HTC One Mini 2

Out now
15th May 2014

The HTC One Mini 2 is the follow-on from last year's original One Mini and it takes its inspiration from the desirable new HTC One M8. But although the One Mini 2 looks very much like the One M8 on the surface, underneath it is a very different handset.

Compared with the One M8, the One Mini 2 is around 15% smaller and lighter. The display is a 4.5" 720 x 1280 pixel panel, compared with the 5" 1080 x 1920 pixel panel on the M8, although that sort of trade-off is expected given the smaller size. What is disappointing though is the 1.2GHz quad-core CPU with 1GB of RAM which is much less powerful than the 2.3GHz / 2GB combination in the M8.

The exotic dual 4 megapixel rear camera on the M8 has been replaced by a conventional 13 megapixel one, which some people will probably prefer, plus a 5 megapixel snapper on the front. There is 16GB of internal flash storage plus a microSD slot, and the One Mini 2 is an LTE-capable device with NFC, it comes with an FM radio, an MHL port for an HD TV, and all the usual smartphone features are here as well. The One Mini 2 has a 2110 mAh battery, smaller than the M8 but it still has a useful capacity.

This is an Android 4.4 device with all the usual HTC add-ons, so in many ways it will behave exactly like its bigger sibling in terms of user experience.

HTC say that the One Mini 2 should be available from June onwards in Europe, Middle East and Asian markets. In the UK, Phones 4U say that it will cost around £360 (€440) SIM-free. Many retailers will start pre-orders for the phone at the end of May.

Although the One Mini 2 lacks the processor speed or RAM of the M8, it does retain many of the other features that make the M8 attractive. But it's still quite a pricey device, and for about a third more you can have the full-fat version instead. Given that, we'd probably still recommend going for the M8 over the One Mini 2.