As expected, HTC pulled back the curtain and unveiled the HTC One (E8) today. Rumors had labeled the phone as the HTC M8 Ace or the HTC One (M8) Vogue Edition. While names are fun, the more interesting story is the phone’s specs. The HTC One (E8) comes with a 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSD card slot support (up to 128GB), 5 megapixel front-facing camera, 2,600 mAh battery and dual-SIM support. If those specs sound familiar, it’s because they are nearly identical to those of the HTC One (M8) which launched back in March. The only real difference between the HTC One (E8) and the One (M8) is that the newer phone trades in the aluminum body and DuoCamera for a polycarbonate shell and a more traditional 13 megapixel camera. Measuring in at 46.42 × 70.67 × 9.85mm, the footprint of the phone is nearly the same though it is .5mm thicker than the One (M8).
So, the HTC One (E8) is simply a cheaper HTC One (M8) with a few tweaks. While that may not sound like much, HTC’s suggested retail price begs to differ. The HTC One (E8) will launch in China later this month for CN¥2,799 ($450 USD), making it 47% cheaper than the CN¥5,299 list price of the HTC One (M8). While the HTC One (E8)’s price does undercut the price of HTC’s flagship, it also is substantially cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S5 which sells for roughly the same price as the One (M8).
The HTC One (E8) will be available in blue, gray, white and red in China later this month, with other markets coming online later this summer. We doubt that the phone will be sold in western Europe or North America any time soon, but you’ll probably be able to buy the phone through Expansys or other importers before the end of the month.
Hmmm – could this be a better upgrade to the M7 instead of the M8? Be interested to see the camera performance.
Thanks for that good news!