Why Buy HTC One M8 When M7 Updates To Similar Software?

The differences between the HTC One M7 (the model you bought in 2013) and the HTC One (M8) (this year's model) are small. We did a specifications battle back near the end of March and pulled the devices through the paces over the past couple of weeks. Once Sense 6 arrives (by the end of May, HTC says), will there really be any difference between the devices in practice?

The first big difference is in the camera. While both devices use similar sensors – you'll still getting 4 "UltraPixels" in the M8 as you were the M7. If you're thinking of taking only the most basic shoot-and-upload photos, there's no reason to choose one phone over the other – save the processor.

If on the other hand you're looking for some next-level enhancements, the HTC One (M8) works with a second camera on its back that allows you to get multiple levels of depth. With this Duo-camera setup you're able to choose a point of focus in your final shot with a system that's not available in the HTC One M7.

The HTC One (M8) also works with a 5-megapixel camera up front while the M7 works with a 2.1-megapixel camera up front. The HTC One (M8) comes with a slightly larger display and battery, still working with the same 1080 x 1920 pixels across said display, making it ever-so-slightly less sharp than last year's model.

There's a much more powerful processor inside this year's model, but unless you're using your device to run super-heavy-duty tasks all day long, you'll notice little difference. While this processor does allow new Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 abilities for charging the power on your M8, this ability has not yet been activated at the time of this article's publishing.

You do get a microSD card slot for storage expansion on the M8 while the M7 has no such slot. This could be a make-or-break decision-maker as even with a smaller set of storage options: 16/32GB rather than last year's 32/64, you have the ability to add a 128GB memory card to make your device massive.

See our hands-on with the HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition for more details on the difference.

As you'll see here, pricing is all over the place. Comparing a $150 phone to a "free" phone may have you choosing the latter, while checking the off-contract prices might have you skipping out on that option altogether. Once you get up to the $600+ option, you may as well pay the extra $100 and get the newest hardware in the M8. Closer to the bottom of the scale, we'd opt for the HTC One M7 unless you're in dire need of two cameras on the back of your phone and top-level processing power.