Hands On With the HTC One Max
HTC One, to the Max
The HTC One Max is a version of the company's flagship One smartphone with a huge 5.9-inch screen. Coming to Sprint and Verizon in the U.S., the max also has a fingerprint scanner for easier unlocking.
Fingerprint Scanner
A user can save several different fingerprints -- from multiple people, if desired -- for unlocking the phone. Each print can be customized to perform a specific action -- launch Gmail, for example.
Compared with One and Mini
From left to right: HTC One mini (4.3-inch display), HTC One (4.7 inches) and HTC One max (5.9 inches).
Aluminum Backside
Like the other Ones, the back of the HTC One max is aluminum. The fingerprint scanner is located right beneath the camera.
Removable Back
Unlike the rest of the One line, the max has a removable back. Beneath there's the SIM card slot as well as an microSD card slot.
Fingerprint Scanning
The scanner works similar to the one on the iPhone 5S, although it's not an actual button.
Tablet-Like
Using the One max with one hand is a challenge -- two hands are recommended.
More Gestures
The HTC One max has the latest version of HTC Sense (v5.5), which introduces a few more gestures, helping a little with one-handed operation.
Top View
The top of the phone has the headphone jack and an infrared blaster that can be used with the HTC remote-control app. The IR blaster no longer performs double duty as the power button, like on the One.
Left Side
A small switch for popping off the backside is the only thing on the left side of the phone.
Bottom View
The bottom is where you'll find the microUSB charging/data port and one of the microphones (the other is on the back).
Right Side
The power button gets relocated to the side, just underneath the volume buttons.
Yes, It's a Phone
Its size is getting close to tablet territory, but the HTC One max is still a phone.
HTC made the extra-large version of its flagship One smartphone, the HTC One max, official earlier this morning. I got a little hands-on time with the max and its enormous screen, fingerprint scanner and new software, which improves upon the experience of the HTC One.
Looking at the 5.9-inch screen for the first time, you get the sense that HTC was feeling just slightly inadequate as it watched Samsung launch the likes of the Galaxy S4 (with a 5-inch display) and Galaxy Note 3 (5.7 inches) just months after the debut of the 4.7-inch One. Even LG's newest flagship, the G2, has a mere 5.2-inch screen.
The max definitely puts HTC on the leaderboard of massive high-end phones (the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega's mediocre specs keep it from making the cut). At 7.7 ounces and 3.2 inches wide, the HTC One max looks and feels like a gigantic smartphone — I could feel its heft when I picked it up, and reaching for some onscreen buttons requires some serious finger stretching. "One" is definitely not a reference to the number of hands it takes to operate this phone.
So the big question becomes: Why go so big?
"The main reason for a larger form factor is consumption of content," says Tom Harlin, director of public relations for HTC. "We've seen smartphones go from 'When I have no other option, I'll browse the web on it,' to 'It's a great tool for browsing the web,' to 'It's my primary ways to interact with social media.'"
The evolution of the smartphone from a "sometimes" device to an "everything" tool is one part of the thinking behind the immense size of the One max. Phones with screens between 5 and 7 inches are a sizable market in Asia, where HTC is based. The One max is a global device, and although it will be sold in the U.S. at Verizon and Sprint, there's a good chance it'll prove more popular overseas.
"What we've seen in Asia is that women who carry it tend to not carry it in a pocket; they carry it in purse or handbag," says Harlin. "So the size isn't as much of an issue. It gives all the benefits of a phone — the ability to make calls, texts — but it gives some of the abilities of a tablet as well."
Following in the footsteps of Apple (who arguably followed Motorola), the HTC One max sports a fingerprint scanner for a passcode-free way of unlocking the phone. It's located on the back, just beneath the camera. Just like the iPhone 5S, the user can set up multiple fingers, although on the max you can customize certain fingers to do specific things.
Your index finger might simply bring up the home screen, but a thumb could launch maps
Your index finger might simply bring up the home screen, but a thumb could launch maps, for example. Of course, you can save fingerprints from other people, too.
The HTC One max will be the first device to ship with Sense 5.5, a new version of the company's Android "skin," which includes features such as the Flipboard-like BlinkFeed and automatically generated video slideshows of events. The new Sense is equipped with additional gesture support, letting users flip through screens easily with one finger — a key part of the UI in a large-screen device.
HTC previously partnered with Dropbox for free cloud storage, but this time it hooked up with Google to give max owners 50GB of Google Drive storage with purchase. The camera shouldn't be as demanding of memory, either, since shooting a short video clip (aka "Zoe") will no longer save 20 separate still images as well. There's now a bonus feature in Zoes, though: a GIF creator.
A removable back also differentiates the max from the HTC One and One mini. Removing the back reveals the SIM card slot as well as a port for a microSD card. Since the device's large screen will encourage more content consumption, Harlin says, the card slot is meant to give users more options for storing media.
Other than that, the max is still an HTC One — complete with aluminum back, 32GB of internal storage, front-facing stereo speakers and an "UltraPixel" camera — just with a jumbo-size screen. The display is still 1080p, so the processor is driving the same number of pixels as the One, and I didn't notice any lag in comparison to my experience with the One.
It's definitely harder to hold and operate with one hand, but if you're looking for a device that can be both your phone and your tablet, the HTC One max — with its flagship-smartphone specs — has a lot to offer.
Interested in the HTC One max, or is a 5.9-inch screen to big for you? Let us know in the comments.
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