Going way back into the year 2012, that is many years in the smartphone world, the HTC One brand began with the One X and One S. Then, and still today, the biggest characteristic in the HTC brand is design quality. Other brand names seem to remain stuck on cost optimization, something essential for competing in the smartphone market. But, don't design and cost seem to be equally important? For now, lets focus on the brand that is HTC; one of the very few original design manufacturers (ODMs) to transform into a retail success story. So far, HTC has delicately crafted two generations of successful devices, with roots in the ODM/OEM space.

The goal of the One brand name was to have one device anyone could use anywhere in the world, all while having an excellent performance quality. Last year, HTC's One, codenamed M7, was overall considered a success. Many called it the best Android phone of last year. It's nearly fully metal design was suave, it had a larger rear camera, yet it had a lower resolution than many rivals. HTC seemed bold, costly, and risky to put the M7 up against the premium smartphone market dominators that are Apple and Samsung. All the while, HTC actually came out strong.

And here we are, with the HTC One M8 now in review. So, what's the big deal with the new line? Well, for one, the phone is bigger. Everything is bigger with the M8, in fact. The original M7 came with a 4.7-inch 1920x1080 pixel display; the M8 is 5 inches, with 1920x1080 pixel Super LCD 3 display. The extra volume in screen size means it gained .6 ounces, now at 5.6 ounces. HTC also added more body. The additional metal to it's aluminum chassis now makes it 90% (the M7 was 70%), giving it a more rounded, robust feel, with a softer touch. Darren Sng, HTC's senior director calls it “jewelery grade finish”.

Specs:
Just as the HTC One M8 is bigger in almost every way, it is also has more power in every way. With a 2.3Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16Gb to 32Gb of on board storage; an additional 64Gb microSD card slot, and 50GB of free Google Drive storage. This is a huge improvement from M7's 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 CPU, with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

Upped from the previous 2,300 mAh power pack, the M8 sports a 2,600 mAh battery. A new, enhanced power saver mode claims the phone can last up to 10 days, all by disabling data until you need it.

Speakers? We usually don't hear much about speakers being that big of a deal for most flagships. With the M8, BoomSound speakers offer a 20% increase in volume, with deeper bass and higher trebles.

HTC also added some new user friendly features, such as “Motion Launch” gesture controls, as well as intuitive location functions.

The camera now has dual color LED flash, with two lenses at the back. The second lens takes care of adding detail to photos with a depth sensor. This basically makes the camera Photoshop-able (editable) by using an array of features to blur certain things out, add effects, and even create cutouts of people. The front facing camera has an amazing 5 megapixels, so, selfie your heart out.

M8's Flaws and Outlook:
Despite the current market trend, some may find the phone a little large for their taste, especially if they can't comfortably use it with one hand. Also, although the new camera features sound helpful and fun, it has been said to lack clarity, with some images appearing washed out and dull. Relative to competing devices, the camera “experience” with the HTC One M8 is “quite poor”, says BGR reviewer Zach Epstein. HTC happens to be one of the few smartphone vendors out there that hasn't been able to significantly improve its camera with each new attempt.

The M8 has one-upped the M7 in virtually every way. It's larger, the design is smoother, longer lasting, and its performance is super fast. Although the new camera features don't seem to impress, there is plenty else to be excited about. All-in-all, this device has a lot of super powers going for it, except one thing. Its release is during a time of great contest; soon enough to the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Apple's (likely) iPhone 6 fall debut to face some stiff competition.