The new HTC One (M8) is one of the most interesting devices of 2014 and thanks to HTC announcing and launching the phone on the same day, we have seen a slew of hands-on videos and reports detailing everything we need to know about it. At AndroidBeat, we decided to check almost every article that has been written about the new M8 and picked the most interesting ones to give you a better understanding of everything it has to offer.

Official videos

HTC’s official introduction video falls into the “geek porn” category with screws and electronics coming together to form the device. It’s beautiful and quite appealing.

HTC also released several demo videos to further detail the M8’s features, you can find the full playlist here but the most important one is a quick overview of the Duo Camera’s options.

Silver and Gold versions

HTC focused a lot on the hairline brushed aluminum version of the HTC One in its announcement and most of its press material, but there are two other colors of the device with a different finish: the silver and the gold one. Android Central took a photo gallery of both these devices to give you a chance to make your choice between all three options. Personally, I’m waiting to see what the blue or red version will look like.

HTC One (M8) in silver and gold

Sense 6.0

The new HTC One ships with Sense 6.0, which introduces several design changes over the old One’s Sense 5.5. PhoneArena has taken a detailed look at both in its Sense 6.0 vs 5.5 comparison and you can see that the new version uses less blacks, introduces more colors (green, blue, orange) and flattens some elements even more. This is more visible in the dialer and timer for example.

PhoneArena also delved into Sense 6.0 compared to Sony’s Xperia UI and Samsung’s Touchwiz (unfortunately this isn’t the new S5 version, because the device is still unavailable). In almost every screenshot, HTC’s skin appears cleaner, lighter and simpler. HTC is now pretty much leaps ahead of other manufacturers in terms of skin elegance.

HTC Sense 6.0 vs Samsung Touchwiz vs Sony Xperia UI

New HTC One (M8) vs HTC One 2013 (M7)

In the same vein as the above, PocketNow put the new HTC One (M8) against its predecessor the M7. In this very lengthy video, Michael takes a thorough look at all the features of the device, hardware (screen, camera, speaker) and software (Sense 6.0) and compares them between the two. It’s clear that the M8 is a big step ahead, if it weren’t for the still measly 4MP camera.

Unboxing

Now that you know what you should expect of the new HTC One, you must want to see what the device comes with in its box. Android Central’s Phil does a decent though very unenthusiastic unboxing of the UK version. His lack of excitement is understandable since the phone ships with the standard earbuds, charger, microUSB cable, SIM ejection tool. The only difference is an average-looking TPU case that also comes in the box.

Benchmarks

FoneArena tested the new HTC One on several benchmarking apps and came away with the results. With a Snapdragon 801 processor, the One is expected to perform as well as the best devices out there, and it does so on most tests but falls a bit short on a couple of others. The small differences shouldn’t be alarming though, the One will most likely fly through anything you throw at it.

The HTC One (M8) trumps several of its competitors on the Quadrant benchmark

Screen and Speaker quality

The screen and speaker quality of the new HTC One were tested by Btekt against its closest competitor, the Xperia Z2. When it comes to the speaker, Btekt found the HTC One to be louder, clearer and more rounded, although quasi-imperceptibly (for the non-audiophile) tinny in some music genres.

As for the screen, Sony did a lot of improvements with the Z2 and that shows with the Z2 packing more punch to the colors and more contrast. However, the new HTC One reproduces whites a lot more accurately.

Battery life

Phone Arena tested the new HTC One’s battery against several other devices and it performed remarkably well, even outlasting the LG G2 which is famous for its excellent endurance.

Phone Arena’s HTC One (M8) battery endurance test should leave anyone very impressed

Camera samples

The 4MP Duo Camera on the back of the phone is one of its most polarizing features. Some say 4MP is more than enough since all those photos are either shown on a phone’s screen or shared to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Besides, the M8 provides many more interesting functions than a mere megapixel count, thanks to its different focusing, background blurring, etc. Others would prefer to have these features albeit with a slightly larger megapixel count. After all, no matter how clear a 4MP photo is, it is almost impossible to zoom into and crop for more details. If you’re undecided, Android Central has posted camera and video samples taken with the M8.

Dot View case

Android Authority took a close look at the HTC One’s most interesting accessories: the Dot View case. In their hands-on, you can see the different gestures and functions available through the case, as well as the various color options available.

What do you think of this new HTC One? Have you already bought it, or will you be buying it when it’s available in your country?