In this case, we’re putting the new HTC One up against another vaunted imaging beast, the Nokia Lumia 920. That’s a good thing, because it guarantees stimulating discussion in venues like the Pocketnow Live broadcast and Pocketnow Weekly podcast – but at some point, we’ve got to shut up and show you the results, so you can judge with your own eyes how the new UltraPixel shooter stacks up against the competition. We’ve discussed at length whether HTC’s sacrifice of resolution for overall image quality is a good idea, and as usual, the team’s opinions don’t exactly line up. HTC grouped these and other innovations under a new branding umbrella, labeling the One’s shooter the world’s first “UltraPixel” camera, backed up by the dedicated ImageChip 2 image signal processor. For 2013, HTC has swapped out “amazing” for “awesome” in press materials, but it’s still leaning heavily on imaging as a selling point for the new device.ĭismissing the “megapixel race” as an immature pissing contest between manufacturers, HTC announced a different approach to camera excellence at the NYC launch event for the new One: a special sensor with a lower-than-average resolution of 4MP, but with larger-than-average pixel size purportedly capable of capturing 300% more light.
Last year, the company’s marketing materials drilled home the message that the One X included an “amazing camera,” a contention that didn’t quite hold up in our full review. The One of 2013 is similar to last year’s One X in several respects, not least of which is the focus HTC has chosen to put on its camera. Its brand has suffered a steady decline since its heyday of the last decade, and HTC is -for the second year in a row- banking on a device called the “One” to save it from the crippling pressure of the competition. The HTC One, as we mentioned in yesterday’s unboxing and hardware tour, is a crucial device for the Taiwanese smartphone maker. You can find a side-by-side example above, and the raw shots in two new, smaller galleries at the bottom. Update: In response to commenter suggestions, we’ve added some more daylight photos to broaden thescope of this comparison.