HTC steps into the Ice Cream Sandwich limelight with its new One series
Note: Our original review was of the unlocked, GSM One S. We've updated the review with impressions and tests of the $199 (with contract) T-Mobile model as well. Check out the Hardware, Connectivity and Software sections to see the biggest differences between the two devices, which are generally quite similar.
When I first saw the HTC One series, in that top secret subterranean bunker where HTC likes to preview its phones, my attention and desire were immediately drawn by the One S. I didn't care about the 4.7-inch, quad-core One X and its supposed flagship position, I wanted to know more about its 4.3-inch ultrathin brandmate. That’s no knock on the One X, which ticks all the boxes for a legitimate Galaxy Nexus competitor, but the 7.8mm thick One S offers a much more mainstream form factor and price point, while also being the thinnest smartphone that HTC has ever made.
That sort of instinctive reaction is exactly what HTC is going for with its 2012 range of Android phones. It doesn’t want customers to think of distinct tiers of devices, it’s trying to pitch us options A and B — or One X and One S, in the company’s vernacular. Sticking with the theme of singularity, however, most buyers will only have the budget to own one Android 4.0 handset, so which One should it be?
Hardware
T-Mobile's version of the One S isn't quite so futuristic. Its aluminum body doesn't undergo the microarc oxidation process, but instead has a "gradient anodized" finish, and a very slight shift from light to dark gray as you look up and down the phone. It's still nice to hold and feels great, but unfortunately your phone's creation story won't be so impressive. The ring around the camera lens is also blue rather than red on T-Mobile's One S, and your opinion on the change will be purely an aesthetic one — though we like it.
The phone’s sides curve in from the rear toward the display, which reciprocates by sloping off the lateral edges toward the back. The overall effect is one of coherence and unity — something sorely missing from the patchwork-like rear cover of the Sensation. I’m reminded of minimalist running shoes by the gentle curve along which the One S’ display and aluminum case meet. Having the glass reach out to the edge of the phone and beyond makes it look sumptuously modern, while also softening that edge and improving feel in the hand.
Industrial Design
The One S is among those rare few phones whose design moves the whole mobile industry forward. In chronological terms, this is just a higher-spec successor to the 4.3-inch HTC Sensation, but its look and feel are wholly fresh and original. The side-mounted Micro USB port and qHD display resolution are the only remnants of yesteryear’s handset.
Everything has been rethought, optimized, and streamlined: the aluminum unibody case is now an incredible 7.8mm thick, the speaker grilles have been micro-drilled into the overall shell (rather than fronted by discrete metal plates), and the black One S variant has even been treated with a super-futuristic process called microarc oxidation. That’s something usually reserved for satellites having to endure the inhospitality of space, and involves plunging the aluminum into a plasma bath and electrocuting it with 10,000 volts, thereby carbonizing the material and converting it into a ceramic. The One S as a whole won’t survive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, but part of it might.
| Screen size | Dimensions | |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Nexus | 4.65 inches | 5.33 x 2.67 x 0.37 |
| HTC One X | 4.7 inches | 5.30 x 2.75 x 0.37 |
| HTC One S | 4.3 inches | 5.15 x 2.56 x 0.31 |
| Sony Xperia S | 4.3 inches | 5.04 x 2.52 x 0.42 |
| Motorola Droid Razr | 4.3 inches | 5.15 x 2.71 x 0.28 |
| Apple iPhone 4S | 3.5 inches | 4.50 x 2.31 x 0.37 |
Conversely, the top edge is a little too sharp, and although the One S is styled almost identically to the larger One X, it feels harsher and less welcoming. That’s in part down to the aforementioned microarc oxidation treatment, which gives the surface a rougher feel. Despite being 1mm thinner and 10g lighter than the One X, the One S isn’t more pocketable or portable. The difference in height is also negligible — the One S has plenty of vertical bezel — but it’s the narrowness of the One S that makes it an easier phone to handle than its bigger sibling. 4.3-inch phones have been growing in usability ever since HTC introduced the first of them in 2009 and the One S keeps that trajectory going. You might not fall in love with its austere metallic surface or some of its edges, but there’s no denying that its ergonomics are as good as we could previously expect from 4-inch devices and below.
INTERNALS
HTC’s emphasis on thinness with the One S leads to a number of internal sacrifices. The battery is enclosed and not removable by the user, there’s no microSD card slot, and the SIM card required is of the Micro SIM variety. Swapping Micro SIMs can actually be done without having to reboot the phone, but good luck trying to open up the compartment where the card resides. Every time I’ve managed to pry it open, the act required a lot of force and felt like I was breaking the phone.
On the plus side, Qualcomm’s all new Snapdragon S4 is the dual-core chip powering the One S, whose centerpiece is the 28nm Krait CPU that should ensure this handset’s 1.5GHz of power will go further and last longer than previous generations of chips. There’s also 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, an MHL / Micro USB port, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, 802.11n, Beats Audio integration, an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 lens, 25GB of free Dropbox cloud storage for two years, and a couple of kitchen sinks sourced directly from Peter Chou’s Taipei office suite.
