HTC One review: To rule them all

22 March 2013
Arguably one of the most exciting pieces of smartphone design in recent times, the HTC One is also properly powered and flaunts a screen that should please even the most demanding eyes...

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  • c
  • con
  • 0rN
  • 23 Mar 2013

Awesome. This one beats ANY competitor at the moment for me. The only real competitor for this is galaxy s4, but i hate galaxy series for their cheap build quality and dull design.
S-LCD 3 is the best option the market can offer right now, no amoleds can match it. And I really like the front speakers, i heard on youtube how they sound, and it's stunning. Low light camera performance will also come in handy. Battery seems also good, at least better than xperia z, but i'm not sure about gs4.
I could't care less about the removable battery, the build looks and feels much better when it is non removable. As for the SD card slot, of course it would be an advantage. But since you can get up to 64 GB internal, it's not an issue for me.
All in all, i'ts a perfect piece of hardware and design.

    • B
    • Bone
    • M{4
    • 23 Mar 2013

    I love what the HTC One has to offer, but here's why I'll pass on it: ONE OUT OF FIVE UltraPixel sensors pass quality test in manufacturing which means it's up to pure luck whether you get a barely greenlit module of possible problems or a proper working one, thx but I won't take it.

    It also doesn't help that the Galaxy SIV camera beats the One overall with extremely sharp and detailed 13MP images at mid and good light conditions, coming pretty close in low light, and that's the only supposed advantage of the HTC considering the SIV is faster, more packed, has a larger screen and battery, SD slot and all sorts of extra sensors while it has a smaller, lighter body, and 4.2.2 out of the box.

    As far as Aluminum beauty goes - LOVE IT! - you'll put the One in an ugly case upon buy so there goes the looks, as well as expandable storage, replaceable battery and wireless charging, not very PRACTICAL.

    I'd rate the One 9/10 but all those manufacturing issues and the competition considered, I do not recommend taking the risk over a trusted Galaxy where you know EXACTLY what you're getting. And whether you like this post or not, this makes sense if you're about to spend $600+. Look beyond the looks, and make the most logical choice of your preference.

      • d
      • david
      • PU0
      • 23 Mar 2013

      The HTC one comes with 32G and 64G internal storage.I suppose that it is sufficient for most of the users.In term of display quality,the One is much better than Sony xz which suffers from bad viewing in consequence of the use TFT screen.I really get fed up with the plasticky of Sammy...I think that I will go for HTC this time round due to its innovative design.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 0xa
        • 23 Mar 2013

        Really good phone...too bad that cam is not so good in light environment. Other than that i like it very much.
        Also, knowing HTC, they will make + version in a couple of months which might have better battery, sd card and maybe even better cam and snapdragon 800...time will tell :)

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • vaN
          • 23 Mar 2013

          Owngoal, 23 Mar 2013Yes a fixed battery IS a disadvantage. If I have a heavy ... moreI odnt care about the battery, but SD card slot is a must have, 32GB just is not enough and i have already offered people to bet against me that the One will not be available in 64GB versions in most of the world.

          32GB belongs in 2008, thats when N97 came out, AND it had a card slot in addition. Of course N97 was not a smartphone, but the N900 was, it came out in 2009 and had 32GB plus cardslot, and i easily filled up mine even if there was no HD video recording or FHD Video playback in those days.

          How many minutes of Full HD to fill up One? Pathetic, they are slashing their wrists with this continued stupidity, all the way up to the elbow.

            • D
            • AnonD-77852
            • gDK
            • 23 Mar 2013

            This phone is just the complete package. It has awesome build quality, magnificent screen, great camera (especially lowlight and OIS) and almost incredible battery life (10hrs of Web browsing, 10hrs of video playback...) I'd recommend purchase to anyone I know.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • jCQ
              • 23 Mar 2013

              Owngoal, 23 Mar 2013Yes a fixed battery IS a disadvantage. If I have a heavy ... moreThe need to charge more than 1 battery is a disadvantage to me. I prefer a battery that is good enough to at least get to the end of the day under all usages. My phone is left with 90% battery after a full day with minimal use. And on days where I'm constantly using GPS, camera, web, games etc, all on a network connection, it's never gone flat on me.

                • y
                • yeah
                • 0xD
                • 23 Mar 2013

                Striker, 23 Mar 2013Dear gsmarena, non-user replacable battery is NOT a disadva... morejust because many manufacturers don't provide replaceable battery in their smartphones doesn't mean it's not a disadvantage.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-122895
                  • tu6
                  • 23 Mar 2013

                  The good battery sells me out. I have seen enough other tests to convince me that camera is very subjective to reviewer's way of using it.

                    • O
                    • Owngoal
                    • mqx
                    • 23 Mar 2013

                    Striker, 23 Mar 2013Dear gsmarena, non-user replacable battery is NOT a disadva... moreYes a fixed battery IS a disadvantage.
                    If I have a heavy use day i'm going to run out of juice before I get home...so I carry a spare.
                    And no SD card slot rules this phone out as a media phone. Less movies to play in hotels, less high quality music, less maps for satnav. Micro SD cards are cheap and easy to deal with.
                    And the i-phone hasn't been the top mobile for quite some time...Samsung anyone?

                      • D
                      • AnonD-124677
                      • pJQ
                      • 23 Mar 2013

                      all of you who saying s4 is plastic, i bet you have plastic cover on your metal phone

                        • S
                        • Striker
                        • 0EV
                        • 23 Mar 2013

                        Dear gsmarena, non-user replacable battery is NOT a disadvantage. It is the 21 century and since 2007 the top-selling smartphone in the world does not have a replacable battery as well.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-80761
                          • MrG
                          • 23 Mar 2013

                          Actualy, +10 db is perceived by the human ear as 'double sound volume'. To achieve +10 db, you need 10x the power.

                            • D
                            • Dan uk
                            • 3Ax
                            • 23 Mar 2013

                            played with this handset at work, excellent piece of kit

                              • q
                              • qwer
                              • TXH
                              • 23 Mar 2013

                              Photo quality is really poor. Last year I was considering to buy HTC phone but this year HTC is very quickly out of the game.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-73681
                                • 0ZJ
                                • 23 Mar 2013

                                One to rule them all, hahah, very nice title!

                                  • G
                                  • Gabor
                                  • 05Z
                                  • 23 Mar 2013

                                  Getting better low light shots should be much more valuable for most people, then getting higher resolution good light pictures. My 5mp Nexus S camera makes ok pictures in good light. Its things like indoor shots at home, or pictures with friends at a pub, which come out really poor with phone cameras. When showing pictures to people they barely ever zoom in, so getting very fine details is not really important. But getting a usable picture in any situation should be the really important thing for most people. And thats exactly what HTC ONE does.

                                    • a
                                    • ali
                                    • 0p5
                                    • 23 Mar 2013

                                    Perfect phone for perfect people.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-128152
                                      • mHw
                                      • 23 Mar 2013

                                      Anonymous, 23 Mar 2013The One has 2 main advantages over other flagships. But sad... morei agree. speakers are a nice gimmick as highlighted in the latest TV ad here in the uk. in reality they are wasted and won't be used. not only that but you can hear audio 'clicking off' each time something stops playing

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0I4
                                        • 23 Mar 2013

                                        really something must have gone wrong with the speaker test, it shouldn't be that low i believe