Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
The HTC One (M8) improves on almost every aspect of the original HTC One and adds some user requested features. The silver model coming to TELUS in Canada is very similar in look and feel to its predecessor except the satin-finish aluminum now wraps around the entire case and the polycarbonate element that held it all together has been reduced dramatically.
The M8 is the most comfortable 5-inch smartphone for one-handed use. My BlackBerry Z30 was one device that I enjoyed using with one hand, but found it to be the absolute limit for my fingers. The M8 is not as wide and just feels great in the hand and is very manageable.
Other easy to notice improvements are the updated volume rocker buttons. The older One had them recessed and now they're more accessible and have great response. These buttons can also be used to take photos in landscape mode.
The silver M8 is less slippery than the brushed gun-metal versions they had at the product launch in New York. I've not seen the Amber Gold version that's apparently exclusive to Best Buy in the US. Other manufacturers seem happy to differentiate their products on pure colour alone, HTC goes beyond that and gets into texture and feel.
HTC Sense 6 and BlinkFeed (which pushes news and social media updates) is much faster to access and scroll through than previous versions. I encountered no lag or stuttering, which was something common to the original HTC One and the One mini. There's a new green theme that permeates most of the new UI and this can't be changed.
I was happy to find out that the M8 uses a nanoSIM and also that it takes external microSD Cards for expansion. This is really something many users have been wanting in such a device and hopefully something that continues,
Using a SIM card tool (Nokia makes the best ones IMO), I simply installed my current TELUS nanoSIM and a 64GB Sandisk microSD Card I had in my Surface Pro and simply formatted it for the M8.
The larger 5-inch 1080p LCD screen features a density 440 pixels per inch, down from 469 from the smaller 4.7-inch screen of last year's model, but individual pixels are still invisible to the naked eye and picture fidelity is still impressive.
The image quality, saturation and brightness on this display is top notch and watching videos is a treat, specially now with the rejigged BoomSound speakers that are louder but also fuller in sound quality. The best sound on a smartphone just got better.
The dual camera seems to be the big innovation this year and the M8 name, possibly a sly nod to Leica's revered rangefinder line, seems to stress the focus on mobile photography.
The camera has the same 4 Ultrapixel capacity as last year but it is faster to access and it takes pictures continously almost as fast as the iPhone 5s.
The second camera, placed above the main camera, was explained as more of a sensor which measures depth, distance and space. This enables the fake bokeh effect, stunning 3D images (no stinkin' glasses required) and various effects that a single camera setup would not be able to replicate.
The uFocus feature, which allows users to change focus areas after the photo has been taken, works pretty much as promised but seems to work better on certain types of photos than others. The one of my cat above shows a blurred background in the first shot while the next shot has a not so sharp foreground. HTC has built-in a bunch of filters and effects that will delight all types of shooters.
Call quality is superb on the M8 and the LTE antennas and radios seem to have been improved as well. I was surprised to get an LTE signal in the second basement of my building parking lot which is usually a TELUS dead zone. Battery life is also improved with a new 2600mAh battery plus an Extreme Power Saving Mode which i have yet to fully test.
All-in-all, the M8 feels very familiar as an HTC One phone yet all the updates, innovations and improvements do add-up to a delightful and new user experience.
Stay tuned for my full review due in a week, and do check out our HTC One (M8) coverage below.
Rogers leaks official specs of HTC One (M8)
SlideShow: Live from HTC One (M8) launch event in NY
TELUS goes live with HTC One (M8) pre-order and purchase
Rogers confirms availability of HTC One M8, reservation now open
Video: See the HTC One (M8) camera feature and new Dot View Case
Video: HTC One M8 Dual Camera and editing feature demo
Video: Demo of the HTC One M8's IR blaster and second screen functionality