Upgrading from the HTC One M8, What new smartphone should I buy?

[kennyreid95]

I'm coming from the HTC One M8 and I am looking for a new smartphone to buy. What new smartphone should I buy? I need your help guys. I liked how the HTC One M8 had front speakers and they sounded great but now the Moto X Pure Edition's speakers sound way better than the M8's speakers. The Moto X Pure Edition speakers sound a lot louder and more clearer than the M8's speakers. I am considering buying the Moto X Pure Edition because of the great front speakers. However I do have some gripes with the Moto XPE that make me not want to buy the Moto XPE. 1 gripe is that the Moto XPE is a big phone. The Moto XPE is even bigger than the HTC One M8. The M8 has a 5 inch screen and the Moto XPE has a 5.7 inch screen. I really don''t want a big phone because my hands are not the biggest to hold a 5.7 inch phone. The 2nd gripe is the Moto XPE can not record 1080p 60fps video. Why is that? The HTC One M8 can record 1080p 60fps and the Moto XPE can not. I do not understand that. 3rd gripe is that the Moto XPE does not have a Notification Led Light. The HTC One M8 has a notification led light, why does the Moto XPE have a notification led light? Please someone explain that to me. Another gripe for me is that the Moto XPE is powered by the Snapdragon 808 processor. The M8 is powered by a Snapdragon 801 processor. The performance difference between the 808 and the 801 is not much. I have seen benchmarks online of the M8 and the Moto XPE and the Moto XPE scored 51401 on Antutu benchmark and the M8 scored 44284 on Antutu benchmark. The Moto XPE scored 1248 single core and 3361 multi core in Geekbench 3. The M8 scored 975 single core and 2976 multi core in Geekbench 3. The Adreno 418 is not that much more powerful than the Adreno 330 in gaming. Is the Adreno 418 better than the Adreno 330? Is the Snapdragon 808 better than the Snapdragon 801? There really is not a huge performance difference between the HTC One M8 and the Moto XPE, or is there a performance difference? The Moto XPE suffers from thermal throttling when doing heavy tasks and benchmarks. I haven't seen the M8 thermal throttle on heavy tasks or benchmarks. I have also looked at the Nexus 6P but that phone is even bigger and taller than the M8 and Moto XPE. The Nexus 6P also can't record 1080P 60fps video. I also heard the Nexus 6P video stabilization is really bad. So I am really not sure which phone to buy. Are there better phones out there than the Moto XPE and Nexus 6P? I'm saying are there better phones that don't have the same drawbacks as the Moto XPE and 6P have?

 

[poofyhairguy]

If you can stand a bigger phone the 6P is an obvious choice.

If you don't want a large phone then waiting is the best option. Last year wasn't the best year for Android, and we are SOOO close (within a few months) of the 2016 models being released.

I also have an M8 and there simply isn't a five inch Android phone I am willing to replace it for yet. I am hoping soon we will have plenty.

 

[kennyreid95]

If you can stand a bigger phone the 6P is an obvious choice.

If you don't want a large phone then waiting is the best option. Last year wasn't the best year for Android, and we are SOOO close (within a few months) of the 2016 models being released.

I also have an M8 and there simply isn't a five inch Android phone I am willing to replace it for yet. I am hoping soon we will have plenty.

poofyhairguy what do you think about the moto xpe? I know that is a big phone too. But it's no as tall as the nexus 6p. If you read the op. I said I have some gripes with the moto xpe. 1 gripe is the moto xpe can't record 1080p 60fps video.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I personally think the 6P blows the Moto off the map:

-better build
-better SoC
-updates we can trust
-fingerprint reader
-better camera

I mean the XPE is a great phone for the price, but the 6P is more expensive overall for a better experience.

The gold 6P is on sale right now:

https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p

 

[kennyreid95]

I personally think the 6P blows the Moto off the map:

-better build
-better SoC
-updates we can trust
-fingerprint reader
-better camera

I mean the XPE is a great phone for the price, but the 6P is more expensive overall for a better experience.

The gold 6P is on sale right now:

https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p

Yeah the 6P is a great phone. But the 6P can't record 1080p 60fps video

 

[desura]

The One M8 is still a very good phone though. I wouldn't upgrade unless I had battery problems. Since the HTC one phones are the worst phones to open up and replace batteries, that is a real reason to get rid of it.

Staying within android, and with money to burn, I'd probably get either a Nexus phone or that crazy LG V10.

 

[kennyreid95]

The One M8 is still a very good phone though. I wouldn't upgrade unless I had battery problems. Since the HTC one phones are the worst phones to open up and replace batteries, that is a real reason to get rid of it.

Staying within android, and with money to burn, I'd probably get either a Nexus phone or that crazy LG V10.

But the 6P can't record 1080p 60fps video

 

[Crono]

If you want an X Pure get an X Pure. The M8 is still a good phone and honestly I'd wait for a Snapdragon 820 phone for a bigger upgrade than the Nexus 6p or Moto X Pure, but if you need a phone right now the Pure is going to be decent. The X may not get the same update support as a Nexus 6p, but Android on it is at least close to stock and as fluid as the experience on an M8.

 

[kennyreid95]

If you want an X Pure get an X Pure. The M8 is still a good phone and honestly I'd wait for a Snapdragon 820 phone for a bigger upgrade than the Nexus 6p or Moto X Pure, but if you need a phone right now the Pure is going to be decent. The X may not get the same update support as a Nexus 6p, but Android on it is at least close to stock and as fluid as the experience on an M8.

Crono what do you think about the Nexus 6P and Moto XPE can't record 1080p 60fps video?

 

[Crono]

Crono what do you think about the Nexus 6P and Moto XPE can't record 1080p 60fps video?

I didn't know that it couldn't record 1080p/60fps, but that's not a feature that matters much to me... though I could see it being important if you need it for recording sports, for slow-mo, etc. The 6P has a fantastic camera otherwise.

I'm currently using a 1st gen Moto X, but I've been looking at getting a Nexus 5X or a Moto X Play. I'd actually prefer the Play over the Pure because the battery life could be higher, especially with some customization.

I don't think you can go really wrong with either, but obviously Nexus typically has better support life.

 

[kennyreid95]

I really need help asap please. I want to buy a new smartphone right now. I want to upgrade from my broken HTC One M8.

 

[ImDonly1]

Buy 6P, try it for 2 weeks, return for free if unhappy?
Not sure if Moto has a generous return policy like Google does, you can try that too (website seems to say they have free returns too).

Or I believe best buy is selling both the moto x and 6p, you can try both in-store.

I'm biased, I have a 6P.

 

[desura]

You really can't go wrong with any of the choices out there, man. Why not stay with HTC? Get the M9 or A9.

 

[kennyreid95]

You really can't go wrong with any of the choices out there, man. Why not stay with HTC? Get the M9 or A9.

desura you make me do the facepalm again. The HTC One M9 was one of the worst phones of 2015 and HTC's worst phone they have ever released. The A9 is even worse. The M9's camera is crap and the battery life is crap. Nobody put the M9 on their top 10 smartphone of 2015 list. That tells you right there the M9 is a crappy phone.

 

[desura]

Man, all the reviewers make a huge deal out of trivial stuff because all of the phones out nowadays are pretty darn good. I have a crappy Moto E and it's a really nice phone, objectively speaking.

You'd be fine with pretty much any phone mentioned in this thread.

 

[Crono]

I really need help asap please. I want to buy a new smartphone right now. I want to upgrade from my broken HTC One M8.

Not sure you really do. You already narrowed the decisions down and posted a bunch of info, just pick already.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I really need help asap please. I want to buy a new smartphone right now. I want to upgrade from my broken HTC One M8.

If you really need 1080p at 60 it's Galaxy, Sony or bust I am pretty sure.