14 DAY TRIAL // The all-new HTC One M9 has just started making its way into retail locations in the US and beyond, but it appears HTC is not yet done with trying to make money off its One M8.
The company has just pulled the veil off the One M8s model, a phone that is practically identical to the One M8, which was introduced last year. However, there are a few perks involved. For starters, we find a 64-bit system chip onboard, and luckily the company has scrapped off the UltraPixel main camera.
The One M8s arrives with an aluminum unibody and offers pretty much the same vibe as the One M8 before it.
HTC unveils another handset based on the One M8
The handset takes advantage of a 5-inch 1080 x 1920-pixel LCD display, but the Snapdragon 801 that was used to power the One M8 has now been swapped out and a Snapdragon 615 has been brought in instead (quad-core Cortex A53 clocked at 1.GHz and quad-core Cortex A53 clocked at 1GHz).
HTC is offering 2GB of RAM onboard and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card). In the photography department, HTC is now offering a 13MP main shooter with f/2.0 and dual rear camera setup, plus a 5MP selfie snapper up in front.
It’s interesting that the One M8s retains the dual camera affair that allows users to add bokeh effects to their smartphone photography.
The new phone measures 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.5 mm / 5.7 x 2.7 x 0.37 inches and weighs 5.64 oz / 160 g. Unlike the One M8, which has to be updated, the One M8s will ship out with Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box with HTC Sense on top.
The battery keeping everything alive on the model is slightly larger than that on the One M8, being of the 2840 mAh variety.
HTC is marketing the One M8s as a more advanced mid-ranger, so luckily, the phone will have a more attractive price tag than the One M9.
The phone will arrive on the old continent in the near future, but we probably won’t see it go on sale in the US. In the UK, it will be available for £379.99 / $561 / €516.
| HTC One M8s | HTC One M8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5-inch 1080p LCD | 5-inch 1080p LCD |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 |
| RAM/NAND | 2GB LPPDR3, 16GB NAND+microSD | 2GB LPDDR3, 16/32GB NAND+microSD |
| Camera | 13MP f/2.0 Rear Facing and rear depth camera, 5MP f.2.8 front facing | 4.0MP rear facing with 2.0 µm pixels, 1/3" CMOS size, F/2.0, 28mm (35mm equiv) and rear depth camera, 5MP F/2.0 FFC |
| Battery | 2840 mAh | 2600 mAh |
| OS | Android 5.0 with HTC Sense | Updated to Android 5.0 with HTC Sense |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE) | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE) |
| Dimensions | 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.55mm max, 160 grams | 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35mm max, 160 grams |