The HTC One (M8) has just been announced at a press event in London. The camera is a worthy update to last year’s critically acclaimed flagship, with a new dual camera imaging system, a larger display and improved specifications all-round. Let’s take a closer look at the new One!
Duo Camera
The most striking element of the new phone is its dual camera system called DuoCamera. The new second camera sits above the primary one, and allows for more rapid focusing and improved image quality. The second camera also works to add post-shot re-focusing, by capturing depth information from the scene.
A wide-angle, five megapixel front-facing camera is also present, a big upgrade from to 1 or 2-megapixel front-facers units commonly seen on smartphones.
Aluminium Design
The new HTC One retains its aluminium body from last year, but includes a larger 5-inch 1080p display and a curvier shape. The capacitive buttons from the front of the phone have been removed, with virtual buttons replacing them. The well-received BoomSound stereo front-facing speakers also return in the 2014 model.
The battery is larger this time around, and new battery saving modes allow the phone to last an impressively long time – up to 40% longer than the previous One (M7). A new smaller nanoSIM will be used, allowing for more room for other components inside like the camera and the battery.
Powerful Hardware
The One has modern hardware inside, befitting its status as HTC’s flagship phone for 2014. That means a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage plus microSD support. MicroSD support is a big addition for the One, and allows another 128 GB of storage to be added to the phone. In terms of connectivity, all of the usual suspects make an appearance: Wireless ac, Bluetooth 4, NFC and LTE.
The hardware looks powerful, and initial benchmark results suggest it’ll be the most powerful phone in the world. The phone is currently topping the leaderboards for the Basemark X and Basemark OS II benchmarks, and showing strong results elsewhere too.
Latest Software
Android 4.4.2 is the software powering the One, the latest version of Android. The One (M8) will include Sense 6, the latest version of HTC’s UX layer. The phone’s software looks flatter and cleaner, with many of HTC’s apps seeing redesigns. The boxy Blinkfeed social news app returns, and SenseTV now includes social feeds.
If you’d prefer a more stock Google experience, you’ll be able to get the phone in a Google Play edition too.
Either way, HTC are promising to keep your phone updated to the latest version of Android and Sense for at least two years, so you won’t be stuck on outdated software before your two year contract is up.
Cool Accessories
The HTC One will also feature a few cool new official accessories. The M8 Dot View case is probably the most iconic, with dozens of tiny cutouts allowing light from the screen through, allowing the case to display information like the date, time and notifications.
Source: The Verge
Conclusion
The HTC One (M8) is available now – we have it sim-free in silver and black. We already have a wide range of HTC One M8 accessories and HTC One M8 cases ready, and we’ll be adding new items at a rapid pace now that the phone is finally official.