The HTC One (M8) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on March 26, 2014 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- HTC One
Snapdragon 801 Performance
The M8 is the first smartphone we’ve tested to use Qualcomm’s newly announced Snapdragon 801 SoC. At a high level the 801 is a frequency bump enabled by a 28nm HPm process push, giving it a tangible increase in performance (and potential decrease in power consumption) compared to the outgoing Snapdragon 800. The table below compares the 801 variants to the Snapdragon 800:
| Snapdragon 800/801 Breakdown | ||||||||||
| SoC Version | Model | Max CPU Frequency | Max GPU Frequency | ISP | eMMC | DSDA | Memory IF | |||
| MSM8974VV | v2 | S800 | 2.2GHz | 450MHz | 320MHz | 4.5 | N | 800MHz | ||
| MSM8974AA | v2 | S800 | 2.3GHz | 450MHz | 320MHz | 4.5 | N | 800MHz | ||
| MSM8974AB | v2 | S800 | 2.3GHz | 550MHz | 320MHz | 4.5 | N | 933MHz | ||
| MSM8974AA | v3 | S801 | 2.3GHz | 450MHz | 320MHz | 5.0 | Y | 800MHz | ||
| MSM8974AB | v3 | S801 | 2.3GHz | 578MHz | 465MHz | 5.0 | Y | 933MHz | ||
| MSM8974AC | v3 | S801 | 2.5GHz | 578MHz | 465MHz | 5.0 | Y | 933MHz | ||
In most parts of the world the M8 will ship with a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801. In Asia/China however we’ll see the 2.5GHz MSM8974AC v3 SKU instead.
Compared to the outgoing Snapdragon 800, peak CPU performance shouldn’t increase all that much. What we may see however is an improvement in power efficiency thanks to the improved 28nm HPm process.
It’s really the GPU that will see the largest increase in performance. With a maximum speed of 578MHz and paired with faster LPDDR3-1866 memory, we should see up to a 30% increase in GPU bound performance over Snapdragon 800 designs.
- Physics
| Snapdragon 801 vs 800 vs 600 | |||||||
| HTC One (M8) - Snapdragon 801 | Google Nexus 5 - Snapdragon 800 | HTC One (M7) - Snapdragon 600 | 801 vs 800 | 801 vs 600 | |||
| SunSpider 1.0.2 | 772.8 ms | 686.9 ms | 1234.8 ms | -12% | +37% | ||
| Kraken Benchmark 1.1 | 6745.2 ms | 7245.9 ms | 12166.5 ms | +7.4% | +45% | ||
| Google Octane v2 | 4316 | 3726 | 3103 | +16% | +39% | ||
| WebXPRT Overall | 373 | 392 | 244 | -5% | +53% | ||
| AndEBench - Native | 17430 | 17480 | 12381 | -1% | +41% | ||
| 3DMark 1.1 Ultimate | 19631 | 17529 | 10519 | +12% | +87% | ||
| 3DMark 1.1 Ultimate - Physics | 50.5 | 51 | 33.1 | -1% | +53% | ||
| Basemark X 1.1 - HQ | 12194 | 11275 | 4807 | +8.1% | +154% | ||
| GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Onscreen | 11.1 fps | 9.3 fps | 5.1 fps | +19% | +118% | ||
| GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Offscreen | 10.4 fps | 8.7 fps | 4.4 fps | +20% | +136% | ||
| GFXBench 3.0 - T-Rex HD Onscreen | 29.9 fps | 24.3 fps | 12.6 fps | +23% | +137% | ||
| GFXBench 3.0 - T-Rex HD Offscreen | 27.9 fps | 22.9 fps | 12.6 fps | +22% | +121% | ||
CPU Performance
GPU Performance
NAND Performance
The One is available in either 16GB or 32GB configurations, there are no higher capacity versions offered. There is now a micro SD card slot on the right side of the device, just above the volume rocker.
Despite using a Snapdragon 801 SoC, the internal storage is still an eMMC 4.5 solution.
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Johnmcl7 - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - link
Because there is no such thing as an absolute phone - everyone has different preferences and the market reflects that. I much prefer Samsung's lighter and durable plastic construction which can hold up to daily use and allows a removable battery rather than HTC's heavier metal cases which if used without a case easily pick up scuffs and scratches making them look decidedly second hand within a matter of months.w2aith - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Fantastic phone. Good weight, great hand feel. Faster than I expected. Camera is unimpressive, but that is not what i look for in a phone. Sound quality from the speakers on the phone is the best I've heard.Death666Angel - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
"There’s nothing more to say other than I’m disappointed."Golden! Is it wrong that I read that in my head in Jon Stewart's Jewish Mother voice? :D
Death666Angel - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Just finished reading your review.Feeling kinda underwhelmed by the M8. First off, I don't really care about the all metal design of a phone. I can appreciate that for all of 2 seconds before I put a plastic case on it and never see the body again unless it is for cleaning. So that advantage is lost for me. I want to like the camera and I kinda do. But 4MP is too low for me. Decrease pixel size, increase the sensor size a bit and give me 6 or 8. I don't need 13MP at 1.12 (?) um, but 4MP@2um is just not good enough, especially as a follow up to that same camera. I don't do that much low-light photography either, but I've used my SGS2 as a camera on holidays when my point and shoot was low on batteries, so outdoor pictures are very important. Losing OIS is an astonishing move and puzzles me greatly. The 801 is looking pretty cool, the mSD card helps, but those aren't unique features. For the price, the display needs to be calibrated better (although I also don't care much about that). I don't really care about the sound of a phone because my usage model does not involve playing anything without headphones plugged in.
The old M7 is still ~70 to 120€ more expensive than any of its competitors phones (Nexus 5, LG G2, SGS4, Xperia Z, not comparing the same capacities, because I am fine with 16GB on my phone), so I don't think the new M8 will be a price competitive offering. I don't see myself being impressed by the SGS5 either. Note 4 maybe? Haven't heard too much about it. But any smartphone that costs over 400€ needs to offer some serious advantages to get me to consider it instead of a Nexus.
If Nexus 5.2 gets a bigger battery, marginally faster SoC at better power characteristics and a better performing camera (1.4 - 1.7 um with 6 or 8MP image and OIS and a 4 or 5MP front facing camera), I'll be a happy boy and upgrade from my Galaxy Nexus.
tvandegr - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
Do we know if the Developer edition or the unlocked edition support carrier aggregation? They seem to be based off of the ATT model from what I have seen other places.skylinkdave - Friday, March 28, 2014 - link
You know what's even more fun than a fiddly phone camera? A real camera that's able to do all of this in-camera without all the post.ol1bit - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - link
As always, Anandtech is spot on with the review. Good Job! Just read some of the other reviews for comparison.pdc200 - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - link
Hmmmm so what happened to reviewing things like Call Quality, Boomsound Quality and loudness? Quality of Audio from the Headphone jack?ghm3 - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - link
I've been eagerly awaiting the Sony Xperia Z2 ever since MWC, and this review doesn't change that at all, but at this is clearly my next choice. The addition of a micro SD slot makes this far more appealing to me now.Either way I'm so done with Samsung's cheap garbage loaded with shitware you can't remove without cracking the phone. Beyond the hardware with the Z2 I'm really looking forward to the mostly un-molested Android build on it. Can anyone provide insight into how HTC is in this department?
thisiskicker - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - link
Awesome It has a micro SD card expansion. This is what phones are now a days are missing.