HTC One M8

Available now
25th March 2014

One of the most interesting smartphones last year was the HTC One, and the long-anticipated replacement is the HTC One M8 which builds on some of the unique strengths of the One while correcting a few things that weren't quite so good.

The main feature is the 5" full HD 1080 x 1920 pixel Super LCD display with a Gorilla Glass 3 coating. Inside is a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 CPU with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and now it has a microSD slot (a key omission from the HTC One).

The operating system is Android 4.4.2 KitKat, and there is a new version of HTC Sense designed to make the One M8 distinctively different from other handsets, plus an improved version of BlinkFeed which should make it easier to find topics of interest.

Although it looks similar to the original One, the HTC One M8 expands the polished metal to wrap all around the device without having to use plastic inserts or panels. There is also improved audio support with "BoomSound" which includes better playback circuitry and redesigned speakers for a better sound.

HTC say that the One M8 has a bigger 2600 mAh battery and lower power consumption, which makes it last 40% longer than before. It also comes with several low-power modes that can extend the battery life even further if your charge is running low.

While most protective phone cases are rather dull, HTC have a fun "dot view" case that allows some of the screen to show through which allows you to see basic information on the phone even when it is in the case.

A new system of gesture control is included to make unlocking your phone and running an application much easier. One neat feature is that you can answer a call just by holding the phone up to your ear.

HTC's approach to improving camera quality revolves around its UltraPixel technologies, which uses fewer but larger sensors than rivals which creates one of the best mobile phone cameras on the market. Surprisingly there are two 4 megapixel cameras on the back, one of which is dedicated to capturing details and the other depth, and the One M8 combines data from both camera to produce a higher-quality image, but it can also enable it to focus more quickly on objects and can produce depth-based special effects.. including refocusing the image after you have taken it.

The front camera is a 5 megapixel snapper which is probably the highest resolution front-facing camera we know of, something that HTC have included to allow for better quality selfies. HTC Zoe is a sort of videogram system which enables short videos to be taken, but now these can be uploaded to "the cloud" to be shared and even remixed or have music added.

Of course the HTC One M8 has all the usual features that you'd expect in a high-end Android smartphone, including LTE, HSPA+, WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS and the rest.. although it does have one of those annoying nano-SIMs which means that it is likely you will have to upgrade your SIM card. The One M8 is a little bigger than its predecessor at 146 x 71 x 9.4mm and 160 grams.

In the US at least HTC will fix anything including accidental damage free of charge for the first six months. They also promise at least two years of software updates. In North America the HTC One M8 will be available from certain retailers immediately with others to follow in the next few weeks. The SIM-free price in the US is $599.

If you are looking for something substantially different from a Samsung Galaxy S5 or Apple iPhone 5S then the HTC One M8 is certainly a serious contender, although in our view the Nokia Lumia 1020 is also a very good option.