Worth upgrading to new HTC One from old HTC One?

[Rob]

We've now seen a head to head comparison between the original HTC One (M7) and the all new HTC One 2014 (M8):
HTC One (2014) vs HTC One (2013) comparison [VIDEO]

Would you upgrade to the HTC One 2014 from an original HTC One 2013? How about if you've got a Galaxy Note 3 or Galaxy S4?

I think I'd find it hard to get the new HTC One 2014 from the old HTC One for two main reasons:

1. I like the look of the original HTC one more... it seems more slender and sleek with tighter curves and less bezel. The look simply appeals to me more.
2. The size of the new HTC One 2014 is pushing the "too big" limit for me.

I absolutely love the overall design standard of the HTC One series and if I was in the market for a phone it'd be near the top of my list... but if I already had an HTC One, I'm not sure I'd make that upgrade.

How about you? Are you facing this situation?

 

[Phases]

Well seeings how they're kinda needing something huge to pan out, I can't help but think they're going to do their best to bring it with this one - I'd sure hope they'd at least make it tempting for current One and S4 owners!

Note 3 gone be hard to beat though.

 

[Shocky]

Nope, if I was going to upgrade it would probably be to a Nexus 5 at this point in time, or maybe the LG G2 if it wasn't so ugly.

I don't like the Galaxy S5 or the new HTC One, both are too big and the features are lacking, in the case of the Galaxy S5 it has features I don't want. Snapdragon 801 just doesn't have enough of an advantage over Snapdragon 800 which has been around for a while now already

So I'm disappointed again.

 

[davoid]

1. I like the look of the original HTC one more... it seems more slender and sleek with tighter curves and less bezel. The look simply appeals to me more.
2. The size of the new HTC One 2014 is pushing the "too big" limit for me.

My thoughts exactly!

In the comparison you can see that the removal of capacitative buttons has pushed up the icon dock, because of the on-screen buttons. But the bezel is the same size!

The result is an unusually tall looking phone with inefficient use of space in my opinion.

The exact opposite of phones like the Galaxy S4 or the LG G2 which are masterful examples of optimal real estate usage.

However, I do like the fact that HTC has reintroduced the microSD! Yay!

 

[parkert]

I will surely change it

 

[sikclown]

I have upgraded my M7 for an M8. Any worries about size are dispelled for me. The new nearly all metal body contours to my hand much better without the hard edges of the M7 and while it is a little more difficult to one hand the M8 the motion gestures solve that issue (plus I don't have small hands). I could not be happier with my choice to upgrade if I tried. 128 gb SD Card FTW!

 

[sean76]

Rob I owned the HTC ONE M7, both the at&t version and the GPE, and have to say I really liked the phones before switching to the nexus 5. The look, the Feel, everything was pretty much on point. My only real gripe was firstly the camera, and secondly the battery IMO wasn't that great. But build quality was amazing and honestly thought the next iteration (M8) was going to just blow the doors of whatever I had at the time, which is now the nexus 5!

I did my homework and compared it to my nexus 5 and the only thing that held me back was honestly that camera and video recording! I can't justify dropping a $400 phone for a $700 just because its metal and I like the build quality, especially when I feel the camera and video are way better on the nexus 5. I'd honestly rather take a step back and use an M7 if I had to, mainly because of the lack of OIS on the M8 and the fact that it does make a big difference in shooting video.

I to feel its a tiny bit to tall IMO, but I could get over that quick because I have big paws. But with that great battery life and the newer flatter version of sense, coupled with superior build quality, I would have switched if the camera was better. Hopefully the M9 will address what many feel should have been addressed here in the M8.

 

[Hadron]

I have an M7 and am not upgrading to the M8, mainly because I feel no need to upgrade to anything.

But for my tastes, relative to the M7 I'd say that the M8's main plus is the SD slot (assuming that the 32GB version does arrive here) and the main minus is that it's bigger.

In the comparison you can see that the removal of capacitative buttons has pushed up the icon dock, because of the on-screen buttons. But the bezel is the same size!

I suspect that's because the marketing department insist that there's a logo on the front somewhere. I wish I were joking when I said that, but I'm not sure I am.

HTC, a suggestion: print it over the top speaker grille, rather than reserve an extra bit of space for it.

 

[Tlicious1020]

YES!

I have an M7 and am not upgrading to the M8, mainly because I feel no need to upgrade to anything.

But for my tastes, relative to the M7 I'd say that the M8's main plus is the SD slot (assuming that the 32GB version does arrive here) and the main minus is that it's bigger.

I suspect that's because the marketing department insist that there's a logo on the front somewhere. I wish I were joking when I said that, but I'm not sure I am.

HTC, a suggestion: print it over the top speaker grille, rather than reserve an extra bit of space for it.

The screen is bigger by 0.3. The phone is longer and will fit into practically anyone's hand because the back is curved. You are crazy if you think the M7 feels better than the M8. HTC did their homework. If you purchased an M7 last year and you aren't due for an upgrade just admit to it. Don't put the M8 down because you are not eligible for an upgrade. I see women walking around with S4's, and they have the smallest of hands. If a man can't carry an M8 but a woman can, there is something wrong with that picture.

 

[CrimsonPride]

I suspect that's because the marketing department insist that there's a logo on the front somewhere. I wish I were joking when I said that, but I'm not sure I am.

HTC, a suggestion: print it over the top speaker grille, rather than reserve an extra bit of space for it.

I see that complained about often, and I can understand it, but the engineers wouldn't make the phone that much bigger just to add the logo. If you have seen the teardown of the M8, you can see that the entire inside of the phone is taken up, there is no way they could fit everything in the phone without that space there. They would probably have to cut back on the speakers or camera or possibly both, so it's not like that area is there for no reason.

 

[Hadron]

YES!



The screen is bigger by 0.3. The phone is longer and will fit into practically anyone's hand because the back is curved. You are crazy if you think the M7 feels better than the M8. HTC did their homework. If you purchased an M7 last year and you aren't due for an upgrade just admit to it. Don't put the M8 down because you are not eligible for an upgrade. I see women walking around with S4's, and they have the smallest of hands. If a man can't carry an M8 but a woman can, there is something wrong with that picture.

Excuse me? I didn't put the M8 down, and why do you assume I buy phones with contracts or am tied to an upgrade cycle, and imply I was lying about why I am not upgrading? And while we're at it don't call someone crazy because a subjective opinion (how something feels) differs from yours - though if you actually read what I wrote you'll see that I didn't talk about how it felt either, just said it was bigger, and that for me this was a minus point.

You seem to have reacted very strongly to stuff that I didn't even say. Why so defensive?

Why not tell us instead why it is worth an upgrade to you? That's what we'd like to hear.

 

[davoid]

I suspect that's because the marketing department insist that there's a logo on the front somewhere. I wish I were joking when I said that, but I'm not sure I am.

HTC, a suggestion: print it over the top speaker grille, rather than reserve an extra bit of space for it.

Sadly I have the same suspicion. And I thought of exactly that solution - the logo over the top speaker grille.

I see that complained about often, and I can understand it, but the engineers wouldn't make the phone that much bigger just to add the logo. If you have seen the teardown of the M8, you can see that the entire inside of the phone is taken up, there is no way they could fit everything in the phone without that space there. They would probably have to cut back on the speakers or camera or possibly both, so it's not like that area is there for no reason.

Maybe that is the case, but if so, then why not retain the capacitative buttons in the bezel and free up more real estate on the actual display? Or even squeeze in a larger display onto the front of the phone?

 

[sean76]

YES!



The screen is bigger by 0.3. The phone is longer and will fit into practically anyone's hand because the back is curved. You are crazy if you think the M7 feels better than the M8. HTC did their homework. If you purchased an M7 last year and you aren't due for an upgrade just admit to it. Don't put the M8 down because you are not eligible for an upgrade. I see women walking around with S4's, and they have the smallest of hands. If a man can't carry an M8 but a woman can, there is something wrong with that picture.

Lol...that's pretty outlandish! Your basically saying a few of us are hating on the M8 because we can't get it because we are without an upgrade?

OK in all seriousness you need to read through the posts a little bit more and hear what people are saying, I didn't see anyone outright saying anything negative that wasn't true. Yes its a pretty nice phone, may be a tad to long for some people, but that can be overcome pretty quickly if that's the only issue, however its not, read through all the reviews out there from all the reviewers, what do they all say? Come on you know it, what did they say man? Yes that's what they said, THAT THE CAMERA IS EHHH, in the smartphone world that is code for the camera stinks!

So while I'm certainly not hating because I don't have an upgrade (which I don't) and wouldn't care anyway because I pretty much buy a lot of my phones off contract anyway, I wouldn't buy this phone if it was $500,$600, or $700 because I honestly don't feel the need to be had. And when I say had I mean that in late 2014 or early 2015 HTC will release a phone similar to this one with a better screen, the same speakers, the same metal, and include a ridiculous camera that blows this one out of the water. Reasoning for the lack of a good camera on the M8 is so that they can justify the M9 later on, pretty crappy IMO.

Listen if you own the phone, and it works for you in every area that you need, that's awesome and all that counts. For some of us either using an M7, GS4, Nexus 5, etc, we may not feel that the M8 is worth the switch, that doesn't mean we are hating, it just means that we don't feel its worth the switch. Little bit of honesty here, I'd switch if the camera was on point , so that's my reasoning.

Enjoy the phone and don't worry about what's good for others, worry about what's good for you.

 

[Rxpert83]

I honestly don't feel the need to be had. And when I say had I mean that in late 2014 or early 2015 HTC will release a phone similar to this one with a better screen, the same speakers, the same metal, and include a ridiculous camera that blows this one out of the water. Reasoning for the lack of a good camera on the M8 is so that they can justify the M9 later on, pretty crappy IMO.

Do you honestly think a manufacturer would purposefully botch a flagship release just so they can justify making a phone next year?

Especially one that is having financial troubles?

Doesn't add up.

Enjoy the phone and don't worry about what's good for others, worry about what's good for you.

Now that I can get onboard with

 

[sean76]

Do you honestly think a manufacturer would purposefully botch a flagship release just so they can justify making a phone next year?

Especially one that is having financial troubles?

Doesn't add up.



Now that I can get onboard with

Yup...

Think about it, its not really botching, its giving people just enough so that they will buy it anyway but still be have a little left to desire. Almost like being nice to people but not to nice that they take advantage of you.

Apple has done it for years with leaving little things out here and there and then addressing it with the next model, same for Blackberry, although they are pretty much done and a bad example, but I remember blackberry releasing models without WiFi and then releasing the same model months later with WiFi on board. Not a good way to do things, but apple has gotten away with it for years in other areas.

Last year HTC was in the red and needed the one to get them back into the black, they are still losing money and need some really good quarters, so they build and release the M8 which will be good enough to satisfy a good deal of people and create some buzz and then keep the M9 in they're pocket and release a phone with an amazing camera that really gets peoples attention in late 2014 or early 2015. They are basically burning from both ends of the candle.

Think about it, all the M7 people will get it, and a lot of the early adapters that got the M8 but want the better camera will find a way to buy it as well....It's a vicious cycle man.

 

[sikclown]

Lol...that's pretty outlandish! Your basically saying a few of us are hating on the M8 because we can't get it because we are without an upgrade?

OK in all seriousness you need to read through the posts a little bit more and hear what people are saying, I didn't see anyone outright saying anything negative that wasn't true. Yes its a pretty nice phone, may be a tad to long for some people, but that can be overcome pretty quickly if that's the only issue, however its not, read through all the reviews out there from all the reviewers, what do they all say? Come on you know it, what did they say man? Yes that's what they said, THAT THE CAMERA IS EHHH, in the smartphone world that is code for the camera stinks!

So while I'm certainly not hating because I don't have an upgrade (which I don't) and wouldn't care anyway because I pretty much buy a lot of my phones off contract anyway, I wouldn't buy this phone if it was $500,$600, or $700 because I honestly don't feel the need to be had. And when I say had I mean that in late 2014 or early 2015 HTC will release a phone similar to this one with a better screen, the same speakers, the same metal, and include a ridiculous camera that blows this one out of the water. Reasoning for the lack of a good camera on the M8 is so that they can justify the M9 later on, pretty crappy IMO.

Listen if you own the phone, and it works for you in every area that you need, that's awesome and all that counts. For some of us either using an M7, GS4, Nexus 5, etc, we may not feel that the M8 is worth the switch, that doesn't mean we are hating, it just means that we don't feel its worth the switch. Little bit of honesty here, I'd switch if the camera was on point , so that's my reasoning.

Enjoy the phone and don't worry about what's good for others, worry about what's good for you.

I completely disagree about the camera being Mehhh and not everyone is saying that. Everyone, however, does agree that if you intend to blow your photos up to crop, etc you will not be happy with the detail. 2464 x 1632 is more than I will ever need for great shots on Social Networking and my PC (they even look great on my TV). So in that regard this camera works for me. I think where the belief that people are hating is coming from is the multiple posts about every negative thing people can find about the camera when they don't own nor are they ever planning on owning the phone. Keep in mind, this is a forum and I understand the reason everyone is posting that stuff is to fully inform everyone else of the shortcomings that people are finding with the device; That is the beauty of a forum. For what it's worth I have been walking around putting the M8 through it's paces right alongside my N5 and I will pick up the M8 first everytime for everything, including pictures. Totally a personal preference thing but I get better pictures out of the M8 hands down. Perhaps my HTC bias bleeds in (I have had almost every Sprint HTC phone since the Mogul), perhaps my experience with HTC lends towards my taking better pictures with their software because I am so familiar with it, Who knows, I cannot say. Maybe I have a terrible eye for pictures? I am willing to concede to all of the above. But the reasons I upgraded are the following (and all MY opinion):
1) Faster all around
2) Sexier
3) 128 GB SD Card
4) Improved Camera in so far as color, quality, and the flash is 30x better (yes no OIS but that rarely affects my needs)
5) Motion Gestures: they may seem like a gimmick but they work for me 100% of the time now (learning curve)
6) Zoe: Yes this is the camera but if you have never used it you don't know just how handy and fun it is. After a year with the M7, I will be hard pressed to have a phone without it.
7) Improved RF all around (Sprint version): Holds onto LTE Signal longer, higher data speeds, improved reception, faster stable wifi, etc
8) Sense 6: It seems like a small thing but each new generation of Sense gets better and better for me. I love Vanilla KitKat (I have a Nexus 10, 7.2, and 5) but Sense really just does it for me.
9) The most important thing for me..... Battery life! Now this one is definitely a personal thing. I have always had HTC devices whose battery lives are usually mid level to bad. So if you are comparing one of the longer lasting models than you aren't going to be as impressed but I haven't put this thing down and I am generally between 20 and 40% when I plug in at bedtime. No power saver, no radios or features turned off, tons of screen time and use. This thing sips power.
10) I am a gadget whore. I know it and I own it.

 

[sean76]

I completely disagree about the camera being Mehhh and not everyone is saying that. Everyone, however, does agree that if you intend to blow your photos up to crop, etc you will not be happy with the detail. 2464 x 1632 is more than I will ever need for great shots on Social Networking and my PC (they even look great on my TV). So in that regard this camera works for me. I think where the belief that people are hating is coming from is the multiple posts about every negative thing people can find about the camera when they don't own nor are they ever planning on owning the phone. Keep in mind, this is a forum and I understand the reason everyone is posting that stuff is to fully inform everyone else of the shortcomings that people are finding with the device; That is the beauty of a forum. For what it's worth I have been walking around putting the M8 through it's paces right alongside my N5 and I will pick up the M8 first everytime for everything, including pictures. Totally a personal preference thing but I get better pictures out of the M8 hands down. Perhaps my HTC bias bleeds in (I have had almost every Sprint HTC phone since the Mogul), perhaps my experience with HTC lends towards my taking better pictures with their software because I am so familiar with it, Who knows, I cannot say. Maybe I have a terrible eye for pictures? I am willing to concede to all of the above. But the reasons I upgraded are the following (and all MY opinion):
1) Faster all around
2) Sexier
3) 128 GB SD Card
4) Improved Camera in so far as color, quality, and the flash is 30x better (yes no OIS but that rarely affects my needs)
5) Motion Gestures: they may seem like a gimmick but they work for me 100% of the time now (learning curve)
6) Zoe: Yes this is the camera but if you have never used it you don't know just how handy and fun it is. After a year with the M7, I will be hard pressed to have a phone without it.
7) Improved RF all around (Sprint version): Holds onto LTE Signal longer, higher data speeds, improved reception, faster stable wifi, etc
8) Sense 6: It seems like a small thing but each new generation of Sense gets better and better for me. I love Vanilla KitKat (I have a Nexus 10, 7.2, and 5) but Sense really just does it for me.
9) The most important thing for me..... Battery life! Now this one is definitely a personal thing. I have always had HTC devices whose battery lives are usually mid level to bad. So if you are comparing one of the longer lasting models than you aren't going to be as impressed but I haven't put this thing down and I am generally between 20 and 40% when I plug in at bedtime. No power saver, no radios or features turned off, tons of screen time and use. This thing sips power.
10) I am a gadget whore. I know it and I own it.

I completely agree with everything you said about the phone, for the exception of the camera being better then the N5. But if it works towards your needs its a very justifiable purchase. And after testing the M8 right along side my N5 I came away with one conclusion, I need OIS these days when shooting video. If it was just for say still shots, I could probably live with the M8. The interface is awesome, the filters are very cool, and my belief is that sometimes its the photographer and not so much the camera taking such good pics, I've gotten some awesome pics from my nexus 4, M7, and now the nexus 5 that people would say no way those cameras stink.

But for me and being in the fitness business and shooting a lot of video at a moments notice I just feel the nexus 5 and even the M7 beat the M8 in that area, otherwise I would have bought it already.

 

[sikclown]

I completely agree with everything you said about the phone, for the exception of the camera being better then the N5. But if it works towards your needs its a very justifiable purchase. And after testing the M8 right along side my N5 I came away with one conclusion, I need OIS these days when shooting video. If it was just for say still shots, I could probably live with the M8. The interface is awesome, the filters are very cool, and my belief is that sometimes its the photographer and not so much the camera taking such good pics, I've gotten some awesome pics from my nexus 4, M7, and now the nexus 5 that people would say no way those cameras stink.

But for me and being in the fitness business and shooting a lot of video at a moments notice I just feel the nexus 5 and even the M7 beat the M8 in that area, otherwise I would have bought it already.

I completely understand that. The M8 does not have a feature that you have become accustomed to and use in your day to day work. If the M8 did not have something that was important to me I would look elsewhere. And by no means was I saying the N5 camera stinks, I just prefer my M8 over it. I have figured out that some of it comes from being so used to 16:9 that the 4:3 (which I am aware is actually better for pictures, especially printing) just looks off to me. Anyway enough about the cameras. I am an equal opportunist Gadget Whore, I have no ill will against any device that I haven't owned and only a little towards some of the past ones that I have owned; I am looking at you Palm Treo.

 

[Tlicious1020]

M8 Reviews:

Battery Life - Stupendous

Screen - Amazing (Just like the M7, even in daylight)

Processing Speed - Breathtaking

Feel in Hands - Fits like a glove

Operating System - Runs smooth like baby oil

Overall Experience - If you have an M7 and upgrade to the M8, you won't pick up your M7 again.

When I hear complaints about bezel, logos, or a camera this forum is headed downhill. What happened to complaints about cell phone battery life? Oh, HTC has burned the competition with the M8!

 

[sean76]

I completely understand that. The M8 does not have a feature that you have become accustomed to and use in your day to day work. If the M8 did not have something that was important to me I would look elsewhere. And by no means was I saying the N5 camera stinks, I just prefer my M8 over it. I have figured out that some of it comes from being so used to 16:9 that the 4:3 (which I am aware is actually better for pictures, especially printing) just looks off to me. Anyway enough about the cameras. I am an equal opportunist Gadget Whore, I have no ill will against any device that I haven't owned and only a little towards some of the past ones that I have owned; I am looking at you Palm Treo.

Agreed! OMG...I owned all the Treos, those were fun days, remember when they put windows on that bad boy? For the time the Palm Treo 650 and 700 were the phones to have.

 

[SolApathy]

HTC defends bezel...

HTC exec defends the One M8′s infamous black bezel bar

I think they were just taking advantage of real estate that had to be there anyways, though I would have preferred capacitive buttons there with the HTC logo stamped somewhere else

 

[KOLIO]

Current FLEX & G2 owner,former HTC ONE (M7) & NOTE 3 owner here.

If I had not owned any of the listed phones,the M8 would be near the top of the list,easily over the S5.

Granted,the new contour for a better grip/feel-in-hand & addition of SD Card slot are commendable improvements over the M7.

But,knowing what the M7 offered,I'm not seeing enough new/must-have features to burn a "JUMP" for.
Also,as the OP stated,I actually like the looks of the M7 quite a bit more than the M8.

As I stated somewhere else in this forum,should a M8 MAX version hit the street,it'll get more than a look from me.

 

[SolApathy]

Primary reason I am upgrading to the M8 from my M7:


-Battery life
-Quick Charge 2.0 being released
-Extreme battery saver mode
-External SD support

 

[SolApathy]

OIS still is not very common on cell phones. Unfortunately the dual camera setup makes it very difficult and cost prohibitive to implement. Most people that need OIS are like me and have the high end SLR cameras with a nice zoom lens and a tripod to ensure steady shots.

I think the higher megapixel front camera is a bold move. In the age of selfies and those times when you want to take a nice shot of yourself with someone else (when no one is around) it is a great idea at minimal cost to HTC. Sure it's a gimmick...But it's not a bad one in my opinion

I don't understand why HTC did not release a higher resolution rear ultrapixel cam, but if I was to guess I would say they are still trying to work out the bugs in the 4UP sensor before jumping to a higher resolution camera that may not perform as advertised. I would speculate a 8UP camera for next year. This is still a relatively new adaptation that has only been out a year.

 

[sikclown]

I think the review from Android Authority sums it up perfectly:
"
And so, there you have it, our review of the HTC One (M8). While expectations were understandably running high, for the slew of flagship updates available this year the operative word has truly been “update.” And the HTC One (M8) is an example of a proper evolutionary step. Sure, specifications aren’t groundbreaking, or all that different from other high-end smartphones launched recently. What HTC has done instead is focus on the user experience, crafting a stylish device that appeals to fans of the original One, while providing new users with an accessible and attractive package. Granted, the camera might be a wrinkle in an otherwise great smartphone, but it’s far from a deal breaker.
What you get with the HTC One (M8) is a phone that I had a lot of fun with while using it as my daily driver, and I’m sure you will as well."