The sleek HTC One M8 ticks a lot of boxes for Android lovers, especially if you favour elegance over brash style.
We've reached another plateau in the Android smartphone arms race in terms of size, screen quality and performance. The mine's bigger than yours battle has stabilised around the 5-inch mark, letting phablets continue the push into larger territory. Razor sharp 1080p Super AMOLED and Super LCD smartphone screens deliver impressive picture quality. Meanwhile under the bonnet a 2-ish GHz quad-core powerplant keeps things running smoothly accompanied by 2 or 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 graphics chip.
When you reach a plateau like this it offers a good opportunity to assess the latest crop of smartphones according to the little differences which each Android vendor brings to the party. This is where HTC smartphones tend to shine, even though they're often forced to live in the shadow of the more ostentatious Samsung Galaxy S range.
Selling for $840 outright, the HTC One M8 comes with an impressive spec sheet;
- Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
- Qualcomm 2.5 GHz quad-core Krait CPU, 2GB RAM, Adreno 330 graphics
- 4G LTE, including 700 MHz support (coming to Telstra in 2015)
- 1920x1080p Super LCD3 display
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
- microUSB v2.0 (with MHL and TV-out support), microSD slot up to 128GB
- 5-megapixel front camera, dual 4-megapixel rear camera
- NFC
- infrared
- Non-removable 2600 mAh battery
- 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm, 160 gm
Design-wise the One M8 feels sleek and elegant, albeit a tad heavy at 160 grams thanks to the unibody aluminum design. The result is MacBook Air-esque styling which is pleasing to both the eye and the touch. The Super LCD3 screen offers white whites and vivid colours while handling outdoor glare well, although its viewing angles fall a tad short of some screens I've seen.
The One M8 is a fraction taller than your average 5-inch Android smartphone, to make room for one of its standout features – impressive BoomSound speakers above and below the display. The two speakers offer surprisingly rich bass and high-end clarity when listening to music, without distorting at full volume – which HTC says is 25% louder than its predecessor.
The sound quality really makes its presence felt when you turn the phone on its side to watch a movie, with the stereo speakers pointing straight at you. If you're in the habit of keeping a portable speaker in your carry bag, you might be content to leave it at home after hearing what the One M8 has to offer.
The lowly 4-megapixel rear camera stands out as an anomaly on the spec sheet, but don't dismiss it too quickly. There's more to image quality than resolution. The One M8's camera relies on a larger sensor than many smartphones. As a result you get cleaner pictures, with less grain or "noise" in the shadows. This is particularly noticeable in poor lighting conditions. You can also capture 1080p video at 60 frames per second.
It's actually a "dual" 4-megapixel rear camera, because there's a secondary 4-megapixel sensor which assists with depth perception. Thanks to this you can actually refocus shots after you've taken them or just blur out the background for a cleaner image. HTC's Zoe multimedia app offers advanced editing options and lets you take multiple exposure shots. There's also a built-in 360-degree panorama mode and a "dual-shot mode", which displays the view from the front and rear cameras picture-in-picture.
Meanwhile the 5-megapixel front camera takes very sharp selfies, aided by a sensible 3-second countdown feature. If you find it difficult to get a good grip on your phone and keep it steady whilst tapping the button, you'll love this feature.
If you're primarily looking for a multimedia powerhouse then the HTC One M8 should definitely be on your shortlist when shopping for your next Android superphone, especially thanks to those speakers. The phone's multimedia credentials are boosted by the inclusion of a microSD slot for expanding the onboard storage beyond 16 or 32GB. Unfortunately the sleek design comes at the expense of a removable battery, but the generous built-in battery and various power-saving options should serve you well.
Rather than running raw Android, the One M8 offers the HTC Sense 6 skin and suite of apps. Like the sleek and understated aluminium body, Sense 6 is far more dignified and reserved than the brash and annoying TouchWiz skin employed by Samsung. Even HTC's default notification sounds are less annoying than Samsung's chirpy choices.
HTC's optional Dot View protective case offers an interesting alternative to the small preview windows cut into some Android cases. The screen cover is full of tiny holes to let through light, letting the phone display blocky 28 by 55 pixel messages through the cover. While it looks a little inelegant, it's enough to let you answer calls and check other basic notifications without needing to open the case.
While it's true that you can tone down the more annoying aspects of Samsung's TouchWiz, it still has a certain Hello Kitty feel to it alongside the elegant HTC Sense 6. Of course by choosing HTC over Samsung you're forgoing Samsung's range of content and app deals with services like Foxtel and Quickflix – the latter of which recently came to Sony's Xperia Z1. Seven's Plus7 Catch Up TV app was also a Samsung exclusive for a while.
These kinds of exclusive content and app deals serve to fragment the Android ecosystem, so it's important to weigh up your needs before pledging your allegiance to one Android vendor. HTC has abandoned its own content aspirations and embraced Google Play, which seems like a sensible move. As Google Play goes from strength to strength it's helping create a level playing field for Android users, but we're not there yet.
So what's the verdict? HTC's flagship One M8 can certainly stand toe-to-toe with its rivals in terms of performance and features. Those beefy BoomSound speakers alone will be enough to win over some people. HTC's app and content ecosystem might be at a disadvantage compared to Samsung, but if you favour elegance over style then the One M8 might have what it takes to win you over.