After Twitter leaker @evleaks yesterday teased with what was described as ‘Preliminary specs’ for the HTC M8, the follow up to the HTC One, it seems they may have moved on from those decidedly ‘meh’ specs and included some more grunt, at least according to HTC ROM developer mike1986 from Android Revolution.
mike1986 has previously been able to source some pretty good information regarding HTC devices and software in the past and has shot down the Snapdragon 800 SoC rumour from yesterday instead advising that HTC will be going for the top-shelf Snapdragon processor which is due in the first half of this year – the Snapdragon 805.
There has also been some updates on the resolution of the Ultra-Pixel camera included, bumping it up from a 4MP Ultra-Pixel to a 6 or 8MP resolution which would address some of the criticisms aimed at the camera on the HTC One in normal lighting conditions, as well as giving users the option to zoom in on low-light shots when necessary.
Another interesting tidbit to come out is the possibility of a removable microSD card slot could be included on the phone, addressing one of the biggest disappointments from the HTC One, although with the larger screen and presumably larger form factor this screen would mean, there would be plenty of room to include this option after HTC advised there was simply no room in the HTC One for the removeable microSD card slot.
Perhaps the biggest move at least from the perspective of the Android community is the decision to forgo capacative buttons, if true, this means another OEM has finally gone down the path that Google began with Android 4.0 back in 2011.
Lastly the name – HTC One+. It’s an interesting choice, but still limiting in that they are really going to have to change something with their follow up to this device, but that’s a problem for the future.
The full rumoured spec list :
- HTC One+ (HTC M8)
- 5″ FullHD 1080p covered by Gorilla Glass 3
- 2900mAh Battery
- 6MP or 8MP with UltraPixel™ technology and double lens + 2.1MP Front camera
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon 805
- 2GB LPDDR3
- no capacitive buttons
- Android KitKat with HTC Sense 6.0
- micro-SIM
- NFC
This is a decidedly more satisfying spec list than the one put forth yesterday, but as it’s still only a rumoured list, there’s still time for other specs to be bumped up – like that screen would look wonderful in a 2K resolution ;).
Are these specs more what you would expect from the followup to the HTC One? What would you change?
Still no enough to make me upgrade from HTC One considering the price I paid for it. Maybe the next one …
Will have to wait for official specs however the bump in battery and processor is nice, maybe 2k screen to remain competitive with the new releases but overall pretty decent specs. Will probably upgrade to new Nexus though not tempting enough for an upgrade but the HTC One is hands down one of the best Android phones I’ve owned.
What I would change is HTC Sense. Nuke it from orbit.
Make the M8 be vanilla Android from the outset.
Unfortunately we know that will never happen. For some unknown reason these OEM’s like to change things around a lot!
It’s not an unknown reason Sean. They need software that is different from it’s competitors, to lure customers in. If every phone had ‘vanilla’ Android on it, things would be getting very boring, quickly. I hate OEM UI’s (I always install a AOSP ROM), but I definitely know why they are needed!
Yeah of course I understand that, I think AOSP is generally loved by the tech community, not the masses.
Yes, like all Windows laptops, they are all the same regardless of the brands, pretty boring. And soon it will turn to be like Windows PCs, everyone can buy the components and build their own, and install Vanilla Android.
The maxxed out scenario you describe, would be absolutely brilliant to see.
But even to have the config options that notebooks, laptops, netbooks and ultrabooks have, for each model a manufacturer produces, come to the mobile phone market, that would be an absolutely massive improvement.
Add to that being able to choose which OS and UI to put on your phone, yeah, dreams, I know, but damn that would be good to see happen.
Oh please, HTC sense is actually one of the best skins since the sense 5 update. You clearly don’t know what ur on about. If u don’t like it get a nexus or Google edition my god
Ty, Dan asked two questions, and I answered the one I could.
I dislike stuff like Sense, TouchWiz, Emotion, ect, because of how much that manufacturer stuff sinks its claws into Android and makes it harder and take longer to bring devices up to current.
Recall the Android update sequence infographic from HTC. Removing manufacturers ability to damage Android, during device dev would reduce the delays those problems cause, and as well would have users using Android from the get go, instead of using Sense, TouchWiz, Emotion, ect.
But you have an option to purchase the Google Play Edition of the HTC One (and the M8 too, I’m sure). There are millions of people who use and enjoy Sense and other vendor overlays.
Why take away their choice to use it? You already have your freedom not to.
Do we have that freedom to choose?
Are those GPE devices readily and legitimately available in Australia?
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=turn+htc+one+into+google+play+edition