HTC has finally revealed its latest flagship device which they aim to regain back a major foothold of the Android smart phone segment. Following last year’s HTC One series, the new device is simply called the new HTC One.
The new HTC One offers a completely redesigned body with a fresh approach in both hardware and software. Beginning with the hardware design, the new HTC One uses a full aluminium body that’s put together with zero gap construction for that seamless sturdy feel. Metal construction is always more premium to hold but it is often marred with antenna reception issues. For the new HTC One, they have overcome this challenge by integrating the antenna into its aluminium shell.
Under the hood, the new HTC One offers nothing but spec topping hardware which includes a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad-Core processor at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM and a choice of either 32GB or 64GB of storage. If you plan on adding more storage, unfortunately there’s no expandable microSD slot just like its former HTC One series.
In front, the new HTC One offers the same 4.7″ screen size as the One X but instead it pushes a Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 that gives a pixel density of 468ppi. In terms of connectivity, there’s a Infrared port for remote control use, NFC and 4G LTE which is subject to market availability. In terms of juice, it is powered by a 2,300mAh non-removable battery. Compared to the HTC Butterfly, the new HTC One is slightly thicker and heavier at 9.3mm and 143 grams.
The new HTC One also comes with a fully redesigned HTC Sense that’s running on top of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The home screen now has something called BlinkFeed which is a customisable Live Feed which is similar to Windows Phone Live Tiles. This is a radical change from the typical Android home screen interface that comes out of the box. Somehow the new HTC One looks like a mishmash of different phones and OS interfaces in one.
Just like last year, HTC focuses on 2 key areas on the new device – Audio and Camera. Now they have placed the speakers in front which now comes in two for stereo output. Audio input has been improved as well with the availability of dual mics that’s HDR capable, making it usable to record concerts with loud volume. HTC hasn’t forgotten the basic phone call as well. Apart of voice cancellation, the new HTC One constantly monitors ambient noise and will automatically adjusts the in-call volume to ensure conversations are heard loud and clear.
New for camera is HTC’s new UltraPixel camera. There’s no official mention of Megapixels and HTC has made it clear that they are more focused on image quality by looking into pixel size instead. The new HTC One boasts a large 1/3″ sensor which claims to allow 300% more light and it now comes with Optical Image Stabiliser. Other camera features include a f/2.0 aperture, 28mm wide angle lens and it is able to shoot HDR videos. Over at the front, the new HTC One has a 2.1MP camera with a wide angle 28mm lens that’s also capable of shooting in HDR.
EDIT: It seems that there’s a good reason why HTC is focusing away from pixel count. The effective pixel count on the new HTC One is 4MP, which seems shockingly little compared to today’s current crop of smart phones pushing 8MP and beyond. With a larger pixel size on the sensor, image quality on the new HTC One would be something to look forward to.
After shooting, HTC takes your content further with its new HTC Zoe which is an automated “storymaker” that combines your photos and videos into a 30 second highlight video. For photos taken with long burst, Zoe is able to combined your multiple sequential burst shots into a single image. Alternatively you can remove objects/persons from your collection of burst shots as well.
The new HTC One will be available very soon in March 2013 in over 80 countries and more than 185 operators worldwide. So far there’s no mention of Malaysia or its participating operators but we hope that HTC will shed more light on Malaysian availability soon.
We will be at HTC’s regional launch of the new HTC One in Sydney for a hands-on experience. To get the latest updates or if you have anything to ask, follow us at @soya_cincau.
For more information, head over to the new HTC One product page.
Head after the break for the promo videos and images.
