HTC ONE M8 2014 First Look Review - Androidizen

HTC ONE M8 Review 2014 First Look we are showing you all the new features of the HTC One M8 Review in our in-depth first look review.

For starters, here at Androidizen we're photography fiends, so we're pretty pleased the HTC One M8 has a snazzy 5in full HD screen with a 5mp front facing camera, and HTC have included an extra camera sensor to the rear to offer new focus editing of your images later.

So what will we be getting for our money? The HTC ONE M8 is £549 at Carphone Warehouse without a SIM which is quite a hefty amount if you want it off contract and let's face it, many of us do because we like to change our smartphones when a new one bounces on to the market.

First off, the 1080p screen is matched with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and there's 32GB of built-in storage which can be increased to 128GB using the MicroSD slot. There's 2GB of RAM which is a little underwhelming compared to other devices offering 3 or 4GB

The most novel addition, when you look at the device, is the duo camera on the rear which has a depth sensor and the 4.1 Ultrapixel sensor. The front facing camera is 5mp which is pretty good. If you fire off a blurry picture then the set-up means you can refocus them using the advanced photo tools as well as cut out and paste parts of images into other pictures.

For operating system HTC have gone for the HTC Sense 6.0, on top of Android 4.4 KitKat.

Music buffs will like the amplifiers on the dual front facing stereo speakers which automatically pick out the vocals or bass and adjust them to improve playback and prevent distortion. We're looking out our heavy metal tracks as we speak to give the HTC One M8 a good workout. We'll let you know if our ears survive the experiment.

We're always on the run so it's good that our new M8 will turn on even if the phone is locked so we can see notifications or the time with one tap of the screen, although if you really want to, you can also press the power button on top of the screen, but really, why would you?!!

There's nothing worse than being about to shoot off a dozen frames of cat video to find that your battery is dying so we're delighted that the Li-Po 2600mAh battery has 20 hours of life. We'll be testing that out for sure in the next few days.

As far as physical handling goes, the 5in screen is a bit harder to hold than earlier versions and the touch buttons have been moved from the front of the handset so they are software based. Might take a bit of getting used to for current HTC One users.

We're already selecting our wardrobe to match our Glacial Silver handset. If that clashes with your hair then Rose Gold and Gunmetal Grey are the other options. It's a bit classier looking than the plastic Samsung Galaxy S5, it has to be said!

To keep your new smartphone looking pristine you'll be able to choose from a variety of custom cases in seven colours including red, pink, orange and green. We think the pink one will be awesome with Gunmetal Grey. These cases have tiny holes so when you tap the case you can see a limited display of the time and notifications without fiddling around and opening it.

Rivals to the HTC One M8 include the Samsung Galaxy 5

As far as rivals go, the most similar smartphone currently on the market will be the Samsung Galaxy S5. Both devices have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, the front facing camera on the new HTC One M8 is 5mp against the Galaxy's 2mp but pricewise, there's not a lot of difference. All these phones are weighing in at around £549 sim-free.

For once, we'll be getting our hands on the HTC One M8 here in the UK before our M8s in the US. It looks like the global roll-out may end in the US around April 10.

Keep checking back for our full review of the HTC One M8 later this week. ****

The Androidizen

[WarhammerPlayer]

Hey all here is our First Look review of the HTC ONE M8 the 2014 flagship from HTC. We will be bringing you an even more in-depth look over the next week for now you will have to make do with 1 hour :-) Let us know in the comments if you want to see anything particual tested from games to apps and features.

[M.I.]

I love your reviews! They are nice, long and detailed! :D

[Rych]

Fantastic review, as a previous HTC user (switched to nexus 5) its good to see HTC delivering a brilliant looking phone

[Wortho]

Thanks for a thorough walk through of the phone as I just got one in Australia on the Vodafone Network. Am excited to finally have a 4G phone.

[nazmamajib]

This is very important and helpful vedio for all HTC ONE M8 users. Here described all kind of first looking impression and full detail about the Htc One M8 .

[mahmoudmossalami]

I suggest you time-code super-long videos like this, since the video is great but it is rather annoying to search through a whole hour of video before you find the part you want ;)

[alancalvo]

Thank you for this video gentlemen.

I've been able to upgrade my phone since December but held back for the release of the S5 and M8. Whilst completely underwhelmed by the initial S5 preview videos I've been excited by the release of this phone. Can't wait to see more videos of you putting it through its paces....

I hope it lives up to all expectations but if not ..the lg g3 is not too far away :) but deep down I think I've all ready made my mind up about this phone... It shall be mine :)

[edgadavids]

You could not have timed this any better :) I am due an upgrade on my HTC One X today. I will be picking this phone up for sure.

[ibenzawla]

This is actually a very good review. Far better than other so called expert reviews. On to the point and in a way that everybody can understand. I must admit that the British are very good at explaining stuff in the English language. About the phone, I must say that I commend the HTC for giving their unique hardware and software design. Really stands out. I tend to disagree that a smaller RAM means some how slower performance. It all depends on how it is laid out thats Lumia phones have smaller specs but still has a far smoother UI than some Android phones like SG4, Note 3 and the LG G2.

[mamasaliu]

Great review thanks, M8 or Galaxy S5 which one would you upgrade ?? I'm upgrading next month not sure which one to choose ...

[paulb]

I just subscribed after watching this whole video, Id love to see more of this phone, could you please take a video at a concert to see what kind of microphones come in the M8? The M7 had the HAAC mics that were great, until they got sued by Nokia and had to stop production of them, would love to know what they got replaced with. Thanks! Keep up the great work. Will be watching your videos from now on.

[StickyGeko]

Excellent review, sub! Can you test the call quality.... Lots of reviewers seem to miss this out, I used to have blackberries which had amazing call quality.... I moved to the s2 and then the n4....both have awful call quality... N4 especially has a poor mic. Thanks

[wilstid]

Hey, pretty review!!! Just 1 hour hahaha... Thanks Androidizen god job!

[TreBpro]

Can you please tell me how much storage the phone used before you installed any apps?....thx!

[anonemys]

Great vid and review, was in two minds whether to go for this or wait for note4, after your review kinda settled on waiting.

Like you outlined it's only 2gig ram plus the lag in games, wasn't really expecting that where all the rivals amping it's devices.

Great too see it's bloat free apps.

(Can you do a vid in showin transferring music on to the device. On the last years m7 I had a terrible experience, I use iTunes usually to sync my stuff to iphone, so when I used the m7 the htc software was very buggy. When I put music in manually as in drag in drop using my computer explorer some of the album art didn't get through and stuff) knows the is unusually request but if you get time will be nice

[dabears]

Where are you from? Its just interesting that you say haych instead of H. Great video btw

[byronvisiado]

Man an 8 Ultrapixel camera on the back would've made this PERFECT! As it stands though...it's still the best phone ever haha
 

[ryant]

Looks like a great device! Although I am disappointed by the on screen home/back button, it seems like such a waste of real estate, especially with the boom speakers. Also this is coming from a Galaxy user...

[Ambious]

Btw, I would love to see the dedicated HTC Music app and the Car app! The HTC Car app in previous versions was always far superior to ANYTHING on the market, including 3rd party car apps.

[JonasDhont]

is the silver-color the same as the m7? I think the gunmetal-color is more glossy...