The HTC One M8, the follow-up to its hit flagship phone the One, was revealed by the company today and is now available in North America. The One was credited as the reason HTC is even still around, which is high praise, and the first wave of reviews from those who have had the successor device in their hands is generally very positive.
I covered the main specs of the One M8 earlier today when it was revealed, but let's dive in and see what reviewers thought of the device as a whole, both positive and negative--though there are only a few complaints.
CNET 8.7/10:
"The Good: The HTC One M8's sumptuous aluminum body makes a beautiful background for this top-flight smartphone's brilliant 5-inch display. It runs on a powerful quad-core processor and Android KitKat, the stereo speakers deliver excellent sound, and the depth-sensing camera brings a ton of useful features.
"The Bad: The One M8's battery is not removable, making it harder to replace once the battery inevitably wears out. The phone's sealed chassis is not water-resistant, and the One M8's photos look less sharp than competitors'."
"The Bottom Line: Elegant style, raw power, and sophisticated features make the HTC One M8 an excellent smartphone choice for anyone but the most exacting photographer."
Tech Radar 5/5:
"The HTC One (M8) is a brilliant smartphone with very few flaws. Its main strength is design, but I don't think that's a negative thing as many brands still seem keen to race on specs rather than attracting users when they wander into a shop to a buy something for two years (at a rather high price). It doesn't really skimp on specs though - even the weaker camera has some rationale behind it, rather than something to apologise for - and the audio capabilities, be it the Boomsound speakers or the music reproduction, are excellent.
"You could say that, Duo Camera aside, there's no real headline feature of the HTC One (M8), but that would do it a disservice as the brand has made a phone that really impresses at nearly every turn."
The Verge 8.5/10:
"There are a lot of great Android phones on the market right now, but two stand out: the Nexus 5 and the new HTC One. The Nexus 5 is Google's purest vision for Android, the One the platform's most mature and developed form.
"I desperately wish it took better pictures, and I'm reluctant to buy or recommend it until it does, but I like absolutely everything else. It's fast, long-lasting, does everything a phone should, and does it all with totally unparalleled class and style. From motion gestures to the Dot View case, it has genuinely new, genuinely useful features. It may not outsell Samsung and the relentless marketing sure to follow the feature-rich Galaxy S5, but HTC executives say they don't care. They say they just want to build a phone for people who like nice things."
Gizmodo (No Score Given):
"Overall, the new HTC One is a terrific device. It's not without its faults, but the pros far outweigh the cons. If you buy it, you'll probably be very happy with it, but if you're not absolutely desperate to buy a phone right now, hold off for a couple of weeks until we've had a chance to do a full review of Samsung's forthcoming flagship, the Galaxy S5 and Sony's new Xperia Z2.
BGR (No Score Given):
"It is considered poor form to begin a review with the conclusion, but there's really no reason to drag this out: the HTC One (M8) is the best Android phone the world has ever seen. Period. Full stop. Of this, there is no doubt. In many ways, in fact, it is the best smartphone the world has ever seen. From the design of the device to the power of its components and everything in between, HTC's new One better than its predecessor. And its predecessor, as you might recall, was the best all-around Android phone the world had ever seen last year."
