What a difference a year can make – in the case of the HTC One M8, the changes over the original HTC One
are plentiful. The One M8 could also have a second generation mini
sibling as has been rumoured numerous times and in this head to head,
we’re taking a look at the HTC One M8 vs the Mini version of the One M7 (the One M4).
The HTC One Mini follows the same design language as both the One M8 and the One M7. The large display is flanked on the left and right than a slightly-larger-than-needed bezel and beneath the display is the black bar with HTC logo.
One of the biggest changes on the One M8 is the keys have moved on-screen instead of on the black bar but the One Mini M4 follows the design of the M7 with capacitive touch buttons. As we’ve seen across the industry, Mini smartphones follow the design of their flagship siblings and if the One M8 Mini is a reality (rumoured to be model number One Mini M5), we’d expect the keys to move on-screen.
Both of these two devices may vary drastically in price but they both have HTC BoomSound. BoomSound brings dual frontal stereo speakers and in the case of the HTC One M8, it has a dedicated amplifier to power that impressive speaker setup.
The One Mini M4 does have an advantage over the One M8 however – as it follows the One M7, it comes with BeatsAudio technology whilst the One M8 doesn’t, following HTC’s sale of their final share in Beats. The lack of amplifier is part of the reason that overall the audio quality is much better on the One M8 in comparison to the One Mini M4 but we’d expect nothing less from a flagship and it shows the difference that approx £200 extra in cost makes.
If there’s one feature that defines HTC’s One range, it is the Ultrapixel camera technology. When first announcing Ultrapixel, much scorn was poured on HTC’s decision to take a different approach to smartphone camera. A defining feature of the One range, it is present on both the One M8 and the One Mini M4.
However there are some interesting differences here – whilst the One Mini M4 brings the first gen Ultrapixel camera, the One M8 has a secondary duo camera for refocusing after capture. The One M8 runs on Android 4.4.2 Jelly Bean with the Sense 6 update which has bought other improvements to the camera including user interface tweaks, algorithm improvements and additional features.
One of the features that stood out as part of the Ultrapixel camera package on the HTC One M7 was Optical Image Stabilisation but both the One M8 and One Mini M4 lack this. As we’ve seen, OIS makes videos incredibly smooth and drastically improves night-shots. Whilst we understand the cost-cutting measures taken to produce the One Mini M4 resulted in OIS being dropped, we’re still at a loss to explain why HTC didn’t include OIS in the feature-rich One M8 flagship.
Whether it’s the curved contour design of the rear that ergonomically designed to fit your hand or the supreme metal build, the entire One range has a lot to offer. From the cheapest One Mini M4 to the flagship One M8 and phablet One Max, there are many similarities between the devices and the only differences appear to be the specs and display.
In the case of the One M8 and One Mini M4, the latter is a reflection on the first generation Mini One device and if HTC follow the same ethos with the rumoured One Mini M5, we could see some interesting specs. We’d really love to see them offer a ‘true Mini smartphone’ with specs like the Xperia Z1 Compact but this is somewhat of a pipedream and highly unlikely to actually happen.
The HTC One Mini follows the same design language as both the One M8 and the One M7. The large display is flanked on the left and right than a slightly-larger-than-needed bezel and beneath the display is the black bar with HTC logo.
One of the biggest changes on the One M8 is the keys have moved on-screen instead of on the black bar but the One Mini M4 follows the design of the M7 with capacitive touch buttons. As we’ve seen across the industry, Mini smartphones follow the design of their flagship siblings and if the One M8 Mini is a reality (rumoured to be model number One Mini M5), we’d expect the keys to move on-screen.
Both of these two devices may vary drastically in price but they both have HTC BoomSound. BoomSound brings dual frontal stereo speakers and in the case of the HTC One M8, it has a dedicated amplifier to power that impressive speaker setup.
The One Mini M4 does have an advantage over the One M8 however – as it follows the One M7, it comes with BeatsAudio technology whilst the One M8 doesn’t, following HTC’s sale of their final share in Beats. The lack of amplifier is part of the reason that overall the audio quality is much better on the One M8 in comparison to the One Mini M4 but we’d expect nothing less from a flagship and it shows the difference that approx £200 extra in cost makes.
If there’s one feature that defines HTC’s One range, it is the Ultrapixel camera technology. When first announcing Ultrapixel, much scorn was poured on HTC’s decision to take a different approach to smartphone camera. A defining feature of the One range, it is present on both the One M8 and the One Mini M4.
However there are some interesting differences here – whilst the One Mini M4 brings the first gen Ultrapixel camera, the One M8 has a secondary duo camera for refocusing after capture. The One M8 runs on Android 4.4.2 Jelly Bean with the Sense 6 update which has bought other improvements to the camera including user interface tweaks, algorithm improvements and additional features.
One of the features that stood out as part of the Ultrapixel camera package on the HTC One M7 was Optical Image Stabilisation but both the One M8 and One Mini M4 lack this. As we’ve seen, OIS makes videos incredibly smooth and drastically improves night-shots. Whilst we understand the cost-cutting measures taken to produce the One Mini M4 resulted in OIS being dropped, we’re still at a loss to explain why HTC didn’t include OIS in the feature-rich One M8 flagship.
Whether it’s the curved contour design of the rear that ergonomically designed to fit your hand or the supreme metal build, the entire One range has a lot to offer. From the cheapest One Mini M4 to the flagship One M8 and phablet One Max, there are many similarities between the devices and the only differences appear to be the specs and display.
In the case of the One M8 and One Mini M4, the latter is a reflection on the first generation Mini One device and if HTC follow the same ethos with the rumoured One Mini M5, we could see some interesting specs. We’d really love to see them offer a ‘true Mini smartphone’ with specs like the Xperia Z1 Compact but this is somewhat of a pipedream and highly unlikely to actually happen.
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