After months of leaks, HTC has officially announced its worst-kept secret in the new HTC One flagship for 2014. The new One uses more aluminum and features a 5-inch display with full HD resolution and also features a two-camera design that lets users create 3D images and add additional effects after the image has been taken, with the main camera using the same 4-ultrapixel configuration as last year’s device, adding a dual-LED flash, newly upgraded ImageChip DSP, and increases the user-facing camera resolution from 2.0 megapixels to 5.0 megapixels.
The camera also features an improved Zoe capture mode, HDR mode, the ability to take images using both cameras at the same time, as well as the ability to save camera presets for later use. The One is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, which is accompanied by 2GB of RAM. The device will be offered with 32GB of storage in the U.S. and will support microSD cards up to 128GB in size. Despite the increased aluminum content in the bodyshell design, the new One includes support for NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band Wi-Fi, and support for U.S. LTE networks.
In addition to the hardware updates, HTC officially revealed Sense 6.0, its latest update to its long-time user interface overlay. The new version of Sense makes it easier to add content to the Blinkfeed and manage home screens; adds lock-screen gestures that anticipate what the user will want or need; simplifies the camera software for video and still images; and features improved TV guide/remote software.
HTC also claims the battery is 40% larger than the unit in last year’s phone, and it comes with an “extreme power saving” mode, which shuts down all but the most essential apps when the battery reaches 5% and still provides for another 15 hours of battery life, according to HTC.
Along with the new One, HTC announced the companion Dot View case, which is a wrap-around case for the One. The front of the case is speckled with dots and using the case puts the phone into an alternate notification mode that will use the dots to display notifications for incoming calls and text messages. The Dot View cast will be available separately for $50.
