5-10secs to load the dam camera app.

Whats that with the updates too? Have never owned a HTC device before so not sure.

Did look at the S4 but wasn't impressed with the plastic back,plus it felt too large to me, even though the One isn't much smaller. I did think about the S3 but apparently the camera wasn't much good on that either, and again that plastic back.

 

[Fernandez21]

Urgh thats not good I read some reviews and some photo reviews where its compared with other phones and it seems 50/50, on one review its good and another its not so good. I am not going to print anything large so thats not an issue, but I still want them to be decent as the ones from my iPhone 4 are pretty much not usable so have given up using the camera on it, plus it takes a good 5-10secs to load the dam camera app.

Whats that with the updates too? Have never owned a HTC device before so not sure.

Did look at the S4 but wasn't impressed with the plastic back,plus it felt too large to me, even though the One isn't much smaller. I did think about the S3 but apparently the camera wasn't much good on that either, and again that plastic back.

I have both an iPhone 5 and HTC One. I prefer the photos from my iPhone 5, but the One does have it beat in low light.

 

[bwhinnen]

I've just gone from an iPhone 4 to the HTC One. The camera was never a big thing for me as I generally have a P&S with me anyway, but in saying that the camera on the HTC One is better than that on the iPhone 4.

If you are willing to unlock the boot loader then you can have any ROM you want and waiting for a carrier based update is not a requirement. I currently have the Google Play Edition full RUU on there and am thoroughly enjoying it.

The things I miss are:

1. iMessages
2. Unread count on the app icon
3. iCloud integration
4. Familiarity

Of those above item 2 and 3 can be changed with apps fem the Play store. For item 2 I purchased Nova Prime (a different launcher) and just use it very similar to the stock launcher. For item 3 I purchased Smooth Sync which allows me to sync my contacts and calendar with my current iCloud account.

I use my own mail server with push capabilities so that wasn't an issue for me.

Personally I think it is a fun change and recommend it, but then I like learning and playing with new things.

Cheers

Brett

 

[0dev]

Urgh thats not good I read some reviews and some photo reviews where its compared with other phones and it seems 50/50, on one review its good and another its not so good. I am not going to print anything large so thats not an issue, but I still want them to be decent as the ones from my iPhone 4 are pretty much not usable so have given up using the camera on it, plus it takes a good 5-10secs to load the dam camera app.

Whats that with the updates too? Have never owned a HTC device before so not sure.

Did look at the S4 but wasn't impressed with the plastic back,plus it felt too large to me, even though the One isn't much smaller. I did think about the S3 but apparently the camera wasn't much good on that either, and again that plastic back.

As you probably know, the HTC One's camera is decent in low light, but in any other condition it's beaten by the competition, and at 4 megapixels the images are a far lower resolution too.

As for updates, HTC is notorious for being lazy with them. Realistically the HTC One, as a flagship device, will probably get the next two Android updates a good few months after their actual release... and that's it. The midrange and lowend HTCs get no updates at all so you've lucked out there.

If the only thing you really dislike about Samsungs is the plastic, why not just throw a case on there? The phones themselves are very good and, IMHO, the S4 beats the One hands down.

The S4's camera is brilliant and Samsung are very good with their updates - they even updated the S2 to Jelly Bean!

 

[MRU]

The HTC One will get Key Lime Pie, but that is likely to be the last major android revision it will get.

The camera isn't great, but other than that performance wise and skinned android experience wise I prefer Sense than Touchwiz on the S4.

That being said it will all veer on what you put preference upon, if high quality build materials and very smooth lag free skinned android experience of the HTC One, albeit one with a weak camera, but fantastic boom sound audio - compared to the inferior (in some folks eyes - I personally not mind plastic) build materials, and slightly bloated skinned version of Android but with a fantastic camera on the S4 is preferable.

There are trade offs either way you veer to be honest. As long as your realistic about that and not look for a 'perfect' device because neither exists by HTC or Samsung (or Apple for that matter).

However should you plan on ever flashing roms and all that business I would recommend the S4 simply because it is easier to do so, and revert back - than the HTC One is for inexperienced users.

 

[0dev]

Oh yeah, OP, you might want to take a look at the Galaxy S4 Active if you want a sturdier feeling phone too.

 

[AndyR]

Thanks all,urgh I'm torn now. The phone that got me interested in Android was the HTC One, then I went away from that due to the cost and started looking a the S3, Xperia etc and then even cheaper models but didn't like them at all, so went back to the HTC to find out about the camera issue. I will probably buy new now, just because of the warranty issue and in NZ the HTC and S4 are the same price to buy new, so not sure now. Was put of the S4 due to the plastic and size of it, but I think the HTC and S4 are similar in size anyway, just never held them both at the same time.

Hmmmm, decisions. I did like both Sense and TouchWiz tbh, but Sense just felt cleaner and smoother in the short time I played with both. Maybe I need to go play with an S4 instead now, as all the phones on our local eBay equiv (TradeMe) are saying "selling to get an S4" so that means something

 

[Fernandez21]

Oh yeah, OP, you might want to take a look at the Galaxy S4 Active if you want a sturdier feeling phone too.

Yes,definitely take a look at the active. It fixes on two of the bigger flaws of the S4, it has a metal design and uses an LCD screen instead of AMOLED.

 

[0dev]

Yes,definitely take a look at the active. It fixes on two of the bigger flaws of the S4, it has a metal design and uses an LCD screen instead of AMOLED.

I wouldn't call the AMOLED a "flaw", it's just personal preference. I prefer AMOLED to LCD. But if the plastic is an issue the Active is worth looking at for sure.

 

[TacticalDesire]

The problems with the HTC one are being blown way out of proportion. No the camera isn't going to the replacing your DSLR but for most instances its fine. You'll get updates just slower than other phones. And that's not as big of a problem with android as the core apps such as mail, maps etc. are updated separately. It's one of the best phones out right now.

 

[T5BRICK]

How do you find the camera from the 4S then? Was the 4S much of a jump, camera wise from the 4?

Not looking to print out large prints anyway from the camera, but as the phone is always with us while the NEX-6R isn't, I want the phone to take decent snaps while we are out, which my wifes iPhone 5 does but my iPhone 4 just plain doesn't. Plus by the time my iPhone 4 has opened the camera app and focused the moment has generally passed anyway

The camera on my 4s was surprisingly good for a smartphone camera, fairly close to the iphone 5 actually. I upgraded from a 3Gs so I can't tell you how it compared to an iPhone 4.

 

[0dev]

The camera on my 4s was surprisingly good for a smartphone camera, fairly close to the iphone 5 actually. I upgraded from a 3Gs so I can't tell you how it compared to an iPhone 4.

That's because the 4S and 5 have the same camera, the 5 just has a different lens cover

 

[AndyR]

OK, I picked up a HTC One today and having pretty mixed feelings. Hardware wise I love it, everything I expected. Software wise, to be honest its doing my nut in and I'm still only getting the phone setup! Maybe its having iPhones for so long that I've got used to the plug in and it just works method. Replace my iPhone, plug in a new one and boom it works the same. Anyway, thought so far.

• I used the iPhone backup import for all my contacts/message/photos etc. Seemed to be OK, after 2hrs though HTC Sync Manager said it was at 125% ?!?!? Then it crashed……
• So now I have all my contacts over but when I click on a message history is sits there for 30-40 seconds while it loads the entire history back to 2007!!!!! WTF!! Where is the option for Load Old Messages like on iOS?
• I add my Google account and it duplicates all the contacts, figured it out eventually but still a pain.
• I only have 1 bar of signal on the HTC One but my iPhone 4 next to it has full bars?
• Tried to put WhatsApp on, won't connect, but my iPhone next to it is fine.
• Had the phone freeze twice on me, solid screen have to hold the power button for a bit to reset. Cant remember the last time my iPhone needed that.
• Gmail and Facebook apps have crashed on me at least twice already
• In WhatsApp if I change to my WhatsApp contacts, it changes my Phonebook Contacts to WhatsApp too? Aren't they separate?
• How do I stop the screen going to sleep and locking after what feels like 5 seconds?

Oh well, for tonight I'm calling it quits. Been at it 4hrs now and getting no where. Not the best experience with a new phone to be honest, everything feels totally unintuitive which has come as shock to me as I have to use a huge amount of tech daily at work. Going to put the sim back in my iPhone 4 overnight as I can't even get the alarm to go below deafening at the minute even though its on the lowest volume setting... Sigh.

 

[FirdausRocky]

I have HTC One also with iPhone 4. But i most preferred the iPhone 4. Trust me, you will do the same thing too.

 

[AndyR]

I have HTC One also with iPhone 4. But i most preferred the iPhone 4. Trust me, you will do the same thing too.

I'm liking the phone itself, but the OS seems very un-intuattive to me. I know its a learning curve with Android and its part of this I can see why iOS has done so well as that really does just work. I'm sure (and hope) it does grow on me though. Just need to figure out all these querks.

Am tempted to just wipe the phone back to defaults and start fresh tbh. I would like my message history really but not if its going to insist on loading all the history back to 2007 every time I open the Messages app, causing a 45second delay.

Everything else I can do manually myself really.