Anandtech's HTC One Review is up!

[foghorn67]

Wow I just actually took the time to read this long assed biased review

I cant wait to read the Samsung hate review of the gs4 to compare it to this one

Can you elaborate or at least try to point out any bias in this review?

Oh, before you accuse me of any allegiance or bias of any sort, I don't think the HTC One is the one for me.

 

[Brian Klug]

I see battery life test has been changed and tweaked AGAIN for this phone. But I see none of the old phones were retested with the new test. Instead, Brian just used the old data from the old tests which had different testing methodology. You can't mix and match and compare when the phones were all tested differently. Either retest all the phones on that graph with the new test or test this phone with the old test. Same kind of crap happened with the iPhone 5 battery test.

I don't know what would lead you to believe that the devices in the chart weren't reflecting the new battery life test or that they were based on different testing methodology. Everything in the chart was tested using the same methodology and updated, that applies for all the battery life tests.

For obvious reasons it would make no sense to compare battery life on one test to battery life based on another test.

 

[Brian Klug]

And you gotta love the Hotspot test chart that excludes every Android phone from 2013, 2012, and the end of 2011. Yay! The one lasts longer for tethering than a Thunderbolt!

The hotspot test has remained the same since I put it together honestly since I don't think there's anything that's really necessary to change with it.

 

[ponyo]

I don't know what would lead you to believe that the devices in the chart weren't reflecting the new battery life test or that they were based on different testing methodology. Everything in the chart was tested using the same methodology and updated, that applies for all the battery life tests.

For obvious reasons it would make no sense to compare battery life on one test to battery life based on another test.

My apologies, Brian. You're correct. I just compared your SG3 review with your One review. Battery results were updated with the new methodology and not copy and pasted like I thought. I should've checked my facts before falsely accusing you. Now everything makes sense. That must took lot of time and work to redo the all the tests. Again, my apologies. I was the lazy one and didn't bother to double check before making false accusations.

 

[grkM3]

Can you elaborate or at least try to point out any bias in this review?

Oh, before you accuse me of any allegiance or bias of any sort, I don't think the HTC is One is the one for me.

Did you not notice the lack of amoled screens in the screen test section?

 

[stlc8tr]

And the word "bias" gets thrown around way too much.

Around here, it seems like if you don't agree with any review, it's "biased".

 

[Dari]

The Samsung employees/cheerleaders are coming on strong tonight...

 

[krumme]

The Samsung employees/cheerleaders are coming on strong tonight...

Next time i think people will be pleased with some job offers. And i especially insist of getting a picture of the cheerleaders

 

[Geekbabe]

I don't know what would lead you to believe that the devices in the chart weren't reflecting the new battery life test or that they were based on different testing methodology. Everything in the chart was tested using the same methodology and updated, that applies for all the battery life tests.

For obvious reasons it would make no sense to compare battery life on one test to battery life based on another test.

I am partial to Samsung for my personal devices but as a tech lifestyle reviewer think it important to share the news about all new devices. This was a huge review put together in a very speedy fashion & I felt it was quite well done. I was fortunate enough to be online when it was published & shared it immediately after reading.

Build quality, how a device feels in the hand, to normal people these are important issues, heck these things have even factored in my own purchases. I take battery life tests with a grain of salt no matter who publishes them because I get that individual usage patterns & software may yield different results.

Congrats on a well done review, I look forward to reading your coverage of the GS4.

 

[krumme]

As far as I'm aware the amoled screens implemented by Samsung have a > 0 minimum luminance. At least my galaxy note 2 does. CNET pegged the note 2 as having a ~ 20,000 ANSI contrast. Excellent, but not infinite.

And thats exactly why it does not make sense to include it in the graphs. It would skew the entire picture, and wouldnt give the right picture of what you experience as a user.

Black levels is only good to a certain degree because you seldom is in a very dark environment. (except it looked like Brian was visiting a lot of bars at night when he had the One - lol )

I used to work on new IPS and PLS, and there is something to the new Amoled picture that they dont catch. There is this liveliness to my S3 its difficult for a IP5 to get and it kind of reflects the difference between cameras with big vs small sensors imho.

I am not saying Amoled is the best screen up til now. I would have preferred a good lcd in my S3, because the s3 lacks the last and very important sharpness for reading imho. And i prefer the added brightness to the blacks.

Regarding usability in the sunlight i have experienced its very much a personal preference. I far prefer the added brightness of LCD in favor of the less reflectiveness of Amoled. But my wife bought an S2 to an IP4s because of primarily favoring the S2 in sunlight. I think it can not be measured, but have to be tried in real use to find what you prefer.

Its kind of analogue to how people react to reflectivess on screens. Still we talk about it like our own perception is the true reality

 

[krumme]

Brian,
The softness on the sides of the pictures, where do you think it come from?
Can it be attributed to the gyro? - is it because its native 16:9?
Or is the softness just not that different from the other phones?

 

[krumme]

Those beeing critical of the review should stop for a moment, and separate oppinion to the quality of the review itself.
A good review have nothing about agreeing what is interpreted from the analysis. The work in this review is marvelous, and we even get it for "free".

I am still very impressed by the cpu analysis
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6747/htc-one-review/11

Its the first time we get all the info about krait300 one place, excellent low level analysis, and Brian goes a step futher to find out why the results is that, and how it compares to the known arhc. changes.

He fx. practicalle proofs the L2 hardware prefetcher rocks, and have excellent perf/power ratio. We get to now how effective and important a good prefetcher really can be done the right way, and get som indicating numbers for it.

What review comes even 5% close to that analysis of a phones cpu? The work goes far beyond what can be expected from a review. Its far more than a review, and even borders what i would label research.

Brian reviews is the sort of work, where 1-2 years after they are published you go back and search for knowledge. Its a very seldom quality.

 

[lopri]

Brian reviews is the sort of work, where 1-2 years after they are published you go back and search for knowledge. Its a very seldom quality.

All of those for one phone. While mixing in yester-years phones (and select tablets (?!) per different data set), and ignoring current competition. Inevitably it leaves an impression of favoritism. And unfortunately AT has garnered unique reputation when it comes to such over the years. I feel bad for editors who genuinely try to help users but can't escape from the widely perceived notion of AT's reputation.

For products that aim for the masses, IMO, it is best to review them without the manufacturers' input. (Unless you can make a difference for the users) The more incomunicado, the better - since that's how most end-users will use the products. The more you communicate with the OEMs, the more justifications (from the OEM) you will hear, and there is always a risk of being duped or sympathized.

I hope HTC will follow through with this product for AT's sake. ^_^

 

[BrightCandle]

Ultimately the phone should have been compared to the modern competition, without that it isn't really a useful review. Its like reviewing the latest GPU and comparing it against the competitions previous generation, even though the latest ones are out. I wouldn't call it bias but its certainly not as useful as it could have been.

 

[Qbah]

Ultimately the phone should have been compared to the modern competition, without that it isn't really a useful review. Its like reviewing the latest GPU and comparing it against the competitions previous generation, even though the latest ones are out. I wouldn't call it bias but its certainly not as useful as it could have been.

What do you consider "modern competition"? I see the S3, Nexus 4, DNA, Note 2, iP5 and the previous One X on Brian's charts. So what is missing again?

EDIT: Not to mention many other phones and even tables. So what is missing??

 

[grkM3]

What do you consider "modern competition"? I see the S3, Nexus 4, DNA, Note 2, iP5 and the previous One X on Brian's charts. So what is missing again?

EDIT: Not to mention many other phones and even tables. So what is missing??

I think he means in some tests the phone is not put up against new phones,why cant a review site as big as anandtech get a gs4? if gsmarena can get one 2 weeks ago Im sure they could of easily got one to do a full head to head review on the 2 flagship phones of 2013

Im betting the gs4 review will be half the details and half the effort that the htc one got and its plain and simple to read this review and think that it was made by someone that works at htc,I know Im not the only one who read it and felt the review was very biased.Even Brain was tweeting about the gs4 like he had something against Samsung and gsm arena

I mean how can you show the weakness of amoled screens and then not include them where they shine?I cant tell you how many times people have said to me,wow your phone has really good black details when looking over there shoulders out in public at bars and at work and this is just random people.

 

[Dari]

Next time i think people will be pleased with some job offers. And i especially insist of getting a picture of the cheerleaders

I see no need to trash a good product. It reeks of insecurity. Samsung makes good products (just not good enough for me as I don't like their AMOLED screens) but you won't see me trashing their build quality or hardware, which are , um, durable and expansive, respectfully. Some people here feel they need to justify their purchase by trashing a perfectly good product. It's ridiculous. The leader of the pack is clearly S44. It's sad...

 

[MrX8503]

I think he means in some tests the phone is not put up against new phones,why cant a review site as big as anandtech get a gs4? if gsmarena can get one 2 weeks ago Im sure they could of easily got one to do a full head to head review on the 2 flagship phones of 2013

Im betting the gs4 review will be half the details and half the effort that the htc one got and its plain and simple to read this review and think that it was made by someone that works at htc,I know Im not the only one who read it and felt the review was very biased.Even Brain was tweeting about the gs4 like he had something against Samsung and gsm arena

I mean how can you show the weakness of amoled screens and then not include them where they shine?I cant tell you how many times people have said to me,wow your phone has really good black details when looking over there shoulders out in public at bars and at work and this is just random people.

Aren't you biased towards everything Samsung?

It's a top notch review. No other tech site has a review of this quality. It's funny how defensive people get over another device.

 

[Dari]

I think he means in some tests the phone is not put up against new phones,why cant a review site as big as anandtech get a gs4? if gsmarena can get one 2 weeks ago Im sure they could of easily got one to do a full head to head review on the 2 flagship phones of 2013

Im betting the gs4 review will be half the details and half the effort that the htc one got and its plain and simple to read this review and think that it was made by someone that works at htc,I know Im not the only one who read it and felt the review was very biased.Even Brain was tweeting about the gs4 like he had something against Samsung and gsm arena

I mean how can you show the weakness of amoled screens and then not include them where they shine?I cant tell you how many times people have said to me,wow your phone has really good black details when looking over there shoulders out in public at bars and at work and this is just random people.

This is a freakin lie. No one, and I mean no one, says stuff like that. It's all in your head, especially at a bar:biggrin:

As for one site having an S4 or not, it depends on if they're on Samsung's payroll or are willing to get a pre-production model...

 

[grkM3]

This is a freakin lie. No one, and I mean no one, says stuff like that. It's all in your head, especially at a bar:biggrin:

As for one site having an S4 or not, it depends on if they're on Samsung's payroll or are willing to get a pre-production model...

Yeah Im totally lying

 

[grkM3]

Aren't you biased towards everything Samsung?

It's a top notch review. No other tech site has a review of this quality. It's funny how defensive people get over another device.

have you not read the gsnarena review?

 

[Qbah]

I think he means in some tests the phone is not put up against new phones,why cant a review site as big as anandtech get a gs4? if gsmarena can get one 2 weeks ago Im sure they could of easily got one to do a full head to head review on the 2 flagship phones of 2013

Im betting the gs4 review will be half the details and half the effort that the htc one got and its plain and simple to read this review and think that it was made by someone that works at htc,I know Im not the only one who read it and felt the review was very biased.Even Brain was tweeting about the gs4 like he had something against Samsung and gsm arena

I mean how can you show the weakness of amoled screens and then not include them where they shine?I cant tell you how many times people have said to me,wow your phone has really good black details when looking over there shoulders out in public at bars and at work and this is just random people.

So we went from "modern competition" to a S4 which isn't even out yet? How could Brian compare the HTC One to a phone they didn't review yet! Are you serious?!

As for your last comment, just I bet it was, at most, one person, which was your friend who came along to grab a beer! As if random strangers comment on other people's smartphones in bars hahahaha

 

[grkM3]

So we went from "modern competition" to a S4 which isn't even out yet? How could Brian compare the HTC One to a phone they didn't review yet! Are you serious?!

As for your last comment, just I bet it was, at most, one person, which was your friend who came along to grab a beer! As if random strangers comment on other people's smartphones in bars hahahaha

the htc one is not out yet either,its listed as coming soon for every carrier and on htc home page and I wouldn't be surprised that the gs4 comes out before it.

The htc one should be reviewed against its competitors,I wise choice would of been to put it head to head with its main comp,the gs4 and the sony xperia

 

[MrX8503]

have you not read the gsnarena review?

Brian's review is better. Your god phone will be compared once Anandtech gets the device.

 

[Qbah]

the htc one is not out yet either,its listed as coming soon for every carrier and on htc home page and I wouldn't be surprised that the gs4 comes out before it.

The htc one should be reviewed against its competitors,I wise choice would of been to put it head to head with its main comp,the gs4 and the sony xperia

Again, how could Brian compare it to a S4? Neither Brian nor anyone else at Anandtech reviewed the S4. This review was for the HTC One and it compared it to existing offerings on the market (for which they have test data to compare to!). The Xperia Z is out but wasn't reviewed at AT yet (no idea if it ever will).

The rest from you is speculation and wishful thinking. So it sounds more like you just complain for the sake of complaining.