After waiting for over 4 months and looking at countless phones. Finally settled on this one. About me: I am a journalist who reviews tech and hence, it is really hard to please me. I didn’t want to spend over 20k on my phone and that was the only limit I had set. Let’s go about the things one by one:
Display: Really good, high pixel density display that never puts you off as long as you keep it on auto-brightness and let it do its magic in different ambient settings. Sun legibility is top notch too.
Processing: Although it is a really short time to say about its long term prowess but the processor and ram look capable of pulling just about any stunt. I have so installed a total of 200 apps on my phone with BlinkFeed set up and notifications on for Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Hike and Emails but the phone never slows down for a mili second.(Previously used Nexus 5, Moto E and Moto G)
Battery life: Since I am mostly out and lazy enough to not charge my devices every moment, I was keen on getting a device with a lasting battery but this is a massive powerhouse when it comes to battery. I used it all day with sync on and 3G data with half an hour calling and no games and the battery is still at 70% at the end of the evening. Very impressed.
Keyboard: Even though I am not a fan of inbuilt keyboards, I found the HTC sense keyboard pretty usable but switched to my trusted SwiftKey on the second day to type while I swipe my fingers when walking around. Works like a charm.
Camera: The camera quality is several points higher compared to the Moto G2 and the front camera is perfect for selfies, even though I hate them.
Body: The make of the phone is quite pleasing but the back is glossy. Fixed it with a matte finish back panel.
Notification LED: Missing from the phone but you are unlikely to miss it that much especially with the dot matrix cover.(google it)
Overall: The phone is a definite value for money device and comes with that extra appeal that’s missing in bland Moto devices and a pleasing HTC UI which got updated the first thing when I booted device.
Verdict: Specs on the paper fall like marbles in comparison to the overall performance of this device. Extremely happy.