Gadgetory

the world of the so-called phablet the smartphone tablet Hybrid is growing no longer confined to super high-end devices with ultra-modern specs the phablet category now includes handhelds for a brand new type of buyer the one who wants a huge screen but doesn't need a crazy feature set whether this new subtype ultimately succeeds or evaporates as anyone's guess but it's a market Samsung has put a stake in with its Galaxy mega 6.3 and one which HTC now looks to join with the brand-new One Maxx how does the One Maxx fare in this unproven new category let's find out I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is our video review of the HTC One Maxx if you're looking for direct comparisons of the One Maxx to the competition stay tuned to pocket now this week for our usual round of head-to-head videos and be sure to follow pocket now at all the usual social media haunts and subscribe here on YouTube so you don't miss them to kick off this review let's jump right into the most obvious and in-your-face of this devices assets the hardware it's impossible to overstate how large this device really is it's bigger than the massive galaxy note 3 and oversized LG g2 and it positively Dwarfs more conventionally sized smartphones like the HTC One to say nothing of even smaller phones like the iPhone and the Moto X the Maxx is profoundly ridiculously huge the kind of huge that requires two hands the kind of huge that will have everyone asking about the phone when you bring it out in public and at 217 grams it's also one of the heaviest handhelds on the market that's due in part to its aluminum construction it which looks about as premium here as it does on the one aesthetically though the Maxx more closely resembles the one Mini without the edge to edge metal and chamfered edges that gave the flagship phone much of its appeal now part of that sacrifice is justified the redesign allows for a removable back cover under which sits a micro SD card slot an overdue addition for those who crave expandable storage the battery is still embedded but it's also oversized at 3300 milliamp hours and between it and the camera lens sits HTC's new fingerprint sensor which we'll talk more about in a minute on the flip side sits the max's gigantic 5.9 inch 1080p display which uses the same SL cd3 technology found in the one and creates a picture that's just as beautiful these benefits do a lot to offset the Max's few aesthetic compromises and while we'd still like to have seen less of the minis design influence this is still the most premium feeling phablet out there we just wish it was lighter and narrower because using it one-handed is a near impossibility the one max is also going to take some grief from spec fanatics due to its internals the Snapdragon 600 powering the phone isn't a low-end system by any means but those expecting the higher power Snapdragon 800 or a larger helping of RAM on this massive device will come away disappointed fortunately on a well-made device specs don't have as much to do with performance as you might think and insofar as software goes the max is a well-made device HTC has bumped the OS version to Android 4.3 here and overlaid it with a new version of its third-party UI since 5.5 now in terms of performance the enhancements here are limited sense 5 was as smooth an android skin as we'd ever seen with little room for improvement so HTC has brought upgraded features instead enhancing its blinkfeed social browser with Instagram and Google+ functionality along with RSS support and tighter smarter integration with Facebook as well as the ability to remove blinkfeed from the home screen if you so choose HTC's gallery has also been given an overhaul making an excellent but convoluted feature of the one somewhat less convoluted on the max it still takes a while to learn how to properly build a highlight reel from photos videos and zoe's but the end result is more fun because the user has more control than ever before there's even the capacity to create animated gifs it's not as simple as it could be but the new version of the gallery is a rich full experience that outclasses everything else out there and it looks incredible on the max's giant screen the picture isn't so rosy in terms of security the fingerprint scanner and the one max is nothing like the one found on the iphone 5s which performs very well and results in a positive ID nearly every time on our review iphone the max's scanner requires a more precise swipe gesture that's nowhere near as reliable in the scanning windows position beneath the camera ensures you'll be constantly smudging your lens that also makes unlocking the phone while it's sitting on a table tricky yes you can opt to enter your password instead but that's as cumbersome as another max feature using different fingers to unlock directly into an app in fact cumbersome is a good way to describe the entire experience of using a finger to unlock such a massive phone as this we're really not sure why it's here and its implementation is weak enough that we sort of wish it wasn't thankfully you don't have to use it sadly HTC has also made no effort to include multitasking enhancements to take advantage of the larger screen the recent apps view has been given larger tiles which makes it easier to eyeball information within them but there's none of the side-by-side multi window functionality of samsung phones nor even the less functional windowed approach found on LG devices and while the scribble note-taking app is actually more polished and attractive than many of samsung's titles there's no integrated stylus on the macs meaning you're forced to doodle with your finger which is as unfulfilled here as it is on any other capacitive screen so in terms of software the one max really is just a super-sized HTC one and despite our genuine appreciation for that phone that's disappointing especially considering many of these enhancements will make it to the one eventually via a software update one of the things we enjoyed on the one was its camera well it's four megapixel sensor may have produced somewhat noisy relatively low res photos it earned major points for including optical image stabilization with the one max we thought we might see a higher resolution version of the ultra pixel camera but instead we got the same four megapixel shooter with the optical image stabilization removed that might sound like a deal-breaker and listen it is a genuine disappointment but it's not as bad as it seems HTC has worked a bit of magic in the new phone's low-light performance making the max capable of delivering fairly respectable night shots despite the lack of OIS on average they're still not as sharp as the ones but they did surpass our expectations photos taken in normal lighting we're also fairly good though it was difficult to keep the massive one max steady in the hand while shooting so expect some blurry photos HTC is also included it's fun filters for on-the-fly jazzing up of pictures and dual capture is also here for all ten of you who were asking for it video performance is quite good with rich color and sharp focus but only average exposure correction and sound capture especially in loud environments 60fps recording is possible resulting in smooth slow mo and played back at 30fps and HDR is here as well for those seeking more balanced videos overall the camera is passable but not as good as it could or should be elsewhere HTC's feature pruning has struck at the Max's acoustics as well there's no Beats Audio branding on the max and no beats software within the phone but to be honest we don't really miss it boom sound is still here in all its front-facing glory and though the speakers are the same components used on the one there increased casing size means the max generates sound that's much much louder the original one set the bar for the new generation of smartphone acoustics and the max leaps right over it that performance shines equally well in terms of voice quality during our seven days of testing between London New York and Boston the max delivered rich clear sound on both ends of the conversation with excellent noise cancellation and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't trip up the max with even the most demanding games or heavy websites those concerned about the lack of a Snapdragon 800 should rest easy because unless you really need that top-tier SOC this phone will handle your every need and thanks to its altered construction it won't get as hot in the hand as its predecessors which is nice we'll have more in-depth impressions on battery life in our full review ad pocket now but the 3300 milliamp hour power pack got us through more than a full day of use on HSPA networks at home and abroad and we're talking heavy use ultimately the HTC One Maxx is something between a super-sized HTC One and an ultra sized One mini but we can't help but wonder who was asking for that if you're one of the few people who looked at the original one and said this needs to be bigger well the max will suit you fine but for the vast majority of folks this phone is likely to come across as just too big and too heavy to justify its marginal improvements especially considering the compromise as it makes along the way so while we give the One Maxx the same score as the Samsung Galaxy mega we're still left wondering just who exactly this phone is for is it for you yes no let us know down in the comments below and toss us a like if you did enjoy this video review the full written review of the HTC One Maxx will be available at pocketnow.com very shortly we'll drop a link down in the description when that goes live and we will also have a full set of comparison videos published here on YouTube just as soon as we can film them until next time this has been michael fisher with PocketNow thank you so much for watching and we'll see you soon let's find out I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is 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