The All New HTC One (M8)

[MRU]

The Article only says that the UltraPixel Cam has according to HTC a better Quality then 12-16 MP Cams.

Well there you go.... They are simply drumming up BS like they did with the original Ultrapixel in the One.

The reality is a 4mp camera can not capture the amount of detail a 13-16mp can, and no buttering up of words from HTC will ever change that FACT.

Sadly they lost a day 1 sale here.

 

[jeffe]

I need either wireless charging or a removable battery. Does this phone have either?

 

[MRU]

I need either wireless charging or a removable battery. Does this phone have either?

Definitely doesn't have a changeable battery - but as for wireless charging its an unknown at moment.

 

[blairh]

Well there you go.... They are simply drumming up BS like they did with the original Ultrapixel in the One.

The reality is a 4mp camera can not capture the amount of detail a 13-16mp can, and no buttering up of words from HTC will ever change that FACT.

Sadly they lost a day 1 sale here.

Absolutely. It's a huge mistake. And HTC isn't in a position to screw up right now.

I need to hold the phone to make a decision. Camera and weight aside, it does appear to have everything else that I want in a phone.

 

[jamezr]

Absolutely. It's a huge mistake. And HTC isn't in a position to screw up right now.

I need to hold the phone to make a decision. Camera and weight aside, it does appear to have everything else that I want in a phone.

Same here.......I really want HTC to get it right and for the new One to be great. But if they drop the ball on the camera i won't be buying one. What MRU was said about megapixels is very true. You can't make a 4MP into a 13MP camera. It just won't be the same. Its really sad how HTC can make this great looking phone only to drop the ball again on the camera.....

 

[JaySoul]

If it is still 4MP Ultrapixel, it makes my life much simpler as I won't be buying it at all.

 

[blairh]

Same here.......I really want HTC to get it right and for the new One to be great. But if they drop the ball on the camera i won't be buying one. What MRU was said about megapixels is very true. You can't make a 4MP into a 13MP camera. It just won't be the same. Its really sad how HTC can make this great looking phone only to drop the ball again on the camera.....

The last few days I've been reading every professional camera review site I could find online about the One. Basically every one of them said that a higher MP count would have helped with detail in daylight shots. So while MP isn't the only thing that matters it certainly matters. And I found a recent interview online with Jeff Gordon from HTC and he talks about the 'megapixel myth'. It's almost like HTC is trying to sweep the truth under the table, and that is really disingenuous.

At the same time, I'm starting to realize that none of these smartphones, Nokia 1020 aside, can rival a great point and shoot. Even MRU's great photo looks like it was taken with a smartphone in my eyes. So if I personally determine that a smartphone camera has a certain ceiling, then I can potentially justify the M8 as my next purchase.

On a related note, I think the iPhone 6 has so much potential to blow away all these other 2014 flagships with respect to size and design. All these Android offerings are just too big and heavy IMO. I bet the iPhone 6 will be slightly larger than a 5/5S but with a 4.7" screen.

Another thing about MP's. Can't you envision a consumer going to the store and looking at both the S5 and M8 and finding out that the S5 is a 16 MP camera compared to the M8's 4. And that difference could potentially sway them to purchase the S5? Forget what that means in terms of real world usage. You'd be amazed by how many consumers base the quality of a camera on just the MP count.

 

[wilky76]

8mp would have been better this time around instead of 4mp again, and what i don't get is why have they stuck a 5mp camera on the front?????

 

[jamezr]

The last few days I've been reading every professional camera review site I could find online about the One. Basically every one of them said that a higher MP count would have helped with detail in daylight shots. So while MP isn't the only thing that matters it certainly matters. And I found a recent interview online with Jeff Gordon from HTC and he talks about the 'megapixel myth'. It's almost like HTC is trying to sweep the truth under the table, and that is really disingenuous.

At the same time, I'm starting to realize that none of these smartphones, Nokia 1020 aside, can rival a great point and shoot. Even MRU's great photo looks like it was taken with a smartphone in my eyes. So if I personally determine that a smartphone camera has a certain ceiling, then I can potentially justify the M8 as my next purchase.

On a related note, I think the iPhone 6 has so much potential to blow away all these other 2014 flagships with respect to size and design. All these Android offerings are just too big and heavy IMO. I bet the iPhone 6 will be slightly larger than a 5/5S but with a 4.7" screen.

Another thing about MP's. Can't you envision a consumer going to the store and looking at both the S5 and M8 and finding out that the S5 is a 16 MP camera compared to the M8's 4. And that difference could potentially sway them to purchase the S5? Forget what that means in terms of real world usage. You'd be amazed by how many consumers base the quality of a camera on just the MP count.

Excellent post! I agree with you about the IP6....it might just have the wow factor that the recent Android phones can't match and haven't produced.
I think you are correct about the average consumer making buying choices strictly based on the amount of MP alone....

I also think the iPhone 6 will be 4.7 to 5 inch phone. Just the increase in size alone will make it the best selling phone of the year....hands down.

 

[JaySoul]

The last few days I've been reading every professional camera review site I could find online about the One. Basically every one of them said that a higher MP count would have helped with detail in daylight shots. So while MP isn't the only thing that matters it certainly matters. And I found a recent interview online with Jeff Gordon from HTC and he talks about the 'megapixel myth'. It's almost like HTC is trying to sweep the truth under the table, and that is really disingenuous.

At the same time, I'm starting to realize that none of these smartphones, Nokia 1020 aside, can rival a great point and shoot. Even MRU's great photo looks like it was taken with a smartphone in my eyes. So if I personally determine that a smartphone camera has a certain ceiling, then I can potentially justify the M8 as my next purchase.

On a related note, I think the iPhone 6 has so much potential to blow away all these other 2014 flagships with respect to size and design. All these Android offerings are just too big and heavy IMO. I bet the iPhone 6 will be slightly larger than a 5/5S but with a 4.7" screen.

Another thing about MP's. Can't you envision a consumer going to the store and looking at both the S5 and M8 and finding out that the S5 is a 16 MP camera compared to the M8's 4. And that difference could potentially sway them to purchase the S5? Forget what that means in terms of real world usage. You'd be amazed by how many consumers base the quality of a camera on just the MP count.

Agree fully.

Tbh this year is just clearly WIDE OPEN for Apple to come in and do something special.

The one thing I can't understand is why these phones keep getting bigger.

The HTC One, S5, Z2 - they are all getting bigger screens, heavier and less easy to handle. It's bizarre.

If the iPhone 6 has a 4.7" screen, it may just clean up.

 

[blairh]

Agree fully.

Tbh this year is just clearly WIDE OPEN for Apple to come in and do something special.

The one thing I can't understand is why these phones keep getting bigger.

The HTC One, S5, Z2 - they are all getting bigger screens, heavier and less easy to handle. It's bizarre.

If the iPhone 6 has a 4.7" screen, it may just clean up.

Totally agree.

 

[JaySoul]

Totally agree.

The only thing I'd say is maybe Motorola can refine the Moto X into an even better phone - and combine it with their new 360 Watch.

That could be something truly special but they need to put work in ASAP. Then get Lenovo to market the living hell out of it.

 

[AQUADock]

Excellent post! I agree with you about the IP6....it might just have the wow factor that the recent Android phones can't match and haven't produced.
I think you are correct about the average consumer making buying choices strictly based on the amount of MP alone....

I also think the iPhone 6 will be 4.7 to 5 inch phone. Just the increase in size alone will make it the best selling phone of the year....hands down.

I agree, if the new One really only has a 4MP camera and Apple makes a 4.7 phone i'll definitely go back to the iPhone.

 

[blairh]

Here's a great read about MP and smartphones. Well written and very informative.

 

[jamezr]

Here's a great read about MP and smartphones. Well written and very informative.

That was a great read Blairh...thanks for the link!
Now I am as confused as ever!
I guess we will have to see some real life photos from people that actually buy the M8.....

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

It is a beautiful phone, I just wish it was smaller and had stock Android. Sadly, they probably won't make a GPE Mini.

 

[Sensamic]

I bought it from 'adverts.ie' which is like craigslist / swappa.

The GE is ridiculously hard to get here, seller had bought it in America whilst working over and then brought if back.

Just out of curiosity, does the GE work fine here in Europe? I mean the radios, 4G, wall charger (with adapter I suppose), etc?

I was considering buying a GE from eBay but I don't know if the radios are compatible and all that.

I read that the 4G from the US Nexus 5 is not compatible with Europe for example.

 

[Jspring86]

If any Canadians are looking to get one, Phandroid just mentioned that it is available on Rogers website already:

http://www.rogers.com/web/link/wire...Detailed=ONEGRY&N=52+11+4294948709+4294965972

I think I am going to go check out the phone at Verizon tomorrow. I have no intention of getting rid of my Note 3, but it might be a solid second phone for the times I go out that I don't need as big of a screen. Pretty bummed about the camera as the rest of you are, but I will check it out before I pass final judgment.

 

[Fernandez21]

Its frustrating because it is so close to being the best android out there. If only they had an 8 ultra pixel camera, 3000 mah battery, and removed that bottom logo bezel and made the entire footprint slightly smaller it would be the best out there by far.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I think the size increase is unnecessary.

 

[joshwithachance]

I really wanted HTC to knock it out of the park on this one, and they haven't. In my opinion, the original One was much better looking. On top of that, the camera is still 4 megapixels, which even if improved with software still cannot capture as much detail as an 8, 13, or 16 megapixel camera. Also, I hate that the HTC logo bar is still there, but now serves literally no purpose as the buttons are now on screen. And finally, the new location of the sensors next to the front camera is hideous.

On a positive note, getting the phone out the day of announcement is IMPRESSIVE. The new "selfie" front camera is going to take some pretty great shots, especially considering it has a higher megapixel count than the main camera (which is shocking actually).

Other than the points I made above, there's nothing really exciting or notable about the "All New HTC One". There's the upgraded processor, bigger screen (semi negated by the fact that the buttons are now on-screen), and slightly larger battery.

I don't think it's enough to save HTC sadly.

 

[Sensamic]

I think the size increase is unnecessary.

Wow! That's quite a difference! Even the logo bezel is bigger for no apparent reason...

 

[tbayrgs]

Its frustrating because it is so close to being the best android out there. If only they had an 8 ultra pixel camera, 3000 mah battery, and removed that bottom logo bezel and made the entire footprint slightly smaller it would be the best out there by far.

So ONLY the camera, battery, bezel, and footprint are keeping it from being the ideal phone. That's an awful lot of ONLYs.

IMO, the Xperia Z2 is a lot closer to being the ideal smartphone--just needs to trim a lot of bezel to reduce overall footprint. It has a terrific camera, big battery, solid build, a fairly light software skin over KitKat and is waterproof, all while matching or exceeding the new One in RAM, CPU, display size, expandable storage, and stereo speakers.

 

[TheBigKing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cumo08eViHk

 

[mclld]

Fail City, population HTC
smh