• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

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

Dunno if it is because it is a quality phone or I am coming from the dreadful One X (which almost put me off another HTC handset in all honesty) or a combo of both but, after 24 hours with the phone, yeah I'm well pleased.

1 - It is swift, not done anything on it that it has stuttered with, it is smooth and quick.
2 - The gestures are great. Double tap to wake, swipe for Blinkfeed etc. Also loving the fact I don't need to hit answerto pick up a call, just lift it to my ear.
3 - Speakers are the best I have had from a mobile device, bar none.
4 - Sense, coming from the One X (can't remember which version that had) is now much better and much more refined. I usually hit up Apex or Nova off the bst but I think Sense will do me fine for now.
5 - The build quality is excellent and there are no issues with screen flex or flicker or weak WiFi, all of which I suffered with the One X.
6 - Call quality seems much improved, although I dunno if that is the phone or the fact that I have gone from T-Mob to EE (I know it's the same network).

Seen people complain about the bezel, the size, the camera... the first two worried me slightly, but after using it, it feels good in the hand and the camera... well I have a camera for taking proper photos, my phone camera is purely used for odd snaps out and about and it seems to do the job fine, although I have not fully tested it.

Happy punter here and this has restored my faith in HTC somewhat.

I have never used the M7 so I can't compare it to that but, I would say if you are coming from another, older handset, the M8 is worth it.

*I now await a fatal malfunction at which point I will be back to badmouth the device and HTC :p
 
Upvote 0
I've looked at a couple of Oppos, not seen the Find 7 yet though. Build quality is very nice, but what put me off somewhat is their ColorOS, which is a Chinese Android variant. Are they officially available outside of the PRC?

As far as I understand, yes, the Find 7 will be offered outside of the PRC. Per Oppo's site, they will be offering two variants - an international model and a model for Mexico & the US. Both of these variants support LTE, with the Mexico/US version supporting the known US LTE bands. The 7a, which is a slightly less spec'ed version (1080p screen, 2GB RAM, 16GB memory, 2800mAH battery), goes up for pre-order on April 7th.

Looks like you'll be able to purchase the phone through Oppo directly or through Amazon and other online retailers.
 
Upvote 0
Dunno if it is because it is a quality phone or I am coming from the dreadful One X (which almost put me off another HTC handset in all honesty) or a combo of both but, after 24 hours with the phone, yeah I'm well pleased.

1 - It is swift, not done anything on it that it has stuttered with, it is smooth and quick.
2 - The gestures are great. Double tap to wake, swipe for Blinkfeed etc. Also loving the fact I don't need to hit answerto pick up a call, just lift it to my ear.
3 - Speakers are the best I have had from a mobile device, bar none.
4 - Sense, coming from the One X (can't remember which version that had) is now much better and much more refined. I usually hit up Apex or Nova off the bst but I think Sense will do me fine for now.
5 - The build quality is excellent and there are no issues with screen flex or flicker or weak WiFi, all of which I suffered with the One X.
6 - Call quality seems much improved, although I dunno if that is the phone or the fact that I have gone from T-Mob to EE (I know it's the same network).

Seen people complain about the bezel, the size, the camera... the first two worried me slightly, but after using it, it feels good in the hand and the camera... well I have a camera for taking proper photos, my phone camera is purely used for odd snaps out and about and it seems to do the job fine, although I have not fully tested it.

Happy punter here and this has restored my faith in HTC somewhat.

I have never used the M7 so I can't compare it to that but, I would say if you are coming from another, older handset, the M8 is worth it.

*I now await a fatal malfunction at which point I will be back to badmouth the device and HTC :p


Best quote I heard all week about the malfunction...classic!

Glad your enjoying your phone, the build quality compared to the one x is like night and day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: C21Realtor
Upvote 0
People are complaining about the camera. Completely ignoring the glorifying reports from us about the battery. I think we all use our phones more for the other features that tax the battery. At least when you need to take a picture with the M8, you will have the battery power to do it.

I don't like the gunmetal color, but I still love the overall experience of the phone. Most people who want a BMW or a Honda will buy one. I'm going to pick this flaw to complain about. Do you work in the film industry as a cameraman? Let's compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. If you aren't a cameraman I can't take your opinion seriously. Most buyers don't have a clue about OIS...LMAO.

My vehicles don't have bluetooth but I get compliments on the inside and outside of both vehicles.
 
Upvote 0
I ran my M8 for 3 days, and just couldn't do it anymore. It's a great phone. Feels solid, great screen (sort of, more later), phenomenal battery life, Sense 6 is great, etc. But, I just missed my DNA. For some reason, I prefer the DNA, a lot. Can't explain why, but I returned the M8 and don't miss it.

Now, about the screen.... It's awesome, as long as you don't wear polarized sunglasses. If you do, you simply cannot see the screen in portrait mode. You can tell the screen is on, but other than that, it's useless. I am not sure why anyone would use a screen like that, but that alone was a deal killer. I wear polarized sunglasses whenever outside or driving during the day, so it would be a real pain. Had they chosen to orient the screen the other way so it was visible in portrait but not landscape, that would have worked. But since portrait is the natural orientation of the phone, it has to be viewable that way with polarized sunglasses.

Hopefully my DNA's battery holds up until something else comes out....
 
  • Like
Reactions: SolApathy
Upvote 0
I'm buying the M8 for my wife so I'm putting my money where my mouth is.

I bought myself the Lenovo k910 vibe z (dual sim, pentaband) and all the whizbang software (battery saver etc) has always been on the k910. For $300 less I'm ecstatic. I'm extremely reliant on my phone for business and hated the idea of no external sd and 'only' 16gb on the my Lenovo, but I haven't missed a beat. I'm on Tmobile usa and with standard pentaband, Google Drive is my sd card on 3g (8mb download and 2mb upload average).

Performance wise? 35,331 on antutu and 34,486 on antutu x.

I'm still buying my wife an M8 and may even buy the dual sim version for myself when it comes out. But for now I can't see what it has that my K910 doesn't (with $300 extra in my pocket).

Beware and do some research, the new 'bring your own phone' has changed the game and the sweat shops in China are producing some amazing phones for half the price of what's available in the US, UK or anywhere.
 
Upvote 0
So battery usage. I don't know how heavily I use my device compared to others so I will compare to my experience with the One X.

Today was my first 'normal day' with the phone and whilst I won't go into the specifics of what I do with my phone (cause it's irrelevant really to everyone else) but I would get home from work with the battery at between 40-45% with the One X. When I got home today, using the M8 in the same way, the battery was at 74%.

I would even say I used the M8 a little heavier as I was checking Blinkfeed, whereas on the One X, I would rarely check any news apps during the day.

Hopefully that continues.
 
Upvote 0
So battery usage. I don't know how heavily I use my device compared to others so I will compare to my experience with the One X.

Today was my first 'normal day' with the phone and whilst I won't go into the specifics of what I do with my phone (cause it's irrelevant really to everyone else) but I would get home from work with the battery at between 40-45% with the One X. When I got home today, using the M8 in the same way, the battery was at 74%.

I would even say I used the M8 a little heavier as I was checking Blinkfeed, whereas on the One X, I would rarely check any news apps during the day.

Hopefully that continues.

Must be those HTC battery elves giving you all that juice. I am going to test out power saver mode a little more. In all honesty, I feel like I can always leave 3G on with the way this phone runs. But I can't receive the signal inside my building at work anyways. I think it does well on 4G too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Granite1
Upvote 0
Must be those HTC battery elves giving you all that juice. I am going to test out power saver mode a little more. In all honesty, I feel like I can always leave 3G on with the way this phone runs. But I can't receive the signal inside my building at work anyways. I think it does well on 4G too.

:D

Elves or not I am happy.

Also worth noting I have the screen at full brightness, which I never done with the One X.

It may even out over time, dunno if this thing needs to calibrate or not, but happy enough so far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Granite1
Upvote 0
:D

Elves or not I am happy.

Also worth noting I have the screen at full brightness, which I never done with the One X.

It may even out over time, dunno if this thing needs to calibrate or not, but happy enough so far.

You are coming from an older HTC phone. People say it's not an upgrade from the M7. I see the difference in my M8 vs my M7. It's like night and day. The M8 does battery power better than the M8, that's for sure.
 
Upvote 0
:D

Elves or not I am happy.

Also worth noting I have the screen at full brightness, which I never done with the One X.

It may even out over time, dunno if this thing needs to calibrate or not, but happy enough so far.

You are coming from an older HTC phone. People say it's not an upgrade from the M7. I see the difference in my M8 vs my M7. It's like night and day. The M8 does battery power better than the M7, that's for sure.
 
Upvote 0
OK, I'm 4 days into this phone and I do not regret it coming from the powerhouse that was the EVO 4G. Yes the EVO is a 4 year old phone and it still did what I needed it to do but age and abuse forced me to upgrade. I'll break down the features that are important to me and I will address the camera since that is what everyone is hung up on. Keep in mind I am coming from an old phone.

1. Speed. When I upgraded my Hero to the EVO I noticed an increase in processor power and speed, going from the EVO to the One M8 is an even bigger jump from that. I haven't been able to bog it down and it plays CPU intensive games with ease, I don't have to wait for anything with this phone.
2. Display. It looks damn good, pictures look great on screen and blinkfeed is new to me but so far I like seeing all the news stories that interest me on one screen. It's fluff but it is fluff that I don't mind and find at least some value in. Viewing angles are great but I miss the kickstand.
3. Calling. I thought the sound was a bit low, even when cranked up all the way. I use my phone in noisy environments often for work. Given the rave reviews of the Boom Sound speakers I expected to be taking calls in noisy environments at half volume instead of cranked up all the way.
4. Music. I was impressed that the stock media player was able to play my entire iTunes library without being converted. It downloaded album art and everything, the visualizer had lyrics for some of the songs in my library which I didn't expect. It even translated some Japanese artists songs to English. I really like the headphones that shipped with the phone, they block out all outside sounds and give a good full sound experience. The Boom Sound speakers filled our work laboratory with sound and I had to turn them down to have a conversation with co-workers.
5. Sprint 4G LTE. At this time I have only used it in my home area but I did notice a speed increase when browsing the web. I can't tell if this is due to the LTE network or just the increased processor speed.
6. Sleep Screen Gestures. This seems to work pretty well some of the time. In my pocket it doesn't activate the phone but out of my pocket it seems to work well some of the time. If the phone has been asleep for a few minutes or longer I need to double tap the screen once before it accepts the next sleep gesture.
7. Camera. Keep in mind I am coming from an EVO here, but damn this thing takes some great low-light pictures. I took a picture of my yard in the pitch black (no moon) and while the quality was what you woudl expect of a low light picture it was the best I had ever seen in those conditions. If I want a good picture I will still use a dedicated camera but for a phone I was impressed. The built in faux photoshop is fun to play with and the camera takes pictures very quickly. If you are just sharing your camera pictures online this is fine.
8. Build. It feels good in my hand, a bit big but much thinner than my friends phones, including iPhone. One thing I miss coming from an EVO is the kickstand. I wasn't sure if I would like the headphone jack being on the same side of the phone as the charging port but it is fine.

One thing I noticed is this phone interferes with my non-shielded cubicle stereo system more than the EVO did. I imagine that is due to the LTE. Four days into this phone I am happy and I might regret getting my wife the S5 instead of another M8 since she likes taking pictures and editing them right on her phone before facebooking them.
 
Upvote 0
The SIM card also intrigues me, can I take my CDMA Sprint phone to England and actually use it when we go next summer? I'll find out when the time comes.

Just a bit more: I used my original HTC One in England, and across Europe last year, as well as the middle east, and Japan without issues. It won't work unless you call and get the UICC unlocked or something. I had no problems doing it, and I've been a Sprint customer for 12ish years.

I'm rocking a 64GB SD card right now.

My only complaint is that I'd like to remove blinkfeed. I've never really gotten into it :(


Comparing it to the OG Evo is pretty funny though, that's like 5 generations of phones ago :p

That was a monster when it was released, one of the best phones I've ever owned.


edit- I love the dot view case. I ordered it from Verizon's website (only person who had it in stock), and have played around with it for a couple days now, and it's just neat. It feels good, it fits well, and the front of the screen is just awesome.
 
Upvote 0
My only complaint is that I'd like to remove blinkfeed. I've never really gotten into it :(

You can do this easily one of two ways which are actually the same. Long press on an open area of any home screen and choose manage home screens. Then scroll over to your Blink feed, highlight it and press remove. The other way is to long press an open spot on a home screen and choose add apps and widgets. The at the top of the screen scroll over to Blinkfeed, long press on it and then drag it to remove. Worth noting it still reserves that spot on the far left for blink feed but it is gone for now.

Edit: or the third way above my post. All are exactly the same but get there differently.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TooHip
Upvote 0
People are complaining about the camera. Completely ignoring the glorifying reports from us about the battery. I think we all use our phones more for the other features that tax the battery. At least when you need to take a picture with the M8, you will have the battery power to do it.

I don't like the gunmetal color, but I still love the overall experience of the phone. Most people who want a BMW or a Honda will buy one. I'm going to pick this flaw to complain about. Do you work in the film industry as a cameraman? Let's compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. If you aren't a cameraman I can't take your opinion seriously. Most buyers don't have a clue about OIS...LMAO.

My vehicles don't have bluetooth but I get compliments on the inside and outside of both vehicles.


Seriously??? People have opinions on a very large basis, and Yes some do not like certain things, or feel the need to like something just because you do, its nothing personal, its just an opinion.

Your using a professional cameraman analogy? That's good, are you a professional phone reviewer? Probably not, neither are a lot of us, were consumer tech people who enjoy the tech world. So because you say a phone doesn't need OIS, does that mean your right? No it means you don't need it, I'm sure you get the point.
OIS is not a gimmick, its something I have had on my M7 and my nexus 5 and if you read or watched a lot of the reviews on the M8 the camera is a serious serious hot topic, and for the most part a lot of reviewers do not like the camera, but that is there opinion. I can either choose to side with them or use my own judgment.

As for me, my friend has had the phone a few days now, he's not a tech nerd, he's coming from a Galaxy Nexus on VZW and his thoughts are this... He likes everything about the phone except the weight, says its too heavy, but that's his opinion, he's entitled to it, and to note...He thinks the camera is pretty good and super fast and he'll most likely never shoot a video, so he doesn't need OIS, or a better camera, yet he's now obsessed with the S5 because he thinks it will weigh half as much, again.. his opinion.

Everyone has one man, its just the way it is.
 
Upvote 0
Good post. I had a question; when u mentioned the power saver mode, did u have it on all the time or only after it dropped to 15%?

Only ask bcuz I've been getting about 11 hrs on mine. Better than my S3, but not as good as others on here.

I don't run Power Save all the time. It comes on automatically when the phone hits 15%. You can't stop that happening but you can turn it off when it does.

I noticed no difference to performance when in that mode - but then again I don't play games etc where it may have some affect.

Surprised you are only getting 11 hours - I'm constantly getting about 24 between charges.

You must have some process or processes that are caning your battery!
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones