HTC One M8 looks attractive, but have a hard time with these...

[sdsubball23]

I've been thinking about getting a new phone lately where I'd be upgrading from an HTC Rezound. HTC One M8 looks attractive, but I have a hard time with these things...How do you get past these problems? (that at least I have)

1) Camera: besides the 4mp, I've seen comparison shots between 5S and S5 and IMO, both of those phones beat out the HTC in daytime shots.
2) Non-removable battery: Does this mean the phone is disposable or will it cost a lot to fix any serious battery issues in the future rather than simply putting a new one in like the S5 can do?

Besides that, I love the speed of the phone and how it doesn't lag or stutter much at all (except I found the calendar to lag a little while in daily mode). I've also heard it has really good audio quality through headphones.

 

[tryatt]

.How do you get past these problems? (that at least I have)

I guess you can't really? HTC might release some software updates that improve the camera (they already did for the ufocus function).

As for battery, on the One X you could still change it, just about, but from the tear downs of the M8 it seems its pretty damn hard as the battery sits under the motherboard and means you have to remove near enough every component to get to it!

Fwiw, I had my One X for around 2 years and the battery still works, but the phone is pretty battery hungry as it stands (and lasts around half a day!).

 

[dty06]

I have actually really enjoyed the camera on my M8. The focus is a really nice feature and imo it beats other phone cameras my friends have (iPhone 5 and GS5), even in bright environments outside but especially in low-light scenes.

 

[lontano]

Regarding the camera, I think you need to honestly evaluate how much you'll use it. Photo comparisons are easy to put together for the review sites and they draw a lot of interest and commentary but when you actually use the phone you won't be comparing your photos to anything. I've been intending to spend more time with the camera to figure out for myself how to use it best but the reality for me is that I just don't take many photos so I haven't even explored this much. I hardly ever use the camera but I use the speakers and the headphone out jack for hours each day. But audio doesn't lend itself to comparison tests on these review sites the way photos do. Have you seen Anandtech's comparison between the M8 and the Galaxy S5 for audio?
AnandTech | Smartphone Audio Testing - HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5
The M8 obliterates the S5 if you look at the data, and I can attest that you can definitely hear a major difference between the two using good headphones, but it took months for this to be published. Only GSM Arena does anything like that and their results were similar. I wonder if people overvalue the performance of smartphone cameras and undervalue audio performance relative to their actual usage. So far the camera has done a good job for me based on my needs. Camscanner files look crisp. Photos have been good if not amazing. HDR shots have looked especially good. Friends have enjoyed seeing the various effects and I've even used the U-Focus to create a substantially improved photo or two. I'm not worried about bragging rights; the camera is good enough. And most phone cameras have their weaknesses. For example, Pocketnow just put up some video from an LG G3 that is quite underwhelming. If you're like me you have a small point-and-shoot camera for vacations and other important occasions that is better than any of the current phone cameras anyway so this may not be such an important issue for you in practice.

Regarding the battery, look at the second table here: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University
Battery life is excellent for me so I seldom go below 40% before charging. At that rate my phone should be able to go through around 1000 charge/discharge cycles before falling to 70% of original capacity, which would still be pretty good. At that point I'll almost certainly be ready to upgrade as two years will surely have passed by then. I bought an external battery supply when I bought the M8 to allay my concerns about the battery and after a month I haven't had to use it even once.

In the abstract it can be hard to weigh your priorities and make a decision. The other flagships are really nice devices. But the everyday goodness of the phone – especially with respect to those speakers playing my podcasts and audiobooks around the house, the great sound through the earphones in the car, the amazing speed and responsiveness of the phone, and the general beauty and quality feel of the device – keeps me from wishing I had something else. Just thinking about the tinny, shrill little speakers of other phones is enough to keep the honeymoon going for me.

 

[kronosqq]

On the camera front there is nothing about it that is in any way inherently bad. And I've seen plenty of shots on the M8 that look better than ones on an S5, albeit without the ability to do much zooming. It's all about the photographer, not the camera, and the M8 camera is good. It's not the best on the market, but it's truly good.

As for the battery, the chances of your phone battery getting messed up in some way are low, and with modern batteries, there really is not any noticeable battery degradation over the course of two years. I see it as a non-issue.

Sent from my HTC One M8

 

[sdsubball23]

thanks for the thoughts everyone

 

[Hectorius]

The camera is not bad at all. I'm sticking with the m8 until the Note 4 comes out.

Posted via the one and only...HTC (M8)

 

[masterjedia]

Ok, so I'm sitting on vacation in Key West with my new M8, in the shade at a bar on the beach, and I'm trying to take shots of the beach/ocean (well lit, but from the shade) and every picture turned out dark.

Is there some tutorial on how to use the camera on this thing? My iphone 4s took better pictures.

Photos outside in bright sunlight are fine... still not as good as my bf's M7, but fine.

I really don't want to return this thing for an S5. Help!

 

[lontano]

Did you try the HDR mode? I've had good success with that. Have you played with the exposure in manual mode? You might find a better exposure you can save as a "camera" that you can access quickly without fiddling next time.

 

[benny3]

Ok, so I'm sitting on vacation in Key West with my new M8, in the shade at a bar on the beach, and I'm trying to take shots of the beach/ocean (well lit, but from the shade) and every picture turned out dark.

Is there some tutorial on how to use the camera on this thing? My iphone 4s took better pictures.

Photos outside in bright sunlight are fine... still not as good as my bf's M7, but fine.

I really don't want to return this thing for an S5. Help!

Play around with the ISO settings it has to do with the shutter speed. If the shutter is to fast you get less light, slow it down so you get get more light.

 

[tryatt]

Ok, so I'm sitting on vacation in Key West with my new M8, in the shade at a bar on the beach, and I'm trying to take shots of the beach/ocean (well lit, but from the shade) and every picture turned out dark.

Is there some tutorial on how to use the camera on this thing? My iphone 4s took better pictures.

Photos outside in bright sunlight are fine... still not as good as my bf's M7, but fine.

I really don't want to return this thing for an S5. Help!

Light metering is one of my biggest gripes with the phone ( I have some example pics in another thread somewhere).

You can try tapping the screen to re-evaluate the lighting, but this will also cause it to re-focus, but it will saving faffing around in manual mode. It would be good if HTC updated the camera to amend the light metering settings (and give you spot metering, partial metering etc.)

Blinkfeed often comes up with tips and tricks and had a good camera tutorial. It must be buried in one of the help menus somewhere. edit - go into the camera, go into settings, scroll to the bottom and you'll see tips & help.

 

[scottysize]

I'll keep saying it over and over again. The camera is what it is. It's not the worse, but it's not the best either. If you want good pictures, it'll do in a pinch, but it's not the best camera for a smart phone. I've compared tons of shots between my G2 and M8. The G2 pictures are crisper, clearer, and over all a higher quality than the M8. The camera is a major issue for me with this phone and one of 3 reasons why I'm switching to the G3 next month. I'm not saying everyone hates it, but I am saying I do.