One neat little improvement is that HTC now lets you get rid of the BlinkFeed widget if you like – one of the most common criticisms of the phone when it launched. However, one obvious niggle remains. It sounds tiny, but it’s irritating. It’s far too easy to switch the keyboard into a different language when typing, and we recommend switching to a third-party keyboard as soon as you get hold of the phone.

HTC One (M8), the successor to the 2013 HTC One (M7). There are two versions of this device: one running Android 4.4.2 KitKat and another running Windows Phone 8.1. The white plastic of the silver edition is a terrible dirt magnet, though – it’ll be fine one minute and covered in dark smudges the next. Unless your personal hygiene is much better than ours, of course. It’s a subtle effect, but one that really adds a touch of class to the handset, making it look and feel even more like a premium handset compared to last year’s model. Our review sample was a fetching silver and gold model, but it’s also available in a darker gunmetal grey with mirrored grey side-walls and a gold version with mirrored polished gold side-walls.The Japanese variant, HTC J, many of the same specifications as the One S, but has a larger battery and runs on WiMAX Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and that’s certainly the case with the OnePlus 3. It set the standard for “affordable flagships” and since its introduction with seen the likes of Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, Alcatel, Realme and more follow a similar formula - with varying degrees of success. Finally, there was a phone on the market that cost less that we could wholeheartedly recommend to anyone that wanted a more affordable device.

Sure, it might not have dramatically exceeded the specs of the previous model, but that was a revolutionary device - the One M8 showed that it’s possible to bring amazing refinement and improvements in key areas, and that’s why it’s still a phone we’d love to see rebooted and brought into the 2020s. Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), Upgradeable to Android 5.0 Lollipop HTC One M9s, a variant of the HTC One M9 with a weaker processor, less internal storage, less RAM, and a weaker rear camera. This is certainly one of the most attractive phones availale, with a more striking, cohesive look than either the Sony Xperia Z or the Samsung Galaxy S4. It’s only the slightly aggressive styling that makes this feel like an HTC-designed device, rather than the one that could have slipped out of Apple’s labs. Staying the same isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the small refinements HTC has made to the One M9 make it an instantly more appealing handset than its predecessor. For instance, it’s now far more angular around the edges and the distinct lip around the side of the phone makes it much easier to grip and hold securely – unlike the One M8 which constantly felt like we were about to drop it.

6 Answers

One thing HTC has been pretty good at over the last few phone generations is in experimenting with different phone constructions. We’ve seen mobiles made of plastic, ceramic and metal – often within the same range. There was a bigger battery that allowed for the phone to last for a solid day, plus the camera was one of the best that we'd seen on a phone at the time and by far the greatest Samsung had introduced.