The One that makes sense

People often ask us which smartphone they should buy, and our first question, inevitably, would be about their budget. Because as tech critics, we keep updating our lists of favourites in each price segment, based on performance, build, design, and overall value for money. And just the other day, someone asked us what would be a good buy in the sub-₹35k price segment.

The first choice, under normal circumstances, would have been the LG/Google Nexus 5, but our friend here wanted something that wasn’t just raw Android. Now, in that situation we would usually suggest an erstwhile flagship, which has been ousted by a new version – say, the Sony Xperia Z1 or the LG G2 –and prices of the older device have been lowered. But, buying an older device has its own drawbacks, especially around receiving future updates.

Thankfully, this was just around the time when we received our demo unit of the HTC One E8, and we recommended the smartphone to our friend, for the following reasons.

Since the E8 is supposed to be a stripped down version of the M8, it’s all a matter of what you get and what you don’t get. So, we’ll start with what you retain – the same gorgeous, 5-inch Super LCD3 display, the same processor and RAM combination (quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5 GHz and 2GB RAM), and the 5MP front camera stays. Also, the overall design remains the same. This is a great relief because we get the same performance numbers from the HTC One E8, as we got from the One M8. On the Quadrant Standard benchmark test, we got an average of 25,450 points from the E8.

The fluidic performance and the same 2,600mAh battery, coupled with a UI that we love so much, is everything and more that you could ask for, in a phone at this price.

A lot, to be specific. While the overall design looks the same, it feels way different. The metal unibody design has been replaced with a polycarbonate body. Sure, a metal body looks classy, but we like the E8’s build quality as well. It’s sturdy and is a well-finished product, and the unit that we had received had a matte soft-touch texture on the back that offered good grip.

The major change, however, is the rear camera setup – with the M8, you get the Duo Camera array, with the UltraPixel sensor (easily one of the best cameras around). With the E8, however, you get a new 13MP camera, which, to be honest, is surprisingly good. We had been blown away by the M8’s camera, so it’s kind of natural to underestimate a skimped camera. Also, the camera app remains unchanged, so you can still click the Zoes and the HDRs. And then there are some other changes inside the body – the IR blaster has been taken out, so you’ll have to go for the M8 if you want a universal remote in your smartphone. The E8 has a dual-SIM (nano-SIM) tray, which is good news for all the dual-SIM users.

At a price tag of just below ₹35,000, the HTC One E8 has quite a lot to offer. But is it perfect? Definitely no – we miss the sturdiness of the metal chassis and the physical buttons (volume rocker and power button) do feel a bit flimsy. But it carries forward the same impressive tech-specs, and offers a more practical phone for someone who needs the power and isn’t quite interested in an extremely specialised camera.

It’s also the best new offering by any company at this point, and we think that it offers big bang for your buck.

₹34,990

Love – Blazing performance; gorgeous screen

Hate – Physical control buttons feel flimsy

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