HTC’s One M8: Smart-Looking Smartphone Has Sixth Sense

by Michelle Maisto

The gun-metal finish on the M8 was “very hard to do,” HTC CEO Peter Chou said March 25, introducing HTC’s newest flagship device to the world. “Not only is this phone powerful,” he said, “it’s also very smart. The phone is aware of its environment, so it can know what you may want to do [next]. It’s like a sixth sense.”

The One M8 runs literally HTC’s sixth Sense—the sixth version of its Sense user interface. HTC also redesigned “every pixel along the way,” said lead designer Johan Becker. “There’s more open space, making it more modern.” In addition, HTC used touches of color to help users more easily navigate the device.

The M8 is the first smartphone to feature a “Duo Lens” camera. Combined with a depth sensor, users can change the focus in a shot—blurring the foreground and bringing the background into crisp focus, or vice versa—as well as fix photos that didn’t come out clear enough. Notably, these things are possible without downloading an app. Just tap the display to change the focus.

The M8 is said to also take great low-light photos, thanks to HTC’s “UltraPixels.” These are said to capture 300 percent more light than regular, smaller pixels.

HTC’s BlinkFeed collects news and information, so users don’t have to poke into individual apps for the content they want. HTC is improving BlinkFeed by sharing its API for better integration with the content users want. For example, Fitbit, one new partner, can add user activity data into its BlinkFeed. The M8 comes in light (seen here) and dark gray options.

Stepping away from the Beats branding (if not also the relationship), HTC is promoting BoomSound with the M8. Like its predecessor, the M8 has dual front-facing speakers, but those speakers are now 25 percent louder, with no loss to quality (says HTC).

The M8 measures 5.76 by 2.78 by 0.37 inches and weighs 5.6 ounces. (The Samsung Galaxy S5, which features a 5.1-inch display—and will be the M8’s primary competitor—measures 5.59 by 2.85 by 0.32 inches and weighs 5.11 ounces.) The M8 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor and has sensors that help it preserve battery life.

Soon after its New York event ended, consumers in the U.S. could place orders with T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon. While Sprint and T-Mobile will begin shipping the M8 in April, AT&T will deliver some phones as soon as March 26, while Verizon began selling the M8 immediately. “By working with [operators] and clearly communicating the strengths of the smartphone, HTC stands a good chance of moving the needle and driving more sales than it did in 2013,” analyst Ken Hyers, with Strategy Analytics, told eWEEK.