Earlier this year, all eyes were on HTC as they geared up to unveil their flagship handset for 2013. Everyone knew this was going to be the device to trump all other HTC-branded phones that had come before it. This particular gadget would be the culmination of a ridiculous amount of hard work, focus, and intent all zeroed in on what would eventually be known as the One.
Did it work out? Is the One the best phone that HTC has ever created? Or, why not, the best phone ever created, period? That's up to you. No matter what anyone else's opinion on a particular device is, it can only go as far as your own take on it. I could tell you that the One is the best Android phone I've used in a very, very long time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the phone is perfect for you.
Aaron's recent video with the One, where he talked about the device six months after its launch, made me think about the tie I've spent with the device, both in its black and silver iterations. It made me look back at the things I liked about it, and made me smile at the parts I loved.
But, as far as I've seen over the years, there's no such thing as a perfect device. And as much as I love the One, it's certainly not perfect.
Interestingly enough, I don't have a single, tiny issue with the hardware. Not one. There's nothing about the physical design of the One that I dislike. The screen size is fantastic. The aluminum chassis? Great. The slight curve in the back is amazing, too. And, while I use headphones a lot, HTC's BoomSound is still pretty fantastic when I get a chance to use it.
Would I change the camera? Probably. As I've said in the past, I'm not sure the 4 UltraPixel gambit was worth it, to be honest. I don't think the camera is terrible by any means, and in some instances it's fantastic, but it's just not as good as HTC would want me, or you, to believe.
What I would change? Beyond any shadow of a doubt, it's the changes that HTC made to Sense 5. And no, I'm not talking about the overall look and feel to Sense. I like that part of HTC's proprietary software. I'd change the little things. Like the way the bottom app bar duplicates app icons if you move them. Or, the extra step it takes to get an app icon out of the app drawer proper.
It's this small list that actually showed me, yet again, how great of a phone the One is. How, despite the huge mountain in front of the company, they managed to create an Android phone that really won me over right out of the gate. These little things are a huge indicator that HTC really did slam one out of the park.
But, now it's your turn. I want to know what you would change about the HTC One. If you picked one up near launch, what are your thoughts on the handset several months later? Or are you waiting (I'm)patiently for the device to launch on your carrier of choice? If you had to change something about HTC's flagship handset, what would it be? Let me know!
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