The HTC One M8 Google Play Edition Box and Contents
Upon opening the box, one can see that it contains the HTC One M8 phone with no notable signifying factors aside from the actual device itself. The back of the device features the spec listing, which includes Android 4.4 KitKat as the operating system and a Snapdragon 801 processor clocking at 2.3 GHz. It's worth noting that this model is the same one launched on carriers but with different bands for unlocked usage across various US carriers. The internal memory of the device is 32 GB, while the RAM is 2 GB, which can be expanded using a micro USB card up to 128 GB.
Inside the box, aside from the phone itself, one finds marketing materials from HTC, including earbuds that differ slightly from those shipped with other units. These white and silver buds are an interesting feature compared to the black and red buds seen on other versions of the device. Additionally, there is a spare pair of earbuds included, along with a charger that does not have the Quick Charge accessory, which will be sold later this year. The USB cable is also present in the box, as well as a SIM card tool, Google Play edition documentation, and some stickers for the IMEI, etc.
Opening Up the Phone
When opening the phone, one can see the same 5-inch display that was previously mentioned. To power it on, simply follow the instructions provided by HTC to activate the device. The screen displays Android 4.4 KitKat under the hood, with a processor clocking at 2.3 GHz from the Snapdragon 801 chip.
The camera setup on the back of the phone is notable, featuring a four-lens UltraPixel camera and a depth sensor. This unique combination enables taking special photo shots that are not typically found in standard cameras. Google has announced its intention to provide support for this feature even though the device is running a pure version of Android 4.4 KitKat instead of Android 6.
Looking at the Rear
On the right-hand side of the phone, there is a micro SD card slot available for expansion of the internal memory from 32 GB to up to 128 GB. Below this is the volume control and the 3.5 mm headphone jack next to the micro USB port on the left side. The SIM tray slot is slightly larger and accommodates nano-SIM cards. Furthermore, HTC has utilized a lot of plastic around the top part of the device to ensure that antennas can broadcast effectively, which contrasts with the aluminum M7 model where most of the back was made of metal at 90%.
Upon Turning it On
After powering on the phone, one enters Android 4.4 KitKat, as per its spec listing. Unlike some other devices with HTC One M8 variants, this pure Google Play edition does not come pre-installed with any home screens. There is a welcome screen that can be skipped to dive into the interface.
Taking a Look at the Camera App
The camera app found on the device differs slightly from that of the HTC One M8 and other versions in terms of its software design. Unlike those versions, this one doesn't have custom software added by HTC for improved functionality or aesthetics. Instead, it follows the Google Play edition's standard approach to photography, allowing users to snap photos, change settings as they would with any other Google Play edition device.
However, there is an exception: when taking a quick picture, users can go into their gallery and then edit it using HTC Photo Editor, which allows access to features like UltraFocus for changing focus post-capture and Dimension Plus for 3D Parallax effects, along with various filters and frames available on the HTC One M8.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enokay so here we have the HTC1 M8 Google Play edition box you can see we just have the HTC1 labeling there's no uh signifying Factor aside from the actual picture of the device and on the back you have the spec listing here Android uh 4.4 KitKat obviously and you've got the Snapdragon 801 processor 2.3 GHz same model that launched on the carriers though uh with different bands for unlocked usage across different US carriers internal memory 32 gigs here and 2 gigs of RAM and you can of course expand that using a micro USB card to 128 so let's uh open the box all right in side we have you've bought the best HTC One uh so all the marketing materials from HTC the phone itself we'll put that to the side real quick and we have the earbuds which are actually a little bit different than the ones we saw on um AT&T and the other units we've received in for review these are white and silver as opposed to the black and red buds that shipped the other version so that's kind of interesting right there the spare buds with it and then the charger here pop this open same as before it doesn't look like it has the Quick Charge accessory uh which will be sold later this year and then the USB cable as well and over here we have the SIM card tool Google play uh addition of the HTC1 M8 showing you how to pop out the SIM safety and Regulatory guide and some uh stickers here for the IMEI Etc okay so let's peel this off the phone we put this to the side now here you've got the same 5in display we'll power it on as we go here 1920x 1080p under the hood we already went over the processor 2.3 GHz Snapdragon uh Qualcomm 801 on the back you've got the duo camera setup which includes the UltraPixel camera it's a four UltraPixel or 4 megapixel if you will and the depth sensor above it for the unique photo shots and Google uh is actually going to provide some support for this uh even though it's running a pure version of Android 4.4 kick hat instead of s 6 on the right side here you have the micro SD card slot the volume controls on the bottom you've got the 3.5 mm headphone jack next to the micro USB charger on the left the SIM tray slot it's a little larger it's a nano SIM and then up top you've got the plastic border here with the power button and what HTC did is put a lot of plastic up here to make sure the antennas are can broadcast properly as opposed to on the back which is now 90% metal as opposed to 70% on the uh aluminum M7 so here's the welcome screen we'll skip all this so we can Dive Right In okay so here we are inside of Android 4.4 Kit Kat again no sense six here we're just looking at a pure Google Play edition device no additional home screens out of the box we can say Okay Google Okay Google and we'll get up a search bar here so that's a feature that the actual the M7 or the M8 rather does not have this is the Google Play edition does okay so let's take a look at the camera app here now it differs slightly from the HTC1 M8 and that you don't have the custom software that HTC added in terms of the camera interface so you have a very Google Play edition device camera here you can snap photos and change the settings as you would on other Google Play edition devices however if you tap if you take a quick picture go into your gallery and then edit it you can use HTC photo edit and that's how you're going to access the depth sensor that's part of this phone which HTC said they were going to allow Google to use that so here we have in effects you can use the U Focus to change if you want to look at the background or foreground and bring that into Focus after the fact we also have Dimension Plus for the 3D Parallax effect touchup and then the various filters and frames that are also available on the HTC1 1 M8 so that's a quick look at the camera okay so that was a quick look at the HTC1 M8 Google Play edition you can see we're just running a pure version of Android and we'll be sure to bring you a longer full review of this phone in the near future what's up everyone thank you for watching that video if you want to see more of the latest and greatest Tech news you can subscribe to our main TechnoBuffalo Channel by clicking the button right down below in my pants region or click on the buttons to your right to see more videos\n"
