The numerous leaks might have spoiled HTC’s party but that has not stopped the company from officially unveiling its latest handset — the HTC One (M8). While the handset sports the same design as the previous generation One (M7), HTC has tweaked it to include a bigger screen and rounded edges to improve the ergonomics.
It has also raised the build quality of the handset considerably and unlike its predecessor, the new One does not have any small gaps in its body and will hopefully not suffer from any kind of build quality issues as well. While the new One still has a unibody aluminium body, it has a “brushed, hairline texture” feel to it. The Gunmetal Gray has a slightly different brushed metal finish that makes it stand apart from the rest of the colors. The company has also managed to reduce the sides of the phone to a less than 3mm, which is an amazing feat in itself.
The front of the One (M8) is dominated by a 5-inch 1080p display that boasts of even better viewing angles and color reproduction. Internally, HTC has filled the handset to the brim with some top-notch specs: a Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 2GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, 16/32GB of storage space, microSD card slot, IR blaster, NFC, LTE, GPS and the other usual bunch of features that are common in all high-end devices nowadays.
Last year, with the launch of HTC One (M7), the company unveiled two very unique features — the front-facing stereo speakers dubbed at BoomSound and a 4MP UltraPixel camera. With the all new One, the company has further refined these features. According to HTC, the new front-facing BoomSound speakers are now up to 25 % louder, thanks to their new amplifier, redesigned chambers and a tailored audio profile.
To improve the UltraPixel camera, HTC has included another 2MP camera on the back. The secondary camera, when combined with the 4MP UltraPixel camera and HTC’s software, allow the new One to provide some amazing effects. This includes some 3D effects that add a “depth” to the image and the ability to refocus anywhere in a photo, after actually clicking it.
On the software side, the handset runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Sense 6.0 (called Sixth Sense by HTC) on top of it. With the latest version of Sense, HTC has made its UI much more modular that will allow them to allow deliver quick software updates in the future. The company has take inspiration from Motorola here and has made some of the core Sense apps available on the Play Store. This will allow it to update these apps independently and quickly, without the need to push out a software update that requires certification from carriers.
The company has also added some new features to its skin including Motion Launch that allows the user to directly start the camera by pressing the volume up button, the ability to launch BlinkFeed even when the device is sleeping, double tap to wake and more. HTC has also teamed up with FitBit to make use of the sensor-hub on the Snapdragon chipset to log your daily activities and to keep a check on your health. The company has also opened up BlinkFeed to developers that will allow them to publish their own feeds to the app along with a custom feed view. It has also managed to rope in new content partners including Foursquare.
The handset also sports a 2600mAh non-removable battery that HTC states will last up to 40% longer than the last year One (M7). The company has also included an extremely low power mode, in which the device can last for nearly 15 hours with just 5% of battery.
Surprisingly, the all new HTC One will be available for pre-order in the United States across all major carriers from today itself. The handset will be available in four colors — Amber Gold, Glacial Silver and Gunmetal Gray. The handset will be available across all the major carriers stores in the United States by 10th April. However, starting from 1PM ET today, interested buyers can go over to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Rogers, Bell or TELUS website to order their phone today itself. You can also walk in to a Verizon store and buy the handset today itself. The new One (M8) is HTC’s widest launch ever with more than 230 carriers in over 100 countries. The company states that the handset will be available in Australia, Taiwan, the UK, Germany, France and China by the end of April.
Depending on your carrier, the handset will set you back by $199 or $249 on a two-year contract.
