HTC One S Reviews

HTC One S Review at Wired

Super thin and light with an attractive unique style. No problems with call quality or battery life. Premium materials add an upscale feel and 4G speeds are fast, when you can get a 4G signal. Photo software is top-notch. 25GB of free storage from Dropbox with purchase.

Protruding camera lens is begging for scuffs and scratches. Display is pixelated, not high definition. Beats Audio doesn’t make anything sound better, just louder. And while it has Beats Audio technology, it doesn’t come with Beats earbuds. Read more...

HTC One S Review at SlashGear

It’s tough not to like the HTC One S’ physical feel. The design is subtle and discrete; it’s more how the smartphone feels in your hand that proves alluring. HTC’s metal-bodied phones have always felt sturdy, but the combination of sub-8mm thinness in a flex-free chassis add up to a device that feels more of a premium product than the true One X flagship manages.

That’s not to say there aren’t compromises to be made. The AMOLED screen is clear and highly usable, but HTC had the chance to push the One S well ahead of the pack by opting for 720p resolution, and in comparison the qHD that was settled upon feels just average. It’s a perfectly fine display, but nothing more than that. No NFC seems short-sighted, too, and what we find subtle about the design, others might consider simply dull.

Nonetheless, for the midrange, this is an excellent smartphone. The dual-core processor and 4.3-inch display toe a delicate balance between performance, usability and power consumption, and do so well, and there’s no escaping the high-quality hand feel. Sense 4.0 retires many of the elements HTC had gradually bolted on and left us feeling cold over, and the company apparently has big plans for HTCSense.com online by way of cloud services. The quadcore One X will gain the lion’s share of attention, yes, but the One S is the mainstream device that should go a long way to changing HTC’s fortunes in 2012. Read more...

HTC One S Review at Engadget

Sporting a thinner and lighter design, the One S doesn't deserve to be hidden in the shadow of its pricier brother. With the latest dual-core Snapdragon S4 and noticeable improvements to HTC's Sense UI, as well as Android 4.0 and a potent camera, this phone is likely to play a large part of the manufacturer's renewed efforts after a shaky 2011. With a tactile finish and enough power to go toe-to-toe with HTC's quad-core entrant, it comes down to whether you're willing to trade a technically weaker screen for a noticeable price difference and better battery life. It's a decision we'd prefer not to make. Read more...

HTC One S Review at PCWorld

The HTC One S is the best phone on T-Mobile and one of the top Android phones overall for any of the four big carriers. Both AT&T and Sprint are releasing versions of the HTC One X, which has a bigger, higher-resolution display and LTE connectivity. Hopefully the call quality issues I experienced with my test HTC One S are an isolated incident. Phones can do a lot more these days than simply make calls, but call quality remains an important element to consider when buying a smartphone. Read more...

HTC One S Review at Gizmodo

If you're already on T-Mobile, seeking an upgrade, then totally. It's fast, sleek, and pretty excellent. If you're in between contracts, then it's not worth switching over for. The HTC One X on AT&T and the HTC Evo 4G LTE on Sprint are both better phones, with better screens, plus LTE and NFC. That said, most who buy it will likely be happy with it. Read more...

HTC One S Review at MobileBurn

The HTC One S is simply a fine smartphone. It shows that HTC still knows how to build devices that elicit feelings of lust and desire, and it shows further that the company realizes that its Sense interface has seen better days and needs to get back to the basics.

And the basics are what the One S does best. Call audio? Check. Web browser? Check. Camera? Check. Aesthetic appeal? Double check. It's a fantastic phone that slots in wonderfully behind the One X, but only barely behind it. If you like the One X, but want something a little thinner, lighter, and friendlier to hold, then the One S is the perfect device for you. Read more...

HTC One S Review at T3

The HTC One S is a mightily impressive smartphone: it’s powerful, stylish, beautifully thin and blessed with classy features including a fantastic screen, top notch 8-megapixel camera and music-enhancing Beats Audio technology.

It’s not perfect – the inaccessible battery and especially the non-expandable storage are missteps (16GB runs out quickly these days) and the use of a micro SIM seems likely to wind up non-contract users – but it looks and feels like one of the best handsets HTC has produced thus far, and the fact that it’s built for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich means you’re getting a slick user-friendly experience (and access to thousands of superb apps) to boot. Read more...

HTC One S Review at Pocket-lint

Like the HTC One X, the One S exhibits sensational design. It's a great handset both in terms of how it looks and how it performs. It might technically not be the company's flagship device, but aside from the screen, you'd never know that. As such, if you're pondering whether to buy the One X or the One S, then the choice seems clear: get the one you feel most comfortable holding. The One S will be better suited to smaller hands, but the trade-off is that you don't get the stunning screen of the One X. 

Put up against rival devices, the HTC One S will acquit itself well. With HTC Sense offering a huge amount right out of the box, the tweaks that HTC has made to its software UI both improve the experience from previous devices, while maintaining most of that Android feel, if not the native looks.

In short, about the only thing that stands in the way of the One S is the choice of display. You can get a better, higher-definition, display at this size, but accepting that limitation, the HTC One S is an excellent handset. Read more...

HTC One S Review at LaptopMag

With its gorgeous looks, eye-popping screen, and powerful camera, the HTC One S is the most compelling choice on T-Mobile and one of the top Android handsets overall. Users looking for more battery life should consider the Samsung Galaxy S II, which lasts over 7 hours on a charge but runs an older OS. And those who want a faster network should consider an LTE handset like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (along with an extended battery).

The two big Android challengers that loom for the One S are the One X for AT&T, which will also offer LTE speeds and a larger screen (though a bigger body) and the Samsung Galaxy S III, which should be one powerful sequel. But for T-Mobile customers, right now the One S is as good as it gets. Read more...