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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LongTimePCUser - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - link
Reliable Android blogsphere sources have reported that Android 4.4 disables micro SD cards.MrSmartyAss - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
Say what?blzd - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - link
Nohing about the speakers or audio quality? Seems like one of the selling points.Blown503 - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
Can you take the battery out? (slowly evolving to Iphone)1bbcd5 - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
nice article. i love itaugustofretes - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
They manage to screw up the camera even more than the last time. The only good thing about their "Ultrapixel" camera was OIS, which meant you could take pretty good shots on low light and enjoy stabilized video. Now you have a gimmick and no OIS, and the same crappy sensor.The detail captured by this camera is insultingly bad for 2014 standards, come on.
goats - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
While Apple released their latest iPhone 5s and 5c and Samsung with their Galaxy S5, HTC threaten these two big men with the release of their HTC M8. For a week now, this smartphone has been the talk of the town and they continue to be.omaudio - Monday, March 31, 2014 - link
I am interested in this review (and all phone reviews) to know if the GPS will operate in airplane mode (ie with all radios off or in area with no service). I have an HTC Amaze 4G that took me a long time to research and buy because I go camping and need GPS to operate when in areas with no service. I love this phone but would like to upgrade and keep the 4G as a backup. (I also LOVE removable batteries and keep extras on hand)If possible could you please put this phone in airplane mode and see if GPS works? I use Trimble Outdoors Navigator Pro with offline maps but you could test with Google Maps etc. thanks.
shaolin95 - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
"With the premium smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung, and the rest of the world headed to lower cost devices, it was a risky proposition."Really...ever heard of Sony and their high end, premium build Xperia phones?
cj100570 - Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - link
The M8 will suffer a similar fate to the M7. It can get all the accolades reviewers can throw at it for its metal construction. But at the end of the day its shortcomings, the camera being #1, will be the reason people buy something else. Mega-pixels do matter. And no matter what anyone says to the contrary, that is a fact. They aren't the most important factor but they are damn high on the list. Had HTC fitted this phone with an 8 mega-pixel camera it would have had a home run and a true contender for the title of Best Phone Of 2014. Instead they'll have to hope for 2nd. And when one takes into account what Sony and LG have in the pipeline HTC is going to need a hope and a prayer! The M8 being made of aluminium isn't going to save them....