HTC One is official with quad-core CPU, 1080p screen and Ultrapixel camera

HTC took the wraps off of the HTC One in London and New York at simultaneous events. If you have been following all the leaks, then you already have a fair idea about how this phone looks, but the official pictures take the device from just good-looking to downright gorgeous.

First, the good news is HTC’s official list of carriers includes Reliance Communications.  So there’s a very good chance that we could have the handset in India in March, which is when HTC is planning a global roll-out of the handset.

The HTC One has a 4.7-inch full HD display

The company’s slideshow of images began with a showcase of the silver version, a silken cut of aluminium and a stunning screen on top. The black version is equally striking, but there’s nothing we haven’t seen before and we don’t only mean the leaks. Without mincing words, it looks like a spitting replica of the BlackBerry Z10, with some spit and polish to HTC’s credit.

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Hankering for the specs? Here they are and what a collection. First up, is the 4.7-inch LCD display, which last year would have meant a 720p screen, but HTC has taken the current 1080p trend to a new height. Full HD on that display size makes for a whopping 468PPI, the highest we have come across yet. This thing makes the HTC Butterfly (which hasn’t been on the shelves for too long) look bad.

The One is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with each of its four cores clocked at 1.7GHz. It comes with an Adreno 320 GPU in tow. The new HTC flagship has a 2,300 mAh embedded battery, which is a mild improvement over the Butterfly’s battery. The new two-button scheme, which we first saw in the leaks, will be the cause of much consternation and even a deal breaker for purists. You can get to recent Apps or task-switcher by double-tapping the home key, while a long press loads Google Now. The HTC branding in the middle does nothing but tell you the OEM’s name.

HTC has dual front stereo speakers, which is a super neat feature and induced a ‘why hasn’t anyone done that’ reaction. Bass heads will be happy to note that HTC has stuck with Beats Audio for the sound experience. By the way, HTC is calling the sound experience “BoomSound.” (RLY?)

HTC One’s camera has also been talked about before in rumours. Heard the one about Ultrapixels? Well, it’s true. The HTC One is the first camera with ‘UltraPixels’. In fact the company makes it a point to call it the HTC Ultrapixel, which seemingly offers better low-light performance than any comparable flagship. It’s an imaging sensor customised to HTC’s specification and its enlarged pixels can absorb roughly three times more light than a conventional 8-megapixel camera’s ‘regular’ pixels, at least that’s what HTC claims. Essentially, the Ultrapixel camera is a 4-megapixel sensor which captures images with greater detail than its 8 and 13-megapixel rivals. We will be seeing the results of the real-world performance of the device soon.

An all new design for HTC

HTC has also thrown in an HDR video mode, just like the Xperia Z, an expanded photo editing suite, and a new HTC Zoe photo option, which captures 5 photos before you press the shutter and another 15 after you do, giving you plenty to choose from. If you want more, it will also record a 3-second HD video clip besides giving you 20 pictures.

The One comes with HTC’s new Android overlay, Sense 5. HTC calls the simpler-looking UI a total overhaul and claimed they started from scratch. However, we can still unmistakably call it Sense. HTC is betting big on BlinkFeed, a collection of widgets which keep flipping and changing to show you updated news, information, and social feeds. This is the new homescreen in Sense 5. HTC has tied up with 1400 partners to bring different content to the BlinkFeed.

Naturally, the HTC One will be a 4G-ready phone (The LTE chip is embedded in the Snapdragon 600 SoC). There’s also 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage as standard, with a 64GB variant coming to APAC (That includes us!), GPS and GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and even 802.11ac Wi-Fi. One feature that is normally overlooked is the infrared sensor. In the HTC One’s case, it resides on the power button allowing you to use the handset as a TV remote control. There’s even an HTC Sense TV app that will provide TV guides from many of the biggest broadcasters.

Stay tuned to Tech2 for more coverage of the HTC One’s features and the new Sense experience.