We’re starting to get a few leaks about HTC’s upcoming successor to their 2013 flagship, which at this stage is only known by its internal name, the M8. One of the more interesting points is that the M8 would have no capacitive buttons, and notorious tech leakster @evleaks has backed up this rumour in a tweet this morning.
https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/427783956495609856
One of the few criticisms that we had of the HTC One was the odd-button layout, and that HTC persisted in using capacitive buttons, which added to the already large bezel size of the device. If @evleaks’ claim is true, HTC will join other high-profile manufacturers like Sony and LG in leaving buttons off the front of their phones in favour of a larger screen.
Obviously, at this stage, it’s still just a rumour, but it’s a rumour that’s been stated by two fairly reputable sources. It’s worth noting that @evleaks leaked renders of the HTC One that turned out to be pretty darn accurate. As a fan of on-screen buttons, if I can get the M8 in an awesome blue or red colour, there’s no way I won’t buy one.
Do you prefer on-screen buttons, or physical buttons, on your phone? Let us know in the comments.
My first thought was ‘this proves evleaks knows nothing about HTC’s next phone’.
My second thought which may be wishful thinking is ‘perhaps the time is right – and it would be the time for a vendor to demonstrate how ludicrous the phones running ios look with their massive bezels – a vendor could really put themselves out there with a proper modern look.’
My money would be that my first thought was right though.
I hate capacitive buttons. They don’t have the physical feedback of an actuating button, nor can they disappear in fullscreen mode like onscreen keys. That said, I can abide some top/bottom bezel if they still include the front-facing speakers.