On Tuesday HTC unveiled the HTC One (M8), emphasizing the phone’s larger display, software, design improvements, extreme power-saving battery life, and better cameras for those selfies.
The new HTC One is a little heavier than before and comes with the traditional features we’ve come to expect from a smartphone: ease in making and taking calls, front and rear facing camera and video features, large screens, easy interfaces and quick access to e-mail, news, and social media apps Facebook and Twitter.
So here are the HTC One (M8) upgrades that HTC predicts will inspire envy:
- Larger Display: The One’s bigger 1080p 5-inch screen is an upgrade from the previous 4.7 inch display
- Faster processor: A 2.3 GHz processor and 2GB of DDR2 memory places it neck-to-neck with the GS5
- Secondary camera re-design: Get your selfie game up with the 5.0 megapixel front-facing camera. The primary camera features two lenses that increase depth and performs better in low lighting situations. A “U Focus” feature will allow users to focus or blur certain parts of photos.
- Dual front-facing speakers makes audio 25 percent louder than the original
- More storage: The new phone comes with 16gb or 32gb storage plus allows for more storage by adding a microSD memory card slot that accepts up to 128GB.
- Longer battery life: The 2600 mAh capacity battery allows for up to 20 hours of 3G talk time, or up to 14 days of standby when fully charged
- Motion Sensors allow you to take a call by placing the phone to your ear
In a race to attract cell phone users, HTC One M8 will hit shelves sooner than new phones Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6. The HTC One retails with a $199 price tag and is available to order from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Verizon customers can pick up the phone in stores today with a buy-one-get-one-free deal with a two-year contract. T-mobile plans to start selling the One on April 11 for $0 down.
The phone is expected to ship April 10, a day before the S5 will be available. Rumors are swirling that Apple will release the iPhone 6 in fall and possibly as early as August.