HTC Butterfly 2 review: Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Display
The HTC Butterfly 2 opts for the same 1080 x 1920px 5" panel as the One (M8) and One (E8) and rocks an impressive pixel density of 441ppi.
The more detailed tests we performed on the HTC Butterfly 2 show the 5" panel as a solid performer. Contrast was impressive at 50% and 100% brightness and is around the same as that of the HTC One (M8) and (E8) and the new Apple iPhone 6. Brightness was also impressive rounding up a very solid display performance.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| 0.19 | 216 | 1132 | 0.50 | 596 | 1185 | |
| 0.20 | 250 | 1268 | 0.51 | 615 | 1208 | |
| 0.20 | 245 | 1219 | 0.46 | 577 | 1256 | |
| 0 | 274 | ∞ | 0 | 529 | ∞ | |
| 0.18 | 142 | 809 | 0.61 | 557 | 907 | |
| 0.17 | 164 | 940 | 0.73 | 679 | 929 | |
| 0.31 | 298 | 948 | 0.54 | 526 | 967 | |
| - | - | - | 0.41 | 488 | 1195 | |
Outdoor legibility is good although not the best. The screen is reflective but not overly so and the good brightness makes sure it remains visible. Viewing angles are excellent as well.
Sunlight contrast ratio
-
Nokia 808 PureView
4.698 -
Apple iPhone 5
3.997 -
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
3.997 -
Apple iPhone 6
3.838 -
Samsung Galaxy K zoom
3.675 -
Nokia Lumia 930
3.567 -
Apple iPhone 5s
3.565 -
Samsung Galaxy S5
3.549 -
Alcatel Idol X+
3.527 -
Apple iPhone 5c
3.512 -
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
3.509 -
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
3.487 -
Motorola RAZR MAXX
3.42 -
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
3.419 -
Nokia Lumia 925
3.402 -
Gionee Elife S5.5
3.386 -
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
3.352 -
Samsung Omnia W
3.301 -
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
3.174 -
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S
3.155 -
Samsung Ativ S
3.129 -
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini
3.127 -
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
3.118 -
Nokia N9
3.069 -
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 -
Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 -
Samsung Galaxy Premier
2.958 -
Sony Xperia Z1
2.95 -
HTC One S
2.901 -
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express
2.861 -
BlackBerry Q10
2.856 -
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
2.832 -
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
2.801 -
BlackBerry Z30
2.79 -
Sony Xperia ZR
2.672 -
Huawei Ascend P1
2.655 -
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
2.616 -
Sony Xperia T3
2.609 -
Nokia Lumia 900
2.562 -
Motorola Moto G 4G
2.546 -
HTC One Max
2.537 -
Nokia Lumia 720
2.512 -
HTC One
2.504 -
Motorola Moto G
2.477 -
Sony Xperia Z
2.462 -
Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424 -
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
2.422 -
LG G Flex
2.407 -
HTC One (M8)
2.371 -
Motorola RAZR i
2.366 -
Sony Xperia ZL
2.352 -
Samsung Galaxy Note II
2.307 -
Oppo Find 7a
2.279 -
Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 -
Apple iPhone 4S
2.269 -
HTC Desire 600 dual sim
2.262 -
Nokia Asha 311
2.25 -
LG Nexus 5
2.228 -
Nokia Lumia 820
2.193 -
HTC One (E8)
2.185 -
Nokia Lumia 920
2.17 -
HTC One X
2.158 -
Nokia N8
2.144 -
Nokia Lumia 620
2.142 -
Nokia 515
2.134 -
HTC Desire 500
2.129 -
Sony Xperia acro S
2.119 -
Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 -
Nokia Lumia 1020
2.103 -
Oppo Find 5
2.088 -
Sony Xperia SL
2.078 -
Nokia Lumia 630
2.056 -
BlackBerry Z10
2.051 -
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active
2.022 -
Apple iPhone 4
2.016 -
HTC One mini
2.003 -
Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001 -
Huawei Ascend P7
1.992 -
LG G2
1.976 -
OnePlus One
1.961 -
Oppo R819
1.957 -
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
1.955 -
Sony Xperia Z2
1.944 -
Nokia Lumia 1320
1.941 -
HTC One mini 2
1.94 -
Samsung Galaxy Camera
1.938 -
Sony Xperia J
1.932 -
Acer CloudMobile S500
1.931 -
LG Nexus 4
1.926 -
LG G Pro 2
1.922 -
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
1.913 -
Nokia Asha 308
1.911 -
HTC Butterfly 2
1.905 -
Sony Xperia T
1.894 -
HTC Desire X
1.878 -
HTC Windows Phone 8X
1.873 -
HTC Butterfly
1.873 -
HTC Butterfly S
1.867 -
Huawei Ascend P6
1.865 -
Huawei Ascend Mate
1.845 -
LG G2 mini
1.838 -
LG G3
1.82 -
Nokia Lumia 1520
1.813 -
HTC Desire 616 dual sim
1.797 -
Sony Xperia V
1.792 -
HTC Desire 816
1.783 -
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
1.772 -
HTC Desire 700 dual sim
1.769 -
Sony Xperia U
1.758 -
Meizu MX3
1.754 -
LG Optimus G
1.753 -
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
1.74 -
Sony Xperia SP
1.733 -
LG Optimus 4X HD
1.691 -
Oppo Find 7
1.691 -
HTC One V
1.685 -
BlackBerry Q5
1.682 -
LG Optimus Vu
1.68 -
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
1.672 -
LG Optimus GJ
1.666 -
LG Optimus 3D Max
1.658 -
HTC Desire V
1.646 -
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
1.632 -
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
1.622 -
Jolla Jolla
1.605 -
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
1.578 -
Sony Xperia go
1.577 -
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160
1.566 -
Samsung Galaxy Core
1.563 -
LG Optimus G Pro
1.552 -
Motorola Moto E
1.545 -
LG Optimus 3D
1.542 -
Nokia Asha 302
1.537 -
BlackBerry Curve 9320
1.488 -
Sony Xperia M
1.473 -
Oppo N1
1.47 -
Meizu MX 4-core
1.462 -
Nokia Lumia 610
1.432 -
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
1.4 -
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo
1.393 -
Sony Xperia M2
1.393 -
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
1.38 -
Sony Xperia E1
1.372 -
Nokia Lumia 625
1.371 -
Gigabyte GSmart G1355
1.361 -
Sony Xperia L
1.351 -
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8
1.35 -
Xiaomi Redmi 1S
1.35 -
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
1.331 -
Sony Xperia miro
1.324 -
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand
1.321 -
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
1.315 -
HTC Desire C
1.3 -
Nokia X
1.291 -
Sony Xperia C
1.283 -
Nokia Asha 503
1.281 -
Nokia Asha 501
1.27 -
LG Optimus L7
1.269 -
Nokia Lumia 510
1.268 -
Samsung Galaxy Fame
1.245 -
LG Optimus L9
1.227 -
Meizu MX
1.221 -
Samsung Galaxy Young
1.22 -
Sony Xperia E
1.215 -
Nokia XL
1.204 -
Sony Xperia E dual
1.203 -
Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C
1.198 -
Samsung Galaxy Pocket
1.18 -
Nokia Asha 305
1.178 -
Nokia Asha 306
1.175 -
Sony Xperia neo L
1.169 -
Sony Xperia tipo
1.166 -
Nokia Lumia 520
1.161 -
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos
1.148 -
Samsung Galaxy mini 2
1.114
Battery life test
The Butterfly S set the bar pretty high with a 3,200mAh battery and we were somewhat disappointed to see the Butterfly 2 opt for a smaller 2,700mAh unit. During our tests, the newcomer managed around the same times in the individual tests but failed to match the standby of the Butterfly S. Compared to last year's model's overall rating of 81 hours, the HTC Butterfly 2 comes rather short with its 66 hour score. It's not a bad result on its own, but we are used to seeing scores improving year on year, rather than degrading.
The Butterfly 2 did well in each of the tests. The calling and web browsing endurance was stellar, while the 10 and a half hours of video playback was solid if not quite up there with the best.
Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our battery test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating. Our battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you want to learn more about it.
Connectivity
The HTC Butterfly 2 packs a solid set of connectivity features, perfectly matching the One (M8). You still get quad-band GSM, 3G, and LTE support.
The local wireless connectivity has Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and DLNA support (both client and server, for images, videos and music) and stereo Bluetooth 4.0 with the higher-quality aptX codec. There's also an IR port that allows control over various devices like TVs and, with a bit of software help, digital cameras, AC units and more.
HTC has conveniently designed a special options screen, when you connect the Butterfly 2 to a PC. The long list of options includes Portable Wi-Fi hotspot, settings, USB and Bluetooth tethering (the phone becomes a modem).
NFC connectivity with Android Beam is available too. There's a microSD card slot too supporting up to 128GB of storage.
USB On The Go and TV Out functionality are available. That gives the HTC Butterfly 2 an IR port, USB OTG, TV Out and Wi-Fi ac over the HTC One (E8).
Reader comments
- Elia
- 05 Dec 2014
- 3V1
2 month with my butterfly 2 and no prob Just amazing device
- Anonymous
- 20 Oct 2014
- g54
I like this device and waiting to be available in my country
- Connor
- 20 Oct 2014
- YeD
Or if you like music and have it playing to get up in the mornings.. Or with your friends. It's a huge feature for me. Especially when you output your music to a Boombox and it's louder then using an ipod. It's nice.