When comparing HTC One M8 for Windows vs Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, the Slant community recommends HTC One M8 for Windows for most people. In the question“What are the best Windows phones?” HTC One M8 for Windows is ranked 1st while Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose HTC One M8 for Windows is:
The M8 uses an all-metal unibody chassis that comes in Gunmetal Grey, Glacial Silver, and Amber Gold. The metal unibody chassis is a key differentiator for the M8 and gives it a unique look and feel as well as great build quality.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Beautiful design with great build quality
The M8 uses an all-metal unibody chassis that comes in Gunmetal Grey, Glacial Silver, and Amber Gold. The metal unibody chassis is a key differentiator for the M8 and gives it a unique look and feel as well as great build quality.
Pro Great display
The phone has a bright 5" 1920x1080 LCD3 display with 441ppi. It has wide viewing angles and colors are vibrant with excellent whites and good blacks.
Pro Great speakers
HTC was one of the first to focus on improving the built-in speakers of smartphones with the introduction of 'HTC BoomSound'. The M8 uses stereo front facing speakers which are fantastic because the sound is finally aimed towards you instead of away from you. HTC also included built in amps to power the One M8 to 95dB without distortion.
Pro Great selfie camera
The 5 MP front-facing camera on the M8 is even higher resolution than the rear-facing camera and with comparable image quality.
Pro Available with stock Android or Sense
HTC offers choice between HTC's user interface and the stock Android experience.
Pro Expandable storage
The microSD card slot can expand the M8's storage to up to 128 GB.
Pro Supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0
Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 allows for significantly quicker charge times. With Quick Charge 2.0 the time to charge the M8 to 25% for example will drop from an hour to only 12 minutes. Unfortunately, the M8 does not include a charger equipped to use the new technology in the box but will be an optional accessory.
Pro Good battery life
HTC One M8 has a 2600 mAh battery that according to Phonearena would drain in about 7 hours of typical use.
Pro Good camera
The 20MP camera does a really good job in all lighting conditions. For low light shooting, it uses a triple color flash, and allows you to adjust the flash brightness after you take pictures. OIS also helps steady the phone, additionally improving low light shooting as well as video stabilization. Speaking of video, the 4 mic recording setup means audio captured will be crisp and high quality. Lastly, the 2 stage dedicated camera button can act as a shortcut to launch the camera, and pressing it down half way focuses the picture much like a regular point-and-shoot camera.
Pro Windows 10 mobile features
Windows 10 for mobile is the newest OS for Windows Phones. It makes a lot of improvements, but the two headlining features are Continuum and Windows Hello.
Continuum is a feature available in Windows 10 mobile that allows you to hook up a keyboard, mouse and monitor (through a $100 accessory) and use your phone as a computer.
Windows Hello uses an infra-red iris scanner to verify you, and unlocks the phone. This is more secure than a fingerprint scanner, but also takes about a second longer (and you need to be close to the device).
Pro Good accessability
The removable battery is a nice touch that so many phones are lacking. It also provides a SD card slot to add more storage, and keeps another less common feature: wireless charging.
Cons
Con Lacks Glance screen
Con Rear-facing camera is just 4MP
The One M8 uses two cameras on the rear: the main 4.0 megapixel sensor and another 2.0 megapixel sensor that functions as a depth sensor. The M8's main sensor is a little low resolutions for photographers that rely heavily on their smartphone camera, but the resolution should be sufficient for social media shots and photos with little cropping.
Con Windows 10 mobile has bugs
While adding good features, Windows 10 mobile isn't a premium mobile operating system. There are a lot of bugs (downloading apps doesn't always work, it asks you to reboot often, apps crash much more often than competing OSs, and the list goes on).
Con Poor overall fit and finish
The plastic build isn't a big con in itself, but the rear panel creaks and flexes too much for a premium flagship phone. The speaker is tinny, and is located on the back when most manufacturers at least use a bottom facing speaker, or ideally front firing.