PhoneArena is looking for new authors! To view all available positions, click here.

HTC One Review

Review index

Posted: , by Victor H.

Categories:

Share:

Discuss167
HTC One Review
Call quality:

Call quality is of paramount importance and on the HTC One it is excellent. Sound coming from the top speaker grill (it doubles as an earpiece) is loud and clear. On the other side of the line, our callers reported the same saying our voice was easily recognizable with its natural tones.

The HTC One has dual microphones for noise cancellation which works very well, isolating side-noise on a busy street with little of that getting in the way.


Battery life:

The HTC One features a 2300mAh battery that is supposed to get you through a single day of moderate use. The bright and big display, though, and the quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor are a bad combination for those craving battery longevity. In our hands on experience the phone has just enough juice to get you through the day. We will update this section with more exact details shortly.


Conclusion:

HTC wanted a comeback and it brought its best with the HTC One. It is a brilliant device in virtually every aspect. Coming with a beautiful aluminum body that fits almost organically in the hand, it has a great and vivid, extremely sharp 4.7-inch screen. The stereo front speaker bring a small revolution in smartphone sound that you’ll appreciate instantly when you hear it. Performance is flawless on the new Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip.

HTC took a huge risk with the HTC One UltraPixel camera going against all trends for increasing megapixel count. The results however are not so bold. The camera shoots good but not great photos.
That’s far from being a deal-breaker, though, it’s just one area where HTC will have to put even more effort in the future.

Right now, the HTC One is one of our favorite Android smartphones - gorgeous, powerful, HTC has improved in all the right places and is ready for a fight. Samsung, it’s your turn now.

Pros

  • Gorgeous aluminum design
  • Brilliant 4.7-inch 1080p display
  • Stunning, rich-profile sound
  • Buttery smooth performance

Cons

  • UltraPixel is a bit too hyped up, camera is good but not great
PhoneArena rating:
9.1
User rating:
9.5 45 Reviews

Check prices

Carrier New Contract Contract Extension Add a Line Phone Only  
$149.99 $149.99 $149.99 $639.99 Buy

Share:

Discuss167

167 Comments

  • Options
    Close




Want to comment? Please login or register.

1. Topcat488 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:05 72 2

Looks good! I really love the front speakers...

7. GTR722 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:15 21 53

Desing is perfect, UI is horrible, need a new launcher asap

55. jsdechavez posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:50 10 4

I actually like the Metro -inspired UI... I'll port this to my Xperia!! haha

103. preet27in posted on 15 Mar 2013, 09:45 14 4

idiot have u used it?> how come ui is horrible? htc has worlds best and simple ui. no match for it nywhere. now its sense 5.0 which again is at top.

123. bojan posted on 16 Mar 2013, 20:46

HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z vs LG Optimus G

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01HRtUD5oJc&list=UUNnlZWj9jwMI3BgFdwqE-uA&index=1

124. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 04:25

I can see some framse being dropped on HTC One, but overall it makes a better video than Xperia Z. The LG doesn't even compare.

131. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 09:56 2 8

My predictions for the New HTC One (2014):

Low power 5" FullHD SLCD4 with user preference software keys
Sapphire screen for screen protection
Carbon-titanium infused aluminium unibody, Zero gap design
Symetric organic design, like a mix of One X and One 2013
Stereo front facing speakers with built-in amplifiers
Power button up top, centered, double as IR blaster
Hand power technology to wake the phone without using buttons
Left side of power button SIM tray
Right side of power button SD tray
Right side of phone features a volume rocker
Bottom right side a camera / user selected action button
Docking pinns of the left side of the phone
Standard coin size indentation for "kickstand" feature on the left back side
Bottom left side a headphone jack
Bottom right side USB/MHL
Floating touch interface and gloves-on usability
5MP Ultrapixel camera with dual LED / xenon flash
Advanced optical stabilisation system
2.5MP HDR, wide-angle camera front facing camera
HTC logo in between the speaker holes and on the back
Top of the line CPU/GPU Quad-core 2GHz
3GB RAM DDR3
32GB option only (but with SDXC support)
3000mAh battery (non-removable, Li-Po)
Wi-Fi, Wi-Di, BT,GPS, GLONASS, IrDa,
Thermometer, barometer, gyroscope, ect...
Eye Sense screen timeout and auto rotation feature
Loads of other usefull software Sense features
Physical dimensions same as HTC One 2013

145. mydi.maus posted on 20 Mar 2013, 07:51 3 1

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DREEEAAAAMM,...DREAM DREAM DREAM..

171. WakaFlakaD posted on 02 May 2013, 00:25 1

No way people should thumb this down. While it might not come anytime soon, but it is my very ideal device as well.

Camera button!!! I feel like this is always being overlooked at. Xenon flash is always welcome (How I miss my Nokia n82 from back in the days)

I don't mind paying $800 for this to be honest

142. JEverettnow posted on 19 Mar 2013, 14:18 2

I have never been a fan of any HTC ui. I think its all personal preference when it comes to Touch Whiz Vs. Sense, but IMO Touch Whiz has always felt more complete and smooth compared to Sense.

158. thelukewarm posted on 26 Mar 2013, 19:47

the design is impeccable, the front speakers are fairly powerful, but the UI is not horrible, to me it seems to be a mixture of WP and iOS

167. trexnkrumpets posted on 16 Apr 2013, 23:52

with blinkfeed and the simpler ui? :) I find WP8 a mix between android and iOS. (Much more stable than android, but more customizable than iOS) I just want to be able to customize app drawers/folders than only limited filing for games,dang-nab you MICROSOFT!

169. xuan3 posted on 28 Apr 2013, 00:13

LOL Seriously? Sense is horrible? Go use a Nokia then. Sense is so much better than other UIs, and you think it's horrible. GENIUS.

9. samsunggalaxylover posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:17 32 84

the samsung galaxy s4 will beat it easily.

11. Mxyzptlk posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:23 21 39

Yeah right

111. Jonathan41 posted on 16 Mar 2013, 04:09 2 5

We finally agree on something!

21. Droid_X_Doug posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:30 38 3

If the GS IV is basically a warmed-over GS III (aka GS IIIS), HTC gets some breathing room. Sammy will ultimately sell more GS IVs, but HTC gets a solid opportunity to play against the Sony Z, LG, and other non-Sammy Android phones. I might even swap my GS III for a One if it is available on VZW. I won't be trading my Note II, however.

50. Evil_SaNz posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:37 21 3

The sad thing is that Samsung is considered like "Apple of android"; even if another android device will be by far superior of the galaxy franchise people will still think that sammy does the best android phones. Power of ads and persuasion...think out of the box :)

56. McLTE posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:52 8 5

lets be clear here.. while the One shapes up to be a great phone, there's nothing "FAR superior" about it.

It has some great features for sure, but I'd put them both on a fairly equal playing field. Lack of removable battery and SD card slot KILLS the phone for me though I realize some may not care.

92. 007akshay posted on 14 Mar 2013, 21:25 3 1

but the tru fact is s4 in great in features ,ui interface,battery,software,big screen......htc is grt in design camera innovation., n d speakers................ these features cant be done by apple so dont compare android mobiles to iphone......iphones r lik same s**t overpriced

165. HDShatter posted on 08 Apr 2013, 19:44

(inb4 downvotes)

Sorry HTC, the international s4 is a more powerful device than the one. The Exynos 5 is better than the snapdragon 600. Simple as that. It also has ddr3. But sense does look much better than it used to. Beats touch wiz any day but on my s4 (international) I will just root and use custom roms, which the HTC one can't do till they unlock the bootloader.

166. chocolaking posted on 10 Apr 2013, 14:34

The S4 is COMPLETELY no match to the HTC ONE.
Stop dreaming..

46. jsdechavez posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:27 1 15

Samsung just might one up the HTC One with an even lower megapixel count!! hahaha

48. RiseAgainst94 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:32 1 8

And maybe even the same miserable low light photos! :D

51. bhagi108 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:40 1

wake up dude! stop sleeping on the lap of Maya.

52. therealestmc posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:43 2

Can you elaborate on that?

60. NokiaFTW posted on 14 Mar 2013, 14:01

It might beat it , but not easily .

13. Droid_X_Doug posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:23 19 2

If nothing else, HTC has moved the bar for flagship smartphones. Props to them. I hope they have success with the One. In the U.S., if the One truly does ship on VZW, they might manage to pull off a successful product. Especially if the GS IV is actually a GS IIIS.

16. THE-ONE (banned) posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:25 1 1

Let's wait and see.

58. McLTE posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:54 2 1

From what I've seen they haven't really raised the bar on flagship phones.. Joined the party? Absolutely!

I sincerely hope HTC has success with this phone and they can give Samsung a run in the future. Having 2 big players in the Android world would be great for us consumers!

I'm still a bit shakey on HTC having seen my wife with her few.. I absolutely love their idea of front speakers though. I HOPE HOPE HOPE that catches on!

20. RiseAgainst94 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:28 19 1

Brilliant phone. A real contender. Hope it does well.

78. amiroo posted on 14 Mar 2013, 15:39 20 1

wowwwww 9.1 of 10..
exellent job htc..this is realaty of htc ability..

perfect phone for perfect people..
go HTC;)

82. AnTuTu posted on 14 Mar 2013, 16:24 13

If Sammy is going to disappoint me (according to leaked images n videos) I am so getting this champ then.

Well done HTC keep up the great work.

99. Dynamac posted on 15 Mar 2013, 04:09 2 4

The biggest problem with the One is it's strategy.

1. HTC spends alot of money on the premium quality and good looks, but doesn't provide the marketing resource to make the masses recognise it (the people that want premium quality and great design aka iPhone fans), so it didn't sell well to them.

2. It doesn't have things like user replaceable battery, mSD slots, fastest system, upgrades or efficiency for power and tech users that care about these things, hence they didn't buy it either.

As such, with all its positives, the phone sold poorly. I fear HTC hasn't learnt it's lesson yet.

129. Ardoleon posted on 17 Mar 2013, 09:54 2

Sold poorly? Are we reading the same release date here? I thought it had barely been announced and already it has "sold poorly." I guess you must be psychic.

143. tha.fox posted on 19 Mar 2013, 16:05

I see your point to a certain extent. BUT if you do your research HTC in 2012 was #1 company to update their phones the fastest. Look it up you are wrong. Also My droid DNA is more power efficient then my razr, razr maxx, nexus 4 by alot, galaxy nexus, lg spectrum, and the same or better than my s3. The reason HTC did bad last year is because Apples Import ban on the HTC One line last year that everyone seems to have forgotten and it held off release till after the s3 launched and it screwed up their sales. I ported the One to my dna and it slaughters Nature UI in every aspect

128. amiroo posted on 17 Mar 2013, 05:46 1

i think sooo..i waiting for one..
s4 is big deal but i expect more than saftware of suepr phone..i feel a defect about s4 ..not good body quality..not good design..
in ui s4 keep the way same old Version i dont like repeatation..
sense 5 come to ring by great Revolution in that case of design and functinally..
about screen im not sure which one is better btw one and S4..
about sound and speaker i ithink any phone cant beat one.
about harware both of great..dont different in use.
about camera i think one is better Such we can see in same different site..but still im not sure for this so.
about design its clear which ones flag up.
about battary one`s test is tooo great when phonearena test it..s4 seems to be better but one is perfect and maybe it enough for many users.
(this idea is Personal)

130. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 09:56 1

My predictions for the New HTC One (2014):

Low power 5" FullHD SLCD4 with user preference software keys
Sapphire screen for screen protection
Carbon-titanium infused aluminium unibody, Zero gap design
Symetric organic design, like a mix of One X and One 2013
Stereo front facing speakers with built-in amplifiers
Power button up top, centered, double as IR blaster
Hand power technology to wake the phone without using buttons
Left side of power button SIM tray
Right side of power button SD tray
Right side of phone features a volume rocker
Bottom right side a camera / user selected action button
Docking pinns of the left side of the phone
Standard coin size indentation for "kickstand" feature on the left back side
Bottom left side a headphone jack
Bottom right side USB/MHL
Floating touch interface and gloves-on usability
5MP Ultrapixel camera with dual LED / xenon flash
Advanced optical stabilisation system
2.5MP HDR, wide-angle camera front facing camera
HTC logo in between the speaker holes and on the back
Top of the line CPU/GPU Quad-core 2GHz
3GB RAM DDR3
32GB option only (but with SDXC support)
3000mAh battery (non-removable, Li-Po)
Wi-Fi, Wi-Di, BT,GPS, GLONASS, IrDa,
Thermometer, barometer, gyroscope, ect...
Eye Sense screen timeout and auto rotation feature
Loads of other usefull software Sense features
Physical dimensions same as HTC One 2013

155. amiroo posted on 25 Mar 2013, 17:01

one`s camera is best..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut-ObhDELP0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5NFpddZ958

ultra pixel simply is best innovation this year.

2. fanboy1974 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:07 29 3

Another win for Android!

Note 2 owner.

3. Dimitru posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:07 29 3

the best from HTC !!!

36. cloud_atlas1991 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:58 1 25

The camera is on par with the best out there but I'd still go for iPhone 5 in terms of this spec.

42. RiseAgainst94 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:10 3 2

Flip that and maybe you have an argument.

4. gdesmo posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:10 15 1

Looks promising

28. tusshharish posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:40 3 6

but what about camera??????????

47. GuitarPlayer posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:28 1 6

Ok, nice phone, BUT in pocketnow review you can see that lumia 920 have much better camera for fotos and videos.

49. rizevnarastek posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:35 3 5

It's exactly pocketnow.com where you can obviously see the One's camera is better. The colors are natural and the picture looks good. As do the videos.

54. GuitarPlayer posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:49 7 4

What!? you must be kidding. Lumia camera much more sharper and versatile!

125. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 04:32 2 2

Yes, sure.... you must know photography.

The color reproduction is way better on One than 920.
Even on a cropped photo the letters are a bit more visible on the One. Sharpness is good enough.

On the second note, Lumia 920 is a WP8 so it makes it kinda irrelevant in this comparison.

5. spideyhead256 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:13 6

I'm glad to hear that their are gonna be only two storage variants available and they would be 32 gb and 64 gb.all that boomsound and beats audio wouldn't matter if the phone doesn't have sufficient space.and not all of us have (or want to have) our music backed up on the cloud.

22. ghostnexus posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:30 4

I also agree anything lower than 32gb would not be enough

6. REYNER posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:13 11

woah!!! breath-taking review i think i like this phone! seriously im considering it to be my next big thing! LOL! now s4 impress me!! you still have the chance to make me change my mind!

8. nostarwhere posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:16 6 28

Unimpressive, can't find anything to wow!

38. iDroid8 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:59 15 2

First with 450+ ppi
Ultrapixel camera
Rare device with front facing stereo speakers
Awesome design
Fresh UI
What else do you want?

40. proto posted on 14 Mar 2013, 13:08 5 1

450 ppi... Meh 441 or450+..there is no difference
Ultrapixel camera is nothing spectacular.

Fronfacing stereo speakers
Awesome design
Fresh UI
On that, we can agree

83. Berzerk000 posted on 14 Mar 2013, 16:26 3

The initial quality of the One's camera isn't bad at all, though nothing to flaunt, it's still pretty nice. However, where it really excels is in low light performance, which is what the Ultrapixels were intended to do anyways.

Here;

http://pocketnow.com/2013/03/13/htc-one-vs-nokia-lumia-920-camera-comparison#!prettyPhoto

Go down to the extremely low light category. You can see that the One did an amazing job at lighting up a dark subway tunnel, and is very comparable to the Lumia 920 in that regard.

126. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 04:35

The best photo comparison is in the diner, where the One's photo seems to look worse but in fact it is really better. 920 has fake color and fake white-balance. The rednes visual on One's photo was exactly like the setting was and that's what matters in a photo.

10. siluro posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:19

So the camera on the HTC one would be between which phones would you say? I'm really hoping to get a pretty decent camera on my next phone....

127. rizevnarastek posted on 17 Mar 2013, 04:36

Not between. On the top is more appropriate. Smartphone-wise of course. ;)

12. _Bone_ posted on 14 Mar 2013, 12:23 7

Cool review, the One gets the highest score since the Galaxy S3 and looks deserved.

One minor thing: I don't think you can remove BlinkFeed or even stop it refreshing pages, you can only remove content but it will still take memory and one home screen of the pack. From what I understand it only pulls updates from a very limited numbers of sources which is a pity, because it looks good but isn't the all-around feed engine as the W8 tiles. Otherwise everything seems to be in place.

Want to comment? Please login or register.

Hot Phones

  • Samsung Galaxy S4Samsung Galaxy S4
  • Apple iPhone 5Apple iPhone 5
  • Samsung GALAXY Note IISamsung GALAXY Note II
  • HTC OneHTC One
  • Sony Xperia ZSony Xperia Z
  • Google Nexus 4Google Nexus 4
  • LG Optimus GLG Optimus G
  • Nokia Lumia 920Nokia Lumia 920