HTC One (M8) – Everything you need to know

HTC introduced its new HTC One (M8) smartphone on Tuesday as it attempts to regain the lost smartphone market. Packing some impressive specifications in a beautiful metal body, the new smartphone comes with some firsts for the company like a dual-rear camera setup, which feature a secondary image sensor just for capturing the depth information in a photograph. HTC is also releasing Google Play and Developer editions for the phone for the interested consumers.

In this article, we will be covering everything that you might want to know about this HTC smartphone.

HTC One (M8) Specifications

Let us start with the specifications. The specifications for the Google Play and Developer edition are same apart from odd changes, which we are listing below.

• Size: 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm
• Weight: 160 grams
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, quad-core, 2.3GHz
• Memory: 16GB/32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, microSD card slot with support for up to 128GB additional storage
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Gyro sensor, Barometer sensor
• Rear Cameras: Duo camera setup with HTC UltraPixel primary camera, BSI sensor, pixel size 2.0 um, sensor size 1/3”, f/2.0, 28mm lens, HTC ImageChip, Secondary camera to capture depth information
• Front camera: 5MP, BSI sensor, wide angle lens. with HDR capability
• OS: Android 4.4.2 with HTC Sense 6.0 featuring HTC BlinkFeed, Zoe, etc. (Stock Android 4.4.2 on Google Play edition)
• Connectivity: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX enabled, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), DLNA, micro-USB 2.0 with MHL and HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection), Infrared blaster
• Display: 5.0 inch, Full HD 1080p, Super LCD 3
• SIM Card Type: nano SIM
• GPS: Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS, Digital Compass
• Sound: HTC BoomSound, Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, Sense Voice
• Battery: Embedded rechargeable Li-polymer 2600 mAh battery

Availability & Pricing

HTC One (M8) is already on sale in the United States, UK and Canada via the following retailers or telecom operators:

US: Sprint, AT&T and Verizon

T-Mobile US will begin sales on April 11, Also Google Play and Developer editions are now on pre-order, no word on exact shipping date.

UK: EE, Three, O2, Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u

Vodafone UK will start sales on March 27

Canada: Telus, Bell

Rogers will begin sales on April 10

HTC will also start selling the One (M8) in most other major smartphones markets by the end of April including India (most likely in April 3rd week), Australia, Taiwan, Germany, France, and China.

Overall, the company plans to release HTC One (M8) in over 100 countries via over 230 telecom operators.

Pricing information will be shared by telecom operators and regional arms of HTC locally.

What is Duo Camera in HTC One (M8)?

HTC has included an interesting double image sensor setup in the rear camera of the phone, which it is calling Duo Camera. So, what is it exactly and what does it do?

So, basically there are two image sensors on the rear of the phone. One, which is the primary image sensor, uses the HTC Ultrapixel technology and can take 4MP images and the second sensor is actually a special depth sensor and doesn’t take photographs. This depth sensor offers a level of depth perception, allowing the camera to “understand objects in physical space.” This sensor not only helps in faster focussing time but also stores the depth related information in the meta-data of the photograph, which can later be used by the in-built features like Ufocus for image tweaking.

What is new in Sense 6.0?

HTC has introduced a new version of Sense user experience with One (M8). Dubbed as Sense 6.0, the new version brings quite a few nifty tweaks like gesture control and updated apps. HTC One (M8) users will be able to double tap the screen to wake it or open camera app just simply raising the phone to eye-level or answer an incoming call by simply placing the phone next to their ear and more.

Being based on KitKat, the Android 4.4 specific changes have been integrated in Sense 6.0 like translucent status bar. There are small tweaks in app drawer, more options in personalise menu, an extreme power-saver mode, redesigned camera and gallery apps. HTC has also released the Sense apps like Gallery, Sense TV, Blinkfeed, Zoe and more in Google Play for faster updates.

Zoe specifically has been a lot of changes and soon become a cloud-based service, which will allow Zoe users to upload their Zoe videos online for others to see.

According to HTC, it will be releasing the Sense 6.0 update for HTC One (M7), One Mini and One max smartphones in spring.

Accessories

HTC has unveiled the new Dot View case with One (M8), which comes with small dot on the front and they are used to display information like time, date, weather, incoming caller etc. The consumers will also be able to swipe to answer or decline a call from the case itself. The case will be released in Warm Black, Imperial Blue, Orange Popsicle, Atlantis, and Baton Rouge colours for $50.

According to the company, the existing accessories like Boombass, Fetch, and Battery Bar will also work with HTC One (M8).

Promo Video:

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