After leaking out months before the official launch today, the All New HTC One is now official. HTC took to the stage in New York to unveil the device that many would already label to be the device to beat in 2014. Keeping the best of the previous gen, HTC One, and adding on some nifty cool features, the All New HTC One is more than just an incremental update. There are subtle design changes such as a more rounded body as well as a new Camera unit that sees two Camera Modules on the back.
Hardware of the Device
From the hardware point of view, the All New HTC One packs a very powerful punch. It would come with a larger 5 inch screen as compared to the 4.7 inch one in the previous gen HTC One. The screen has a 1080P resolution and not 2K. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 801 SoC with 2 GB of RAM. Just like the HTC One, the M8 has a non removable battery thanks to the unibody construction which is 2600 mAh in capacity. HTC has persisted with the Boomsound speakers on the front which are 25% louder. The primary Camera of the device is still an Ultra Pixel (promising a 300% extra light in low light conditions) shooter with a secondary Camera on the back for depth measurements allowing you to re-focus or differentially focus the images. The front camera of the device is a 5 MP wideangle for selfies.
Today is #HTCOneM8 launch day! Happy to be a small part of the #M8 launch and team @htc pic.twitter.com/YObABUanMP
— Tony Yates (@hausderyates) March 25, 2014
Software and OS
The All New HTC One will run HTC’s custom skin, Sense 6.0 on top of Android 4.4.2 Kitkat out of the box. HTC Sense has some really cool features such an improved Blinkfeed as well as a redone camera app. There are some other interesting features too such as redesigned gallery, ability to double tap to unlock or lock the phone as well as some nifty power saving modes. Zoe highlight mode also got an update where you can add your music to the images adding the personal taste. The device also has a plethora of Camera options in there including a Selfie mode, and to tap the potential HTC also opened both Blinkfeed and Camera app API to developers. HTC also announced, Blinkfeed, Camera app, Sense TV etc would be upgradable directly from the Google Play Store. All the HTC One Family devices would be getting an update to Sense 6 in spring too.
Pricing and Availability
The All New HTC One would be available in over a hundred countries and before the end of April, the device would be available in Taiwan, China, US, Australia, Germany, France etc. In the US the device would be available starting today on Verizon Network. There were no official announcements on the pricing though. The device would be available in Grey and Silver variants with Gold one coming few weeks later.
(Images via: HTC Livestream)
