Should you upgrade to the HTC 10 from the HTC One M9?

A lot has changed for HTC in the past twelve months, and that’s reflected in a radically different flagship for 2016.

This year’s HTC flagship, the HTC 10, lands on store shelves a little later than in previous release cycles. As such, we’d already seen high-end offerings from Samsung and LG before HTC had tipped its hand. And owners of the HTC One M9, last year’s decent (if unspectacular) flagship will have had ample opportunity to be tempted away from team HTC over the past few months.

But HTC fans can be a notoriously loyal bunch, and many will have been waiting on the next big thing from the Taiwanese firm. And to be sure, there’s plenty to like about the new HTC 10. But is it worth the upgrade from an M9 after a year of use?

Read on to find out.

Hardware

HTC is one of the few smartphone manufacturers able to boast an iconic design language. Metal curves. Polished edges. Big, prominent branding. Front speakers. But the company has changed things up a bit this year. Whereas the HTC One M9 was very much a direct continuation of the metal design HTC had been refining since the M7, the HTC 10 is more of a re-imagining of this design language.

The brushed metal patterns are gone, as is the weird plastic “shelf” around the sides. And the metal actually feels more like metal in the newer handset, as opposed to the coated metal used in the M9. And around the front, HTC has cleaned things up considerably, with no space wasted by front-facing logos and additional real estate freed up by the removal of the dual speaker setup. As an overall design, the HTC 10 strikes us as more of a complete thought.

While both phones feel relatively similar in the hand, they’re pretty far apart aesthetically. The M9 featuring an eye-catching brushed metal pattern and a two-tone finish in the silver model, while the HTC 10 mixes things up with an enormous reflective chamfer around the back. Your preference here will largely come down to personal taste.

Whereas the M9 was barely distinguishable from its predecessors, the HTC 10 spins things off in a slightly different direction.

With the move up to a 5.2-inch screen, the HTC 10 is slightly larger than its predecessor, but not excessively. The main difference is in the width of the phone — and in a market dominated by ever bigger handsets, we’ve been able to one-hand the HTC 10 with comparative ease. The new model also takes a significant stride forwards in display quality, with the jump up to a Quad HD resolution, with a brighter panel and more vibrant colors. It’s no match for Samsung’s SuperAMOLED in daylight, but it’s impressive in its own right.

Audio has historically been a huge area of focus for HTC, and although the HTC 10 discards the M9’s front-facing speakers, the new BoomSound Hi-Fi setup, where a front-facing tweeter is combined with a bottom-facing woofer, works well enough. There are absolutely some cases where you’ll notice more distortion than earlier HTC speakers — particularly when moving the phone around in one hand.

Overall, however, the move is a positive one, and it’s backed up by some serious power behind the HTC 10’s headphone jack, which is able to drive high-end cans with more power than the older model. Upgrading to the HTC 10 also bags you 24-bit high-res audio support, if that’s your thing.

So what’s replacing the second speaker around the front? Well, it’s a surprisingly quick fingerprint scanner, which also doubles as a home key. Easier unlock security is a big reason to upgrade, with fingerprint scanners being increasingly common in high-end phones. And as a side benefit, the move away from on-screen keys also frees up valuable screen space for your content.

This year’s HTC flagship also gets a customary bump in battery capacity — 3,000mAh, up from 2,800 — which is combined with QuickCharge 3.0 support for even faster charging than the 2.0 standard used in the M9. What’s more, you’ll benefit from the less frustrating, reversible USB Type-C connector.

The small increase in battery capacity gives a noticeable improvement in longevity, perhaps thanks to the more efficient Snapdragon 820 processor. The HTC 10 isn’t the best performer in this area, but you’ll get a solid day out of it, and we found it less prone to serious battery drain during heavy use than the M9.

Software

The HTC 10 also marks a turning point for HTC’s software. The software experience on the M9, even with its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update, was about as highly differentiated as anything from HTC in recent years. Menus, buttons, dropdowns and apps had a unique HTC design language which could be traced back to Sense 5 on the M7. And the Sense 7 user experience was also centered around HTC’s suite of apps, including Calendar, Gallery, Scribble and Music.

A turning point for HTC Sense — for better or worse.

The HTC Sense of 2016 is a different beast entirely. For starters, there’s no version number anymore, at least officially. And the UI as a whole has been significantly pared back from, and now channels a Material Design look and feel as part of an interface that closely matches Google’s vision of Android.

What’s more, many of HTC’s own apps have been cut, including Calendar, Gallery and Music, and replaced with Google’s versions as part of a closer collaboration between the two companies.

Certain UI elements like the notification shade and Settings app are pretty much carbon copies of their vanilla Android counterparts. Elsewhere, the default HTC theme is packed with the dark greys, whites and teal accents that dominate stock Marshmallow.

But several tentpole HTC features remain, including the BlinkFeed home screen reader — now with prominent News Republic branding — and the Sense home screen launcher, with its lightning-quick animations and trademark clock widgets.

The other big change on the home screen is the addition of Freestyle mode, a new option accessible through the HTC Themes store that lets you replace the standard grid of icons with cartoonish backgrounds and stickers representing your favorite apps. (And aside from this, you’ve also got a multitude of themes to choose from in the Themes store if you’re looking for a slightly different visual style without going completely nuts.)

If it sounds like there’s not a lot to see in the HTC 10’s software setup, it’s because there really isn’t. It’s streamlined, fast and a bit more Googley than what you’ll have come to know on the M9.

Camera quality

Let’s just say this up front: The leap from M9 to HTC 10 gives the biggest improvement in photo quality of any generational jump in HTC phones. If camera quality is important to you, you’re absolutely going to want to upgrade.

tl;dr: You’re going to want to upgrade if image quality is important to you.

The star of the show is the new 12-megapixel “Ultrapixel 2” camera, which sees HTC returning to the idea of larger pixels on the sensor itself for better low-light performance. It’s a lower overall resolution than the M9’s 20-megapixel shooter, but don’t let that fool you. The HTC 10’s camera is backed up by optical image stabilization, a brighter f/1.8 lens and laser autofocus, making it one of the best Android cameras for low-light photos.

HTC’s software processing has come on in leaps and bounds too. Whereas the M9 struggled in certain lighting conditions, with generally poor dynamic range, the HTC 10 handles just about all daylight scenes with ease. The new Auto HDR mode kicks in when needed to provide more detail where there’s too much light, or not enough.

You’ll also benefit from HTC’s completely redesigned camera app, with quick controls for toggling frequently-used features like HDR and flash, and other controls consolidated into a new slide-out menu over on the left.

And when it comes to video, the 10’s camera benefits from 4K capture, with smoother footage than the M9 thanks to its optical stabilization. The ability to capture high-resolution audio at 4K also sets the HTC 10 apart from competitors — and of course last year’s model.

With its Ultrapixel-equipped front camera, the HTC One M9 was an above-average selfie-taker, however the manufacturer has been able to improve upon this further with the addition of OIS in its new “UltraSelfie” camera. It’s a 5-megapixel resolution sensor behind an f/1.8 lens, and it’s able to capture about as much detail as any front-facer we’ve used on an Android phone.

On the whole, there’s no real contest here: The HTC 10 is light years ahead of its predecessor when it comes to photography.

Bottom line

With the predictable regularity of yearly upgrades, smartphones don’t always move on significantly from generation to generation. As we saw last year with the move from the HTC One M8 to M9, the overall experience hadn’t changed all that much, historical issues with camera quality remained and battery life had actually regressed.

The HTC 10 is a big, important, meaningful upgrade.

This year it’s a different story. The HTC 10 is a big, important meaningful upgrade from the M9 in just about every area. The physical hardware is a more modern interpretation of HTC’s classic design language. The company’s focus on audio remains, although it’s expressed in a different way. The software experience is significantly pared back, with a default visual style in keeping with modern Android. And the overhauled camera setup has seriously impressed us.

If you’re on the fence, you can take our word that the upgrade is absolutely worth it. The bigger question might be whether you should opt for the HTC 10 or one of its equally competent rivals. Nevertheless, if you’re in the HTC camp, the company’s latest is a solid upgrade, and comes highly recommended.

HTC 10

• HTC 10 review
• HTC 10 specs
• These are the HTC 10 colors
• Our first photo and video samples
• Meet the Ice View case
• Join our HTC 10 forums

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Verizon

Xiaomi 20000mAh Mi Power Bank review: High quality for $25

The $25 Xiaomi 20000mAh Mi Power Bank has it all.

Xiaomi is primarily known for its phones, but the vendor also makes a slew of accessories, including power banks. The latest product in this category is the 20000mAh Mi Power Bank, which offers the largest battery capacity yet.

The Chinese vendor approaches its accessories the same way it handles phones, which means that you can expect a well-designed power bank offering great value for money. And that’s true for the brand new 20000mAh power bank as well, which is available for just ₹1,699, or the equivalent of $25.

Design and charging

The 20000mAh power bank comes in an environmentally friendly ABS plastic housing with a textured pattern aimed at improving grip. The design is a switch from the anodized aluminum casing seen on the 5000mAh, 10400mAh, and 16000mAh power banks. The plastic makes for a far better finish, as it doesn’t make the surface of the power bank nearly as slippery as the aluminum design. The casing is also scratch-resistant, and can withstand heat up to 90 degrees Celsius (not that it gets that hot itself). With an overall weight of 338g, the power bank is lighter than the 350g 16000mAh version, which is impressive.

Going with a plastic case makes the battery much lighter, but keeps durability high.

The 20000mAh Mi Power Bank features six high-density batteries from Panasonic and LG, and has two USB ports that allow you to charge two devices simultaneously. The dual USB ports offer a combined output of 5.1 volts at 3.6 amps, which translates to 18.36 watts. Each port is capable of outputting up to 2.1 amps, and you can also use the power bank to charge USB Type-C devices. However, the output from a single port falls short of the recommended Quick Charge 2.0 spec, which means that you’re looking at solid but generally longer charge times. You’ll have to go elsewhere if you want a battery that can quickly juice up a dead Quick Charge phone.

There’s a four-LED capacity indicator at the top of that shows the charge remaining, with each LED corresponding to a 25% charge. The power bank automatically switches on and off as soon as you connect a device, but there’s a dedicated power button on the right as well. Xiaomi bundles a one-foot long flat micro-USB cable out of the box, but I prefer these Monoprice cables.

The power bank has a micro-USB input for recharging, but there isn’t a wall charger included in the box. I used a Tronsmart Titan — which delivers the suggested 12V/1.5A charge — and it took over eight hours for the power bank to fully charge.

Capacity and authenticity

20000mAh is a lot of capacity, and to ensure that the power bank delivers all that power safely, Xiaomi uses what it calls “nine layers of circuit chip protection,” which provides protection from circuits shorting out, input and output overvoltage, overcharge and overdischarge, output overcurrent, and more. The USB power control and charging chips are made by Texas Instruments, which are far more reliable than what’s commonly used in products in this price range. As noted above, Xiaomi aims to use high-quality battery cells from reputable manufacturers as well, which not only keeps capacity figures consistent but also improves safety.

Given Xiaomi’s brand cachet and the nature of the hardware on offer, the vendor is susceptible to counterfeits from third-party sellers, who use low-quality batteries packaged in a similar casing. To combat the issue, Xiaomi issues a 20-digit security code on the packaging of the Mi Power Bank, which can be verified on its official website. If you’re buying a Xiaomi power bank from anywhere other than its own portal, a safe practice is to verify before using the power bank to ensure its legitimacy.

Should you buy it?

For its asking price, the 20000mAh Mi Power Bank offers a lot — it has a huge capacity, output for two devices, good components and a rugged exterior. If you don’t need Quick Charge speeds, it offers everything you’d need in a big portable battery.

As for availability, you can get your hands on the power bank directly from Xiaomi’s official website in China and India. Stock is released in limited quantities, so you have to wait until the next flash sale comes along to get your hands on one. As Xiaomi’s website is inundated by hundreds of thousands of visitors during a flash sale, it is recommended to install the Mi Store app and buy the power bank through that instead. Both times we were able to procure the power bank were through the Mi Store app.

See at Xiaomi India
See at Xiaomi China

Those in the U.S. and other Western markets can buy the 5000mAh, 10400mAh, and the 16000mAh variants of the power bank from Xiaomi’s global site, but as of now the 20000mAh offering isn’t available yet and the 16000mAh model is out of stock. The 5000mAh power bank retails for just $9.99, while the 10400mAh variant is available for $13.99. While the 20000mAh power bank offers a higher capacity, the internal circuitry and safety features are standard across Xiaomi’s range.

See at Xiaomi U.S.

If you’re looking for a battery with Quick Charge speeds, there’s the $20 Aukey 10400mAh Power Bank, which is Quick Charge 2.0 certified. There’s also the $59 RAVPower 20100mAh Portable Charger, which offers Quick Charge 3.0 as well as USB-C input.

7 tips, tricks and cheats to master Slither.io [hot game!]

This simple, yet challenging game takes the basic snake game you probably remember best from your 90s Nokia phone and turns it into a free-roaming online multiplayer experience that you simply have to check out for yourself.

Read the full article over at iMore!

Android Central 286: Culturally insensitive taco

First up — we check in on a number of excellent voicemail questions, including what’s up with Android Auto these days, more on adoptable storage back backing up your data, and whether the Nexus 9 should best be forgotten at this point.

Plus we dive into the latest scary (or not) story about Google, Android and hacking, and catch up on the latest in Chromebooks.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor:

• Harrys.com: Shave better — and save $5 off your first purchase with coupon code AC.
• Casper: Incredibly comfortable mattresses at incredible prices. Save $50 when you use promo code AC at checkout!

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral286.mp3

Google Opinion Rewards brings its survey magic to Denmark, Norway and Sweden

Thanks to the latest update to Google Opinion Rewards, more people from around the world can earn easy Google Play credit for taking surveys. Specifically, if you call Denmark, Norway or Sweden home, you can now download and start using the app to rack up the rewards.

If you’re unfamiliar with Google Opinion Rewards, the app allows you to earn a bit of extra money to spend on the Google Play store by taking short surveys in your free time. The rewards amounts are usually fairly small – often coming in at well under a dollar — and the app limits your earning potential a bit by spacing surveys out. However, it’s still an easy way to score a free app here and there after you’ve racked up enough Google Play credit.

If you’re interested, you can grab the app on Google Play now.

The best microSD cards for the HTC 10

Expandable (and Adoptable!) storage is where it’s at with the HTC 10. But you’ll need a good card to do it.

One of the best features of any Android phone that’s lucky enough to have it is expandable storage. The launch of Marshmallow saw Adoptable Storage come into play, wherein your microSD cards become a part of your system to seamlessly expand your storage rather than act as a separate partition.

Adoptable storage can bring some headaches if you don’t have the right microSD card. You need something blazing fast and of course reliable; otherwise, the card could go and take your whole system with it.

That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the best fast microSD cards out there, so that when you bring home your HTC 10, you’re not wondering where to turn for extra storage.

The best microSD cards for the HTC 10

• SanDisk Extreme 64 GB
• Netac Pro 128 GB
• Samsung EVO Plus 128GB
• PNY U3 Turbo Performance 64 GB
• SanDisk Ultra 200 GB

SanDisk Extreme 64 GB

SanDisk long has been the go-to for expandable storage cards and there’s a very good reason for that: they’re great.

The SanDisk Extreme line is where it’s at if you’re looking for an SD card to use in your HTC 10. It’s lightning-quick, with read speeds up to 90MB/s and write speeds around 48MB/s, and has no trouble with 4K video, so anything you shoot on your HTC 10 won’t be an issue.

This is an excellent card for performance and it’s relatively easy on the wallet, starting around $30.

See at Amazon

Netac Pro 128 GB

Netac isn’t a huge brand, but it does offer some great microSD cards. Their Pro line is just what you need if you’re considering expanding your HTC 10’s storage the adoptable way.

It’s got read speeds of up to 80MB/s and write speeds of up to 40. Again, it’s relatively easy on your wallet, starting around $40.

See at Amazon

Samsung EVO Plus 128GB

Octuple your HTC 10’s memory with a 128GB microSD from Samsung. The Plus line almost doubles the transfer rate of regular EVOs at 80MB/s. Even if you hate Samsung phones and are an HTC die-hard, don’t discount their peripherals. These are solid cards that pack a performance punch.

If you’re looking for an SD card that’s super quick and is super-compatible with just about everything, then this is the one for you. Worry-free and quick like a bunny.

See at Amazon

PNY U3 Turbo Performance 64 GB

Turbo by name. Turbo by reputation. The PNY Turbo Performance brings speed and reliability into the fold with a 90MB/s transfer rate and a lifetime warranty. Like all the cards mentioned so far, the Turbo is waterproof, magnet-proof, shock-proof, and temperature-proof. It won’t let you down on a frigid winter day and it won’t let you down if you drop it in the dog’s water dish when you’re trying to install it.

The PNY Turbo Performance is a stellar card that’ll only cost you around $20.

See at Amazon

SanDisk Ultra 200 GB

Your HTC 10 can support up to 2 TB of external storage, so we may as well get as close as we can with a microSD card. The SanDisk Ultra is one of the quickest and most reliable cards around and 200 GB helps take up a nice big chunk of that 2 TB, so if you’re going to use it as adoptable storage, you’ll be incredibly hard-pressed to fill it up (depending on your habits, of course).

These suckers are pricey, so if you can get them on sale, jump on it; they can run up to $250.

See at Amazon

HTC 10

• HTC 10 review
• HTC 10 specs
• These are the HTC 10 colors
• Our first photo and video samples
• Meet the Ice View case
• Join our HTC 10 forums

HTC
Verizon

Apple Music student plan brings 50 per cent membership discount to US, UK

Apple is slashing Apple Music membership costs – for students, anyway.

Soon, when subscribing to the company’s music-streaming service, you will have a student plan option to choose from that adds a 50 per cent discount. You can only choose the new plan however if you are enrolled in an eligible college or university, according to TechCrunch. Still, the new plan means US academic students can grab an Apple Music membership for $4.99 a month instead of the regular $9.99-a-month rate.

The Apple Music student plan will not only be available in the US, but also the UK, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Although the actual plan cost varies by country, the 50 per cent discount will apply in all markets. It will work for four consecutive or non-consecutive years as well, allowing students to take a break from school and pause their membership. Students of all ages can sign up, too.

It also doesn’t matter if you’re a new or existing Apple Music subscriber. Students can sign up beginning today, or they change their membership, and they can do so through the Apple Music mobile app or online. Students will need to use Uniday in order to verify their enrollment at an eligible college or university. Keep in mind Apple also offers a $14.99-a-month family plan that allows up to six people to stream.

Also, this new student membership tier is being introduced at a time when many reports have claimed Apple will soon revamp its music-streaming service with a new design that includes black and white colours, a focus on album art, a Browse section, and more. The company is even rumoured to demote its Connect social section by simply adding it as a feature to the For you section.

The new Apple Music app will reportedly debut at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference in June, while the new Apple Music student membership tier is expected to roll out starting today.

The HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D display

Researchers at the Queen’s University Human Media Lab in Ontario have developed what they claim is the “world’s first holographic flexible smartphone” display. Dubbed the HoloFlex, the display uses an array of tiny lenses overlaid onto one flexible 1,920 x 1,080 HD OLED screen and allows multiple people to simultaneously view 3D images without the need for clunky glasses, complex projectors or individual head tracking.

To achieve the effect, that full-HD display is actually broken up into 16,000 12-pixel circles, each one with its own tiny fisheye lens rendering a slightly different view of the 3D object on the screen. While the final result is a mere 160 x 104 resolution, the 3D image can be viewed from nearly any angle. As Gizmodo points out, that resolution will naturally improve as pixel densities and manufacturing processes get smaller and more precise.

The “flex” part of the HoloFlex actually comes from the integrated ReFlex display, which uses bend sensors and haptic feedback to add a third axis to the available touchscreen gestures. By bending the screen, a user can move objects forward or backward in virtual space. Or, when paired with a depth camera, the screen could allow for “holographic” 3D video conferencing where viewers can actually look around the user on the other end. (Which could prove useful if you’re Skyping with someone who just got a new haircut.)

But games come first, of course, and one of the first demo applications the HML researchers built was a 3D version of Angry Birds, where a bend in the screen pulls back the virtual slingshot launch the iconic red bird into a pile of wood. Progress!