Why the M8 is still the best phone for me

[orangeman]

Like many of us, I am continually looking for the next great phone. Reading, shopping, buying......returning....repeat. I have come to the conclusion as of this writing that the M8 has a combination no other phone can touch. These are the top 6 most important things to me:

1) Screen-#1 for me. I like to get whites as close as possible to true bright white. Everybody thinks their screens are white but they aren't. M8 and N5 are about as close as it gets. With the proliferation of AMOLED screens, the true white screens are getting rarer. HTC juiced up the colors a bit which I don't really mind. They didn't go overboard.

2) Speakers- N6 is sort of close for sheer volume but it doesn't have the processing circuitry of the m8. People talk about volume or bass, but the M8 has a much cleaner more detailed sound in my side by side comparison with the N6. Huge difference in sound quality. Many say they don't care about speakers but for a quick video or podcast, the speakers are essential to me.

3) Speed-well documented but bears repeating. The overall pace of this phone switching from app to app getting in and leaving an app is unmatched by any phone.

4) Fonts-They do a great job with their fonts being a bit more narrow to get a lot of info on the screen.

5) Stock Browser Text Reflow-I never see this mentioned, but HTC phones are the only phones I've found with a stock browser that reflows the text and makes it larger when you zoom in on text. This is a huge deal for me and helps to make up for a smaller screen (by today's standards)

6) Blink Feed-I don't live on it but I love to hop over there once or twice a day and no other phone has executed this type of thing as well as HTC.

For 2015, HTC is promising big things. I hope they make the next phones to feel a bit better in the hand, and maybe a 5.2 or 5.5" screen with smaller bezels would be on my wish list for 2015. But as of now, try as I might, no phone can unseat this phone for its unique combination of well executed features.

 

[Rukbat]

Two things kept me from buying it - non-replaceable (in the field) battery and no pen (fat fingers). Otherwise, I love HTC's policy that rooting itself doesn't void the warranty. (And you can find tons of ROMs for different purposes.) The only thing on your list that interests me is #3, and my Note 3, with the garbage frozen or uninstalled, is fast enough for me. But put a replaceable battery in the M9 and I might buy one. (And another $50 for an Otterbox Defender.) Why a replaceable battery? Aside from watching the battery burn (from a safe distance upwind [ lithium is poisonous]) rather than watching the phone melt if the battery goes into thermal runaway, and the ability to do a hardware reset by pulling the battery (a long press on the power button doesn't do exactly the same thing), I never discharge a battery below 40% (I swap them if I ned more time before I can charge), and I swap them every month. Maybe that's why my spare phone, a 2003 V551, is still running on the original batteries.

But the M8 is a great phone.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Yeah I've dabbled with other phones in 2014, but always end up going back to the One M8.

Mainly on a few of the points you mentioned - speed, screen, speakers, but also others like build and yes, the camera.

Taking a bunch of photos at night during the Christmas/New Year period reminded me just how good the 2.0 micron sensor in the ultra pixel camera can be. Shots were really clear, grain free and much much better than photos my friends took at the same time. My pics were the ones that was being emailed out to friends as others were too grainy from their phones.

Battery life is still also really solid for me. Consistently getting over 5 hours screen time, which for me is great.

It's just overall a really solid phone with the only real weakness being shots in well lit scenes. The shots do lack detail when compared to pictures taken from phones with higher resolution cameras. I guess that's the tradeoff. Better low light shots for worse brightly lit shots.

 

[neo905]

Why don't you just get a case that is also a battery pack and then you have the protection and double the battery life without carrying around an extra battery and swapping? Best of both worlds.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[neo905]

Yeah I've dabbled with other phones in 2014, but always end up going back to the One M8.

Mainly on a few of the points you mentioned - speed, screen, speakers, but also others like build and yes, the camera.

Taking a bunch of photos at night during the Christmas/New Year period reminded me just how good the 2.0 micron sensor in the ultra pixel camera can be. Shots were really clear, grain free and much much better than photos my friends took at the same time. My pics were the ones that was being emailed out to friends as others were too grainy from their phones.

Battery life is still also really solid for me. Consistently getting over 5 hours screen time, which for me is great.

It's just overall a really solid phone with the only real weakness being shots in well lit scenes. The shots do lack detail when compared to pictures taken from phones with higher resolution cameras. I guess that's the tradeoff. Better low light shots for worse brightly lit shots.

So you didn't end up liking the Nexus 6?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[orangeman]

The Nexus 6 was solid but the screen was pretty yellow and the speakers were muddy compared to the fine detail of the M8. It is a totally respectable phone but for the points I consider to be important, it couldn't dethrone the M8. For some people, they might like it better. I did like the big screen on the N6.

 

[Wayne Sanders]

, I never discharge a battery below 40% (I swap them if I ned more time before I can charge), and I swap them every month. Maybe that's why my spare phone, a 2003 V551, is still running on the original batteries.


If it work's for you, great. But you do know that you can't "run a lithium ion battery all the way down",right?
The phones electronic software will shut you off at 3. Something volts. And won't charge past 4.3 volts i.e. full charge.
Just saying.



Sent from my big,bad,beatiful...note 3

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

So you didn't end up liking the Nexus 6?

Posted via the Android Central App

We never really got it in Australia. Certainly not widely available. The phone was available for about 10 minutes on the Play Store which sold out, then it supposedly was available at select retail stores, but none were in my state.

Google really stuffed up the Nexus 6 release here. I never got to try it. But from what I've been reading, the Note 4 seems to be the better phone anyway, which I have used.

 

[sam00]

Best phone on the market. Love the metal premium feel and HTC Sense polished software

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[anticlutch]

, I never discharge a battery below 40% (I swap them if I ned more time before I can charge), and I swap them every month. Maybe that's why my spare phone, a 2003 V551, is still running on the original batteries.


If it work's for you, great. But you do know that you can't "run a lithium ion battery all the way down",right?
The phones electronic software will shut you off at 3. Something volts. And won't charge past 4.3 volts i.e. full charge.
Just saying.



Sent from my big,bad,beatiful...note 3

The hardware/software will stop the battery from discharging beyond a preset voltage point, but just because it won't let you doesn't mean it's necessarily good for the battery. Lithium-based batteries (li-po, li-ion, etc.) are happiest between roughly 30% and 80%. Discharging a battery to 0% (while within design tolerances) will stress it more than if you were to discharge it to 40% before charging it up again. Lithium batteries don't get a memory effect but don't like deep discharge cycles, while older chemistries like Ni-Cad can get a memory effect but do need deep discharge cycles. Avoiding deep discharge cycles probably explains why Rukbat's 12 year old batteries are still functioning.

 

[Wayne Sanders]

The hardware/software will stop the battery from discharging beyond a preset voltage point, but just because it won't let you doesn't mean it's necessarily good for the battery. Lithium-based batteries (li-po, li-ion, etc.) are happiest between roughly 30% and 80%. Discharging a battery to 0% (while within design tolerances) will stress it more than if you were to discharge it to 40% before charging it up again. Lithium batteries don't get a memory effect but don't like deep discharge cycles, while older chemistries like Ni-Cad can get a memory effect but do need deep discharge cycles. Avoiding deep discharge cycles probably explains why Rukbat's 12 year old batteries are still functioning.

Yes ..you are correct. It's like,a pet peeve of mine, when people say, don't discharge a phone battery all the way down. When it's impossible due to the electronics. There is a very good site about the lithium ion battery. the battery university. It dispels a lot of myths about lithium ion batteries. As well as do's and don'ts.

Sent from my most awsome note 3

 

[neo905]

, I never discharge a battery below 40% (I swap them if I ned more time before I can charge), and I swap them every month. Maybe that's why my spare phone, a 2003 V551, is still running on the original batteries.


If it work's for you, great. But you do know that you can't "run a lithium ion battery all the way down",right?
The phones electronic software will shut you off at 3. Something volts. And won't charge past 4.3 volts i.e. full charge.
Just saying.



Sent from my big,bad,beatiful...note 3

You don't need to run it all the way down with a battery pack case. You can set it to kick in at 40%.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[neo905]

We never really got it in Australia. Certainly not widely available. The phone was available for about 10 minutes on the Play Store which sold out, then it supposedly was available at select retail stores, but none were in my state.

Google really stuffed up the Nexus 6 release here. I never got to try it. But from what I've been reading, the Note 4 seems to be the better phone anyway, which I have used.

So what did you like and dislike about the Note 4 relative to the M8. So I guess you went back to the M8 as your daily driver?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

So what did you like and dislike about the Note 4 relative to the M8. So I guess you went back to the M8 as your daily driver?

Posted via the Android Central App

I only owned the Note 4 for a week and then was able to return it. I liked the Note 4, it's a very good phone, but what I preferred the One M8 over the Note 4:

- Speed. One M8 is just a faster phone all round. Faster opening apps, navigating UI. It was also smoother with more consistent animations and no 'jitter' around the UI. It's not a big deal to most, but that sort of stuff annoys me.

- Software. I don't use launchers. I just rock the One M8 with Sense 6 and rocked the Note 4 with Touchwiz. Much prefer Sense over TW. TW does have some nice tricks though. It wasn't horrible, but is kind of all over the place. I know throwing Google Now Launcher could fix a few things up, but I don't want a One M8/Note 4 masquerading as a Nexus device. If I want a Nexus phone, I'll buy a Nexus phone. Just felt the software was nicer looking, more fluid and easier to use than TW. Did what I wanted to do faster.

- Speakers. Yeah watching videos has nicer sound on the One M8, we all know that, but what didn't click to me until I had to do it was using the Note 4 on speaker phone. It was loud enough, but not so clear.

- Size. While I don't think the Note 4 is necessarily too big, I just find the One M8 more comfortable in the hand. I could live with the Note 4 if I had to, but personally prefer a smaller phone.

- Build/Design. Another one that might not be important to people, but holding the Note 4 for a week then going back to the One M8, it hits you how nice it feels. Solid, premium and looks great. While the Note 4 has metal, if you really look at it, it's the thinnest, most negligible piece of metal they could possibly try to find. If you pull out the stylus and have a look at the metal band, it's this insignificant piece of metal wrapped around it. Kind of a bummer to me.

- Low light camera shots. During the Christmas period, using the phones in low light, the M8 edged out the Note 4. Again, not really a big deal to lots of people, and a very situational point.

Can't really put a finger one of aspect of the M8 and say 'yep that's the killer' but just the whole phone as an entire experience I preferred.

There were definitely things that I did like on the Note 4:

- Camera. Outside of low light shots, the Note 4 has a really damn good camera. Outside in well lit shots, it really does show the weakness of the 4UP camera on the One M8. Really liked the camera on the Note 4.

- Some software tricks. Dual apps was nice, the stylus over to bring up previews was nice, the cut and paste process with the stylus was nice. All nice additions to the software, but nothing really must have. Haven't really missed any software features from the Note 4.

- Screen. Not so much the size, but the quality. The screen gets a lot of praise and it deserves it. It looks outstanding.

- Battery life was good. Over 5hrs screen time for me.

That's how I felt about it. Just my opinion and others would feel very differently about the pros/cons of each device and that's fine. If you're focused on having the best camera, then the One M8 is not for you. The Note 4 is the better pick. I'd argue that if you're looking for the best overall phone experience, then to me, that was the One M8.

 

[MDMcAtee]

I only owned the Note 4 for a week and then was able to return it. I liked the Note 4, it's a very good phone, but what I preferred the One M8 over the Note 4:

- Speed. One M8 is just a faster phone all round. Faster opening apps, navigating UI. It was also smoother with more consistent animations and no 'jitter' around the UI. It's not a big deal to most, but that sort of stuff annoys me.

- Software. I don't use launchers. I just rock the One M8 with Sense 6 and rocked the Note 4 with Touchwiz. Much prefer Sense over TW. TW does have some nice tricks though. It wasn't horrible, but is kind of all over the place. I know throwing Google Now Launcher could fix a few things up, but I don't want a One M8/Note 4 masquerading as a Nexus device. If I want a Nexus phone, I'll buy a Nexus phone. Just felt the software was nicer looking, more fluid and easier to use than TW. Did what I wanted to do faster.

- Speakers. Yeah watching videos has nicer sound on the One M8, we all know that, but what didn't click to me until I had to do it was using the Note 4 on speaker phone. It was loud enough, but not so clear.

- Size. While I don't think the Note 4 is necessarily too big, I just find the One M8 more comfortable in the hand. I could live with the Note 4 if I had to, but personally prefer a smaller phone.

- Build/Design. Another one that might not be important to people, but holding the Note 4 for a week then going back to the One M8, it hits you how nice it feels. Solid, premium and looks great. While the Note 4 has metal, if you really look at it, it's the thinnest, most negligible piece of metal they could possibly try to find. If you pull out the stylus and have a look at the metal band, it's this insignificant piece of metal wrapped around it. Kind of a bummer to me.

- Low light camera shots. During the Christmas period, using the phones in low light, the M8 edged out the Note 4. Again, not really a big deal to lots of people, and a very situational point.

Can't really put a finger one of aspect of the M8 and say 'yep that's the killer' but just the whole phone as an entire experience I preferred.

There were definitely things that I did like on the Note 4:

- Camera. Outside of low light shots, the Note 4 has a really damn good camera. Outside in well lit shots, it really does show the weakness of the 4UP camera on the One M8. Really liked the camera on the Note 4.

- Some software tricks. Dual apps was nice, the stylus over to bring up previews was nice, the cut and paste process with the stylus was nice. All nice additions to the software, but nothing really must have. Haven't really missed any software features from the Note 4.

- Screen. Not so much the size, but the quality. The screen gets a lot of praise and it deserves it. It looks outstanding.

- Battery life was good. Over 5hrs screen time for me.

That's how I felt about it. Just my opinion and others would feel very differently about the pros/cons of each device and that's fine. If you're focused on having the best camera, then the One M8 is not for you. The Note 4 is the better pick. I'd argue that if you're looking for the best overall phone experience, then to me, that was the One M8.

Yup.... It's the sum of all of the parts at the end of the day that makes it the best phone of 2014.

HTC is really going to have to step up and out do this One.

Posted via Android Central App on my HTC M8

 

[Qaid_Ali]

Great posts and thread. I've been doing HEAVY research on the M8 HK think I may pick it up for a early b'day present for myself ...

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Lodingi]

Two things kept me from buying it - non-replaceable (in the field) battery and no pen (fat fingers). Otherwise, I love HTC's policy that rooting itself doesn't void the warranty. (And you can find tons of ROMs for different purposes.) The only thing on your list that interests me is #3, and my Note 3, with the garbage frozen or uninstalled, is fast enough for me. But put a replaceable battery in the M9 and I might buy one. (And another $50 for an Otterbox Defender.) Why a replaceable battery? Aside from watching the battery burn (from a safe distance upwind [ lithium is poisonous]) rather than watching the phone melt if the battery goes into thermal runaway, and the ability to do a hardware reset by pulling the battery (a long press on the power button doesn't do exactly the same thing), I never discharge a battery below 40% (I swap them if I ned more time before I can charge), and I swap them every month. Maybe that's why my spare phone, a 2003 V551, is still running on the original batteries.

But the M8 is a great phone.

Most bizarre post I've ever read.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[Golfdriver97]

This will be the only warning: Any personal attacks toward any member will not be tolerated.

Debates are perfectly welcome, but do so politely.

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Really like the speakers and design of the M8, but I decided to keep using the G2 as my daily driver for the back buttons, great battery life, minimal bezels, superior camera and custom ROMs.

Sent from my G2 running SlimKat

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

Yeah, I think I'll be stuck on HTC until they stop making phones. As long as they keep improving upon what they are already doing, nothing will prompt me to go anywhere else. It's like "my" "iPhone"! You know iPhoners and their iPhone! That's me and my HTC!

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