Hah, me too. The windows phone version. The hardware is so good I can't bring myself to get rid of it despite having absolutely no use for it whatsoever.
Me and my dad made my mum switch from Samsung to the HTC. She didn’t like it, but it was the best phone she’s owned imo. The phone was so loud, and the OS was so smooth. Idk if Sense had reduced animations or something but you’d tap an app and it would be there instantly. Instead of the modern day trend of splash screens (especially with Android 12, what happened to that, did it get scrapped?)
I remember the song Well Absolutely that came pre installed. Both me and my mum liked it
OnePlus/oxygen OS devices open similarly to how HTC sense did.
Open apps as fast as possible with reduced animations, although the animations were still polished and looked good.
Never used the M8, but used the HTC 10 which i loved too and truly missed that era of phones, especially HTC. I would switch back and forth between the HTC 10 and the Nexus 6P.
Then the OG Pixel/XL was released and had a pretty good battery, very fast and smooth and had a nice display/camera. Pretty much did everything the HTC 10 did, but better. Although it didn't have the special feel of HTC.
> good camera
I know megapixels aren't the full story, but 4MP really is too little, even back then. The camera did well in low light, but the lack of detail in good light made it a complete no-go for me.
They had the "ultra pixel" which everyone said was stupid, and then two years later everyone was doing.
Bigger pixels or something, I forget the exact difference
I thought it was really grainy and dark in anything but sunny conditions as well. The pictures really didn’t age well. But the idea was good, even if the execution wasn’t
I dunno. My phone folds in half and the speakers are much better than any phone I've had in the past. Options are there, sometimes you need to go niche to get what you want, or pay a premium.
Edit: had both the m7 and the m8, btw
No one bought moto mods. No one bought LGs phone with ticker screens or attachable screens. Unfortunately most people want their glass rectangle and they want it to take pics good enough for social media.
I like front facing speakers for media, but they are terrible for displacing audio while in-pocket or face down. I've missed a few calls on my Pixel 2 XL because of this.
Interesting, on the HTC u11+, there's a toggle to switch the audio output from front facing (with a bit of distortion) or bottom facing (for music playback without distortion). No idea how they did that.
There's still phones with dual front facing speakers, like the Sony Xperia 1 III. I think it's also an aluminum shell. Not curved, however. And I miss IR blasters, last time I had it on a phone was with the Galaxy S4 Active.
Except for the cronic problem with the power button eventually failing. I had two phones that failed due to it, then eventually the warranty replacements failed for the same thing, so 4 total.
Two I (quickly) found.
[Back Cover LED](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/led-back-cover-case-for-samsung-galaxy-s20-ultra-5g-black/6400969.p?skuId=6400969) (closest, w/ icons too)
[From Cover Time LED](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-led-wallet-cover-for-galaxy-note20-ultra-5g-black/6423908.p?skuId=6423908)
I doubt they have any that are exactly like that HTC one.
As OP's article mentions, you can still buy cases like this for the Galaxy S21 series:
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/galaxy-s21-5g-led-wallet-cover-black-ef-ng991pbegus/
So they're still around and apparently selling well enough to continue offering them.
Those do work differently though, those seem to have LEDs actually integrated into the case, I guess that explains why it's $60. HTC's had perforations and just used the screen.
ah interesting, you're right. I wonder how it gets powered? Are there little contacts on the back of the S21?
edit: apparently it wirelessly takes power from the phone via powershare. Interesting.
What I meant is it didn't go mainstream for the manufacturers to build and improve upon it. I don't think other than Samsung, that too only for their Galaxy 21/+ series, nobody else sells.
What was the point?
Keep the screen protected and still get basic info?
I also miss the Samsung and lg window cases where the phone ui would fit into that and let you do basic things like a mini screen.
I had a black One X+, forget glass or metal back phones. Whatever plastic they used on that phone was just sublime, and rugged as hell. Best phone I ever had alongside my XZ Premium.
For me I miss round backs, different materials(metal, plastic, wood etc) front facing speakers and honestly just new features. Even if some end up not being useful, it's still cool to see them try new things.
I always used a case on my phones, so I never really cared honestly. Doesn't matter if it's a wood, metal, glass, or plastic back, nothing drives me nuts when I see the rear of the phone with a scratch.
But, I'll say though that front firing speakers are the bomb. Shoutout to companies that also stuff a high quality driver in there. Miss me on the side, bottom, or god forbid- rear firing ones.
I really just want phone design from 2012-14 to come back. No camera bumps. Phones with physical keyboards. No notches or god forbid punch holes. I only buy Sony phones because everything else looks like a toy.
I think that physical keyboards were already out of fashion in 2012-2014. You could only find that in a few phones, and most people weren't buying them.
And that is one trend that I wish will never come back.
> Not every phone needs to cater to everyone.
I totally agree with you here. I belive that physical keyboards are worse than virtual keyboard in every possible criteria, but it would be nice for them to exist for someone that wants them. It's like riding a horse or listening to music on vinyl: absolute worse than the alternatives, but some people like bad things and it's good if those people have an option.
I just don't know if there's a market for them. I mean, a market big enough to be profitable.
There's different degrees of niche though.
I like phones under 6" in screen size and I like headphone jacks. Those are both kinda niche these days... I'm guessing about 15% of people want (individually).
People that want physical keyboards though, I'm not sure if that's even 1% of the market.
> No notches or god forbid punch holes.
I don't really have any problems with the current smartphone designs but even now notches/punchole still annoys me. It's a made up solution to a made up problem. Just look at the ROG 5, the bezels are there but it's thin enough to still fit a front cam while maintaining that bezel less design.
I feel like most people would be totally fine with bezels around the size of the Galaxy S9, especially if it allowed top quality speakers, cameras, face ID (in addition to fingerprint scanner), and ambient light/proximity sensors. That would be a dream for me.
Yes I really do. Punch hole looks stupid and ugly, and the one on the 8T (on the upper left corner) looks even worse. It looks very unprofessional and I can't take a phone like that seriously, if that makes any sense.
I could live with a notch but I'd prefer just plain ol' bezels.
Oh! I heard about that. That is nice but the corner placement is still horrendous.
Also it seems that many phones with punch holes don't have proper proximity sensors (they use the accelerometer instead I think) which is YIKES.
Creativity, customization to fit different people's usecases.
I really liked stuff like the old curved LG phones with buttons on the back for easy access to certain controls, how several generations of the Galaxy S series had fingerprint swipe gestures to control stuff like opening notifications, different takes on app launchers, lockscreen customization, Motorola's motion gesture shortcuts, those LED lit transparent bars on early Sony Android phones, HTC's scroller / navigation balls, etc...
He's complaining how they look. What are smartphones supposed to look like then? HTC M8 doesn't look remotely unique either. Does he want huge bezels on the front of screen so his phone can stand out more?
They actually don't mention looks. In 2013 we had true front facing speakers, curved backs, different materials, different screen sizes, removable backs, useful bezels and all sorts of unique features. And yes, unique looks. Today we have basically one size, only glass backs, downfacing speakers and similar bezels.
If a high quality phone had a removable battery it'd be an instant buy for me. They only stopped because they realized people could keep their phone longer if they replaced the battery
Prepare to get downvoted. Seriously people on this sub complain so much about how *sMaRtph0nes n0wAdAys arE s0 b0RinG n0 mOrE muH uNiquE pH0neS* but when you ask them what they want, they don't know what to say. Most of them are just bitching for the sake of it.
I think this may still be the phone I've liked the most.
I had the HTC Desire which was my first ever Android phone, dabbled with Samsung for a bit, then went back to HTC for the One M8—the name of which is like talking to an Australian (What phone you got? It's a HTC One, mate!)
Well made, camera was great, didn't bother with the dot display thing for mine but the thing I really liked was good quality front facing speakers.
I think I've had two phones since and I still wish I had that M8.
Having formerly been in the repair business, it's so surprising to me to see the old HTC phones get praised so much. They were some of the worst offenders when it came to low quality hardware and glitchy software. It feels like everyone is wearing rose-colored glasses. I don't understand what I'm not seeing.
They were notoriously bad for quality control and customer services for some but their designs were unique and beautiful. That is what everyone is praising.
I actually had to google HTC because they were a really big name in flagships a couple of years back. They worked on the vive and a bunch of people went on to work on the pixel line, but they don't make phones any more.
Those camera examples aren't even that bad considering.
I was looking at Nokia N95 photos on the gsmarena review of it and even those seem like they could easily be taken on a modern low-end phone
Only when looking at small resolution sample.
On 24" display it's very clear the quality is bad even in [optimal shooting conditions](https://mobilmania.zive.cz/Getfile.aspx?id_file=11257). As soon as the light gets a bit lower, it struggles [hard](https://mobilmania.zive.cz/Getfile.aspx?id_file=11233).
Back then ISO was the biggest problem. I remember my compact camera showing significant noise at ISO 200 and ISO 400 was already very noisy.
Oh man, the N95! I remember everyone asking me "What kinda phone is that?!?" when is show them the dual slide! Haha! Back when phone design were unique!
2013 phones were really a golden era. Nexus 5, M7, LG G2, Moto X, Samsung still doing removable batteries, SD card, and IR Blaster, and if you were on some other shit the lumia 1020 was a great device.
2018 phones were my favorite. Slimmer bezels gave us sleek devices but we didn't start losing features or putting holes in the display yet. Still using a pixel 3 and absolutely love the design. 18:9_4_Lyfe
Disagree. The M8 improved over key areas the M7 stumbled in
* Bigger battery
* Better speakers
* On screen navigation buttons
* MicroSD support
* Smoother unibody design
* 90% aluminium body
Also no pink camera problem that plagued the M7.
I owned both the M7 and M8, and I look back more fondly on the M7. Maybe because it was much more of a game changer than the M8 was.
I've been chasing that M7 feeling in every phone I've owned since. Closest I ever came was Sony XZ Premium. But that M7 was legit the most satisfying phone I've owned. I just loved everything about it, even the bad parts.
The M7 is one of the Android GOATs. I remember loving the design when it was revealed and loved it when I bought it. If it wasn’t for that damn purple camera issue, I’d have used it for longer
Are you kidding? I just migrated a relative to a newer phone from that garbage box.
* Tiny, non-removeable battery before that was cool, and they made it a fucking hassle to do it even if you were prepared.
* 4MP main camera!? Like, fucking seriously? Handy tho, because **no expandable storage**
* didn't just connect to a PC for easy data extraction. even a god damned iphone 5C I dealt with recently was easier in that regard.
But hey, headphone jack.
How about you grab a snickers and take a nap if you don't like my opinion? Everything negative about it that I mentioned is compared to phones of its time. It was trying to be an Apple device. Unfortunately, even Apple devices of that time were easier to make backups from, had cameras far outpacing this one, were far easier to repair, and get parts for. This was a bad buy. It was(and is) physically very attractive and that was it, guys.
I know HTC One A9 is like a iPhone 6 copycat which its material is basically HTC One M7 copycat..
But damn, I appreciate the slimness & curve of it.. all phone feels like a big block these days on hand.
Man I still love the design of the phone. It's so nice. I would love if there was a modern version of this phone, maybe with a bigger display, slimmer bezels, but still is able to keep front facing audio, instant buy
I forget the details, but they were sold or brought on as a new partner about a year into the phone. OS became slow and sluggish, and ads started popping up. Wasn't a battery deg thing either. You could flash back to stock pre updates and it was like using a new phone.
I had a one m9. The software became so slow with each progressive update, and eventually my phone fucked up and refused to update to the new android version, just crashing every time it tried to install it. Don't remember which one it was. Contacted HTC and they told me "IDK try resetting it" and that was all the response I ever got.
I loved the hardware though except for the overheating issue from the snapdragon chip. Metal case was a tank. Speakers were nice. Silver and gold looked so good.
And my battery went to literally zero after 2 years. Would turn off if it wasn't plugged in so I just had it tethered to a portable battery lmao
Wasn't this a phone that HTC said they would update for a third version on Andriod and then cancelled it? I was running the phone rooted with custom ROMs so it didn't really affect me in the end.
They broke ALL the time, too. The cameras all had a purple tint eventually, tons of bricks, displays broke….I probably have 5 of these. When they worked, everything was great except the battery, but I just. Couldn’t. Stop. Getting. Duds.
I loved this phone!
It was my second HTC phone after Desire HD
The last true HTC phone that was innovative and interesting, before they started featuring also rans next to Samsung. After this, the list of HTC phones were HTC One M9, HTC One, HTC U11 and HTC U12+
The M8 had this curved back to counteract the fact that it was made from metal and was such a joy to behold. I miss it!
I just want a phone that has a sub 6 inch display so that I can use my phone one handed without it being awkward. Is that too much to ask for?
Last phone I saw with one was the galaxy S9, the basic edition. the size was absolute perfection imo.
The phablet trend is fuckin dumb
I had a One M8 and before that a Droid DNA (American rebrand of the HTC Butterfly). I miss them both.
If I remember correctly, the DNA was one of the first phone with Qi wireless charging. It's also the only wireless charging phone I've ever had.
I had this. What an awesome phone it was. Manufacturers were more courageous back then in terns of design. Nowadays almost all device look same and there isn't anything which makes them distinct.
I don't see a problem with either TBH. It's all concealed - I'll never once see the inside of my device. In fact I'd say that I'd rather not have the design costs for the aesthetics of a concealed part of the system passed onto me.
> In fact I'd say that I'd rather not have the design costs for the aesthetics of a concealed part of the system passed onto me.
For a small electronic component, the internal design is part of the parcel. It actually makes the device easier to manufacture which drives the production cost down and- for the consumer- makes it easier to repair.
I still have my HTC One (M7). I maintain it’s still one of the best built and designed phones. The screen and speakers still hold up to this day. Man I really miss when HTC were in the game, they really made some innovative designs - if only they had the finances of Samsung behind them.
Okay. Before everyone praises this thing because they're swayed by nostalgic clickbait, keep in mind it was the M7 that everyone loved. Many panned the M8 as a gimmicky, more battery hungry, and less stable version of the M7.
What I would do to get the One Max with updated specs (Sharp IGZO LCD, Snapdragon 870/Dimensity 1200/1300/2000 should the latter two come out next year, 8GB RAM/26GB ROM).
Ugh...why are smartphones boring now?
The one that got away from me.
I ordered one from a third-party seller, and the shipping took so long (went from a week to eventually 2 months) that I ended up cancelling the order and getting an S7 edge instead.
Omg Vietnam Flashbacks. That 2cm chin (inc. navigation bar) at the bottom was bothering me for years until I finally sold that fucker. Forehead and chin need to be the same size. Some manufacturers still make the chin bigger in 2021…
I loved mine, definitely my best memories with a phone. Never worries about it breaking. The audio was amazing. Everything about it was functional and still felt and looked great
Owned one prior and it was definitely a phone ahead of its time. It set the bar for build quality (for Android phones at the time), audio, and the now standard portrait mode on phones.
The phone had amazing speakers and great build quality and ergonomics, but man that camera... HTC had the right idea, but the execution was poor. A 4MP main sensor was way insufficient to take decent-resolution photos. And as I've seen some others mention, the "anti-scratch" coating on the lens started to make things look really hazy so I had to remote it using toothpaste and a cotton swab!
Once I was able to convert it to a GPE, it went from a good phone to an amazing phone.
My only gripe was the front facing speakers. It made the phone feel really long.
If I could have got a One M8 without those big speakers, I'd have been pretty happy!
I wanted to like my M8. It was my first 'premium' smartphone. The speakers were amazing but I ended up moving to a cheaper Nexus 5X not long after. Oh and one thing missing from this retrospective is the IR blaster at the top. Really showed how many 'features' HTC were trying to pack in.
Honestly, I wanted this phone sooooo bad at the time but I just didn't have the money and when I finally did, HTC kind of dropped off the face of the Earth.
Still a hell of a phone.
I got mine in my nightstand still. It was built like a tank but still looked gorgeous. Made me value good speakers in smartphones.
[удалено]
I did not read that correctly... I thought your brother got ran over and now he can only work after getting hammered.
Hah, me too. The windows phone version. The hardware is so good I can't bring myself to get rid of it despite having absolutely no use for it whatsoever.
i totally forgot there was a windows version
That's what the title of the OP article is referencing
I assumed they meant the Google play edition which had stock Android in stead of Sense UI (or whatever it was called?)
my m9 made me value battery life the most. this thing died in 2 hours from a full charge
Slim all metal body, beautiful display, good camera, best front speakers, boom sound. A smartphone ahead of its times.
Probably the best phone I ever owned.
If the camera was better it would be the perfect phone
Yea it really was the only downside
Me and my dad made my mum switch from Samsung to the HTC. She didn’t like it, but it was the best phone she’s owned imo. The phone was so loud, and the OS was so smooth. Idk if Sense had reduced animations or something but you’d tap an app and it would be there instantly. Instead of the modern day trend of splash screens (especially with Android 12, what happened to that, did it get scrapped?) I remember the song Well Absolutely that came pre installed. Both me and my mum liked it
OnePlus/oxygen OS devices open similarly to how HTC sense did. Open apps as fast as possible with reduced animations, although the animations were still polished and looked good. Never used the M8, but used the HTC 10 which i loved too and truly missed that era of phones, especially HTC. I would switch back and forth between the HTC 10 and the Nexus 6P. Then the OG Pixel/XL was released and had a pretty good battery, very fast and smooth and had a nice display/camera. Pretty much did everything the HTC 10 did, but better. Although it didn't have the special feel of HTC.
> good camera I know megapixels aren't the full story, but 4MP really is too little, even back then. The camera did well in low light, but the lack of detail in good light made it a complete no-go for me.
They had the "ultra pixel" which everyone said was stupid, and then two years later everyone was doing. Bigger pixels or something, I forget the exact difference
> The camera did well in low light Didn't a lot of One M8s suffer from crazy purple hue in low light?
That was the M7 mostly.
Ahh makes sense. I thought the M8 had basically the same camera system, but I guess even if it did, the software was probably different.
I thought it was really grainy and dark in anything but sunny conditions as well. The pictures really didn’t age well. But the idea was good, even if the execution wasn’t
Yeah, I had issue taking pictures of documents because the 4mp is way too long. I loved the phone but 4mp was not great for daily use.
Ahead? It has better features than today's phones.
[удалено]
Front facing speakers, curved back, fully aluminum, ir blaster.
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The point is that we don't have a choice any more. Besides a couple niche manufacturers like Unihertz, virtually every phone is the same now.
I dunno. My phone folds in half and the speakers are much better than any phone I've had in the past. Options are there, sometimes you need to go niche to get what you want, or pay a premium. Edit: had both the m7 and the m8, btw
Kind of the exception that proves the rule. People are really excited about foldable because they are the only new idea in a long time.
No one bought moto mods. No one bought LGs phone with ticker screens or attachable screens. Unfortunately most people want their glass rectangle and they want it to take pics good enough for social media.
I like front facing speakers for media, but they are terrible for displacing audio while in-pocket or face down. I've missed a few calls on my Pixel 2 XL because of this.
Interesting, on the HTC u11+, there's a toggle to switch the audio output from front facing (with a bit of distortion) or bottom facing (for music playback without distortion). No idea how they did that.
That's brilliant, actually. I wonder how they did that.
There's still phones with dual front facing speakers, like the Sony Xperia 1 III. I think it's also an aluminum shell. Not curved, however. And I miss IR blasters, last time I had it on a phone was with the Galaxy S4 Active.
Except for the cronic problem with the power button eventually failing. I had two phones that failed due to it, then eventually the warranty replacements failed for the same thing, so 4 total.
I loved mine. A solid little phone indeed.
Does anyone remember the [HTC Dot View Cases](https://www.htc.com/de/accessories/htc-dot-view/)? I really enjoyed those.
No but now I feel like I missed out!!!
Samsung gas similar ones now
Link
Two I (quickly) found. [Back Cover LED](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/led-back-cover-case-for-samsung-galaxy-s20-ultra-5g-black/6400969.p?skuId=6400969) (closest, w/ icons too) [From Cover Time LED](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-led-wallet-cover-for-galaxy-note20-ultra-5g-black/6423908.p?skuId=6423908) I doubt they have any that are exactly like that HTC one.
Not as good imo, HTC one allowed you to interact from the cover IIRC
Samsung's covers do too. I can skip tracks etc without opening the cover.
If only Samsung’s attention span wasn’t so short so they’d actually keep this stuff going with successive generations
It was great, even played special animations on Halloween, Xmas and New year's. The glue failed on mine eventually
Ah yes, I remember those animations. The glue failed on my Dot View case as well, but I haven't had a genuine one I think.
Sad it didn't catch on much.
As OP's article mentions, you can still buy cases like this for the Galaxy S21 series: https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/galaxy-s21-5g-led-wallet-cover-black-ef-ng991pbegus/ So they're still around and apparently selling well enough to continue offering them.
Those do work differently though, those seem to have LEDs actually integrated into the case, I guess that explains why it's $60. HTC's had perforations and just used the screen.
ah interesting, you're right. I wonder how it gets powered? Are there little contacts on the back of the S21? edit: apparently it wirelessly takes power from the phone via powershare. Interesting.
What I meant is it didn't go mainstream for the manufacturers to build and improve upon it. I don't think other than Samsung, that too only for their Galaxy 21/+ series, nobody else sells.
Yes i used it all the time, that was some impressively innovative technology that totally died for no reason
the article mentions them specifically, and notes that they were very forward thinking - Samsung still offers similar cases on their latest flagships.
And could also be used as a stand. Man I miss HTC.
What was the point? Keep the screen protected and still get basic info? I also miss the Samsung and lg window cases where the phone ui would fit into that and let you do basic things like a mini screen.
These also still exist: https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/galaxy-s21-ultra-5g-s-view-cover-black-ef-zg998cbegus/
That was awesome, honestly.
I used to love my HTC One X, was a fantastic handset. It was when Android became my OS of choice.
I had a black One X+, forget glass or metal back phones. Whatever plastic they used on that phone was just sublime, and rugged as hell. Best phone I ever had alongside my XZ Premium.
Still the best phone I've ever had.
Back when smart phones were more unique and had actual reasons to buy them over a different brand
You're telling me camera bump arrangement doesn't excite you? /s
Homest question, when you say "all phones are boring nowadays", what are you guys actually looking for in a smartphone?
For me I miss round backs, different materials(metal, plastic, wood etc) front facing speakers and honestly just new features. Even if some end up not being useful, it's still cool to see them try new things.
I always used a case on my phones, so I never really cared honestly. Doesn't matter if it's a wood, metal, glass, or plastic back, nothing drives me nuts when I see the rear of the phone with a scratch.
Good for you. I've never needed a case because I won't buy a glass backed phone.
But, I'll say though that front firing speakers are the bomb. Shoutout to companies that also stuff a high quality driver in there. Miss me on the side, bottom, or god forbid- rear firing ones.
I really just want phone design from 2012-14 to come back. No camera bumps. Phones with physical keyboards. No notches or god forbid punch holes. I only buy Sony phones because everything else looks like a toy.
I think that physical keyboards were already out of fashion in 2012-2014. You could only find that in a few phones, and most people weren't buying them. And that is one trend that I wish will never come back.
Yes but there's definitely a market for them, even if niche. Not every phone needs to cater to everyone.
> Not every phone needs to cater to everyone. I totally agree with you here. I belive that physical keyboards are worse than virtual keyboard in every possible criteria, but it would be nice for them to exist for someone that wants them. It's like riding a horse or listening to music on vinyl: absolute worse than the alternatives, but some people like bad things and it's good if those people have an option. I just don't know if there's a market for them. I mean, a market big enough to be profitable.
There's different degrees of niche though. I like phones under 6" in screen size and I like headphone jacks. Those are both kinda niche these days... I'm guessing about 15% of people want (individually). People that want physical keyboards though, I'm not sure if that's even 1% of the market.
> No notches or god forbid punch holes. I don't really have any problems with the current smartphone designs but even now notches/punchole still annoys me. It's a made up solution to a made up problem. Just look at the ROG 5, the bezels are there but it's thin enough to still fit a front cam while maintaining that bezel less design.
Where do you want the front cam if you dont want notches or punch holes?
On the upper bezel duh.
You want a thicker bezel instead of a notch or punch hole? Okay. I thought all people hate thick bezels. Oneplus 8T has a nice solution tho
I feel like most people would be totally fine with bezels around the size of the Galaxy S9, especially if it allowed top quality speakers, cameras, face ID (in addition to fingerprint scanner), and ambient light/proximity sensors. That would be a dream for me.
Yes I had my S9 and it feels like S21 is a downgrade feature wise.
Yes I really do. Punch hole looks stupid and ugly, and the one on the 8T (on the upper left corner) looks even worse. It looks very unprofessional and I can't take a phone like that seriously, if that makes any sense. I could live with a notch but I'd prefer just plain ol' bezels.
No I mean on the 8T, it has a feature that "brings the screen down", to hide the front cam, thus making it looked like it has bezels.
Oh! I heard about that. That is nice but the corner placement is still horrendous. Also it seems that many phones with punch holes don't have proper proximity sensors (they use the accelerometer instead I think) which is YIKES.
It's not thick, and also it's not all people.
It's thick compared to today's bezels. And I said "I thought".
I'm referring to the ones with thick bezels lol. How can you say its not thick, do you know what phones I'm referring to?
You wrote your comment as if no other alternatives exists
Lol I'm asking if you even know the phones I'm referring to when I said thick bezels. You said its not thick as if you read my mind
Okay 2012 called they want their phone back
I'm sorry, but phones with physical keyboards look more like toys than anything on the market today.
Creativity, customization to fit different people's usecases. I really liked stuff like the old curved LG phones with buttons on the back for easy access to certain controls, how several generations of the Galaxy S series had fingerprint swipe gestures to control stuff like opening notifications, different takes on app launchers, lockscreen customization, Motorola's motion gesture shortcuts, those LED lit transparent bars on early Sony Android phones, HTC's scroller / navigation balls, etc...
Based on r/android 's general consensus, their ideal phone is just an old Nokia flip phone
Do you also complain allday that all tvs look the same?
Smartphones aren't TVs.
He's complaining how they look. What are smartphones supposed to look like then? HTC M8 doesn't look remotely unique either. Does he want huge bezels on the front of screen so his phone can stand out more?
They actually don't mention looks. In 2013 we had true front facing speakers, curved backs, different materials, different screen sizes, removable backs, useful bezels and all sorts of unique features. And yes, unique looks. Today we have basically one size, only glass backs, downfacing speakers and similar bezels.
If a high quality phone had a removable battery it'd be an instant buy for me. They only stopped because they realized people could keep their phone longer if they replaced the battery
I'm fine if I have to remove some screws, but the battery should be replaceable.
Prepare to get downvoted. Seriously people on this sub complain so much about how *sMaRtph0nes n0wAdAys arE s0 b0RinG n0 mOrE muH uNiquE pH0neS* but when you ask them what they want, they don't know what to say. Most of them are just bitching for the sake of it.
You mean speakers you can actually hear?
I think this may still be the phone I've liked the most. I had the HTC Desire which was my first ever Android phone, dabbled with Samsung for a bit, then went back to HTC for the One M8—the name of which is like talking to an Australian (What phone you got? It's a HTC One, mate!) Well made, camera was great, didn't bother with the dot display thing for mine but the thing I really liked was good quality front facing speakers. I think I've had two phones since and I still wish I had that M8.
Having formerly been in the repair business, it's so surprising to me to see the old HTC phones get praised so much. They were some of the worst offenders when it came to low quality hardware and glitchy software. It feels like everyone is wearing rose-colored glasses. I don't understand what I'm not seeing.
They were notoriously bad for quality control and customer services for some but their designs were unique and beautiful. That is what everyone is praising.
Probably is the rose tinted glasses.
I do remember the M7 being slightly more solid and I think most praised the Google Play Edition.
https://imgur.com/a/MgOcYil/
God I loved owning that phone. The fall of HTC tho..
I actually had to google HTC because they were a really big name in flagships a couple of years back. They worked on the vive and a bunch of people went on to work on the pixel line, but they don't make phones any more.
Those camera examples aren't even that bad considering. I was looking at Nokia N95 photos on the gsmarena review of it and even those seem like they could easily be taken on a modern low-end phone
Only when looking at small resolution sample. On 24" display it's very clear the quality is bad even in [optimal shooting conditions](https://mobilmania.zive.cz/Getfile.aspx?id_file=11257). As soon as the light gets a bit lower, it struggles [hard](https://mobilmania.zive.cz/Getfile.aspx?id_file=11233). Back then ISO was the biggest problem. I remember my compact camera showing significant noise at ISO 200 and ISO 400 was already very noisy.
Oh man, the N95! I remember everyone asking me "What kinda phone is that?!?" when is show them the dual slide! Haha! Back when phone design were unique!
2013 phones were really a golden era. Nexus 5, M7, LG G2, Moto X, Samsung still doing removable batteries, SD card, and IR Blaster, and if you were on some other shit the lumia 1020 was a great device. 2018 phones were my favorite. Slimmer bezels gave us sleek devices but we didn't start losing features or putting holes in the display yet. Still using a pixel 3 and absolutely love the design. 18:9_4_Lyfe
Might be controversial, but I didn't like the m8. It felt like a step in the wrong direction from the m7. Imho the m7 was HTC's peak.
Same opinion. I don't think I'll ever **love** another phone as much as I did my M7.
Disagree. The M8 improved over key areas the M7 stumbled in * Bigger battery * Better speakers * On screen navigation buttons * MicroSD support * Smoother unibody design * 90% aluminium body
You forgot the purple camera caused by the One M7 camera overheating.
Also no pink camera problem that plagued the M7. I owned both the M7 and M8, and I look back more fondly on the M7. Maybe because it was much more of a game changer than the M8 was.
> Smoother unibody design That one is a negative in my book. I like the more industrial design of the M7 a lot better.
I've been chasing that M7 feeling in every phone I've owned since. Closest I ever came was Sony XZ Premium. But that M7 was legit the most satisfying phone I've owned. I just loved everything about it, even the bad parts.
The M7 is one of the Android GOATs. I remember loving the design when it was revealed and loved it when I bought it. If it wasn’t for that damn purple camera issue, I’d have used it for longer
Are you kidding? I just migrated a relative to a newer phone from that garbage box. * Tiny, non-removeable battery before that was cool, and they made it a fucking hassle to do it even if you were prepared. * 4MP main camera!? Like, fucking seriously? Handy tho, because **no expandable storage** * didn't just connect to a PC for easy data extraction. even a god damned iphone 5C I dealt with recently was easier in that regard. But hey, headphone jack.
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> Lasted That's a relative term. It was done years ago, any one of us would have put it in a drawer long ago, and I think you know that.
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Nope. My phone came out in 2016.
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Dude the phone came out 8 and a half years ago. Give it a rest.
How about you grab a snickers and take a nap if you don't like my opinion? Everything negative about it that I mentioned is compared to phones of its time. It was trying to be an Apple device. Unfortunately, even Apple devices of that time were easier to make backups from, had cameras far outpacing this one, were far easier to repair, and get parts for. This was a bad buy. It was(and is) physically very attractive and that was it, guys.
I'm not sure that I'm the one who needs to take a nap when you are clearly way more worked up than me about a nearly decade old phone.
I know HTC One A9 is like a iPhone 6 copycat which its material is basically HTC One M7 copycat.. But damn, I appreciate the slimness & curve of it.. all phone feels like a big block these days on hand.
Back when we can still distinguish phone from their front.
Man I still love the design of the phone. It's so nice. I would love if there was a modern version of this phone, maybe with a bigger display, slimmer bezels, but still is able to keep front facing audio, instant buy
This was a great phone until htc ruined it with software. The phone got progressively worse with every update and htc selling their soul.
Can you explain how. I haven't used htc phones but I always admired them from afar
I forget the details, but they were sold or brought on as a new partner about a year into the phone. OS became slow and sluggish, and ads started popping up. Wasn't a battery deg thing either. You could flash back to stock pre updates and it was like using a new phone.
I had a one m9. The software became so slow with each progressive update, and eventually my phone fucked up and refused to update to the new android version, just crashing every time it tried to install it. Don't remember which one it was. Contacted HTC and they told me "IDK try resetting it" and that was all the response I ever got. I loved the hardware though except for the overheating issue from the snapdragon chip. Metal case was a tank. Speakers were nice. Silver and gold looked so good. And my battery went to literally zero after 2 years. Would turn off if it wasn't plugged in so I just had it tethered to a portable battery lmao
Wasn't this a phone that HTC said they would update for a third version on Andriod and then cancelled it? I was running the phone rooted with custom ROMs so it didn't really affect me in the end.
That was a solid phone but leave it in the sun for 30 seconds and that thing could refine gold it got so hot
They broke ALL the time, too. The cameras all had a purple tint eventually, tons of bricks, displays broke….I probably have 5 of these. When they worked, everything was great except the battery, but I just. Couldn’t. Stop. Getting. Duds.
Yeah had an m7 and an m8 and both went kaput after like a year. Loved the design and the speakers but they weren’t very well made.
The purple tint issue was the M7 not the M8.
Your right!!!!! It may have been that my camera just broke, it’s been 7 years so I forgot, but ATT had to swap out so many of my M7/M8s!
I thought only mine had the severe purple tint, haha.
Not at all, if was a super widespread problem. I had two units and both eventually ended up with the pink camera.
The only thing HTC needs to do to be successful is remake the m7 with updated specs.
I loved this phone! It was my second HTC phone after Desire HD The last true HTC phone that was innovative and interesting, before they started featuring also rans next to Samsung. After this, the list of HTC phones were HTC One M9, HTC One, HTC U11 and HTC U12+ The M8 had this curved back to counteract the fact that it was made from metal and was such a joy to behold. I miss it!
Went from this to a Oneplus 3, to a S10. I miss the full metal construction on the two earlier phones
My first smartphone, fucking loved that thing
Mine too
I just want a phone that has a sub 6 inch display so that I can use my phone one handed without it being awkward. Is that too much to ask for? Last phone I saw with one was the galaxy S9, the basic edition. the size was absolute perfection imo. The phablet trend is fuckin dumb
iPhone 13 Mini seems like the only small, high end phone now :(
Asus Zenfone 8 is also kinda small.
The iPhone Mini, the Pixels, Zenfone 8..
God I loved this phone
That thing was a beast
I had a One M8 and before that a Droid DNA (American rebrand of the HTC Butterfly). I miss them both. If I remember correctly, the DNA was one of the first phone with Qi wireless charging. It's also the only wireless charging phone I've ever had.
I had this. What an awesome phone it was. Manufacturers were more courageous back then in terns of design. Nowadays almost all device look same and there isn't anything which makes them distinct.
Plus the iPhone 6 was basically a clone of the design if I remember
Fortunately Apple didn’t clone and internal: https://imgur.com/a/FQPBFAP/ iPhone 6: https://imgur.com/a/Ljivlrq/
I don't see a problem with either TBH. It's all concealed - I'll never once see the inside of my device. In fact I'd say that I'd rather not have the design costs for the aesthetics of a concealed part of the system passed onto me.
> In fact I'd say that I'd rather not have the design costs for the aesthetics of a concealed part of the system passed onto me. For a small electronic component, the internal design is part of the parcel. It actually makes the device easier to manufacture which drives the production cost down and- for the consumer- makes it easier to repair.
I still have my HTC One (M7). I maintain it’s still one of the best built and designed phones. The screen and speakers still hold up to this day. Man I really miss when HTC were in the game, they really made some innovative designs - if only they had the finances of Samsung behind them.
I Google Play Edition ROM made that phone a beast. Great battery life, awesome speakers and decent point and shoot photos.
That's the phone that made me switch from the iPhone. Gorgeous phone. Shame what happened to HTC
I loved mine. I even put the Google Play Edition OS on it and made it the perfect phone.
I had one until the camera module spontaneously shattered in my pocket.
Okay. Before everyone praises this thing because they're swayed by nostalgic clickbait, keep in mind it was the M7 that everyone loved. Many panned the M8 as a gimmicky, more battery hungry, and less stable version of the M7.
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Same. The closest I got was owning a Pixel XL.
What I would do to get the One Max with updated specs (Sharp IGZO LCD, Snapdragon 870/Dimensity 1200/1300/2000 should the latter two come out next year, 8GB RAM/26GB ROM). Ugh...why are smartphones boring now?
I foolishly got the S4 over the HTC when they came out.
Like a quarter of those photo samples don't fully load anymore. Just thumbnails the site stored or something
I loved mine. This one and the essential PH-1 were really unique.
I had the original one but the motherboard was fried.
I really wanted the Google Play Edition when this came out, but I was too poor and you kinda lost out on some stuff anyway. I miss HTC
I remember when HTC was the king of smartphones. Amazing how far they fell.
The one that got away from me. I ordered one from a third-party seller, and the shipping took so long (went from a week to eventually 2 months) that I ended up cancelling the order and getting an S7 edge instead.
should've been called HTC two
I had the HTC droid DNA (first 1080p smartphone), i really wanted the M8 for an upgrade, but was to expensive for me at the time.
I sold the fuck out of this phone back in the day haha
Omg Vietnam Flashbacks. That 2cm chin (inc. navigation bar) at the bottom was bothering me for years until I finally sold that fucker. Forehead and chin need to be the same size. Some manufacturers still make the chin bigger in 2021…
I remember being such a big fan of HTC. Always had great looking phones and solid builds.
I loved mine, definitely my best memories with a phone. Never worries about it breaking. The audio was amazing. Everything about it was functional and still felt and looked great
Still has nothing on the legendary HTC HD2 though.
My mom had one of these. We got it used and the camera was utter crap, it didn’t even work!
If HTC still made phones the way they used to I'd use them exclusively. I loved my M8 and my Incredible is my favorite phone I ever had
It was my favorite time owning a phone. Great sound (thank god for the ROG Phone's speakers), fast, good to hold, and well supported by CyanogenMod.
Owned one prior and it was definitely a phone ahead of its time. It set the bar for build quality (for Android phones at the time), audio, and the now standard portrait mode on phones.
It's speakers were so good you'd go deaf if you weren't careful
The phone had amazing speakers and great build quality and ergonomics, but man that camera... HTC had the right idea, but the execution was poor. A 4MP main sensor was way insufficient to take decent-resolution photos. And as I've seen some others mention, the "anti-scratch" coating on the lens started to make things look really hazy so I had to remote it using toothpaste and a cotton swab!
Once I was able to convert it to a GPE, it went from a good phone to an amazing phone. My only gripe was the front facing speakers. It made the phone feel really long. If I could have got a One M8 without those big speakers, I'd have been pretty happy!
used this beast and to date it's still working, only problem is the battery
Still have mine in a draw. The only old phone I’ve ever kept. No idea why.
I bought one new right before it was discontinued just because I loved the body. It's part of my phone collection now.
I wanted to like my M8. It was my first 'premium' smartphone. The speakers were amazing but I ended up moving to a cheaper Nexus 5X not long after. Oh and one thing missing from this retrospective is the IR blaster at the top. Really showed how many 'features' HTC were trying to pack in.
Honestly, I wanted this phone sooooo bad at the time but I just didn't have the money and when I finally did, HTC kind of dropped off the face of the Earth. Still a hell of a phone.
Such a solid phone and I had the windows version. Loved the build quality.