What's good
- Smooth gaming and every day performance
- Good battery life
- Excellent bright light legibility
What's bad
- Very slippery
- Inaccurate color reproduction
- No Duo camera
Take off the metal body of the HTC One M8, replace it with polycarbonate and you've got the HTC One E8. Due to its plastic chassis, reviewers note that while it feels natural to hold, it is fairly slippery and prone to accidental drops. The plastic back isn't the only change, however. The E8 does not come with the duo camera. Instead it comes with a 13MP rear camera that, according to Tech Radar, takes, "pretty good…without being sensational," images. For those looking to control their TV from their phone, the One E8 also did away with the IR blaster.
Besides these changes, the One E8 features almost the same specs as the One M8. It comes with a 2.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. No matter how many apps they had running, experts did not notice any issues with lags or stutters even when they played processor heavy games. Android Authority describes its performance as, "smooth as butter." Battery life is equally as impressive with the 2,600mAh battery providing critics with 16 hours of moderate usage. The phone only comes with 16GB of internal story though there is a microSD expansion slot available.
Adorning the front of the One E8 is the 5-inch, full HD IPS display. Its 1080 resolution provides an excellent 441ppi pixel density. Despite hitting all the right numbers, reviewers were surprised by the inaccurate color reproduction. Phone Arena goes more in-depth stating that reds are under saturated, blues are over saturated and magenta is simply, "messed up" though they add that comparatively it is more color-correct than the Galaxy S5. Others add that it has excellent bright light legibility thought its minimum brightness is far too high to view in the dark without some eye strain.
Although the E8 might have a cheaper, polycarbonate body when compared to the M8, it boasts all of the same internal specs as the flagship phone. Still, critics have a hard time recommending it. CNET says, "While the E8 is a quality device, it just doesn't have the wow factor to truly impress."
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Florian Wimmer, NotebookcheckMore performance for less money – the One E8 is definitely an interesting alternative if you like the plastic case. It inherited many good features from the One M8 as well as the smaller HTC One Mini 2, which was actually better than the One M8 in some areas. The camera of the One E8, for exam...
- Kris Carlon, AndroidPITSo let's take a look at everything: the One (E8) is lighter, it's less expensive than the One (M8), it has better shock absorbency from the material choice (even if it doesn't look quite as nice as the flagship, in my opinion), and it even has a slightly upgraded CPU. But what about the biggest draw...
- Eric M. Zeman, Phone ScoopThe HTC One (E8) is almost as good as the One (M8). It trades the latter's aluminum skin for polycarbonate, and in so doing loses a little bit of luster. Even so, the plastic is strong and well made. It still offers BoomSound and Zoes, but loses the TV remote and fancy two-camera setup.The E8 has a...
- Eugene Kim, PC MagazineThe HTC One E8 for Sprint doesn't wow with its plastic design, but it delivers flagship features and performance at a midrange price
- Chris Hall, Pocket-lintThere are a number of areas where the HTC One E8 fails to live up to the M8 experience. But given the reduced price that is to be expected, so it's difficult to see the E8 as doing anything but delivering on its aims.The speed, power and software experience is, with only a few minor exceptions, the...
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the HTC One (E8) user manual here.
HTC backs up the One (E8) with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your One (E8) has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact HTC support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find HTC's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- HTC One (E8) Quick Start Guide (PDF)
- HTC One (E8) Manual (PDF)
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