The HTC One Review
It is nearly impossible to begin to review the HTC One without some context, and I'll begin our review of the HTC One (formerly the device known as codename M7) much the same way I did my impressions piece simply by stating that HTC is in an interesting position as a result of last year's product cycle.
Context & Ripple Effects
A year ago HTC entered 2013 off a disappointing cycle — its One X flagship drew strong reviews in April 2012 but failed to arrest the company's slide against Samsung. Since then the board has been reset: a ten-year cross-license with Apple signed in November 2012 settled all outstanding patent suits between the two, removing the injunction overhang that shadowed HTC's US sales.
Against that backdrop, the HTC One (codename M7) arrives as a single-device bet on premium industrial design rather than spec-sheet volume. The breadth of pickup — AnandTech's verdict echoed by AllThingsD and ZDNet within days — reflects how much weight reviewers' assessments carry for a vendor whose turnaround depends on this handset landing well with carriers.
First-order effects
- The review verdict directly shapes carrier stocking and consumer purchase decisions at launch, when a flagship like the One does most of its sales volume.
- With the Apple litigation settled, HTC can market and ship the One in the US without the injunction risk that constrained earlier devices — the review is now judged on merit, not legal availability.
Second-order effects
- Samsung and other Android rivals face a competitor differentiating on aluminum unibody build and software polish rather than raw specifications, pressuring them to respond on design in subsequent flagships.
- If the One sells, it validates concentrating R&D and marketing spend on one hero device — a model that leaves HTC exposed if the bet misses, given rumors of parallel efforts like an HTC-built Facebook phone (the leaked Myst, still unconfirmed).
Third-order effects
- As Android internals converge across vendors, competition migrates toward industrial design, brand, and distribution — favoring firms that can sustain a coherent design language across annual refreshes.
- A hardware maker whose fortunes hinge on a single reviewed flagship illustrates the structural fragility of second-tier Android OEMs caught between Samsung's scale and Apple's ecosystem lock-in.
The trend: Android flagships are shifting from specification races toward design-led differentiation, with reviewer verdicts acting as gatekeepers for vendors like HTC that lack Samsung's marketing scale.