Htc 10

[JimmiG]

It does look decent. My question is why should I spend $700 on a boring but quite stylish phone, when there are other, $300 boring but quite stylish phones that do all the same things?

 

[Commodus]

It does look decent. My question is why should I spend $700 on a boring but quite stylish phone, when there are other, $300 boring but quite stylish phones that do all the same things?

But they don't do the same things the same way. The HTC 10 is faster, takes better photos, probably lasts longer on battery and sounds better.

It's like asking why you should buy a $2,000 pro laptop when the $500 bargain model at Best Buy will technically run the same CAD or video editing apps. Sure, it can, but the performance and overall experience will be much better on the more expensive machine. The people who care will see it as an investment rather than a waste.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It does look decent. My question is why should I spend $700 on a boring but quite stylish phone, when there are other, $300 boring but quite stylish phones that do all the same things?

Link to a $300 phone with a Qualcomm 820 SoC? I would love one.

The 2015 Qualcomm SoCs were such a disaster that almost any 2016 flagship is a huge leap forward. Diminishing returns kicks in next year, you are a year early.

 

[zerogear]

Best fingerprint sensor location I've used is on the Sony Xperia Z5 -- on the side power button. It's genius.

 

[paperwastage]

Link to a $300 phone with a Qualcomm 820 SoC? I would love one.

The 2015 Qualcomm SoCs were such a disaster that almost any 2016 flagship is a huge leap forward. Diminishing returns kicks in next year, you are a year early.

Xiaomi Mi 5, starts at USD~$310
http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_5_starts_at_300_goes_up_to_413_for_ceramic_version-news-16869.php

too bad its lacking certain LTE bands, cant use it in usa

go by a nexus 5x at ~$250 if you want a good sub-$300 phone (and other alternatives)

 

[poofyhairguy]

Xiaomi Mi 5, starts at USD~$310
http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_5_starts_at_300_goes_up_to_413_for_ceramic_version-news-16869.php

too bad its lacking certain LTE bands, cant use it in usa

Which makes it pretty useless, but you are correct that is technically a $300 phone with a 820. I would love to see that kind of product in the USA.

go by a nexus 5x at ~$250 if you want a good sub-$300 phone (and other alternatives)

The Nexus 5x has the exact sort of garbage 2015 SoC I am talking about, plus many of its users complain about performance issues specific to the device.

Simply put, there isn't a $300 phone yet that can match a S6, S7, M10, etc. I bet by the end of 2016 there might be a few.

 

[KeithP]

Has HTC said anything about monthly security updates?

-KeithP

 

[Qbah]

Best fingerprint sensor location I've used is on the Sony Xperia Z5 -- on the side power button. It's genius.

Yep. And it works OK to unlock with the pointing finger pressing to the side when the phone is laying on its back on a table. However, unlocking with the thumb because that's where it is when I hold my phone = so seamless I forget it's there! Smartlock also works great.

The HTC 10 looks OK, I guess. I really don't like the button position, very asymmetrical, breaks the look IMO. And it seems it's still caused by screen electronics under the screen, they just tried to make it as little as possible and failed again... Also, it's too big for me. I had the M7 (perfect size, bad battery, bad camera after a while, got super hot), M8 (too big, mediocre battery, "OK" camera, great build quality). Now I'm rocking a Sony Xperia Z5c - best phone ever for me. First time I don't think about battery, ever, camera is insane, fingerprint scanner works great. Water and dust proof. Very robust (dropped it a few times, nothing broke). Absolutely perfect size for me. There's really nothing I can complain about... Did I say the camera is epic on this thing?

For HTC's sake, I hope the HTC 10 is a success. However, they lost me as a customer.

 

[Commodus]

Has HTC said anything about monthly security updates?

-KeithP

It says it wants to push for them, but it doesn't think that guaranteed monthly updates are realistic given the control that carriers have over most Android phones.

With that said, HTC at least tries for timely OS updates, which is more than you can say for Samsung.

 

[core2slow]

Phone looks promising from the specsheet. The only lingering issue with HTC phones are their batteries...let's see if battery life live up to the hype.

 

[cronos]

It says it wants to push for them, but it doesn't think that guaranteed monthly updates are realistic given the control that carriers have over most Android phones.

With that said, HTC at least tries for timely OS updates, which is more than you can say for Samsung.

HTC does keep monthly security updates for the One A9. It's not too impressive, as the monthly updates came out on average 3-4 weeks into the month, but they're there. Based on this, doing a similar thing for the 10 isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

(I of course am talking about the unlocked version. I don't think HTC can do much about carrier's version)

 

[elitejp]

Xiaomi Mi 5, starts at USD~$310
http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_5_starts_at_300_goes_up_to_413_for_ceramic_version-news-16869.php

too bad its lacking certain LTE bands, cant use it in usa

go by a nexus 5x at ~$250 if you want a good sub-$300 phone (and other alternatives)

What I've seen on those phones is that the user experience is quite bad. Not something worth buying

 

[kaerflog]

Which makes it pretty useless, but you are correct that is technically a $300 phone with a 820. I would love to see that kind of product in the USA.



The Nexus 5x has the exact sort of garbage 2015 SoC I am talking about, plus many of its users complain about performance issues specific to the device.

Simply put, there isn't a $300 phone yet that can match a S6, S7, M10, etc. I bet by the end of 2016 there might be a few.

I beg to differ.
I've had the MotoX Pure for 3 weeks and I have a S7 edge now and the daily function is exactly the same to me. Higher end games on the SD820 might make a difference but for everything else, I see NO noticeable differences.
If I had to spend ~$600 on a SD820 phone, I would have bought a MotoX for $300 already. The only negative on the X is a low light camera.
Sure the SD808 or SD810 can't be compared to the current SD820, but we are talking about double in prices here.
The BOGO free on the S7 was too good to pass up which is the only reason why I got the S7 edge.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I beg to differ.
I've had the MotoX Pure for 3 weeks and I have a S7 edge now and the daily function is exactly the same to me. Higher end games on the SD820 might make a difference but for everything else, I see NO noticeable differences.

I bet. Samsung really slows down its (awesome) devices with its software. Sometime this year we will get a phone with stockish Android and an 820, and that device will feel faster than a bat out of hell.

 

[tsupersonic]

I bet. Samsung really slows down its (awesome) devices with its software. Sometime this year we will get a phone with stockish Android and an 820, and that device will feel faster than a bat out of hell.

I wish they would bring back the GPE program. They probably cancelled it due to low interest, but a GS7/Edge with stock Android would be absolutely insane. I wouldn't mind some Samsung optimization with GPE, such as the Samsung camera app.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I wish they would bring back the GPE program. They probably cancelled it due to low interest, but a GS7/Edge with stock Android would be absolutely insane. I wouldn't mind some Samsung optimization with GPE, such as the Samsung camera app.

I was a big fan of that program, my GPEd S4 was probably my favorite phone ever and I still use my GPEd HTC M8 daily (it runs 6.0). I can see why they canceled it though, I bet more people ran converted phones than total GPEs sold.

One good thing about the HTC 10 is that HTC is currently the best non-Goole OEM at updates:

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3052937/android/android-upgrade-report-card-marshmallow.html

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this device, HTC has taken Motorola's place as the devices closest to a Nexus with updates. The $599 preorder price is very tempting.

 

[kaerflog]

I like the back of the HTC 10. The front still have too much bezels top and bottom.
I think HTC and LG already lost this year. Samsung released their device first and every carrier had their BOGO offers. People that wanted to upgrade probably already did.
I don't see too many people spending $600+ on a LG5 or HTC 10.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Some reviews came out. I'm pretty much sold on this phone now. I love my Nexus 6P but the SD810 is just too terrible.

 

[Crono]

The other thing the 10 has going for it out-of-the-box is adoptable storage for microSDs. Never had a problem using the same feature on Windows Phone when it was introduced, so it would be nice to start using it on Android. I'd pick it over the other flagships just for that, especially with the premium for extra internal storage that still exists. I only "need" 32GB, but given more space I'd definitely make use of it for more apps and offline music.

I used to be able to get by with 16GB internal as recently as last year, but more and more apps have gotten bigger/bloated.

 

[ChronoReverse]

So far the only real cons I've seen so far are:
IR is removed (mostly the case with all 2016 phones anyway)
The LCD is less power efficient than same-sized AMOLED
Non-removable battery (only the G5 has this)


Everything else is either on par or better. Standouts for me are:
Unlocked and warrantied bootloader
MicroSD and adoptable storage
Very light Sense skin


HTC has built the phone I want.

 

[ChronoReverse]

The entire backside of the device feels amazing in your hand. To prevent the phone from rocking on a table or desk, the HTC 10 has a flatter midsection instead of a totally round backside. Setting the phone down on a flat surface doesn't allow the phone to rock or slide around.

Perfect. Did HTC fire all the idiots from the M8 on?

 

[Graze]

Reviews seem to say what I expected. Its a meh phone

 

[Crono]

Reviews seem to say what I expected. Its a meh phone

What's your favorite phone of all time, though? I doubt it was exciting at the time.
Most flagships now are going to be models that fix issues with older ones and subtly improve from generation to generation, or they are going to be phones that try and capitalize on novel innovations that can end up being oddball, niche uses l ike the G5's semi-modular design.

Other than Project Ara - which has taken forever in smartphone lifecycles, and still isn't out - there aren't that many truly innovative designs hitting the market.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Reviews seem to say what I expected. Its a meh phone

Everything is a meh phone. Smartphones really aren't exciting anymore, the mobile revolution is over and they won. All the excitement in IT now surround technology like VR or Tesla cars.

Still we all want a solid smartphone, and options at this size are limited. This is the device I would own if I had to buy right now. Only reason I don't is I hope there will be a 820 Nexus sometime this year.

 

[s44]

With that said, HTC at least tries for timely OS updates, which is more than you can say for Samsung.

LOL what? The S7/S7E got the last monthly security update before Nexuses.

In fact, the security updates are still being pushed to all promised devices. This unfortunately mitigates the need to push OS point updates, but the security issue isn't really on the table any more.