The estimated reading time for this post is 8 minutes
When you’re trying to decide between Android phones, the decision can be challenging. With Android phones, the choices are plentiful, making your choice a tougher one than, say, choosing between iPhone models. Finding the phone that’s best for you involves learning about the features of each phone and deciding which features are the best fit for your lifestyle.
The HTC One is filled with unique features that may be just what you’re looking for in a smartphone. The designers have paid attention to satisfying your senses — the phone is a pleasure to see, hear and feel.
Design
The design of the HTC One is a clear strength. The phone is made of aluminum with a unibody, zero-gap construction method so the phone is solid and seamless. The screen reaches to the edges of the phone adding to the elegance of the design.
This video from HTC explains and demonstrates the design process for the phone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSkbIb60l1s&feature=share&list=PLdsjJ3A6Lmg6CZDx1T_TmUPHBe8pFt0os
The phone feels solid in the hand. Critics of phones with plastic casings will enjoy the aluminum body of the HTC One. The back of the phone is curved so your hand cradles the phone, even the edges are beveled making the phone smooth in appearance and feel.
The screen is 4.7″, which may be the sweet spot for those who want a large screen but don’t want to make the leap to a phablet. I was able to use the phone one-handed, including typing information into forms, but my paws aren’t particularly puny.
The screen is sharp and clear, packed with pixels to make viewing small text, photos, video and other information easy on the eyes.
The phone works on 4G/LTE networks and has NFC and Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2. The processor is powerful so the apps flow without annoying lags. You can multi-task on the One, playing music while reading your emails, for example. Double tap the Home button to reveal your last nine open apps.
The unibody construction of the phone means that you won’t be taking this phone apart, at least not intentionally. The back cover stays firmly in place, preventing access to the battery. Rather than investing in a spare battery for reserve power, you can get an external battery pack which is more versatile anyway, powering your phone as well as your tablet.
There is no slot for an SD card so you can’t expand the storage on the phone. Depending on your affection for apps, videos, pictures and other content, you may need to manage the space on this phone more carefully since you can’t expand it. Your saved photos and videos can devour much of your phone’s storage if you’re not careful. On the other hand, you don’t have to worry about trying to keep track of micro SD cards.
The phone only has two touch screen (a/k/a capacitive buttons) on the bottom dock. Missing is the Menu button, which is replaced by an icon of three vertical squares that appears at various places on the screen, depending on the app.
Features
Boom Sound
In addition to being satisfying to see and feel, the HTC One is kind to your ears. Unlike many other phones with a speaker on the rear of the phone, the HTC One puts the speakers on the front of the phone. This simple design placement is logical as most people lay their phones down with the screen facing up, not down.
The speakers’ position isn’t the only remarkable thing about the sound of the phone. The One has Beats Audio™ stereo speakers with a built-in amplifier. The sound that the phone emits is truly impressive and will spoil you from listening to other phone speakers.
BlinkFeed
The HTC One turns your home screen into a mobile bulletin board with BlinkFeed. This feature shows you news articles as well as social sharing posts. You can choose news categories such as Business, Lifestyle, Politics, Sports, Technology & Science, World and others. You can select the publications from their list that you want to include as well as social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also add your calendar, TV, and Kid Mode for easy access to these apps.
Camera
The HTC One camera is loaded with features to help your photos and videos be creative or simply the best they can be. The rear camera is 4 megapixels and the front camera is 2.1 megapixels with the ability to take HD videos and HDR photos. The camera’s processor does the heavy work of making the most of your images, allowing the camera to capture your shots in rapid succession while producing sharp images.
Here are some sample pictures taken with the HTC One camera:
In addition to taking still photos, the One’s camera is loaded with fun and useful features:
Sequence Shot — By holding down the camera icon when you’re taking a picture, you can take multiple photos rapidly. You can either combine those photos into one photo with multiple images or you can let the camera choose which is the best shot and save only that one.
Zoe — With the Zoe feature, you can instantly take 3 second videos with your HTC One. You can either share these videos or pluck out an image from the video to turn into a still photo. This feature is especially handy for you to get just the right shot when you’re trying to capture a moving target.
Zoe also lets you edit your pictures by allowing you to pick the best smile for each person in a group shot and eliminate intruders, in case someone accidentally moseys into the background of your shot.
Interesting tidbit, Zoe was named in honor of the Zoetrope camera.
Slo-Mo — This camera lets you take slow motion video and adjust the playback speed, especially handy for recording sports events or just for fun.
Kid Mode
Smartphones are usually seen as fair game for kids who think nothing of grabbing their parents’ phone for an entertainment fix. But while phones can serve as temporary distractions, you don’t want your kids posting to your Facebook account, sending a text message to your boss, or tweeting on your behalf.
Kid Mode lets you restrict the phone to games that are age-appropriate for your kids so they can entertain themselves without sacrificing your reputation. You can also get a premium subscription for $3.50/month that puts more games and kids’ books into Kids Mode. You can enable Child Lock and adjust your Kid Mode access in Settings.
Don’t bet the farm on the Child Lock. Your kid may be able to crack the lock faster than you can…
TV Remote
If you usually have your phone in your hand when you’re watching TV, you’ll enjoy the TV Remote feature of this phone. The phone’s power button doubles as an IR blaster so you can use your phone as a remote control for your TV, cable box and home theater. Set up is easy, you just enter your TV brand (Sony, Samsung, etc.), cable provider and zip code, then point the power button at your TV. No need to punch in codes to try to figure out the model of TV, this phone is smart enough to figure that out by itself.
You can set your favorite channels on the app and hide channels that you don’t get. The app can also show you what’s playing now, you just press a picture to tune in to that show instantly.
Radio
The HTC One has an FM radio so you can listen to your favorite local stations on your phone. The phone also comes with TuneIn Radio already loaded in case you want to listen to stations that are farther away.
Battery Life
The stated battery life of the One is 18-27 hours of talk time and 479-500 hours of standby time, based on the type of cell phone network you’re using. Your actually battery life will depend on how you’re using this phone. With all of this phone’s features, such as the Boom Sound speakers, the camera features, TV Remote, BlinkFeed and Kid Mode, you may be making very heavy use of this phone. The One has a Power Saver option you can use to make your battery last longer.
Branding
HTC isn’t going to win any awards for originality for naming this phone. Don’t beat yourself up if you confuse this phone with the HTC First (a/k/a the Facebook Phone), HTC One S, or any other of the HTC One alphabet phones that came before the One. If you like the features of this phone, make sure that you are getting the HTC One and not any of the other similarly named HTC phones.
Availability
The HTC One is available from:
- Sprint at $99 for new customers, $199 for existing customers for the 32 GB model with a two-year contract
- AT&T at $199 for the 32 GB model and $299 for the 64 GB model, with a two-year contract
- T-Mobile at $99 plus $20/month for 24 months for the 32 GB model
Bottom Line
The HTC One is a quality phone with a solid, elegant build and plenty of features. While it lacks a replaceable battery and an SD card expansion slot, the many positive features of the phone make it a worthy contender for consideration.
What features do you like best about the HTC One? Would you like to use your phone as a remote control for your TV? Do you like the camera features? Do you like the idea of having news and social media on your home screen with BlinkFeed? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Many thanks to Sprint for lending me an HTC One for review. No compensation was received for the review of this phone.
Hi Carolyn,
This phone looks good. I’v e seen this brand cheaper in the UK too. I still won’t have a smart phone yet though, a new camera comes first! I have plans for different photos that are much higher definition. I went to the art gallery yesterday and learned a little about how those large prints are done. I have to write a review of the exhibition now for a patron of the arts.
Hi Mike, Yes, as I said yesterday I was thinking of you as I wrote this article. You would do a great job with all of the cool features of this phone. If HTC wanted to promote the camera features of this phone, they should give it to you to take full advantage of them. I can only imagine what you would create with these special effects!
I am heading over to your blog in a few minutes. Can’t wait to get my photography lesson for the week! :-bd
Carolyn – I was waiting for this review by you. I have heard a lot about the HTC One and now after reading this, I am convinced it is an awesome phone 🙂
I love the Kid Mode feature, i think that will be pretty helpful for parents like me who has to restrict their kids from using the smartphones for unwanted features. That is a real plus for me.
Another one is the beats audio and the speakers in the front. The S3 has the speakers at the back, and when I am playing a song, and if i keep the phone on my table facing up, it really brings down the audio to an extent.
But not having an SD card is a major drawback, i really cannot keep buying higher storage phones (like iphone) to save my own data. I want my SD card and shoud allow me to extend the storage capacity.
The TV Remote feature is becoming a standard now with all new phones I think, I am not sure how it will affect our TV viewing experience with everyone in the family having a remote in their hands 🙂
Thanks a lot for this awesome review.
Hi Praveen, Yes, you would like this phone a lot. The One Boom Sound speakers are very impressive, I’m so glad they put them on the front of the phone. I don’t like how the S3 has the speaker on the back of the phone. You don’t want to put your phone down on the screen to listen to the phone.
What’s impressive about the TV Remote feature of the One is that it uses an IR blaster, so you don’t need an Internet-connected TV to have the remote app connect to the TV. I also like that you can save favorite program to the phone’s app so you can just press the phone to tune into your favorite shows when they’re on. Great point about everyone in your family having a remote control, that could be an issue in some families!
I can understand how the lack of an SD card might be a deal-breaker for you. Micro SD cards are much less expensive than a $100 jump in storage for the One and the iPhone. But I also don’t like app management on SD cards on some Android phones.
The One is very different from the S3, each has fantastic features. The key is to figure out which features are the most important to you.
Thanks for sharing your insights with us, Praveen!
This phone is the most amazing piece of technology I’ve ever seen. I tried it so I must say that the screen is lovely, so crisp and sharp and amazes anyone who looks at it.
The HTC One eschews the ever-escalating megapixels, opting instead for a 4MP camera with an extra-large sensor. Combined with the screen’s “ultra pixels” and an ultra-wide f2.0 aperture, this means better images in low light .
The battery life isn’t great and even with power-saving mode on, we’d recommend keeping the charger in your desk at all times, but otherwise it’s a stunning piece of kit .
Hi Karen, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You sound like quite the HTC One fan and I can understand why. The phone has a lot of admirable qualities and features, especially the camera.
Yes, I like having a battery pack handy that can charge my phone, my kids’ phones and my iPad. If you buy a spare battery, then that only gives extra power to your own phone, and none to other devices.
Carolyn, love the way you laid out this HTC One review, very detailed. I think the HTC One’s most impressive features are the speakers and the so called Ultrapixel camera. HTC’s effort to drop out of the megapixel race I think is quite a smart move. As more and more consumers become aware of the fact that megapixels aren’t the only thing to look at when examing a camera’s capabilities, HTC will get more attention for their efforts in this regard.
Hi Frank, Yes, I’m not a camera expert, but I have heard from those who are that the number of megapixels is not all that important in the quality of the pictures. You’re right, by having few megapixels, the HTC One camera can take faster shots, letting the processor turn the photo into a quality image.
I checked out the HTC One a few weeks ago at the Sprint store. I was comparing it versus the Samsung Galaxy 3 and the Samsung Note 2. Between the Galaxy 3 and the One, the One was heavier and I really didn’t care for the “feel” of the phone. It was actually heavier than the Note 2. The fact that there was no SD or Sim card was another deterrent and than you have the Blinkfeed. Although I’m sure many will like it, I ended up getting the Samsung Note 2 and am IN LOVE with this gadget! My hubs opted for the Galaxy 3. It was a tough decision for me because my previous phone was an HTC Evo and I really wanted to keep it in the HTC family. Sorry to say, for me, the One, just didn’t cut it.
Fab review you did though! I’m passing it along as it may help others in their next cell purchase. 🙂
Hi Bren, Yes, I’m a big fan of the Note 2 too. That phone’s features are quite different from the HTC One.its a matter of personal preference and finding which phone is the best fit for you. I’m so glad you found a phone you love, Bren. That’s the most important thing!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and this article, Bren!
Hey Carolyn
I love the sound of Kid Mode. Although my son would have a pretty good go at trying to crack the lock as he loves playing on my iPhone.
The TV Remote sounds interesting. I have an app on my iPhone to control my satellite receiver which can change channels and record stuff but if it could also control the volume and turn it on and off that would be brilliant.
I think as much as I like the sound of this phone, I’m still in love with the iPhone at the minute. Once you’ve gone to the iPhone it’s pretty hard to consider something else.
Hi Tim, Yes, there are kids who would be more entertained by trying to crack a Child Lock than by playing apps. I suggest negotiations asking the child to respect Kid Mode if they ever want to play on your phone again.
Yes, I like how HTC included an IR blaster in the power button of the phone. Brilliant. That way it works with so many more TV’s and other devices, you don’t need a “smart tv” hooked up to the Internet.
Yes, iPhone fans may be content with their devices so won’t consider making the switch to Android. But for those who want an Android phone, they should take a look at the HTC One.
Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Tim!
Recently one of my friend bought this phone and it is good looking with a slim look. OS of the phone makes it so desirable to buy. Next time when I meet him I will check those features which you have explained like BlinkFeed, Zoe and slow motion photographs.
I just saw the phone but this review made me to look at it again…
Thanks for such a detailed explanation of the features Carolyn.
– Vijesh
Hi Vijesh, Yes, BlinkFeed is very cool. I liked being able to see news stories and social posts at a glance when I turned on the phone. Definitely take a look at that the next time you see your friend, Vijesh.
Thank goodness I have the iPhone Carolyn because trying to figure out which phone is best would probably drive me nuts. This one looks really cool too though and glad we have you to keep us up to date on all the new one.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, with the iPhone only three models are being sold now: the 4, 4S and the 5 so the choice is much easier.
If I were choosing an Android phone I would have a tough time because I would want the features on all of them! I really appreciate the features the One has and I enjoyed the aluminum unibody construction.
I’m glad you’re so happy with your iPhone, Adrienne! Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts with us.
Wow, TV remote is built-in? Thats great to know, really. I wanted to do that with my iPhone few years back. While the software was available, there was a little IR device I had to buy and attach to the iPhone. That surely is unappealing. But if the IR is already built in, it should be so awesome.
iOS is still my most fav, and as a developer too, I am little disappointed by lack of standards on Android. Every handset manufacturer takes the Android and modifies to suit them. While that freedom gives them ample opportunity to innovate, it causes a lot of pain on developers. I just hope that more of these new features (like IR button) can be part of the standards, and be rolled into the SDK, so we (as developers) can leverage it too.
(Sorry, I didn’t mean to do my iOS-Android rant here) 🙂
Hi iRewardChart, It’s so great to get your perspective on this phone. When I realized that there was no menu button and had to look to see where the menu icon was in each app, I actually thought developers might like the freedom to put the menu icon where they want it to be. But you’re not just developing for the One, you’re developing for Android so that must be quite challenging.
The uniformity of the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch on iOS must be very comforting.
Yes, I really like that the One has an IR blaster. It makes perfect sense, like putting the speakers on the front of the phone.
But, I’m very curious about how you would incorporate an IR blaster into your iRewardChart app? The utility of that feature for your app isn’t readily apparent, at least not to me.
By the way, my daughters went on a big shopping trip over the weekend. They had been saving up their stars since the first of the year and redeemed them at the mall on Saturday. They wanted me to thank you for the things they bought with their stars! (*) (*)
My wife had an HTC mobile phone, and she had it for about three years, until she bought the iPhone 5. I didn’t try it, but she was very satisfied with it at first, that’s until she started using the iPhone. I am probably biased here, and I am the one that told her to get the iPhone in the first place 🙂 And, the new HTC looks great, so it’s probably a lot different than the phone she was using.
Hi Jens, I’m not surprised that your wife enjoyed her older HTC, the company builds quality phones. It takes a lot to switch between platforms, people can become invested in a cell phone type if they have a lot of apps and content on one type of phone.
It’s great that your wife is happy with her iPhone. If you’re satisfied with your phone, no need to switch. But if you’re looking for a new phone, the HTC One is one to check out.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about this phone. I have been heavily debating getting this or the Galaxy S4. Tough decisions lol. Good read!
Hi Leon, Yes, there are so many great Android phones to choose from, the decision can be difficult. Focus on the features that you think you will use most. Both phones have plenty of very cool features, so good luck making your choice!
Carolyn,
Nice HTC one roundup and clear description. 🙂
Indeed, I Like the phone and it’s design very much though I own S3 past a year. As we know, I hate battery life of S3 but other features keeps me interesting. 🙂
When it comes about audio, I like Beats crystal clear sound and awesome. Real good one. Does the battery is removable or embedded? I remember it’s not removable type.
Missing the external SD slot becomes one negative side but otherwise HTC’s one of the best model ever they released I believe. 🙂
TV remote app does comes with S3 as well and real cool to access Smart TV and kind of mini remote. Thanks for sharing your views on HTC. 🙂
Hi Vijay, I’m glad you enjoyed this review. You’re right, the battery on the HTC One isn’t removable. HTC put body integrity ahead of convenience with the design of the phone.
The S3 has Smart TV, and many other amazing features, but doesn’t have an IR blaster, which is the connectivity used on most TV remote controls.
I’m glad you’re happy with your S3, other than the battery life. I’m a fan of external battery packs because of their versatility, rather than spare batteries.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Vijay. Have a super weekend!
My fave part of this phone’s functionality is the kid mode. It has excellent specifications, well, except for the sd card slot. I’m a music freak and my sd card always has this .mp3s taking up all the space.
Thanks for the detailed description of HTC One!
Hi Jam, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m glad you like the Kid Zone feature of the phone. That is a very handy tool that could save you both aggravation and embarrassment.
Yes, if you keep a lot of music and photos on your phone, you might need to pay more attention to managing your space on the phone. But more and more photo and music services are using the cloud, reducing the need to store your content on your phone.
Hi Carolyn,
I must admit you’re right. This is where cloud storage comes in. Glad to have read this particular post and get to interact with you.
nice review of the HTC one i was confused in getting the right one like should i go for HTC one or the Samsung Galaxy S4 but i think HTC one is Better Choice…
Is it possible to downgrade HTC one to ICS with the updated HTC Sense version? I am not even impressed with thier upgrade but the HTC Sense is the good one.
Hi Harjeet, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I have read mixed reviews on trying to downgrade Jelly Bean to Ice Cream Sandwich. I haven’t tried this so I can’t advise you about whether this is a good idea.
i’ve installed the custom OS but its not good at all.Ear speaker is not working.
And thanks for the reply..
Hi Harjeet, Yes, I read that many people had problems trying this, though some seemed to be successful. Sorry it didn’t go well for you!
HTC One is nice phone, I was thinking to buy this phone. But still confuse whether to go for it or not.
Hi Prakash, Before you decide on a phone, try to see it in person. Listen to the speakers, feel it in your hands, see if you like it. Buying a new smartphone is a big decision so make your decision carefully.
Hey Carolyn,
After HTC’s disastrous smartphone release last year, they are trying to reclaim loss ranking in the smartphone race with its flagship, the HTC one. Without a doubt, HTC has learned their lesson and now has made a smartphone that they think will be competitive in the market. Given that Samsung and Apple have been on the head-to-head battle, HTC has slowly shown progress with this new smartphone. This phone will definitely give a massive headache to those techie people who are still confuse on what smartphone brand will they choose.
Hi Farrell, Yes, the Android market seems to be dominated by Samsung but HTC is certainly not conceding as they continue to design quality phones. The HTC One is a serious competitor against Samsung’s offerings. Competition is healthy for businesses and consumers so I hope HTC is very successful.
I have never read a more informative article like this one, explaining all the features of the acclaimed phone, HTC One. Thanks for sharing this useful info.
Hi Manish, I’m glad you like the HTC One. This is a phone filled with features so you should consider this if you’re in the market for a smartphone.