HTC One M8 review: Harman Kardon edition | Pocketnow

Want more on HTC's flagship smartphone for 2014? Check out Pocketnow's full review of the HTC One M8: /2014/03/25/htc-one-m8-review
While HTC's standard-trim One M8 was one of the worst-kept secrets in smartphone history, its special-edition cousin managed to stay unseen almost right up until its unveiling last week. HTC and Sprint announced the device in a joint event held alongside Spotify executives in NYC, where our own Adam Lein got an informative if noisy hands-on. Shortly thereafter, HTC sent us a demo unit to try out for ourselves (alongside a Harman Karson Onyx Studio that we've yet to cover) and we've spent the last few days getting to know it.
That proved more difficult than expected. The Harman/Kardon edition of the One M8 is meant for one purpose alone: to deliver an exceptional acoustic experience. That means we needed to get its high-end AE-S earbuds into the ears of a professional, someone who could tell the difference between a Spotify track at "Extreme Quality" and a 44.1/16 FLAC file. And we needed time to figure out whether operational modes like "LiveStage" and "Clari-Fi" were actually useful, or just rehashes of Beats Audio from a company searching for a replacement headliner.
It took some doing, but we managed to answer those questions -with the help of a musically-inclined friend of the Pocketnow Weekly- in our HTC One Harman Kardon review video. Check it out above -- and if you're not convinced to jump to Sprint just for the audio suite (or the spiffy black-and-gold paint job), check out the next video down on our Channel page for a step-by-step tutorial on how to convert a standard-edition HTC One M8 into a Harman Kardon special ... using the magical power of software!
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Pocketnow has been a key source of mobile technology news and reviews since its establishment in 2000. With offices on three continents, Pocketnow offers round-the-clock coverage of the mobile technology landscape, from smartphones to tablets to wearables. We aim to be your number-one source for mobile tech news, reviews, comparisons, and commentary. If you love mobile as much as we do, be sure to subscribe!
HTC One M8 review: Harman Kardon edition | Pocketnow
• HTC One M8 review: Har...
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Probably the most entertaining review ever. This is an 8 minute document, not just a review. Simply amazing work!

[@amphetaminedaydream]

Really respect the amount of detail this guy puts in his reviews

[@NeilGilroy]

Fantastic review. Really well put together and entertaining throughout. Well done! Now to hack my UK M8 to have those sound options....

[@lukaskuipers7791]

you can't hack a DAC into your phone, that's hardware

[@TechWorld786]

Well good review as always ...boom sound is quite good enough but in case I will need HK effects I would go with tailor martin tricks of rooting and downloading file from xda.

[@joeg.355]

As always excellent review @michael Keep up the great work you do.

[@cmondragon0911]

Getting mine today. Can't wait!

[@Top0ne]

Great review. I'm thinking about getting it this Friday when it's launched in the store and also looking to get the Harman Kardon bluetooth speaker with it.

[@yourbestfriendjoshua]

What a THOROUGH review. Good job! I'm "stuck" with the original M8, but I honestly prefer the Gunmetal finish to the pitch black/champagne combo.

[@GGori_99]

Thank you so much Michael.. you are the very best and critical reviewers since the beginning..

[@Rock2005Star]

Excellent review of the M8 vs H/K M8 HTC One phones! Thanks for further verifying that getting the H/K mod (via root) on my regular T-Mobile M8 was worth all the time spent for it!

[@iColassi]

WOW, Flawless review & comparison. This guy is GOOD!

[@TheGreatOne428]

Thats really in depth..Michael goes to great lengths in order to make his videos super....and he always succeeds

[@luisreyna946]

Michael Fisher your videos are always awesome thanks for the review

[@The_Reductionist]

amazing review! great work Fisher...very entertaining yet informative

[@stevehull3147]

having been familiar with HK, I was really excited to hear about this edition as I am ready to upgrade from HTC DNA, then I went to the Verizon website and discovered it's only available on sprint. what a DRAG!!!! I'm still going with the m8 though. Fisher gives the BEST reviews, great job man, I really appreciate your style, keep it up!

[@matthewyee-fong753]

Want to pull the trigger on getting this, but I am very curious to see what the so called "M8 Prime" has to offer.

[@JIMCAPO913]

On the video 5:04 shows settings for changing music quality, music streaming, push notification etc. Where can I find that setting? Pocketnow

[@wassim189]

Great review (as always) but you could have done a speaker comparison between this edition and the original M8.

[@johnattanhaddock4737]

Thanks for the Review guys! Sad that it came too late for me.

[@Diffuser84]

Great review, Michael!

[@zeinshah1044]

I wonder which network this will be on in the UK when I come out.

[@saideepak2209]

Hii micheal fischer iam a big fan of you the way you do reviews are simply awesome I have one small question M8 doesnt have beats audio but both M4 & M7 has it so is there any difference in the sound quality between M8 & M7

[@anekinoo7]

The volume issue that changes tracks is with the sense software. I bought the HTC headset with volume control when the original One came out. The volume control works fine with sense 5.0 but since it updated to 5.5 and 6 the volume buttons has been changed. HTC needs to fix this issue.

[@SpiritLead7]

Ever since the summer, my phone signal has NOT dropped below 4g (like it used too). Just recently Sprint had a HUGE update, so its 2X+ better than it was last year at this time.

[@AlexK-rd1ki]

Why is there that insane spinning sun in the status bar??

[@RJWaynerium]

So is the 3-button remote of the HK ear buds fully compatible with the Android phone?

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

This is nice specialty model, but It makes more sense for Harmon Kardon to be standard on all models especially with the loss off beats branding. I would need to get a hold of those earbuds to see just how good they are.

[@stevey500]

Just throwing this out there, it seems they would have made the TINY and simple system modification to add more steps in the volume control ( at 3:00 ) for a device all about audio. Wow

[@dberube82]

I have an opinion on the poor signal quality of the Sprint M8. There is a Qualcomm app on the M8, I just upgraded from the M7 and I went from having full bars all the time to having only one maybe two. I never updated my M7 and never had signal issues. It's just a hunch though.

[@CoenZuidgeest1997]

Really good review keep it going!

[@JonathanMichael]

I thought Spark uses a tri-band LTE to boost indoor (800 MHz) and outdoor (1900 MHz & 2600 MHz) speed. I guess John Legere can continue calling it Spanky. Also Michael Pocketnow I would like to ask when you are testing call quality, are you calling a landline or another smartphone? Thanks.

[@dorito818]

I got my GS5 from AT&T, and i just ordered my M8 H/K from Sprint. I can't wait to compare the two.

[@Bottle.fed_RT]

I live in Crystal lake Illinois. I got a question... Is t-mobile good around here? Thanks

[@iamanidiotwithareallylongu3471]

Those earbuds in the H/K Edition vs the Klipsch S4s?

[@kennymarkail7358]

How'd you get the time and weather to show up on blinkfeed??? ..mine only says the title like "Entertainment"

[@TheMETAINF]

I'd really like the rotating little sun op top!!

[@robertosoriano202]

Where can I find the music app on this in the play store. I prefer this one over google play music. Plus it downloads the album art and has lyrics which is a nice touch

[@Supergoku250]

Do you think it will ever be available at at&t

[@akr3985fan]

The Sound Meter Your using for the Test can you say who has this APP I would Like to Download it my Phones.) From the Google Store.. Thanks

[@kulla3014]

02:25 What kind of sunglasses are they ?

[@JoshuaCooperDerpyMcDerpy]

This ticks me off. I literally just got my Sprint HTC One M8 32 days ago. Just out of my return policy at Best Buy. I would've gladly have returned it and have gotten this version, but no...HTC fumbled it in my opinion, and should've had this ready at launch.

[@SCB13Eagle]

Will this edition arrive in europe or is it exclusive to us?

[@PhilipMburu]

***** Best review I've seen from you so far. Keep up the great work. Much appreciated

[@Jhihmoac]

...I know someone who had one of these... The sound quality was awesome, but most of the related software could be ported to the standard M8...Headphonewise, I didn't hear much difference in the sound quality between the M8HKE, and the later HTC 10...

[@MSAli86]

Would this work in the UK if I bought one from the states?

[@hunterfagan6272]

Can I get the m8 play edition for sprint

[@p8studios797]

Just a question, couldn't someone just switch out the sim cards for a different carrier as long as the radios are compatible?

[@babolatuser1]

No, Sprint phones aren't allowed to be unlocked by traditional pay and unlock sites. Sprint requires you to have the phone active for 90 days straight with no spending limit in order for Sprint to unlock the phone only for international use. I verified that it won't work well with US GSM carriers

[@nintendude7cubed]

I got so giddy from the first 6 seconds of this video. But honestly, none of that really matters if you get something like Jet Audio from the play store where you can tweak EQ settings with any format of music to your heart's content and the phone won't even break a sweat with that lack of antenna usage. That along with the great amplification of the "vanilla" M8 makes locally stored music sound fantastic and puts streaming services to bed. I just wish they'd fix the volume increments so that it doesn't go from not quite loud enough, to ear damagingly loud in the course of one press of that volume rocker. It has gotten to a point where I'm considering converting my M8 to a Google Play edition. 15 volume increments is horribly unsubtle for an audio-centric phone.

[@TeamZelid]

Is Spotify popular in the US? I'm from Sweden, were it was invented. It has been very popular here sence 2008.

[@zXYOMAMA2120Xz]

I just switched to Sprint. Am I screwed?

[@SuperArjun90]

You bet your spongey socks you are!

[@zXYOMAMA2120Xz]

SuperArjun90 Actually it hasn't been that bad. I don't call anyone that often and signal never drops. It's not Verizon fast but it also isn't as expensive. Phone's nice, but I dropped it because it's really slippery. Other than that it's a great phone.

[@cmd33194]

SuperArjun90 lmao????

[@cmd33194]

SuperArjun90 tf. Lmao!!!!

[@LEYpuge101]

hi, will this phone work on other countries?

[@MiguelRPD]

Wait .. so the Spark icon spins when in use ? That just looks incredibly annoying.

[@akeimblake4838]

It is annoying I have A sprint LG G2

[@ladyvee7110]

Leave it up to Sprint to screw things up with their crappy service.

[@liquidgold40oz]

True story!

[@LookItIsHope]

Not where I live. It's GREAT where I live!

[@dn1ce3210]

It's great where I live Sucks for you

[@ladyvee7110]

Dnice And it sucks that you have Sprint. I feel bad for you. Well, not really.

[@LookItIsHope]

ladyvee7110 Sprint here in Vegas is very good. It might suck in your area, but some places actually have very good Sprint service.

[@EAlonzox22]

This phone just looks too much of a beast!!!! Googly play edition Harmon kardon edition maybe???

[@taltigolt]

they could have made it the same color front and back but noooo ofcourse not

[@bengertzz]

If i bought this on sprint with 2 year agreement, and after that can i transfer to a different carrier with the same phone?

[@evenzeroescanbeheroes6875]

U would have to pay early termination fees unless the carrier u want claims to do this

[@ohu001]

I can use this with sim card htc elsewhere in Colombia GSM is used in Colombia

[@armuk]

"Beats' destructive effect on music" a bit melodramatic there lol

[@moochincrawdad]

The Beats profile was never meant to be destructive, I use it daily on my old HTC One S with my Marley Rebel headphones and I've found it to be invaluable. Unlike many of the Beats branded headphones the Beats profile gives out subtle bass, treble and volume boosts that work best with over ear headphones in noisy situations such as outside traffic, wind noise, crowds or public transport. For me it meant that I could get a fuller sound while backing off the volume and get some of the outside world as well - probably a good thing for walking on the streets.

[@trinajska]

I saw a m8 hk review where the guy said the phone has a plastic bottom unlike the other m8,is that true ? I already ordered one and if thats the case im sending it back...plz help guys

[@luggage12345]

Fail. The up/ down headset skips tracks not adjust volume.

[@Oviiiiiii]

LOL at the beats audio ad in the speedtest app

[@macsgo2hell]

I got this phone yesterday and I love it. I can honestly care less about the audio software enhancements (you can most likely hack the base m8 and get clarify and livestage). I simply bought the hk version because it looks great in person, it's limited, and it's still the same phone, which has already gained a massive amount of credibility. Everything else was a plus. But I highly recommend this phone to everyone, not that my opinion is worth anything over the internet lol. But you won't be disappointed

[@GustavodeCairesAnhaia]

Awesome review.

[@TheAppleuser101]

Sweetness! Thanks Pocketnow! :-)

[@Pocketnow]

Thanks for being one of the first to watch! ^M

[@MeneerSpaghetti]

Rooting your phone allows you to install the Harman Kardon edition over your BoomSound on any M8 :)

[@seb5945]

How much is it?

[@sabirtaha9666]

how to get it in saudi arabia?

[@ryanmzy1994]

can i ask ? how big is the htc one m8 (harman kardon) edition storage ? 16gb or 32gb ?

[@MichaelFisher_Captain2Phones]

32.

[@ryanmzy1994]

Thx Michael fisher :D... How do I buy it? My country doesn't have it

[@lordfredplus]

holding out for the note 4 baby!!!

[@NovaSp33d]

Same here ;)

[@R0ZZAY]

Why only on sprint

[@albert123558]

Because Sprint wants to bring in new customers. They've been bleeding for a long long time

[@gratefullystrange]

I've never wanted a phone as bad as I want this one!

[@JonathanBrizuela]

Thanks pocket now, successfully ported HK to my normal M8

[@lordfredplus]

appealing only because I an on sprint and have an upgrade, but I want a bigger screen and better camera.

[@saturninedays]

Fantastic Phone. I'm saving.

[@Dbeastlygamer95]

Did he just say the LG G2 at 5:54??

[@babolatuser1]

Yes, he did so to compare that the m8 had the double tap feature the g2 has. Hence him using "the g2 before it"

[@Bobbyleebudde]

Great video

[@theprophet1474]

Good review

[@benwindle4628]

I had this phone. I loved it

[@Grimlock1973]

Wife and I have been sprint customers for 12 years now and both own note 3 phones. If the sprint version of the note 4 doesn't "wow" us we are moving to tmobile ASAP. Feel sorry for HTC but none of their music gimmick phones will entice my family away from Samsung note phones.

[@GeeseH]

ok, thanks for sharing :)

[@aysuhn]

Samsung does innovation for innovation's sake. Almost all their features are gimmicks.

[@moochincrawdad]

The HTC One has its fair share of gimmicks but no less or more than the Galaxy Note 3.

[@aysuhn]

My personal pick is the HTC, but I don't think Apple has necessarily gone stale...

[@bootysquatch3375]

BlackBerry z30, the speaker and sound of the z30 beats the HTC one(proof on itsmeJC KZbin channel), or if you want good earphones get skullcandy earphones, I hate to say it but the blackberry earphones suck, and if you actually have tried both, skullcandy earphones and beats sound the same.

[@bhaskarsanyal9268]

"The Polish Ambassador" are awesome!!!!

[@semarakgeo]

I miss htc

[@Chewyness]

yea but you'll have to be with Sprint with this phone, might as well get a rock and call it your phone cause that's basically the same service you'll have

[@ortiz84tx]

I have owned an HTC for the past 7 yrs, with 1 Samsung hidden in that time frame. After 1 Samsung, i said i would never waste money on another. HTC has always put out good devices, and that's where my money will continue to go when it's time for another phone. HTC>Samsung

[@kennymarkail7358]

That spinning sun though!!!

[@NeroVingian40]

2:25 looks fun. :-D

[@sndstone]

xperia z1 support flac 192hz 24 bit already

[@TheHumorousDaze]

Pinback? This guy's got good music taste!

[@zapingosays]

Why Sprint :(

[@Darkseth88]

Anyone who calls himself even halfway an "audiophile" would never use those H&K earbuds, because they alredy own better ones. i for example, am using Logitech ue 900 (got them for 199€ instead 349-399€). Also, 80€/$ is FAR from beeing anywhere near "high end". There are IEMs (In Ear Monitor) for about 1700€, so those H&K earbuds are just... Low end sector. As for the Software part: Root, flash it, be happy. It works on any M8.

[@MrDeterioration]

The supplied ear buds are hardly "high end."

[@bryanmiller476]

Sprints so much, here's my proof I went to Verizon to trade in my wife's m8 which has a broken screen and we found out that a broken m8 is worth $75 if its from T-Mobile, ATT or Verizon themselves but if its the sprint version its only worth $35 for Verizon store credit, and its because almost no one wants a sprint phone so its not worth much compared to other carrier phones

[@SubtleThatData]

I still can't get over HTC's decision to keep the 4ultra pixel camera.... Ugh!

[@KiaJo]

That phone looks nice

[@xavi999ful]

hopefully t-mobile makes something similar

[@nobodywillcare2]

I want this sooo bad but I have AT&T and don't want to root my M8.... Well not just yet anyways.

[@sixpains1635]

You forgot to mention the awesome feature where it heats up so much to the point you could cook an egg on it. -_-

[@lukaskuipers7791]

that's not exclusive to the harman kardon edition

[@CactusJack252]

Sure don't miss sprint one bit

[@cristobalcota3678]

I had the same exact phone through sprint

[@yourseone]

still hate the extra bezel and camera....

[@coopgm]

I love this phone but honestly I don't think the Harman Kardon one looks good. At all. But it's my opinion so no responses talking about how I'm blind or something is necessary.