HTC One X+ Review

Introduction:

The HTC One X+ is a decked-up version of the One X, which shipped as the first phone with a quad-core processor back in the spring, but arrived on US soil with a dual-core Snapdragon S4. With the One X+, both the US and international versions sport a 1.7 GHz quad-core Tegra 3+ processor.

The upgrade was necessitated by the competition going into the holiday season, and with the most generous internal memory amount from all flagships at launch, Android Jelly Bean, plus the upgraded processor and battery capacity, the One X+ can stand its ground against threats like the Galaxy S III or the Optimus G. Does the upgrade warrant the higher price, though? Read on to find out...

In the box

• Wall charger
• microUSB cable
• In-ear stereo headphones
• Warranty and information leaflets

Design:

The curved unibody chassis introduced with the One X stays absolutely the same in the One X+ - it fits your palm nicely, and the cascading side bezel makes the front look seamless. Thanks to the polycarbonate housing the handset is very light and also pretty thin, with firm grip allowed by the soft-touch finish. We had the black version, which is a finger smudge magnet on the back, and there are also gray and white variants, like with the One X.



You can compare the HTC One X+ with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Since it is unibody design, the only openings around the sides are the MHL port on the left, the audio jack up top, and the micro SIM card ejector hole on the upper back. As for the rear, the only thing sticking out is the camera module, ringfenced in red to match the Beats logo at the bottom.


The capacitive keys underneath the display are also painted in red to match the overall accent style, and are responsive to the touch. The metallic lock/power key at the top is almost flush with the surface, so accidental press chances are taken to a minimum, but the volume rocker on the right is flush too, which makes it a bit difficult to feel and press when you are not looking.

There is a higher resolution 1.6 MP frontal camera now, capable of HD video recording, which is much clearer than before, and a helpful LED notification light next to it, indicating missed calls, messages or charging status.


Display:

The excellent 4.7” S-LCD 2 display hasn't changed, which is good, since it is probably in the top three of high-def LCD mobile screens. It is a 1280x720 pixels HD panel, bringing pixel density to 312ppi, meaning crisp text and discernible details.

The strength of this display lies in its high brightness, while visibility outside is improved by a seemingly low screen reflectance, too.

The LG Optimus 4X HD is brighter, for example, but reflectance is high outside, and thus its screen compares worse. Low screen reflectance helps the AMOLED displays of the Galaxy S III and the Note II outside as well, despite that they are fairly dim compared to the LCD ones, yet only the Note II is comparable to the One X+ outdoors, as the S III screen brightness is too low.

Compared to the best LCD screens, the One X+ fares about equal with the in-cell touch panel on the Optimus G, but the same tech in the iPhone 5 yields better results, thanks to the bright screen, coupled with one of the lowest reflectance ratios of any mobile screen.

When we add the good color representation, high contrast and excellent viewing angles, the HTC One X+ screen is close to the best out there. It is now protected by the thinner and less brittle Gorilla Glass 2nd edition.