HTC One, from an iPhone 5 owner.

[ucfgrad93]

The HTC One looks amazing. I saw one a couple of days ago, and it is seriously tempting.

 

[mjpearce023]

I just don't get why HTC went with the 4MP camera. Most of the comparisons I’ve seen have the iPhone 5 and S4 doing better than the One. The only thing the One did better in was the low light pictures. With the 5S coming out in a few months I would think the One’s camera should be quite a bit better than the 5 but it doesn’t look that way. If it had an amazing camera I would probably pick one up. I still might so I can do my own test with the 5 and the One cameras because you never know if these websites are accurate. My upgrade is coming up on May 14th so I might as well wait for WWDC to make a decision. If iOS 7 is impressive I will just stay with Apple for now.

 

[RetepNamenots]

I just don't get why HTC went with the 4MP camera. Most of the comparisons I’ve seen have the iPhone 5 and S4 doing better than the One. The only thing the One did better in was the low light pictures. With the 5S coming out in a few months I would think the One’s camera should be quite a bit better than the 5 but it doesn’t look that way. If it had an amazing camera I would probably pick one up. I still might so I can do my own test with the 5 and the One cameras because you never know if these websites are accurate. My upgrade is coming up on May 14th so I might as well wait for WWDC to make a decision. If iOS 7 is impressive I will just stay with Apple for now.

It was a conscious design decision by HTC - bigger sensor receptors means fewer megapixels, but better performance with less light.

 

[WilliamG]

It was a conscious design decision by HTC - bigger sensor receptors means fewer megapixels, but better performance with less light.

Right. And I, for one, appreciate that. I probably only email 1-2MP photos from my iPhone 5 as it is. The improvement in low-light photography ability could mean the difference between saving a picture and deleting it, though. I will admit, I didn't spend a huge amount of time with the camera, but from what few pictures I took with the One, I was impressed.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Most reviews I've read say that the HTC One camera is great indoors and in low light situations.

 

[adh328]

Just purchased my ONE

Just purchased my HTC One and I have to admit, it is one hell of a phone. Having had every iPhone since, it was ridiculously hard for me to get the balls to even consider switching. I have numerous Apple products in my house and am writing this review on my rMBP so I have invested a lot in the Apple ecosystem. However, the One still drew me in and I have to admit, I am not disappointed at all. Their app store is robust enough to the point where I don't miss all of the iOS exclusive games. The screen on this phone is absolutely amazing. The 1080p screen is something that needs to be seen to believe how nice it is. It is definitely nicer than the iPhone 5 in my opinion.

I thought that Android OS would be a nightmare as I have heard horror stories in the past, but surprisingly Sense 5 makes Android smooth and very easy to manage. I think this is due to Sense 5 as I still don't like TouchWiz on the Samsung phones. Personal preference I guess.

There are some things I do miss from my iPhone.
1) iMessaging - I know this may be something that is dumb to miss but I do have a lot of group iMessages that I do not get anymore on my phone. This along with the emojis from iOS are things that I miss but will learn to live without. (If anyone can figure out how to integrate the emojis from iOS into Android, please respond to this! I want to keep my SwiftKey keyboard installed. Thanks!)
2) I miss the integration with a lot of devices that are made for iDevices. However, due to the lightning connector on the iPhone 5, most of those devices did not work with my phone anyway. Nothing bluetooth can't solve, but of course, the HTC One has bluetooth that works better than my iPhone 5 did (mainly with Entune in my Toyota).

All in all, I am very happy with this device. I think this is a game changer. I was really worried that Apple would come out with a phone that had a bigger screen to compete with these Android devices, but after hearing Tim Cooks comments about screen size, I don't see that happening in the near future. In that case, when the iPhone with a bigger screen comes out, I may switch back. But for now, I am greatly satisfied with my HTC One and would recommend it over any Samsung phone and any other Android device for that matter.

I still love the iPhone 5 but as of now, the HTC One is the phone to get.

I hope this review was helpful! (Also, first post )

 

[mjpearce023]

It was a conscious design decision by HTC - bigger sensor receptors means fewer megapixels, but better performance with less light.

I'm glad they improved the low light pics. I just have seen some reviews that said the One's camera wasn't as good as the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S4. That's why I would like to get the One and do some side by side comparison pics with 5 to see if that's really true or not. I don't want to take a step backwards on the camera to get a bigger screen but I would need to test the One to decide for sure. I've learned you can't always trust reviews.

 

[bidwalj]

Just purchased my HTC One and I have to admit, it is one hell of a phone. Having had every iPhone since, it was ridiculously hard for me to get the balls to even consider switching. I have numerous Apple products in my house and am writing this review on my rMBP so I have invested a lot in the Apple ecosystem. However, the One still drew me in and I have to admit, I am not disappointed at all. Their app store is robust enough to the point where I don't miss all of the iOS exclusive games. The screen on this phone is absolutely amazing. The 1080p screen is something that needs to be seen to believe how nice it is. It is definitely nicer than the iPhone 5 in my opinion.

I thought that Android OS would be a nightmare as I have heard horror stories in the past, but surprisingly Sense 5 makes Android smooth and very easy to manage. I think this is due to Sense 5 as I still don't like TouchWiz on the Samsung phones. Personal preference I guess.

There are some things I do miss from my iPhone.
1) iMessaging - I know this may be something that is dumb to miss but I do have a lot of group iMessages that I do not get anymore on my phone. This along with the emojis from iOS are things that I miss but will learn to live without. (If anyone can figure out how to integrate the emojis from iOS into Android, please respond to this! I want to keep my SwiftKey keyboard installed. Thanks!)
2) I miss the integration with a lot of devices that are made for iDevices. However, due to the lightning connector on the iPhone 5, most of those devices did not work with my phone anyway. Nothing bluetooth can't solve, but of course, the HTC One has bluetooth that works better than my iPhone 5 did (mainly with Entune in my Toyota).

All in all, I am very happy with this device. I think this is a game changer. I was really worried that Apple would come out with a phone that had a bigger screen to compete with these Android devices, but after hearing Tim Cooks comments about screen size, I don't see that happening in the near future. In that case, when the iPhone with a bigger screen comes out, I may switch back. But for now, I am greatly satisfied with my HTC One and would recommend it over any Samsung phone and any other Android device for that matter.

I still love the iPhone 5 but as of now, the HTC One is the phone to get.

I hope this review was helpful! (Also, first post )

I'll just add this..the stuff you miss is what eventually gets you to switch back. I done this many times myself. When you first switch, everything is nice about the phone. You love the hardware, the screen, the newness. Once the device becomes just a device, you start to miss the stuff you loved / took for granted on iOS / iphone. I eventually just go back to the iphone. For me imessage is big, love the group chat. I also like the layout / features of certain apps better in iOS vs android. It may be small things, but these are the things I mainly use my phone for.

 

[92jlee]

I would have got a HTC One instead of an iPhone if it had stock AOSP android.. Simple.

 

[ChrisTX]

Have you tried another keyboard such as Swype?

Swype is good, but SwiftKey Flow has been my favorite. I guess with Swype style of typing I don't make as many mistakes. However it's more natural to "hunt-and-peck" so to speak than it is to Swype. I guess just a minor annoyance really, but to say iOS keyboard is lacking, in my opinion just isn't true.

 

[mjpearce023]

I'll just add this..the stuff you miss is what eventually gets you to switch back. I done this many times myself. When you first switch, everything is nice about the phone. You love the hardware, the screen, the newness. Once the device becomes just a device, you start to miss the stuff you loved / took for granted on iOS / iphone. I eventually just go back to the iphone. For me imessage is big, love the group chat. I also like the layout / features of certain apps better in iOS vs android. It may be small things, but these are the things I mainly use my phone for.

iMessage is a big one for me too for a different reason. I got my Mom an iPhone a few years ago and put here on my plan. It doesn't cost much ($10 for the line and 20 for data). I have 1000 text for $10 because I mostly use iMessage and I don't have a text plan on her line because that’s all she uses is iMessage. That means I would have to spend $20 extra a month for unlimited if I got an android or just tell my mom not to text me which would probably not go over very well

 

[Bacong]

it's a beautiful phone. But god is Sense ugly.

 

[ChazUK]

If i were in the market for an Android phone today, I have no doubt I'd go for the HTC One.

The s4 (although just as powerful) doesn't do it for me. This was a great thread to read. Hopefully we're on the cusp of a HTC turnaround. They certainly deserve it this time.

 

[Fernandez21]

I'm glad they improved the low light pics. I just have seen some reviews that said the One's camera wasn't as good as the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S4. That's why I would like to get the One and do some side by side comparison pics with 5 to see if that's really true or not. I don't want to take a step backwards on the camera to get a bigger screen but I would need to test the One to decide for sure. I've learned you can't always trust reviews.

I carry both, and in my limited testing, I think the HTC One shoots better video, and better low light, while the iPhone 5 shoots better pictures in good lighting conditions.

 

[unlinked]

Honestly, my biggest gripe with Android is the typing. I've been using my GS3 since last year so I'm completely used to it. But to this day I still make way more typing mistakes on Android. It's almost embarrassing really. To be fair, the native Android keyboard is best, but it seems like almost no Android phones other than Nexus devices provide that as an option.

Can you not just install a port of the stock keyboard from the play store? I see a jelly bean keyboard there.

I used to do this to get the stock browser because the Asus version was broken in some way.

 

[Tinmania]

I'll just add this..the stuff you miss is what eventually gets you to switch back. I done this many times myself. When you first switch, everything is nice about the phone. You love the hardware, the screen, the newness. Once the device becomes just a device, you start to miss the stuff you loved / took for granted on iOS / iphone. I eventually just go back to the iphone. For me imessage is big, love the group chat. I also like the layout / features of certain apps better in iOS vs android. It may be small things, but these are the things I mainly use my phone for.

Not me. I switched to a Nexus 4 in November, after using nothing but an iPhone since it first came out. I never looked back. Now I have a Note 2.

I don't think I could go back to an iPhone at this point. The small screen size of the iPhone 5 got me to switch. But the freedom to do what I like, choose my own default apps, etc.... is making it far harder to go back just because of iMessage. The only thing my iPhone friends and family see different on their end is that my messages are now green and not blue. Nothing that important in my opinion. My non-iPhone using friends and family don't see anything different at all.

Also, switching got me out of having to rely on iCloud. Google works with everything. Apple does not. I never liked that; I merely put up with it.




Michael

 

[VulchR]

@OP: Thank you for the review, but above 300 dpi it becomes very difficult to discern better resolution. The physiology constrains the performance of your visual system. Perhaps the HTC One seems more clear to you for another reason (e.g. the amount of light scatter as it goes through the screen? Is it brighter? Higher color range? less of a gap between pixels? etc.).

 

[WilliamG]

@OP: Thank you for the review, but above 300 dpi it becomes very difficult to discern better resolution. The physiology constrains the performance of your visual system. Perhaps the HTC One seems more clear to you for another reason (e.g. the amount of light scatter as it goes through the screen? Is it brighter? Higher color range? less of a gap between pixels? etc.).

I'm not sure what to tell you, except the sharpness difference is obvious when text is small. When I open the desktop version of http://www.nyt.com on my iPhone 5, I wish the text were a hair sharper. It's still sharp, but not HTC One sharp. Even before using the One I wanted more sharpness.

So, yes, perhaps it's difficult to discern the difference above 300 ppi. Not impossible, though!

 

[WilliamG]

I've been dreaming of the One all day. Hah. Crazy! My first real "Smart" phone was an HTC P3600, back when Windows Mobile was all the rage (or we were busy raging about how frustrating it was - tough to say!). In any case it was a darn good phone for its time.

I'd love HTC to bring me back into the fold with the One, but I must admit I'm VERY nervous to break the Apple mantra in my house. There are so many things that work so well. Airplay, for one. iMessage, for another. And I love Apple's customer service if any issues arise.

Very nervous.

But.. oh.. HTC, how do I love thee!

 

[fredaroony]

Sorry dude...the Z may have a really high DPI display, but the colours are really really washed out...Compared to HTC One's display...man its like day and night.
Unless you live in Japan and happen to own one thats actually calibrated properly.

Sorry dude...no they aren't..as I said before, it can look like they are washed out because of the grey theme Sony used. The viewing angles are way better on the HTC One but that doesnt mean much to me anyway since I don't tend to look at my phone at an angle.

The Japanese model uses the normal black background and yes it does have the calibration software that Sony decided to leave out on this one for some reason.

----------

Swype is good, but SwiftKey Flow has been my favorite. I guess with Swype style of typing I don't make as many mistakes. However it's more natural to "hunt-and-peck" so to speak than it is to Swype. I guess just a minor annoyance really, but to say iOS keyboard is lacking, in my opinion just isn't true.

I tried Swiftkey too but always come back to Swype. The biggest point is that with Android at least you have a choice!

----------

Not me. I switched to a Nexus 4 in November, after using nothing but an iPhone since it first came out. I never looked back. Now I have a Note 2.

I don't think I could go back to an iPhone at this point. The small screen size of the iPhone 5 got me to switch. But the freedom to do what I like, choose my own default apps, etc.... is making it far harder to go back just because of iMessage. The only thing my iPhone friends and family see different on their end is that my messages are now green and not blue. Nothing that important in my opinion. My non-iPhone using friends and family don't see anything different at all.

Also, switching got me out of having to rely on iCloud. Google works with everything. Apple does not. I never liked that; I merely put up with it.




Michael

That pretty much sums me up. Every once in a while I use my work 4S and switch back pretty quickly.

I really liked my 4 when I had it but for me anyway, Android has surpassed iOS for my needs.

 

[Tinmania]

I tried Swiftkey too but always come back to Swype. The biggest point is that with Android at least you have a choice!

I'm the same way with Swype: for some reason I just can't get the same "swyping" speed with SwiftKey. I almost stayed with Kii keyboard, which is really good, but still came back to Swype.

I do like the choice! I can even install a clone of iOS keyboard if I like. (Which is why I find it odd when someone says they went back to iOS because they liked the keyboard better.)



Michael

 

[johnjefferson]

So I admit off the bat, I'm an Apple fan. Not a fanboy, but a fan indeed.

In terms of phones, I've owned the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and currently I use an iPhone 5. I upgrade immediately, like a good Apple soldier should.

My neighbor yesterday asked me which phone he should buy. He has been using an iPhone 4 up till this point, and he told me he wants a larger screen, - larger than even the iPhone 5.

Given that the Galaxy S4 is not available yet, I recommended the HTC One, since by all accounts it's the best Android device actually out there in the wild.

He complied, and brought home the One today. I got to play with it tonight, and here are my thoughts...

1.) This is the very first Android device that truly rivals Apple in terms of design. While the back is just a tad busy for an Apple device, the build quality is absolutely fantastic. This is without doubt, the best-designed Android phone on the market.

2.) The screen is absolutely stunning. Yes, it's even more stunning than the iPhone 5 display. I opened up the New York Times full site, and text was even MORE readable on this display, even aside from the size difference between the two. I know people talk about Retina this and Retina that. Fact is, for me at least, I still want a sharper display, and when you put the HTC One next to the iPhone 5, what I've wanted in terms of PPI is right there, easily visible. It's truly stunning, and being NOT an AMOLED screen, it comes without all the deficiencies inherent in that tech (blue whites, lack of white brightness, over-saturated colors etc). The HTC One has 469 ppi, vs 326 ppi on the iPhone 4/4S/5. The difference, to me, is as obvious as a smack in the face. I love it. As far as I'm concerned, the HTC One has the true Retina display.

3.) The speakers raise the bar for what a phone can do. No more channeling sound to the front by cupping your hand around the bottom of the phone when watching movies/YouTube etc. The HTC One has the best speakers I've ever heard on a phone. Two speakers, front facing = game changer for the phone multimedia space.

4.) The ui responsiveness has vastly improved on these devices compared to the previous generation. I've had extensive playtime with my other neighbor's Galaxy Nexus, and the HTC One absolutely destroys the Galaxy Nexus in terms of response. Scrolling up and down web-pages is as close to Apple-like as it gets now, with almost imperceptible lag when doing so. Rotating the screen takes just milliseconds now. Everything is just so smooth.

Just a few cons from my time with the One:

5.) Apps-wise, no comparison. The iPhone has the HTC, and any Android device - soundly beaten.

6.) The One's power button is over on the top left vs top right on the iPhone 5. I grab my phone out of my left pocket with my left hand, so the power-button location is easily hit on the top right. iPhone wins that one.

So what's an Apple lover to do?

I'm torn. So, so torn. I absolutely love the HTC One. I really do. I'm also heavily invested in the Apple world, with numerous Macs, Apple accessories etc littered about my house and office.

But... my oh my is the HTC One a game-changer on the Android front. There is absolutely something to be said for the premium feel the One offers that the Galaxy S4 simply will never do (based on my plastic-y experience when toying with the S3).

Anyway, for those with no tether to Apple or Google, I highly, HIGHLY recommend spending some time with the HTC One. It's quite possibly the best phone on the market right now.

For the first time ever since handling many, many Android phones: Apple - the ball's in your court.

(Picture taken with my iPhone 5, of course!)

Its a nice phone, but you are also comparing it to an iPhone 5 that was released 7 months ago I cant think of any phone that matched the iPhones screen back then. Of course brand new phones will have newer and superior tech. I am sure the 5S and for sure the 6 will see an nice increase in screen resolution and iOS 7 should be a nice refresh.

 

[jamezr]

Its a nice phone, but you are also comparing it to an iPhone 5 that was released 7 months ago I cant think of any phone that matched the iPhones screen back then. Of course brand new phones will have newer and superior tech. I am sure the 5S and for sure the 6 will see an nice increase in screen resolution and iOS 7 should be a nice refresh.

True...IP5 was released 7 months ago but it is the best selling smartphone in the world right? So all new contenders will be compared to the IP5....
But then when the 5S comes out you could make the same argument for the HTC One.....

 

[kdarling]

5.) Apps-wise, no comparison. The iPhone has the HTC, and any Android device - soundly beaten.

Interesting. For me, the apps I use most often are available on both iOS and Android, and I freely switch between such devices all the time at home.

• Flipboard
• Mint
• Netflix
• Optimum TV
• Skype
• Pandora
• all the usual news, weather, travel, kids games, social apps.
• mail, calendar, video editors, you name it.

Plus Android has widgets I like, AND the wonderful Back button so I don't have to remember what my context was when I click a linked page/app, AND realtime voice typing.

What apps are missing for you? Apple proprietary messaging or ?

Thanks!

 

[WilliamG]

Interesting. For me, the apps I use most often are available on both iOS and Android, and I freely switch between such devices all the time at home.

• Flipboard
• Mint
• Netflix
• Optimum TV
• Skype
• all the usual news, weather, travel, kids games, social apps.

Plus Android has widgets I like, AND the wonderful Back button so I don't have to remember what my context was when I click a linked page/app.

What apps are missing for you? Apple proprietary messaging or ?

Thanks!

Yep, I live in iMessage since it's something my aging immediate family can use. FaceTime, as well, - not sure how to live without it, though I know this will vary from person to person.

AirPlay apps (Remote, for example). Infinity Blade 1 and 2. Tiny Wings, and numerous other games that are just awesome on iOS.