If you’re not sure if you should pre-order the HTC 10, we’re pulled together a handful of reviews which will give you a well-balanced look at HT’s 2016 flagship smartphone. The general consensus is that the HTC 10 is nearly perfect. It outshines the competition on the audio and software fronts and delivers respectable performance, battery life and camera experiences.
In other words, the HTC 10 has finally delivered a flagship phone which can compete with what Samsung, LG and other competitors have to offer. It’s too early to tell if this first round of reviews will give general consumers a positive impression of the HTC 10, but it’s a great first step.
Based on these reviews, will you be buying the HTC 10?
Ars Technica has labeled the HTC 10 as the “best Android flagship of 2016.” High-praise for HTC which has delivered sub-par flagship phones over the past two years. They had a few issues with dull images, but they claims the camera is nearly as good as what’s offered by the Samsung Galaxy S7.
In its review, Engadget found that the HTC 10 offered an incredibly balanced experience with a good camera, audio quality and software experience. In the end, Engadget states that the “HTC 10 is definitely worth a look” if you’re in the market for a fantastic new smartphone.
With the 10, HTC “nails all the fundamentals: design, screen, software, battery, camera.” Techno Buffalo wasn’t extremely thrilled that the HTC 10 didn’t offer anything that was truly unique, but it does praise HTC for delivering a solid device.
The HTC 10 may not have front-facing stereo speakers, but Android Authority claims its “sound experience is second to none.” They also found the phone’s camera on par with the competition with the front-facing camera and its optical image stabilization as a standout feature – especially for those who record video.
The Verge review gives HTC a lot of credit for delivering a great phone with the HTC 10, but they do point out that “great is not good enough” when Samsung and the competition are also offering great devices. The review doesn’t find any real faults with the HTC 10, but it’s take on HTC’s 2016 flagship could have been better if the phone’s price was lower or if its battery life was slightly better.
Coming from the M7 we had determined now was the year to upgrade. Pre-ordered the 10 due to the sound but did go back and forth with the S7 based on the camera reviews as they are the two main items on my list from a flagship. Honestly, I would have gone back and forth on pulling the trigger if it wasn’t for the $100 price break for prior owners. Hopefully they can make some minor adjustments to solve the niggles most reviews had with the camera.
Honestly, I don’t think there are any issues with the camera. It’s not THE BEST CAMERA EVER, but it’s probably one of the top three camera ever used in a smartphone. If you’re using the M7 now, the HTC 10 will be an incredible upgrade for you. The only downside would be low-light images since the original UltraPixel still reigns king in that department.
That’s where I leaned. HTC has kept me satisfied for so long, why not give them the benefit of the (very minor) doubt. Figure the reviewers paces and critiques compared to my daily use is really splitting hairs on the camera level.
The sensor itself is OK, the rest is something that can be tweaked by software updates. Exposure and contrast/saturation is a matter of software processing of raw data from the sensor. I expect some tweaks in the future, not a big deal.
The Verge’s review barely qualifies as a review; it was more of an op ed piece. If you’re coming off the M7 to the 10, you will not be sorry.
Their review actually made me want it more because they were so annoyingly biased and wanted it to be a GS7 or an Iphone so bad it actually increased my desire for the device.
Is is worth it to upgrade from the M8?
I’d say so. Its the M7 on steroids IMO. I’m also upgrading from the M8 and to me they’ve checked all the boxes. Everything on the 10 is an upgrade from teh M7-M9.
I am still rocking the HTC one m8 and love it, bought it 08-2014. It got better with the updates, the only thing that got worse with time is the battery but it’s 45 euros to change it with a new original one. Much cheaper than 700 euros. Also, I use the IR blaster but that’s not really a deal breaker, to be honest.