HTC One M8

The new model HTC ONE m8 maintains a similar design to the first generation HTC One, but features a larger, smooth-edged chassis incorporating a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, a depth of field sensor which can be used to exclusively refocus and apply various effects to the fore and circumstantial elements of photos taken with the device's camera, a higher resolution front camera, improvements to the device's front-facing stereo speakers, expandable storage, new gesture functionality, and a refreshed version of HTC's Sense software. 

Moreover, HTC makes great displays. The screen on the new One (M8) jumps out at you right away, with its bright, brilliant colors and crispy detail. The display actually has less pixels per inch than last year's One model, it's still a 1080p LCD panel but comes in at about 441ppi associated to last year's 468, thanks to its improved size, but we're talking minute modifications at an extremely high level of quality. The only thing you'll notice is how tremendous it looks. The innovative HTC One is a great smartphone that we can made full of fun and does a lot of fantastic things. 

We can tell that the company attended to feedback, focused on areas that needed improvement and added some innovative new features that are actually useful along the way. The new design looks fresh and attractive; the Duo Camera's new abilities are fun and beneficial (a rare combination, it seems); the performance is fantastic; battery life has enhanced considerably; the new version of HTC Sense is even better than the last (but please, HTC, don't make "Sixth Sense" a thing, okay?); and the company continues to improve features like BoomSound and BlinkFeed. 

Naturally, these factors are convincing enough for us to give high marks on the new One. The biggest difficulty with the M8 is that it doesn't raise the bar much higher than it already is -- and that's going to make it difficult to stand separately from competing devices like the Galaxy S5. Yes, Samsung's upcoming flagship is an iterative improvement as well, but for improved or inferior, the company will still sell millions of units while HTC's success remains uncertain. Duo Camera is a clever new touch, but we also needed to see improvements to HTC's UltraPixel tech; hardware that's just as easy to hold as it is to admire; and other new features that show us the company is changing the game again this year as much as it did in 2013. Keeping that momentum going is the biggest task a smartphone maker can face, but we dread that it's the only way HTC can stick its head above the rest of the crowd.The general trend in Android devices these days is going bigger with each new generation, and the HTC One (M8) is no exception. Though it's relatively slim, the new One senses like a big phone -- largely because of its height, which is about a third of an inch longer than last year's device. It's also a wider and a bit heavier than the first-gen model.