htc one m8 or galaxy s5 - One (M8) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey there, my dad is due for an upgrade and can't decide between the two.
What are your HONEST thoughts, I played with both and.found the m8 to be snappier but the screen looking odd with those big bezels. What's your average SOT before the.phone dies?

I just upgraded to the M8 while my girlfriend got the S5. I can't speak for the support of custom Roms and development on the S5 but I've been more than happy with getting my M8 the way I like it. I'm using gpe firmware with skydragon and everything is crisp and fully customizable. I was able to get s-off easily with sunshine too.
I like the hardware buttons on the S5 but overall think the M8 is the way to go.
Head on over to the "what is your battery like" thread for everyone's opinion. I'm not sure about SOT for me, but average use lasts me about 30 hours right now.

If you played with both, I surprised it is even a debate. I had a similar quandary about a year back, comparing the phones on paper; as they have very similar specs. But once I had the 2 in hand at a store, it was no comparison. The S5 just felt like a cheap plastic kids toy. While the M8 felt like a well-eingineered and precision crafted device, fitting it price tag.
Plus, TouchWiz is horribly laggy on most Samsung devices from last year. So with inferior software and hardware, its really no contest.
Who cares about the bezel? Despite popular believe, the black bar at the bottom (where it says "HTC") is space needed due to the internal components, even though they removed the capacitive buttons (from the M7). If they just colored it silver, most people would probably not be complaining about it. Or if they made it smaller, they would have had to increase the bezel on the sides or top, or make the device thicker.

Related

So torn; Keep the One m8 or get the S5 ?

Hello, would like some honest advice and opinions please, on whether to keep my new ATT HTC One M8 or get the ATT Galaxy S5 ?
I am no fanboy, I have owned like 11 or 12 different Android phones over the past four years, HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc... To me the company brand doesn't really matter whatsoever. In this order is my opinion on most important features; #1 = Best battery life, #2 = Best screen, #3 = Pocketable and good feel in hand, and weight in pants / shorts, #4 = Root option, to debloat the phone, and install apps like AdAway, and Greenify, and Xposed Framework, #4 = Smoothness of the OS and UI, no lag, and good looking UI.
Little recent phone history the past year, I have had the ATT S4 since the Fall, and before that the Nexus 4. Got rid of the Nexus due to average battery life, and dropped it and cracked the screen. Got the ATT S4, and liked it, but didn't know about the lock bootloader before I bought it, so Root was my only option, but I was cool with that, root allowed me to all I wanted, like delete apps, install root apps, and also Xposed framework with Wanam, and I turned my S4 into a cool phone, but the S4 screen always seemed too dim for outdoors, and battery life was ok, not bad, not great, and it did lag a little here and there. So...time for an upgrade.
Reading every review out there between the new HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, made them seem like such a tie, it was more personal features that separated them, but hardware wise, both phones share very similar components, and pretty close battery life.
After owning the One M8 for a week now, only noticeable drawbacks coming form an S4, is the weight of the M8 feels much heavier, especially when in the pockets of my pants or coat, it weighs it down noticeably more than the S4 did, and with gym shorts on the M8 feels like a brick, where the S4 was very feather light in comparison. And turning it on, the S4 with the bottom home button, I was so used to pressing then and then swiping hand to turn on the screen. The M8 has knock on, which is ok, but I don't like it that much, and then the power button on top to turn screen on, is a little pain.
But the M8 has a very beautiful LCD screen, and looks great outdoors. The speed of the M8 is crazy fast. And Sense 6 looks really good, almost like stock Android, but lightly improved or touched up. Where as Touchwiz on my S4 was an ugly mess. The settings on the Galaxy S4 was a cluster**** design, where as the Sense 6 settings menu is smart and clean looking.
But I did see a coworker with a new S5, and I did get a little jealous of it, the screen looked pretty dang sweet and his all black S5 phone in a black case, looked stealth bad ass cool The M8 in dark gray, doesn't really have an exact color matching case, so with a case on the M8 it really loose the coolness big time, this M8 looks best naked, as soon as a case it put on it, the great design disappears.
Only thing keeping me back from the S5, is ATT, and no Root, and I know for sure no bootloader unlock coming ever, but at least basic Root I need on a phone. How do you use a phone with all that crapwear installed without removing it ? And I can't afford the $700 to buy an off contract S5, plus I think that's outrageous to pay, I'd just wait for the One+ or Nexus 6 for $399.
So bottom line, is the ATT S5 worth it over the M8, if I like the lighter weight, the home button to turn it on, the gorgeous screen, and stealth look of the black design ? But with no Root, not sure I can live with that ? But then I do love Sense 6, and the ROM'ing I can do on the M8, and battery life has been off the charts good on this M8 with my rooted settings, which battery life is extremely important to me.
So ... ?
Zorachus said:
But I did see a coworker with a new S5, and I did get a little jealous of it, the screen looked pretty dang sweet and his all black S5 phone in a black case, looked stealth bad ass cool The M8 in dark gray, doesn't really have an exact color matching case, so with a case on the M8 it really loose the coolness big time, this M8 looks best naked, as soon as a case it put on it, the great design disappears.
Only thing keeping me back from the S5, is ATT, and no Root, and I know for sure no bootloader unlock coming ever, but at least basic Root I need on a phone. How do you use a phone with all that crapwear installed without removing it ? And I can't afford the $700 to buy an off contract S5, plus I think that's outrageous to pay, I'd just wait for the One+ or Nexus 6 for $399.
So bottom line, is the ATT S5 worth it over the M8, if I like the lighter weight, the home button to turn it on, the gorgeous screen, and stealth look of the black design ? But with no Root, not sure I can live with that ? But then I do love Sense 6, and the ROM'ing I can do on the M8, and battery life has been off the charts good on this M8 with my rooted settings, which battery life is extremely important to me.
So ... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it all comes down to a case..... Face/Palm
Read your post back - you kinda answer your own question
I vote absolutely not. I'm never going back to anywhere near touchwiz. You'll miss the speakers and build. Get the nexus 5 if you want light and better buttons.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
and another one bites the dust....
I will say, the M8 feels very premium in the hand, and the screen is extremely crisp, bright, and clear looking, was great outdoors yesterday at a family party in the backyard, could see the M8 screen easily during the day, and I NEVER could see well outdoors with the S4. My old S4 feels like a kids plastic toy, compared to the luxury feel of the M8. And Sense 6 with the Black / White colors, looks very professional and polished, compared to the butt ugly nasty Touchwiz on my S4.
But I haven't really played with an S5 much, so I am comparing my M8 to S4 which isn't fair.
I just miss the lightweight feel of the S4, with the rounded corners, felt very good in the palm of the hand.
But this M8 has amazing battery life, almost near that of my old Note 2. Plus if I want a Nexus feel, I can easily flash the M8 GPE ROM which is great to have that option. But the water resistance and dust proof tech in the S5 is a very useful feature, as is the lighter feel in the hand, even with a case on the S5 will weigh less than the naked M8.
Download your favourite Album in FLAC format and play it through the speakers.
That should answer your question.
15 grams separate the M8 from the S5
I don't think thats even noticeable!
You do know you can just Swype the m8 to unlock? My wife has s5 because she wanted the watch. It is very nice but in my opinion it is no comparison to my m8. That thing has bloat for days. No way to root it yet. Great camera but when you go to text a pic it compresses so much it looks terrible. No one wants to email all their pics. This was a problem with the s4 too. It's your choice but if you like to change up your phone, stay with the m8.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Good points. Yeah my S4 I was starting to hate lately. Cheap slimy plastic back. And TW on the S4 was butt ugly.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Have fun with your dinky speakers.
I mean SPEAKER. Not all flagships come with two.
HTC UltimEight ?
Until Samsung change things up I have no desire to go for the S series . . . The Note 4 is suppose to be changing design but again it will just copy the S5 features wise . . .
S5 didn't even interest me at all . .I was going for M8 or Z2 to be honest . . Not at all sad that I chose the M8!
I'd keep hold !!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Saw the bosses S5 earlier today. Had to try really hard to mock him for not getting the M8.
In terms of build quality and sheer sexy gadget appeal, the M8 blows the S5 clean out of the water.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda app-developers app
This is my first workday with the M8. Holy sh!t AMAZING battery life. Right now unplugged off charger for 12h 48m and battery is at 57%. And I used the phone a good amount today too, all on 4G today, no Wi-Fi. Wow that's really good.
How can I see the On Screen time ? I am guessing has to be at least 3h screen on time today for me, and still have 50% battery left to go
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
The M8 is more feature-rich. I say stay with what you got. More cases will come, btw...it's brand new phone for crying out loud.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
Thread Closed
I'm closing this, just like other similar threads, as we don't allow comparison threads.
We don't allow these threads as it can very easily lead to heated debates/arguments about which phone is the "best". It's also an open opportunity for fanboy trolls to come along and ruin such threads.
Also, asking in the M8 forum will undoubtedly bring bias results as most people in this section either have the M8 or are getting the M8.
If you wish to ask such a question, please use the existing Device Suggestion Thread!
Regards,
- KidCarter93
Forum Moderator

HTC 10 vs Samsung S7

Hello, I have been a long time fan of HTC, and still use my One S from 2012. Back then the one series was the best in every department, the Samsung equivalent has was nowhere in sight.
Anyway time has finally come to upgrade, and looking at the reviews I am torn between the HTC 10 and Samsung S7. I know there must be plenty of threads on this topic, but I couldn't find any using the search, so please link if there is any. I created a list below, but I wanted the opinions of the owners to tell me if they are accurate.
HTC 10 Pros:
Unlocked Bootloader/Easy custom ROMS
Best Lite Android UI (Sense)
Use SD Card are Internal Storage
Boomsound and Audio Codecs
USB 3.0
S7 Pros:
AMOLED >>>> LCD
Camera??
Waterproofing
A lot has been said about the camera problems with the HTC 10, the latest update v1.51 was supposed to address the issues. Have any owners received the update and has it improved to match the S7? And I guess with further updates the camera can only get better...
But on the other hand, surely with time the S7 will become unlockable and easy to install custom ROM's? And if so I could easily install a better ROM with near stock android UI
Not sure what to decide. What do owners think of my list, do they agree with the things I have said??
Cheers
Well I have the S7 Edge and I decided to buy the HTC 10 because I was sick of all the issues the S7 Edge had, if that tells you anything.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
At the end of the day, both devices are more than capable, so I'm forced to be a little nitpicky and look at what I consider big cons for me that I've read about throughout my research on both. I do want the HTC 10 far more.
HTC 10 has been experiencing random screen issues, such as pink/yellow tints.
SG7 has been experiencing random pink tints, too, plus an apparent dead zone on the lowest point of the screen. I've also read about the camera glass randomly cracking/shattering. The entire phone being incased in glass makes me very nervous. A bump/drop could mean a shattered phone instead of a cracked screen.
Sadly, due to my wedding/money issues I'm forced to use my BestBuy credit to upgrade, so if the unlocked HTC 10 does not come to BestBuy, I'm forced into a Exynos G7.
I've got the TMo S7 and will probably switch to the 10 when it's available for Jump.
The S7 is definitely not a bad phone at all. I love the waterproofing on it and only have a few minor complaints. The speaker isn't great, probably takes a hit from the waterproofing. I get a lot of accidental touches on the edges of the screen from my palm when using it one handed. Lastly, the home button is pretty loud. I use my phone a lot in bed while my fiancée is asleep, and it just seems deafeningly loud (exaggerating a lot, but in a quite bedroom it is noticeable).
I haven't used an HTC device in a few years so I'm not sure how it will compare, but I'm looking forward to giving it a shot.
I went from a Note 5 to the HTC 10 (just look at my signature for order of devices...I have zero brand loyalty). Couple buddies of mine went to the S7E. Nice device, but just like the Note 5, forget modding it. To me it looks like a bigger fisher price phone. Flashy design, flashy bold colors, and absolutely zero customization. No thanks...never again. I would have went for a Nexus phone but I like the SD slot so HTC 10 was my pick.
Sammy Exynos versions are unlockable and have a dev community going. It's just the US versions that are locked down.
Sammy isn't as forgiving as GTC, though, and rooting and such will void your warranty.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
I don't have a preference between LCD and AMOLED, honestly. AMOLED has its strengths, but I like better color reproduction vs. saturation. This is, of course, a personal preference. And I'm pretty sure the 10's camera is aboooooouuuut as good as the S7's, especially post-update. Dxomark thought so, anyway.
I'd hate to inflame a useless Samsung vs. HTC flame war, but Samsung's button placement and UI make me want to smash their phones off of a concrete floor, douse them in lighter fluid, burn them, and fire them into the sun.
I'm on T-Mobile, and with the locked bootloader on the S7, I'm about to JUMP again to the HTC 10, personally. The S7 is nice if you don't care about rooting, but I'm too much of a tinkerer to do without. There's a workaround for adoptable storage on the S7, but it causes the reporting of the storage to mess up and display wrong information, which makes me wonder if that's why Samsung left it out. The cameras will likely be fairly even since the update, and honestly, I listen to music more than I take pictures, so the 10 is better suited for me. I also am not a fan at all of Samsung's UI, but I thought I'd be able to fix that with root.
I'm on T-Mobile as well and have one more Jump until June with Jump on Demand. I'm waiting for the 10 to hit their stores so I can make up my mind.
I obviously can't make a pro's and con's list since I don't own the 10 but I can make a list of what I'm worried about switching from the S7 Edge to the HTC 10.
1. Battery......I have gotten a taste of what 8 hours SOT and over a day of usage tastes like. After reading some posts regarding the 10's battery life, it looks like one area I'd regret.
2. Display.....Putting the AMOLED/LCD argument aside because honestly, I could care less what display technology my phone has just as long as it's a good display. What I'm worried about however is the size and brightness. I use my phone a lot outdoors and after reading some reviews, it looks like the S7E is much brighter in direct sunlight. In regards to screen size, I've been using a phone with a 5.5 inch + display for the past 2 years and feel like anything below 5.5in. will feel small.
3. Camera.....I love the camera on the S7E and as of right now, I believe it to be the better camera in most situations as of right now. I do think HTC will improve the 10's camera through updates but it still worries me.
If HTC would have built this exact phone around a 5.5in display and a 3600 mAh battery, it would have made my decision much easier. I like the speaker design and I love how they didn't skin Android's UI to death. Granted it doesn't really effect me too much since Nova is the first app I install on every phone.
I guess we will see what happens on the 18th when the phone hit's T-Mobile shelves.
jrwingate6 said:
I'm on T-Mobile as well and have one more Jump until June with Jump on Demand. I'm waiting for the 10 to hit their stores so I can make up my mind.
I obviously can't make a pro's and con's list since I don't own the 10 but I can make a list of what I'm worried about switching from the S7 Edge to the HTC 10.
1. Battery......I have gotten a taste of what 8 hours SOT and over a day of usage tastes like. After reading some posts regarding the 10's battery life, it looks like one area I'd regret.
2. Display.....Putting the AMOLED/LCD argument aside because honestly, I could care less what display technology my phone has just as long as it's a good display. What I'm worried about however is the size and brightness. I use my phone a lot outdoors and after reading some reviews, it looks like the S7E is much brighter in direct sunlight. In regards to screen size, I've been using a phone with a 5.5 inch + display for the past 2 years and feel like anything below 5.5in. will feel small.
3. Camera.....I love the camera on the S7E and as of right now, I believe it to be the better camera in most situations as of right now. I do think HTC will improve the 10's camera through updates but it still worries me.
If HTC would have built this exact phone around a 5.5in display and a 3600 mAh battery, it would have made my decision much easier. I like the speaker design and I love how they didn't skin Android's UI to death. Granted it doesn't really effect me too much since Nova is the first app I install on every phone.
I guess we will see what happens on the 18th when the phone hit's T-Mobile shelves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could run into a Verizon store and check it out. That's what I did as I was waiting for mine to arrive. I'm very satisfied with the 10. Only downside I've had is screen brightness outdoors.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Galaxy s7 Switchers?

Anyone who decided to return their s7 and go for the HTC 10, is there anything you miss from your s7?
Thanks!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/help/planning-to-switch-s7-edge-t3371639
I really want the HTC 10 but their shoddy release so far is making me very impatient. I may be forced into an S7, sadly.
The only thing I miss is the wireless charging.
I have both phones currently.
What I've noticed so far that I miss about the s7: it's narrower. With the leather case on it, it's only 20 thousandths of an inch thicker than the htc10 without a case. The case selection for the s7 is so much better. I'm sure it's more than cases, but that was the issue I encountered the most. The screen auto brightness adjusted faster on the s7. The s7 being waterproof... I actually have this cross my mind every day or two, but I haven't been in a situation yet where it would have mattered.
For the HTC, the radio is better. I'm on Verizon, specifically the CDMA radio has better reception for longer. The speakers are better for sure. I'm getting 30 to 45 minutes better battery life on average. It's nice not theming everything black by necessity. The home button being capacitive is so nice compared to the s7. Fluid Android is fluid.
Both phones are Verizon.
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using XDA-Developers mobile app
Forgot the waterproof thing. Would be nice to have, but in 20 years I've never lost a phone due to water damage so not a huge loss. Screen on the S7 is brighter outdoors.
I miss the multi window on most Samsung's
I miss the battery life my exynos s7 edge provided. However I'm still making it the entire day with my HTC so it's not a big deal
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the replies!
Came from a T-Mo S7 Edge to a T-Mo HTC 10.
Right off the bat, the most glaring advantage that I missed from the S7 Edge was the screen. The colors just pop on that gorgeous amoled. In the days since I've bought my HTC 10 I've grown to like the cooler color temp on the LCD but I'd trade it for those oversaturated colors in a heartbeat lol.
Battery life has been a wash for the most part between both devices with the S7 Edge pulling ahead slightly (3600 mah battery so its to be expected).
Performance wise -- Sense blows Touchwiz out of the water. Its gotten better with each iteration of Touchwiz but micro-lag and even sustained lag rear their ugly heads when navigating through Samsung's flavor of Android. The HTC 10 handles everything with ease and never slows down. S7E does as well for the most part, but the lag is unavoidable in some instances. All of this being said, I did find the S7E to run much cooler than my HTC 10.
Finally, if you plan on making any modifications or if you're somebody who is into tinkering with your Android devices, avoid the S7/S7E at all costs. The HTC 10 is the best device for this due to dev friendly community and HTC's willingness to allow you to modify their devices. The HTC 10 has an unlockable bootloader and some day has a very good chance of seeing many competent AOSP roms. AOSP on the S7/S7E is currently a pipe dream. Even custom roms are a no go at this point and Samsung's knox/bootloader security only becomes more of a pain in the ass for devs with each iteration. It really has taken a toll on what used to be a thriving community for the Samsung devices.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied with switching from the S7E to the HTC 10 for what its worth.
I actually went through the S7, HTC 10 and landed on the S7 Edge. Here's my opinion for what it's worth:
I really thought this would be the perfect HTC phone, and I actually really wanted it to be the one since I think the company has had great ideas in the past that have been trampled by poor execution. My first Android phone was the HTC One M7, and aside from the so-so camera, it was one of my favorite phones ever. BoomSound, Sense, and the phone's overall look were something totally new and refreshing. After reading the reviews of the M8's camera, I decided to pass and went back to Apple for a year. When the M9 came out, I jumped on it, and quickly jumped off after I had a few days to learn all about the Snapdragon 810 and its thermal issues. I picked up an LG G4 next, which was serviceable, but nothing special. I always had my eye on HTC though waiting for the 10.
Once it came out, I made sure to read all the reviews that I could, crossing my fingers that HTC would hit the mark. After I saw that the camera was finally up to snuff, I took the plunge and bought it. $699 is a steep price for a phone, but I managed to catch the $100 discount offer and got it for $599 before tax, which was great. I also got it in 2 days, which was nice considering I heard that some people here on XDA were having ordering problems.
After using the phone for a few days, and comparing it side-by-side to the S7, I started to make a mental list of pros and cons
PROS
- Screen: HTC has always had good screens on their flagships, and the 10 is no different. Bright and vibrant colors with great viewing angles. Obviously they're not as saturated as Samsung's AMOLEDs, but you can set the LCD display to vivid mode to approximate it, or sRGB mode for nice accurate colors
- Sound Quality: While the external speakers aren't as good as the original BoomSound, they're more than capable and produce an interesting sound. The BoomSound equalizer settings also makes your music sound great with headphones. I didn't get to test out HTC's own earbuds though since they didn't come with the US version
- Build Quality: The phone feels as solid as ever, but that's also a con that you'll see below
- Battery Life: I never had any trouble getting through a whole day of texting, web browsing, light gaming and listening to music
- Camera: While it might not be able to quite pass Samsung, it gives them a good fight. Easily the one of the top cameras on the market behind the Galaxy Brothers, and HTCs best camera ever. The selfie cam is great too, and it's actually better than what Samsung has to offer on it's S7 models. My only little gripe with the rear camera is that the laser autofocus can be a little spastic, going in and out of focus when you activate it, but I feel like another software update can take care of that
- Fingerprint Scanner: One of my favorite features. It was really quick to read my fingerprint, and since it's a a capacative sensor instead of a physical button, you don't have to press it down to activate the display and scanner. Just put your finger on it and it works
CONS
- Sense: I loved the previous versions of Sense, but I think HTC toned this one down a little too much. I appreciate the fact that there aren't any duplicate apps like there are on most devices, but I feel like taking out the HTC Gallery and Music apps was a mistake. Visually, this version is a mix of classic Sense and stock Android, which doesn't always combine well. Some of Sense's elements (like the weather clock) are starting to look a little dated compared to the competition too, so the contrast between MM and Sense is a little jarring on some menus. I also don't understand why HTC kept the 4x4 homescreen now that the phone has a 5.2" display. With so much real estate to work with, the gaps between apps are pretty big, and I feel like there should be a setting to go to 5x5 since most other OEMs include that. The Quick Settings menu also can't be modified like it could be in older Sense versions and competitor UIs, and you have to either double pull to extend it, or swipe down with two fingers. If I wanted a Nexus, I'd have bought one
- Build Quality: As I mentioned above, the phone feels really solid, almost to the point of being heavy. It weighs 6 grams more than my old G4, which was mostly plastic, and you can feel it. It's very noticeable when it's in your pocket, and makes a bit of a thud when you put it down on a table. Even adding a thin TPU case to it also increases the weight to the point where I felt uncomfortable handling it one-handed
- Screen-Body Radio: My LG G4 had a 5.5 inch display and was 148.9 mm tall. The HTC 10 has a 5.2" display and is 145.9 mm tall. So the phones are relatively the same size and the 10 has a noticeably smaller screen.
- FM Radio: HTC has included FM radio support from the M7 - M9, and I was really surprised that it didn't continue that trend with the 10. Carriers like T-Mobile & AT&T are requesting that OEMs enable their device's FM chips, and T-Mo just got Samsung to flip the switch on the S7's radio, so I don't understand why HTC didn't just keep doing what they were already doing.
- Headphone Jack: Most phones had their headphone jack at the top up until a few years ago. Putting it at the bottom made it easier to just slip the phone in your pocket without tangling the headphone cord. With the advent of fingerprint scanners, it made even more sense, since you could grab the phone and unlock it before you even got it out into the open. Having the jack back up at the top made me have to think every time I pulled it out and have to flip it back around.
- Notification LED: Back when I had the M7, I was OK with having a tiny notification LED embedded in the speaker grid that only flashed 2 colors, even though other OEMs already had multicolor LEDs that could be programmed using their own software or apps like Lightwave. Three years later, the only thing HTC has changed is that the LED is just below the speaker. It still only blinks amber or green, so there's almost no opportunity to customize
I really wanted to like this phone, and I tried very hard to convince myself that it was good enough, but at the end of the day I was disappointed that HTC spent the last year getting so many things right like the camera and the phone's overall look, and blew it on some other areas that would have been really easy wins. Granted, nothing that I listed above is a horrible flaw, and I know that everyone has their own list of requirements for their ideal device, but I felt like I was making too many compromises with the 10. I know that I could always load up a ROM or download a new launcher, but it would only solve a few of my cons.
Again, these are my personal opinions, and my thought process is that if I'm going to spend that much on a flagship device that I want to keep for 2 years, I need to feel like I'm getting what I paid for. Unfortunately the 10 didn't quite hit that mark. It's not a bad phone by any stretch, and it may be the one for you. I decided to return my S7 and the HTC, and went with the S7 Edge, which rocks a 5.5" screen, 3600 mAh battery, and is only 5 mm taller than the 10. It's also 4 grams lighter and 1.3 mm thinner, and feels a lot better in my hand even with a case. It costs about $70 more the 10 at full retail, but I feel like you get a lot more for your money.
Maybe the water resistance feature, otherwise, I didn't care for anything else. The 10 seems solid, doesn't lag as much as the samsung. I am unlocked and rooted , so it is something I am grateful for after rocking the s7 for only 1 months.
I am getting better battery performance with the HTC 10 compared to what I got with the s7.
Personally nothing is missed I had the s7, now it's my wife's lol
Love this HTC 10
Got the s7e one week to test, before i got my preordered htc 10. Screen(manufacter;sharp) is much better and much more natural than the S7 "comic style" display no matter which calibration i used. Also there are "pentile micro dots" visible while zooming in a white page on the amoled of the s7.
UI: Much smoother, and the stockish design of the ui is perfect for me as i came from a thc m7 gpe. Also less bloatware on the 10.
Cons: thermal throttling seems to be more a problem of the 10 as on the s7e exynos. Hope custom kernel or software update will change the clocking, as it throttles the CPU at 38degrees celsius to 1,36 max clock at the moment.
S7e cam is slightly better in my opinion.
Which fingerprint sensor do you guys think is better?
I had a s7e, I find the fingerprint sensor on the 10 better. I haven't really had too much throttling so far either.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I've heard in quite a few reviews that the HTC 10 sensor is superior to the S7/S7 Edge.
Alot of S7/S7 Edge reviews describe the sensor as hit or miss.
Sammae7 said:
I've heard in quite a few reviews that the HTC 10 sensor is superior to the S7/S7 Edge.
Alot of S7/S7 Edge reviews describe the sensor as hit or miss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I see.
Just to be clear, I own neither but have played with both in store and I do extensive research before purchase.
Based on the above, I do much prefer the HTC 10.
xperia x root said:
Got the s7e one week to test, before i got my preordered htc 10. Screen(manufacter;sharp) is much better and much more natural than the S7 "comic style" display no matter which calibration i used. Also there are "pentile micro dots" visible while zooming in a white page on the amoled of the s7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to be kidding. If you set any Samsung phone to "Basic," it is the most color accurate display on a smartphone, period. There is no "comic-ness" to it. It is a true reproduction of sRGB which actually looks extremely dull and boring, but it's accurate. The 10 is an LCD which is vastly inferior to OLED panels in phones. Worse viewing angles, and subjectively terrible contrast since 1700~:1 is garbage compared to infinite contrast.
I find it hard to believe you can see "micro dots" on a 500+ PPI screen. I can make out the edges of pixels on my 6P due to lack of antialiasing, but I haven't tried to on the S7E. Either way the 6P had to be up in my face, and I had to look hard to see it. But there were certainly no visible dots.
Lifehags said:
Which fingerprint sensor do you guys think is better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 10's fingerprint sensor pad is too small in my opinion, but it is still better than the S7/E. Reason being it's capacitive, and a hair faster. Samsung are idiots for continuing to use a physical home button, and one you have to press to unlock the phone. But the accuracy rate of the S7/E is a lot better than it ever used to be - especially if you program the same finger twice (something I do on every device anyway). It may tell you the finger is already programmed, but just do the initial scan really far back from the pad of your finger, then it will let you scan wherever you want to again.
Have my exynos s7 edge on sale while I got this one to use. The HTC 10 is a great phone but in my opinion, not better than the s7 edge. What I miss mainly is the screen. I love LCD but the AMOLED display on the s7 edge is quite Good. Don't like the over saturation but got used to it. It's a darn good display. Sadly my HTC 10 display has a pink tint to it and the bottom of the phone has a strong pink tint to it (likely not a sharp panel from the few comments I've seen here and there). So far, battery life has not been great. My s7 was one of those that went long on battery. I can Un plug at 7 am and plug back in at midnight with 7 hours screen on time. With the same usage on my HTC, I'd be charging only @ 6pm with less screen on time. Also the camera is descent but doesn't focus like the s7 edge does @ night and ui wise, I've spent the phone micro stutter much more than my edge but not to the annoying degree. That's about it. What I live about this phone...the damn DAC. Holy crap it's good. Even listening to spotify feels like I'm listening to something almost magical lol.
Small things. GPS takes a while to lock and wifi module isn't as good as the exynos. I have 175mbps connection. I get the full thing in my room with both phones. In my restroom, 20 feet away from my room, my HTC only pulls 50mbps while the galaxy pulls 125mbps. Also, I got wifi in my car while parked in the street in front of my house. With the HTC, wifi disconnects in the exact same spot.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Upgrading from the One M8 -- stick with HTC or move on?

I love the HTC One M8. I've had mine for about 2.5 years now and it has worked well. Battery life is still good. If the camera took higher resolution photos and the processor was a little faster, I'd stick with it. This is my 3rd HTC phone. I never buy a phone right after it is released, preferring to see how well it is liked after the first year or two. The M9 was pretty much a disaster, so I left that out of consideration. Then there's the HTC 10.
The HTC 10 looked to be everything I want in a phone, going from the M8. It has good reviews and is recommended as a used phone. But... I didn't do enough homework and unfortunately discovered it has some serious problems. I was one of the unlucky ones. I bought a great condition HTC 10 and thought I'd gotten a good deal. The screen is noticeably richer in color, brighter, and processor speed is faster. But I ran into that nasty battery problem. It shuts down at around 25% and goes into a boot loop that won't quit until you plug in the phone. That's when I went on-line and looked up this problem... much to my dismay, discovering that this is a pretty common problem with no simple fix. I'm in the process of dealing with the seller to return the phone.
Now that I've witnessed this nightmare first hand, I'm very leery of trying this again, buying another used HTC 10. At this point, the U11 is still too new and costly. Frankly, I really don't see a good path... except maybe a Samsung S7. But I've never liked Samsung phones. I much prefer HTC Sense.
I'm wondering if I should just hang onto my One M8 for another year and see how things go with the U11. Or maybe consider a Google Pixel 2.
If you were an owner of a One M8 and upgraded to a better phone, which one did you choose and are you happy with it?
I'd say stick with M8 until it dies, there's really no better replacement for this phone except 10, but as you said it's hit or miss.
U11 definitely isn't a bad phone, but it doesn't have the soul of older HTCs IMO.
Also it really depends what thing in phone do you need the most - build quality and materials? speed? audio quality? overall experience?
ZTE Axon 7 is a solid all rounder and should feel like an upgrade of everything in M8. It's a bit old now though, but if age or manufacturer doesn't concern you then it should be a good choice.
Galaxy S7 also isn't that bad. Hardware wise S series are always one of the best - great camera and display, however it's a Samsung, so due to it's heavy UI it's slower than comparable phones.
OnePlus 5T has four pros - price, speed, ram and metal unibody. Apart from those it really doesn't stand out.
My next phone for 90% is LG V30 - it's pretty much a great all rounder with focus on audio and camera/video quality and that's what interest me the most.
Phalangioides said:
I'd say stick with M8 until it dies, there's really no better replacement for this phone except 10, but as you said it's hit or miss. U11 definitely isn't a bad phone, but it doesn't have the soul of older HTCs IMO.
Also it really depends what thing in phone do you need the most - build quality and materials? speed? audio quality? overall experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I'm not a heavy camera/video user, I'd like to have better hardware. The M8 employs this dual 4MP lens design that, while good for its day, is lagging far behind now. All of those factors are important for me: build quality/materials, system and video speed, audio quality, and user experience. The M8 has a great user experience and generally performs quickly, with really terrific audio quality. The screen looks fine, but next to an HTC 10? It's not as bright and quite as color rich.
ZTE Axon 7 is a solid all rounder and should feel like an upgrade of everything in M8. It's a bit old now though, but if age or manufacturer doesn't concern you then it should be a good choice.
Galaxy S7 also isn't that bad. Hardware wise S series are always one of the best - great camera and display, however it's a Samsung, so due to it's heavy UI it's slower than comparable phones.
OnePlus 5T has four pros - price, speed, ram and metal unibody. Apart from those it really doesn't stand out.
My next phone for 90% is LG V30 - it's pretty much a great all rounder with focus on audio and camera/video quality and that's what interest me the most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not warmed up to these other brands, like ZTE, Huawei, OnePlus. Comparably they've not been on the market for very long. I've read about reliability issues after a couple years of ownership, so getting one of those used is outside my consideration.
Two of my family members have Samsung Galaxy phones, and I can't stand their UI. It's utterly ridiculous how they bury mobile data access control. You should be able to 1) double-finger swipe down, and 2) uncheck mobile data. That's how HTC works. But with Samsung, you've got to swipe, click, swipe, click, swipe, click to get to the mobile data control. They probably did that as a "friend to the carrier" so you'll use up more mobile data because it's too much of a pain to turn it off. Screw that. Of course, you could install a widget for controlling that... but it takes up real estate and it's simply illogical--this should be accessible from the swipe-down menu.
I have to say, I'd looked at the LG V30 and was considering it... until I read LG V30 REVIEW: GROUNDBREAKING PHONE WITH A DEAL-BREAKING FLAW. Screen resolution, clarity, and color rendition is important to me, and the V30 drops the ball. I did look at it compared directly to a couple other phones in a cellular phone store, and I have to agree it's not on par with the competition.
Honestly many smartphones nowadays have some type of problems, it's a gamble to get a perfect one.
As the review said, V30 has bad OLED display, but it's not 100% chance that every model will be as bad and that's what I'm hoping for when I get one.
Pixel 2 phones also had issues with display and some other things. Some of them got fixed with software upgrade, but not all of them, you should look into it.
Can't really think of any other solid phones that could be a good upgrade over M8 and not too expensive. Maybe something from Sony? I've thought about Xperia XZ Premium for a long time myself - hardware wise it's pretty good and their UI is very simple. The size is what put me off - it's just too big to be comfortable, V30 with half an inch bigger display feels pretty snug in hand.
That said, maybe the smaller XZ or XZ1 might be a better choice.
If not then I guess you could think about U11 - it's definitely not a bad phone, but different than M8. If you could accept it's cons it would be a pretty good choice.
Phalangioides said:
Honestly many smartphones nowadays have some type of problems, it's a gamble to get a perfect one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No doubt at all. I'm not expecting perfection, only issues that I can live with. The HTC 10 isn't perfect, but without the reported battery issue it would be my choice for now. If I could find a totally checked out excellent condition example for about $150, I'd be happy. I'd even consider $195, for refurbished/like-new with warranty. In my book, $500~$600 for a new phone is too much. $300~$350 is about right. Back when the Evo 3D was still in play, if the battery was faulty all you'd have to do is swap it out. Unfortunately everyone has moved to these embedded batteries. It really sucks. Was a slim case that compelling enough to do it? I'd rather have a phone where half of it is thicker to house the removable battery. Far easier to manage. But, I think the ulterior motive was control. Now cellular phone makers don't have to worry about non-OEM / 3rd party questionable batteries being used in their phones. What they could have done is make intelligent batteries with circuitry required for usage, something a clone battery maker can't copy.
As the review said, V30 has bad OLED display, but it's not 100% chance that every model will be as bad and that's what I'm hoping for when I get one. Pixel 2 phones also had issues with display and some other things. Some of them got fixed with software upgrade, but not all of them, you should look into it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might have been a production batch issue... you'd have to look at other reviews. I did hear about the Google Pixel 2 having some issues but it looks like they were successfully addressed. And they're more readily apparent and easier to verify than something like a vague battery issue.
The U11 is a very nice phone, but too pricey for me right now. However, the U12 comes out in May. Maybe I'll wait until then for a U11 price drop.
cytherian said:
I love the HTC One M8. I've had mine for about 2.5 years now and it has worked well. Battery life is still good. If the camera took higher resolution photos and the processor was a little faster, I'd stick with it. This is my 3rd HTC phone. I never buy a phone right after it is released, preferring to see how well it is liked after the first year or two. The M9 was pretty much a disaster, so I left that out of consideration. Then there's the HTC 10.
The HTC 10 looked to be everything I want in a phone, going from the M8. It has good reviews and is recommended as a used phone. But... I didn't do enough homework and unfortunately discovered it has some serious problems. I was one of the unlucky ones. I bought a great condition HTC 10 and thought I'd gotten a good deal. The screen is noticeably richer in color, brighter, and processor speed is faster. But I ran into that nasty battery problem. It shuts down at around 25% and goes into a boot loop that won't quit until you plug in the phone. That's when I went on-line and looked up this problem... much to my dismay, discovering that this is a pretty common problem with no simple fix. I'm in the process of dealing with the seller to return the phone.
Now that I've witnessed this nightmare first hand, I'm very leery of trying this again, buying another used HTC 10. At this point, the U11 is still too new and costly. Frankly, I really don't see a good path... except maybe a Samsung S7. But I've never liked Samsung phones. I much prefer HTC Sense.
I'm wondering if I should just hang onto my One M8 for another year and see how things go with the U11. Or maybe consider a Google Pixel 2.
If you were an owner of a One M8 and upgraded to a better phone, which one did you choose and are you happy with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat as you are. I love my M8, but with some of the new technology out there, and with the M8 still sporting Android 6 (I've tried Oreo - don't really like it), I was a hair away from buying the U11. But I just couldn't see spending $600 for a new phone.
Then I looked at the Moto z2 Force - a great phone with specs similar to the U11. And I can get the Motorola for about $375.00
To me, there is one main "con" for each of these phones:
Moto: Not water or dust resistant (U11 is)
U11: Price is high
Both: No headphone jack
If the Motorola had an IP67 or 68 rating, I'd get it in a heartbeat.
And if the U11 price went down to, say, $400, I'd grab it right away.
To me, those are the two strongest candidates. And the Moto has mods (if that interests you).
I love Sense, and it's able to be added to most phones now, but it's not the same as being built-in.
I love the M8 and has been my all-time favorite phone. I've since moved on to LG V10 and V20, but there are weeks where I pop out my sim card and throw into my M8. Battery on my M8 is still just as good as my V20, and the M8 is just that perfect phone. I wish they could have squeezed a 5.2 inch display and while I loved the Ultra Pixel in its day, its still not bad. In fact I used it over Easter, and in doors I grabbed some great photos that probably would have been hard for my V20 in lower light.
I've also thought of actually selling my V20 and picking up an HTC 10. I've been watching all the phones that come into Swappa. Personally I'm not into the all glass phone trend, so the U11 isn't really an option.
However the only thing that holds me back from picking up a 10 is I'm just not happy with the front design. It reminds me too much of a mash up between an iPhone and an Galaxy S6/S7. I realize that was intentional by HTC, as they had great success with the A9, which was mostly an iPhone clone. But when I see the 10 in a case(which is probably what I'd do), it just kind of loses that unique HTC design touch that was great with the M7-M9. Although I do love Sense as a skin.
I don't think I'll ever let go of the M8.
Hi guys, could anyone tell where to buy an m8 or 10 for cheap right now? Any suggestions plz?
I sold my m8 an year ago for a note 3; I'm tired of the sammy now, and wish to get rid of it.
I checked some Aliexpress listings, but they come off as a bit shady and untrustworthy?
Any reliable sources to grab one of these?(I live in South Asia)
dhrjbhtt0 said:
Hi guys, could anyone tell where to buy an m8 or 10 for cheap right now? Any suggestions plz?
I sold my m8 an year ago for a note 3; I'm tired of the sammy now, and wish to get rid of it.
I checked some Aliexpress listings, but they come off as a bit shady and untrustworthy?
Any reliable sources to grab one of these?(I live in South Asia)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe try Swappa? Someone might do international shipping for you. Most are pretty cheap.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
gustav30 said:
Maybe try Swappa? Someone might do international shipping for you. Most are pretty cheap.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with Swappa is exactly with the shipping scene, they just won't ship the device to any international location outside the States. This seemed to be the case at least with the M8 and 10.
Thanks for your suggestion though
dhrjbhtt0 said:
The problem with Swappa is exactly with the shipping scene, they just won't ship the device to any international location outside the States. This seemed to be the case at least with the M8 and 10.
Thanks for your suggestion though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is too bad. How about eBay?
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
dhrjbhtt0 said:
Hi guys, could anyone tell where to buy an m8 or 10 for cheap right now? Any suggestions plz?
I sold my m8 an year ago for a note 3; I'm tired of the sammy now, and wish to get rid of it.
I checked some Aliexpress listings, but they come off as a bit shady and untrustworthy?
Any reliable sources to grab one of these?(I live in South Asia)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you have a local online selling site? Most often it's the fastest and reliable way to get things cheaper.
Phalangioides said:
Don't you have a local online selling site? Most often it's the fastest and reliable way to get things cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The closest are the Chinese retailers(I'm in India) through Aliexpress, as any of the online retailers like Amazon and Flipkart do not sell the M8 anymore and the HTC 10 is priced unreasonably high, priced at 490ish usd.
gustav30 said:
I love the M8 and has been my all-time favorite phone. I've since moved on to LG V10 and V20, but there are weeks where I pop out my sim card and throw into my M8. Battery on my M8 is still just as good as my V20, and the M8 is just that perfect phone. I wish they could have squeezed a 5.2 inch display and while I loved the Ultra Pixel in its day, its still not bad. In fact I used it over Easter, and in doors I grabbed some great photos that probably would have been hard for my V20 in lower light.
I've also thought of actually selling my V20 and picking up an HTC 10. I've been watching all the phones that come into Swappa. Personally I'm not into the all glass phone trend, so the U11 isn't really an option.
However the only thing that holds me back from picking up a 10 is I'm just not happy with the front design. It reminds me too much of a mash up between an iPhone and an Galaxy S6/S7. I realize that was intentional by HTC, as they had great success with the A9, which was mostly an iPhone clone. But when I see the 10 in a case(which is probably what I'd do), it just kind of loses that unique HTC design touch that was great with the M7-M9. Although I do love Sense as a skin.
I don't think I'll ever let go of the M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to see another member here with great appreciation for the M8. Phones like this often get easily dismissed as obsolete tech, but I don't think the M8 lags behind all that badly. It's another story when looking at the M8 over the Evo 3D though!
Side-by-side, the HTC 10 screen looks nicer than the M8. It's brighter, more vibrant colors, and you can tell it has a faster processor. It's not a huge difference, but enough to notice when they're adjacent. But take away the HTC 10, and the M8 starts looking good again. To be blunt, I don't know why people get bent out of shape by bezels. I think they look fine on the M8. And really, the back panel doesn't matter all that much because most people use cases. I could not use my One M8 without one, because it's too slippery and that brushed metal back would get dented/scratched. Being in a case has kept it in excellent shape. I use a translucent TPU case, so you can still see the back a bit while enjoying protection.
Generally the way I operate is to always keep a spare phone as a backup, in case I lose my main phone or run into an issue that I can't easily fix/recover. The spare one is quick and easy to activate, so I don't suffer much down-time. I don't want to be forced to run out to a store and pay top dollar for a new phone. When I misplaced my M8, I reactivated my old Evo 3D. And while it did the job, it was... painful. That thing is just too old now. So I was thinking should I get another M8... or upgrade to an HTC 10. That's when I ran into that battery problem on a gently used HTC 10 that threw my plan in the trash. Given how many people have reported the battery issue, I'm now leery of buying from a reseller that unloads large batches of phones with just minimal testing performed. They're not going to do the 1 hour HTC battery test. And when a seller can't answer your questions well for suffering with English as a 3rd language, it makes it risky.
I checked out Swappa, but didn't see anyone in my immediate area with an HTC 10 for a reasonable price.
cytherian said:
Nice to see another member here with great appreciation for the M8. Phones like this often get easily dismissed as obsolete tech, but I don't think the M8 lags behind all that badly. It's another story when looking at the M8 over the Evo 3D though!
Side-by-side, the HTC 10 screen looks nicer than the M8. It's brighter, more vibrant colors, and you can tell it has a faster processor. It's not a huge difference, but enough to notice when they're adjacent. But take away the HTC 10, and the M8 starts looking good again. To be blunt, I don't know why people get bent out of shape by bezels. I think they look fine on the M8. And really, the back panel doesn't matter all that much because most people use cases. I could not use my One M8 without one, because it's too slippery and that brushed metal back would get dented/scratched. Being in a case has kept it in excellent shape. I use a translucent TPU case, so you can still see the back a bit while enjoying protection.
Generally the way I operate is to always keep a spare phone as a backup, in case I lose my main phone or run into an issue that I can't easily fix/recover. The spare one is quick and easy to activate, so I don't suffer much down-time. I don't want to be forced to run out to a store and pay top dollar for a new phone. When I misplaced my M8, I reactivated my old Evo 3D. And while it did the job, it was... painful. That thing is just too old now. So I was thinking should I get another M8... or upgrade to an HTC 10. That's when I ran into that battery problem on a gently used HTC 10 that threw my plan in the trash. Given how many people have reported the battery issue, I'm now leery of buying from a reseller that unloads large batches of phones with just minimal testing performed. They're not going to do the 1 hour HTC battery test. And when a seller can't answer your questions well for suffering with English as a 3rd language, it makes it risky.
I checked out Swappa, but didn't see anyone in my immediate area with an HTC 10 for a reasonable price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in a similar boat as you mate, can't find a legit place to but an m8 or 10 here in South Asia for cheap
PLz tell me if u find someone who does international shipping of either of these two.
Has anyone over here bought any HTC device from aliexpress?
I'm planning on buying an HTC 10 from over there, but don't have any past experiences with any of the sellers over there.
The price seems fine, just north of 250usd.
Any idea anyone might have?
My m8 had a bad battery after all the years of heavy usage, hundreds/countless drops to all kinds of grounds even fell in water a few times.It looks really really bad from the outside,completely full of ditches and scratches and other strange markings, I even managed to "pull/curl" a kind of sharp edge out on a small spot of the aluminum on the back through a drop.But besides that it was/is shutting down between 40-75% everything was working completely fine,so I really didn't want any other phone but an htc after that proof of ruggedness/solidness either.
I also got a dead m9 here that just one day to the other shut off and completely died over time,not even a led is blinking anymore and it's only lifesign is plugged into a PC where it shows up as a Qualcomm service hub, but all that is a different story,just wanted to mention that experience with HTC.
I lived with that m8 then for quite a time and nearly ended up buying another new/refurbished m8/9/10 but then i found the ZTE axon 7 to be my perfect replacement,as it was the only phone with good sounding/loud front facing speakers and an all aluminum body,also I wanted to have a slightly bigger screen and the other advantages of the zte didn't seem bad either.So I bought a used axon for 150€ and even though it has its own faults, like the buttons, I wouldn't change back to the m8 for my daily,not even with a factory new battery.
Hope that wasn't too much to read through
Flash jw 5.4 (the last one based on the A9 port, s-rom), use stock kernel, leave GPS on high accuracy, use it stock = profit. Best smoothness, stability, battery life and android OS for our device. You will enjoy it.
My advice is to wait a little longer, check out U12 and even pixel 3, maybe oneplus 6 (I am notch hater, but maybe you are not).
I'm thinking of picking up a used M9, just to sort of complete what I think is the perfect trifecta of HTC phones. M7, M8, M9.
Yeah, for camera needs I turn to my V20/V10s, but for aesthetics, I don't think any phone comes close to the M series.
M9 could have been a great phone if they had just used a better sensor and thrown in OIS.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
7 years old, my HTC M8 is finally starting to fail. Dot-view now mal-functions, and I can't upgrade anything else without a significant decrease in speed.
I am genuinely happy with this phone. The 'dot-view' function was groundbreaking for its time, as was the body armour that supported it.
I am unsure whether to consider another phone, or upgrade to the HTC 12

Purchasing a M9 now (mid-2018)?

Hello,
I am evaluating purchasing an used HTC M9. The price seems to be a real bargain (around 60€), but I am worried that it is still a too old device to be enjoyable.
I own an iPhone 7 Plus now and I said myself numerous times that I would never switch back to Android, but I had lot of fun with Android ROMs years ago and I feel like I would love to try again.
I had both HTC m7 and m8 devices and loved it (more the M7 than the M8 actually). How does the M9 feels like?
How would it work after these years? I will not use it to play games, but I will make phone calls, internet browsing, messaging and lot of normal-light usage.
What is your suggestion? How does your M9 feels like after all these years?
Well, by now, the HTC M9 still has respectable development here on XDA. the SD810 feels hot by the heavy use, but it's not dangerous... the phone doesn't have official updates anymore, keep in mind that, still the phone runs great and the Sense UI is one of the fastest UIs around... it has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and you can put more space with the microSD, so storage wouldn't be a problem, you will find cheap cases on internet, even the Otterbox Defender is like $7 USD on ebay.
The HTC M9 is like a M8 with steroids...
I've just moved to this phone from a Google pixel after it's untimely death ( kid broke it :'( )and I'm happy with it. Performance wise it's fine and I've only noticed a drop in performance on one game. I also flashed a different ROM without sense and got it just the way I like.
Edit: I thought I would add I have always loved the build quality on HTC devices and this one is just as good. Mine is an old phone my wife used for years and she does not look after them. It's full of dints and scrapes and has been very wet and still works perfect. Even the screen is remarkably scratch free.
€60 is a good price, I've just paid €150 for one, although mine was in mint condition and came with s-off.
My wife is still using my M7 that's still going strong after I replaced it with a Sony Z3 (far too fragile for my lifestyle) and then a Moto X Force (lovely phone just has ribbon cable issues with the OLED)
Only slight gripes are the sound quality in Lineageos, so gone back to stock Nougat, a case is essential if you want it to keep it's sexy looks
All said and done, the 810 is a disastrous chip which gets very hot and has a pathetic on-screen battery life.
for me at that price is a good phone, powerful and fast.
There are no overheating problems (at least with last firmware) and the defined disastrous processor is very powerful even if energivorous.
certainly a disastrous purchase at full price but at that price in my opinion is not despicable
Better get a refurbished HTC 10 @ ebay.
Sure not to get M9 is 2018, the battery life, camera, S810 is nor very well. Maybe you can try other budget phone.
Camera is NO good on the M9!!!
Cero92 said:
Hello,
I am evaluating purchasing an used HTC M9. The price seems to be a real bargain (around 60€), but I am worried that it is still a too old device to be enjoyable.
I own an iPhone 7 Plus now and I said myself numerous times that I would never switch back to Android, but I had lot of fun with Android ROMs years ago and I feel like I would love to try again.
I had both HTC m7 and m8 devices and loved it (more the M7 than the M8 actually). How does the M9 feels like?
How would it work after these years? I will not use it to play games, but I will make phone calls, internet browsing, messaging and lot of normal-light usage.
What is your suggestion? How does your M9 feels like after all these years?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
G'day mate,
I would give the M9 a wide girth if you have any interest in using it to take photos. It has an impressive 20M camera, but no ability to focus, and take good shots. Here is a post that I made some time ago on the subject.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/help/photo-quality-m9-poor-compared-to-t3385288
I have three beautiful daughters, and the inability of this phone to take good photos of them lead me to purchase an Oppo A77. There are may good Android phones in the AU$300 (~EU$180) range. Oppo is an excellent brand to start with, however if you take this path be aware that you need to tinker with it a bit to get standard notifications; check out my Oppo post here -
https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/enabling-push-notifications-oppo-a77-t3748639
Good luck mate, I would say "Happy Hunting", but as I believe in peace on earth I will settle with "May you reach your dreams, even if they encompass the stars themselves!"
Cheers
Davo
For that price and just to play around with it, totally.
But the first thing you should do if you get one would be to go to a service, open it up and clean the dust from the speaker grille.
Or try at home with a toothbrush and a vacuum cleaner. (This is what i personally do, but there is clearly still dust in there because the sound is still cracking at high volume. Plus, dust particles still fly away from the speaker, even after cleaning, if i turn the volume all the way up)
But if you clean it professionally, it has an incredible speaker setup.
Camera now. The Nougat 7.0 update made the camwra usable in low light. (You could try to find the link for SunDream's 7.1.2 S.ROM because is clearly the best Sense-based ROM around here. And also the only one that also raised the API level by 1 over the OTA limit.)
Like, is incredible how much right that one update did... But you lose the 9 seconds of exposure time from the "More Light More Fun" Mod (or something between those lines. Somebody posted the link in this thread anyway).
Anyway, (5.1.1 MLMF + Luma Denoise. What i currently use) in daytime and slightly less than perfect light conditions, the camera performs really good.
The bokeh effect is amazing, like the edge detection is on point. It detects those hair strings like magic.
I did a bokeh test on a moving pine tree branch, and it got all the pins right.
Not a single one got blurred over.
I tried it against the Note 8, the S9+ and the iPhone X (stuff that my classmates have) and beat all of them at edge detection from my personal tests.
The others struggle with reflective surfaces from what i observed.
Anyway, performance.
Good. Doesnt slow down over time.
Never cleaned dalvik, never zipaligned, never optimized databases, never installed a new ROM.
I challenged myself to use it with what it had installed (in my case, the update right before 6.0.1).
It can still play PUBG just fine on HD settings... For like 10 minutes because it heats up and throttles.
But older games work just fine on the highest settings.
Screen. If you can ignore the fact that black is some sort of very dark blue, is ok.
You can play VR with it just fine. You wont notice the pixels.
Also, if you set it on Automatic, it actually goes darker than the lowest brightness setting.
(Also, activating the brightness slider from the customization file still doesnt make it darker than Auto Brightness.)
IR is really useful, imo.
Headphone sound was really good for it's time, but it's still just a 24-bit DAC.
Bluetooth is just AptX and you can feel the compression.
But still enjoyable with Viper FX.
I think you can patch AptX HD tho...
Also if i remeber correctly there is a mod that makes the speakers louder.
And finally Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 is very realistic... If the speakers are clean.
Done. Would i recommend it in 2018?
As a secondary phone, totally.
Would a Butterfly 3 be better? Obviously, if you dont care that much about ROMs and customization. (It has water resistance and dual cameras.)
So... For 60$. Have fun. Install as many ROMs you want.
(Also a good time to buy one because MIUI finally got released, so you have a very wide sellection of ROMs.)

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