HTC unveils 5" HTC One M8 with gesture controls, dual rear cameras, slo-mo video
Taiwanese handset maker HTC on Tuesday unveiled its latest flagship device intended to take on Apple's iPhone: the HTC One M8, with a larger screen, higher-spec internals, a depth-sensing camera and dual LED flash -- but no biometrics.
The most noticeable change from last year's model is the larger display, which is up 0.3 inches diagonally to 5 inches. That extra real estate brings with it a slight increase in overall dimensions and an extra 17 grams of weight, though the M8 retains the same 0.37-inch profile as its predecessor.
HTC retained much of the last HTC One's industrial design, though they have moved to a "unibody" construction that eschews the plastic buffer between the case and display.
Internally, the M8 is driven by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3 gigahertz. The handset sports 2 gigabytes of RAM and ships with Android 4.4 "KitKat" with HTC's Sense and BlinkFeed customizations, though a pure Google edition will be available as well.
HTC's dynamic Dot View case for the M8. The Dot View can display calls, texts, the time, and the weather.
The M8's new dual rear camera system, which HTC aptly calls Duo Camera, captures information about the depth of objects in the scene alongside the actual image. This will allow users to easily select the background and foreground for editing, as well as adjust focus after the photo is taken.
Apple has been seen working on similar post-shot focus technology, though with a much different implementation. Apple's approach, as shown in patent applications, involves a moveable lens placed inside the camera module itself rather than an exterior sensor.
The new camera system also sports a dual-tone flash that automatically selects a color based on available light and the ability to capture slow-motion video, much like the features introduced in the iPhone 5s.
Borrowing a page from rival Samsung, the M8 also ships with gesture recognition technology. Swiping in the air will activate the phone, putting it up to your ear will automatically answer a call, and double-tapping turns the phone off.
Additionally, HTC has added a new "extreme power saving mode" which the company says can give users an additional 15 hours of runtime at 5 percent battery, including receipt of text messages and phone calls. The company also built in a low-power sensor hub for fitness apps, similar to the iPhone 5s's M7 motion coprocessor.
Interestingly, the M8 does not include biometrics of any kind. The field has been reenergized by the success of Apple's Touch ID system, and Samsung added a fingerprint sensor of its own to the upcoming Galaxy S5.
HTC will ship the M8 in three colors -- Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver and Amber Gold -- in versions for more than 230 mobile operators. The handset will fetch $649 without a contract, with on-contract devices going for $199 or $249 depending on the carrier.
The most noticeable change from last year's model is the larger display, which is up 0.3 inches diagonally to 5 inches. That extra real estate brings with it a slight increase in overall dimensions and an extra 17 grams of weight, though the M8 retains the same 0.37-inch profile as its predecessor.
HTC retained much of the last HTC One's industrial design, though they have moved to a "unibody" construction that eschews the plastic buffer between the case and display.
Internally, the M8 is driven by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3 gigahertz. The handset sports 2 gigabytes of RAM and ships with Android 4.4 "KitKat" with HTC's Sense and BlinkFeed customizations, though a pure Google edition will be available as well.
HTC's dynamic Dot View case for the M8. The Dot View can display calls, texts, the time, and the weather.
The M8's new dual rear camera system, which HTC aptly calls Duo Camera, captures information about the depth of objects in the scene alongside the actual image. This will allow users to easily select the background and foreground for editing, as well as adjust focus after the photo is taken.
Apple has been seen working on similar post-shot focus technology, though with a much different implementation. Apple's approach, as shown in patent applications, involves a moveable lens placed inside the camera module itself rather than an exterior sensor.
The new camera system also sports a dual-tone flash that automatically selects a color based on available light and the ability to capture slow-motion video, much like the features introduced in the iPhone 5s.
Borrowing a page from rival Samsung, the M8 also ships with gesture recognition technology. Swiping in the air will activate the phone, putting it up to your ear will automatically answer a call, and double-tapping turns the phone off.
Additionally, HTC has added a new "extreme power saving mode" which the company says can give users an additional 15 hours of runtime at 5 percent battery, including receipt of text messages and phone calls. The company also built in a low-power sensor hub for fitness apps, similar to the iPhone 5s's M7 motion coprocessor.
Interestingly, the M8 does not include biometrics of any kind. The field has been reenergized by the success of Apple's Touch ID system, and Samsung added a fingerprint sensor of its own to the upcoming Galaxy S5.
HTC will ship the M8 in three colors -- Gunmetal Gray, Glacial Silver and Amber Gold -- in versions for more than 230 mobile operators. The handset will fetch $649 without a contract, with on-contract devices going for $199 or $249 depending on the carrier.
Comments
Their commercials may be a bit warmer. Not sure who the intended audience for that particular video was so perhaps it was for press releases and tech sites where the facts are more important. No sense wasting the fluff when you can save it for consumers in a TV ad.
Haven't you heard? HTC's heat was turned off for nonpayment, so cold is all they know.
I like this smartphone. Only one thing that in my eyes is a bit of a disappointment is the camera. I get that megapixels aren't everything when it comes to photo quality. But I would have liked to have seen the One's camera being upped to 8MP or so (which would be more than enough) rather than sticking with 4MP.
Btw: the sensor hub is not specially built in by HTC. All Snapdragon processors since the Snapdragon 600 (so also last years HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4) have built in sensor hubs like Apple's M7 (which is a NXP LPC18xx). Samsung has been using Atmel sensor hub MCU's since the S4.
I'm a pretty big fan of HTC phones and this looks great to me. My 2 yr. contract comes up in May and it'll be tough choosing between this and the Sony Xperia Z2.
Fact: they confirmed this product is made from individual bits and that, for some reason, waves of water tend to crash around the outside of it.
What an ugly POS. They have no taste at all. It is WAY too big to use one handed and it will not fit in a pocket. The camera is not as good as Apple. And Android is fragmented and has all kinds of malwhere on all the phones.
This is not even as good as the 5C which is outselling HTC.
ROTFL!.
You are absolutely correct. I had looked at a different video earlier and not the one AI used. Shouldn't have assumed anything so my bad. Sorry Soli....
:embarrass
Only one thing that is in my eyes is a bit of a disappointment is the camera.
I don't like the SD card. There is really no need for that or else Apple would have them on the iPhone.
It is WAY too big to use one handed and it will not fit in a pocket.
Not everyone has tiny hands. I have no problems using thier current device with one hand. I can't imagine this small increase will change that.
Ohhh! You're into pain, aren't you??
Perhaps, but it's still god awful and even though it's mostly tech media at their event with the internet and live streaming they need to consider the larger picture. Even with the Mac Pro, which isn't considered a consumer product for the masses, they detail the industrial aspect not with CGI but with how it was designed and built. I see this as fundamentally different mentalities between Apple and most their competitors, and the one area I wish their competitors would copy Apple.
That "dot display" is ridiculous... and I'm not ashamed to say I WANT IT!
He's just trolling by making over-the-top pro-Apple comments.
I think it looks great for an Android-based device. That said, i would still go for a Nexus for the value and lack of any bolted-on super-UI.
* As opposed to sub.
1) I definitely don't want it.
2) How does the camera HW work with that case? It looks like it covers it up and then has another camera on it, or is that two different HTC devices in the image?
What an ugly POS. They have no taste at all. It is WAY too big to use one handed and it will not fit in a pocket. The camera is not as good as Apple. And Android is fragmented and has all kinds of malwhere on all the phones.
This is not even as good as the 5C which is outselling HTC.
It actually doesn't look all THAT bad actually...
What an ugly POS. They have no taste at all. It is WAY too big to use one handed and it will not fit in a pocket. The camera is not as good as Apple. And Android is fragmented and has all kinds of malwhere on all the phones.
This is not even as good as the 5C which is outselling HTC.
The iPhone 5C isn't even in the same league as this phone. Also if it's too big does that mean you won't be upgrading when Apple comes out with its' bigger iPhone? By the way it's called "malware".
http://www.cnet.com/news/htc-one-m8-specs-versus-samsung-galaxy-s5-iphone-5s/
And that's where I ditched my respect for HTC. So sad.
When she bent over -- "page not found".
2) How does the camera HW work with that case? It looks like it covers it up and then has another camera on it, or is that two different HTC devices in the image?
It's showing the front (on the left) and back (on the right) of the phone. No cameras are being covered.