HTC M8 User reviews - Thoughts on your device? Battery usage/life? -Issues/comments

hilmar2k said:

What if removing the bezel and making the phone smaller meant the battery capacity would decrease? That 2600MaH battery has to go somewhere.

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That might be the case, but the Galaxy S5 and the LG G2 both have larger battery capacities but are smaller phones. And they both have larger displays.

M8: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm with 2600mAH and 5.0" display

S5: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm with 2800mAH and 5.1" display

G2: 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm with 3000mAH and 5.2" display

And the Galaxy S4 had a 2600mAH battery and 5.0" display and had an amazingly efficient use of real estate:

S4: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm

Admittedly none of these other phones have front-facing speakers, but the M7 did. It might be that the new louder speakers require more space?

But why not cover that extra space with screen real estate instead of bezel, if you are going to be using on-screen buttons anyway?

I really don't see the point of the bottom bezel on the M8 - they could have updated the M7 by removing the bezel and increasing the size of the screen.

davoid said:

Admittedly none of these other phones have front-facing speakers, but the M7 did. It might be that the new louder speakers require more space?

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I do think the speakers are the real culprit. Same issue on the M7. Getting those speakers and their amps into the phone requires space. While the extra size isn't ideal, the speakers are amazing (better than even the M7). A trade-off I am willing to make.

Also, the phone doesn't feel big. It's a bit heavy, but sized just fine. Goes right in my pocket and feels great in the hand.

hilmar2k said:

Also, the phone doesn't feel big. It's a bit heavy, but sized just fine. Goes right in my pocket and feels great in the hand.

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This might seem like an odd question but how does it do in a front jeans pocket when bending over (as to tie a shoe, etc)? I already have some bindage going on when I do that with my G2 and the extra length of the M8 that concerns me. Maybe it's not enough to make much difference idk.

I guess I don't understand the big hang up about a phone camera. We all have our priorities, is what it comes down to, I guess. The quality of the camera was never a consideration for me for any of the phones under my name..., as I don't use my phone camera for anything more than quick snaps of unimportant things for sharing on social media sites. If I'm taking "real" photos, I still use a "real" camera.

Again, I understand what we all have our priorities, I'm just having a hard time understanding the "deal breaking" that a phone camera has. I've never seen a phone camera that impressed me to the point that I think that they could replace a "real" camera.

That said, it looks like the M8 will be my next phone. It's been a while since I've had HTC, and I prefer sense over touchwiz. I think the M8 is a fantastic phone and will serve me well for the next year. I'm going to look at it now.

Justin

hilmar2k said:

As for the bezel, I initially thought I wouldn't like it, but the size is fine. It is only marginally bigger than the DNA, which has the same size screen. What if removing the bezel and making the phone smaller meant the battery capacity would decrease? That 2600MaH battery has to go somewhere.

Click to expand...

davoid said:

That might be the case, but the Galaxy S5 and the LG G2 both have larger battery capacities but are smaller phones. And they both have larger displays.

M8: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm with 2600mAH and 5.0" display

S5: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm with 2800mAH and 5.1" display

G2: 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm with 3000mAH and 5.2" display

And the Galaxy S4 had a 2600mAH battery and 5.0" display and had an amazingly efficient use of real estate:

S4: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm

Admittedly none of these other phones have front-facing speakers, but the M7 did. It might be that the new louder speakers require more space?

But why not cover that extra space with screen real estate instead of bezel, if you are going to be using on-screen buttons anyway?

I really don't see the point of the bottom bezel on the M8 - they could have updated the M7 by removing the bezel and increasing the size of the screen.

Click to expand...

And the Droid Maxx
137.5 x 71.2 x 8.5 mm
3500 mAh

blows that theory out of the water. I didn't upgrade from the Maxx HD to the MAXX the phone is needlessly big, but still smaller then most of the ones posted above AND has a bigger battery and 5" screen and capacitive buttons (would prefer onscreen to shrink phone size).

EliC said:

And the Droid Maxx
137.5 x 71.2 x 8.5 mm
3500 mAh

blows that theory out of the water. I didn't upgrade from the Maxx HD to the MAXX the phone is needlessly big, but still smaller then most of the ones posted above AND has a bigger battery and 5" screen and capacitive buttons (would prefer onscreen to shrink phone size).

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The one thing I'll say about the MAXX (I had it for a couple of days, hated it), is that the phone is the same thickness across the entire back. The M8 has the curved back. The edges of the M8 are way thinner than the 8.5 mm thickness of the MAXX.

Again, I do think the speakers are what's taking up the extra room. My point was, the current battery may not fit if you make the phone smaller while keeping everything else the same.

hilmar2k said:

Again, I do think the speakers are what's taking up the extra room. My point was, the current battery may not fit if you make the phone smaller while keeping everything else the same.

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The speakers are big. They aren't a priority for me (and based on HTC sales, not many people). Would gladly forgo the speakers personally.

Me too, maybe next year they'll listen and do something about the camera. Allot of reviewers are still giving it high scores despite the cameras shortcomings though.[/QUOTE]

I'll stick w my g2 a bit longer

EliC said:

The speakers are big. They aren't a priority for me (and based on HTC sales, not many people). Would gladly forgo the speakers personally.

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I don't think the speakers has anything to do with the sales. The HTC ONE won many awards last year and is HTC best selling phone ever. The legal battles they face the last few years is whats hurting them.

I think HTC is on the right path. They need to establish that one phone that represents the company. Samsung and Apple have that one recognizable phone the whole world knows. Their phones don't change mush yearly as well. Every year they do a slight refresh.
Marketing and advertising is also key. I hope HTC can get it together because design wise they are one of the best if not the best.

Good morning, I just been reading this thread. It seems the most talked about feature of the M8 is the bezels. Ok I'll go back to China and leave you guys to it.

Saw a couple posts about slow download speeds so I went to the verizon store and played with an M8 for a few minutes. I also ran a speed test on it imgur: the simple image sharer (pic of results) . The results were 15 times faster then what I get on my Galaxy nexus. As far as the camera, I just took a couple simple photos. The pictures are fast, but when you zoom in it starts to become more pixilated faster than even the GS4 that was sitting next to it that I used for comparison.

Overall I'd say the phone is fast, camera is ok not great but serviceable, I'm a fan of sense UI, yes the bezel feels like wasted space (although supposedly it is necessary and I'm sure you wouldn't notice it after a month), I liked both the gun metal and silver, and the screen seemed crisp (although I didn't try with polarized sunglasses).

YY1334 said:

I liked both the gun metal and silver, and the screen seemed crisp (although I didn't try with polarized sunglasses).

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You and I think alike. I wear polarized sunglasses all the time and I've been known to throw them on in the store just to be sure.

Good to hear a hands on review. I need to get to the store and do the same.

Best "all around" android phone I've owned based on the initial 3 days using it. Battery is fantastic, Sense is super smooth and extremely fast, build quality is uncomparable, and the call clarity is fantastic. I am not super impressed with the camera, not nearly as good as my LG G2, but I am loving the phone so far. The tap and swipe to wake/sleep features are great, and I'm glad they didn't try to incorporate a fingerprint sensor on this model. 9.0/10 in my book compared to the LG G2, S4, M7, and Maxx which were all phones I've had in the last 12 months.

redenfield said:

Best "all around" android phone I've owned based on the initial 3 days using it. Battery is fantastic, Sense is super smooth and extremely fast, build quality is uncomparable, and the call clarity is fantastic.

9.0/10 in my book compared to the LG G2, S4, M7, and Maxx which were all phones I've had in the last 12 months.

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THX for the review,much appreciated.
If you have a BLUETOOTH headset (make/model), have you had a chance to make a phone call using it, & if so,how's the call quality on both ends?

I really don't understand the hate on the bezel

Why does it matter? The phone looks great, feels great in your hand, has awesome hardware, and I haven't had a complaint yet.

I loved the camera on the HTC One, with the exception of no flash low light pictures, which turned out awful and with a purple haze. We'll see if this does anything different with that via software, I'll let you know as I play around with it more.

The One took the best daylight condition photos out of the last generation phones. Catching a C-130J's propellors damn near perfect while the aircraft is in flight, great shots of some interesting places around the world, beautiful Hawaiian sunsets, etc.

The complaints I had with the last generation of One: Battery & SD Card, easily. I always have access to chargers, so battery wasn't a big deal, but sometimes Sprint is awful (ok, a good chunk of the time), and I was living really close to their world headquarters Putting everything on the cloud doesn't work when it bounces back and forth between LTE/3G at will. This phone seems to stick to LTE more often than not, I'm heading out into the boonies tomorrow, so I'll see how it works in the middle of nowhere with spotty 3g coverage at best.

If anyone wants me to try anything specific, let me know

KOLIO said:

THX for the review,much appreciated.
If you have a BLUETOOTH headset (make/model), have you had a chance to make a phone call using it, & if so,how's the call quality on both ends?

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I paired it with my BMW today and have made several calls. The last call I made, my employee didn't realize I was in the car. With my Samsung, people would ask me to speak up, or ask if I had the window cracked. Haven't used it with a headset, but based on my experience in the car today I would say it should be solid.

redenfield said:

I paired it with my BMW today and have made several calls. The last call I made, my employee didn't realize I was in the car. With my Samsung, people would ask me to speak up, or ask if I had the window cracked. Haven't used it with a headset, but based on my experience in the car today I would say it should be solid.

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Hmm, good to know. Man I might get swayed on this phone yet. Looking better all the time.

I use Bluetooth in my car for music streaming and haven't had issues. I also have 24% left after nearly 16 hours on battery. Rather heavy use too considering I just got the phone 2 days ago.

frijolez said:

I really don't understand the hate on the bezel

Why does it matter?

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Large bezels amount to a larger, heavier device given the screen size, which is then harder to fit in pockets and operate one-handed. The One M8 is larger and heavier than an LG G2 but has nearly 1/4" less screen real estate. This may not matter to you, but it does to some people, and these aren't irrational concerns or "hate" on bezels. To each his own.

redenfield said:

9.0/10 in my book compared to the LG G2, S4, M7, and Maxx which were all phones I've had in the last 12 months.

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How would you say the screen compares to the LG G2 in terms of contrast, color and viewing angles? The G2 has an awesome screen, but then so did the One M7.

Bluetooth call quality has more to do the the BT headset being used then the phone. More important is the call quality of the phone itself, especially in noisy environments.

Samsungs phone in particular have had very poor call quality in my experience, though I never owned the S4. Hopefully the HTC 1m8 is better here.

BRG Issues with M8

BGR, which love the HTC One even agrees the phone is to big and the camera is lacking.

After a full day with my M8 on Sprint I am completely impressed. I am coming from the OG One and love the improvements. The camera actually is improved over last years model and takes the kind of photos I need which is to say great daytime photos and excellent low light photos. Of course if you are using your phone to print out photos, blow them up, etc then you want something else. The radios all seem to be incredibly improved as well. I get better LTE and WiFi performance and calls are clear. There is one spot on my drive home where no matter what I did, if I was on the phone the call dropped (Sprint and Nola have some issues). I have driven through that spot twice now while on the phone and no dropped call! The phone feels amazing in the hand and build quality is top notch. Everywhere I have been in the past 24 hours, when I have had the phone out, someone will ask to see my phone and they are blown away. Apps open instantly, web browsing is faster, and the motion gestures work perfectly every time. The biggest thing I am loving is the significantly improved battery life. Typically I was at around 50% battery life by noon and had to plug in when I got home around 5:30 as I was always around 15%. Yesterday after fully charging the phone I went from 7 AM to around Midnight and had 38% battery left. That was with heavier than usual use as well (And I use my phone non-stop at work normally) test all the features out, taking pictures, etc. Could the next LG or SG5 or Sony be better than the M8? Absolutely. But this One is mine. Buy the phone that has what you need.

CafeKampuchia said:

Large bezels amount to a larger, heavier device given the screen size, which is then harder to fit in pockets and operate one-handed. The One M8 is larger and heavier than an LG G2 but has nearly 1/4" less screen real estate. This may not matter to you, but it does to some people, and these aren't irrational concerns or "hate" on bezels. To each his own.

How would you say the screen compares to the LG G2 in terms of contrast, color and viewing angles? The G2 has an awesome screen, but then so did the One M7.

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Can't say I see any difference from my LG G2 and the new M8. The screens on any of my recent android phones have been fairly similar - this is no exception.

Well I did my diligence yesterday and visited VZW to give the M8 a real run through because honestly the look and feel of premium metal was beginning to take hold of this nexus 5 owners hands...And even though I knew going to to at&t would be a wasted trip I decided to shoot to VZW and if all was well was going to just order one from at&t and give the premium handset a whirl the next few months.

After a few minutes with the phone the tallness disappeared and it felt right at home in my hand, that cold metal feel for a phone is just awesome for those who don't use a case, really looks and feels like a super premium made device, I'd call it the Bentley of phones right now, truly feels awesome. And honestly sense looks and perform fantastic, no hiccups , no heavy overlay feeling, just very nice & simple with a twist of HTC mixed in. To me it just felt super snappy and on par with my nexus 5.

I knew going over there that that 4MP shooter was on board and just figured with all the enhancements on board and my desire to have Zoe on board and to be able to piece some awesome clips together for my business within seconds, that I'd be able to over look the shooter. And with still shots I honestly could after taking a bunch of pics and saying to myself this isn't so bad and maybe HTC did work some magic here?

All that went away when I tried to shoot a video. Let's just say that whatever auto focus hoopla is going on in that sensor is terrible pain and simple, mix a notion of no OIS on board and the outcome is not usable for me. Video came out really bad and took me pressing on the screen to focus a ton of times with just a minute long video, plus the video was jumpy and the sun peeking into the store just couldn't get phased out? All in all, it was just a bad video experience all together and seemed more like a sensor issue then anything else. They can work all their magic that they want over there at HTC, but the bottom line is that without (OIS) optical image stabilization your going to get a pretty crappy video clip. When compared to my nexus 5 the difference was just night and day, while the sound on the M8 was superb, the actual video was quite horrible and not at all worthy of being attached to a 2014 super phone...HTC you almost had me, the hardest of stock android fan in me almost made the leap.