HTC One X vs HTC One X+
HTC’s new flagship, the One X+, is due to arrive in stock at Clove next week.
At a glance, the upgraded HTC One X is slimmer, 67% faster, has double the internal storage and up to 50% more battery life than its predecessor.
However, it’s more than just a bump in battery life and processing power that the addition of the ‘+’ symbol represents.
Let’s have a look in more detail at what improvements the HTC One X+ has to offer.
Huge internal storage
When the HTC One X+ launches on September 30th, it will be the first Android handset in the UK to come with 64GB internal storage. It doesn’t come with a microSD slot, but 64GB internal storage should be plenty for the average user.
Performance Improvements
The One X+ has had its processor bumped to a 1.7GHz quad-core and features the Tegra 3 chip, which will please gaming fans. This results in performance that is up to 67% faster than the HTC One X, plus there’s Project Butter included with Jelly Bean to make navigation even smoother. The battery is also said to last up to 50% longer than that of its predecessor.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Sense 4+
The HTC One X+ will be the first HTC handset to run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It’ll also come with HTC Sense 4+ which mainly brings camera improvements (more on these below), but also some that are hardware specific, such as the one for the speaker amplifier, for instance.
Just as beautifully designed, but slimmer
The One X+ maintains the form factor and dimensions of the One X, with the exception of its thickness, which has been trimmed from 9.3mm to 8.9mm. It is slightly heavier, growing from 130 to 135g, but this is surely worth it for the bigger battery, which increases from 1800mAh to 2100mAh.
Texture-wise, the One X+ has a matt finish instead of smooth polycarbonate and has a black and red colour scheme a la Sensation XE. At a hands on event for its new Windows Phone devices, we were able to get a feel for the matt finish that HTC has also used for the 8X and 8S and it does work very well both practically (the handset is more grippy) and aesthetically
New camera features
As mentioned above, HTC Sense 4+ brings about some improvements to the camera features.
The front facing camera is bumped up to 1.6MP (from 1.3) and gains access to HTC’s image chip. In his hands on for SlashGear, Chris Davies brilliantly describes how the front facing camera ‘automatically shoot vanity stills in Portrait mode with skin tone smoothing and other virtual botoxery. You can turn it off if you’d rather be seen in your hideous, unairbrushed state.’
Another nice feature that has been added to the camera UI is a countdown for the number of photos and video recording minutes that you have left. Also, if you lock the handset whilst in camera mode, unlocking it again will bypass the lock screen and take you straight back to camera mode, which could make all the difference in that all important split second action shot.
The rear camera specs remains the same, but the sensor is outlined in red to match it to the red Beats Audio logo.
Louder, higher quality sound
With the One X+ HTC has included a feedback amplifier to improve the performance of its speaker. SlashGear reports that this ‘constantly monitors the signal to the speaker and tweaks it so as to make it as loud as can be without clipping or crackling’. There isn’t an accompanying amp for the headphone port, although the power has been increased for 0.5 to 1.5V.
PlayStation certified
HTC was the first addition to Sony’s partner programme for PlayStation certification and this feature has been included with the HTC One X+. This means that you’ll be able to download Android compatible PlayStation games once they have been made available to Sony PlayStation partners. HTC Watch 2 does come loaded on the handset, meaning more video content is available.
Easier than ever to setup
Along with Sense 4+ comes a relaunch of the HTC Sense website. This enables you to set your device up on a desktop and then sync the settings to your handset when it is turned on for the first time. Enter account details, install apps and arrange homescreen layouts.
The fact that you can do this before you’ve even received your handset means that you can set it up in anticipation of its arrival. The HTC One X+ will be the first HTC to take advantage of the new Get Started feature.
About Chris Ward
I have the One X for the past 6 months, tbh it’s more than what I really need in a phone, i dunno what else to do with the extra perf and battery life in the One X+.
Hi Kodomosan,
Thanks for your comment. Glad to hear you’re getting on well with the HTC One X. Sounds like you’d have no reason to upgrade!
Can’t wait for my HTC One X+ to arrive. The transformation from iOS to Andriod will finally be complete
Fingers crossed the shipping date doesn’t get delayed again.
This your first Android Gordon? Great device to start with!
I had the One X but was really dissapointed with the battery life. Ended up taking it back and ordering an iPhone 5. Not really sure about the iPhone 5 though..recommend I go for an HTC one x+?
Hi Kelvin,
Can’t really say how well the battery of the iPhone 5 will last, but can’t imagine its much better. The One X+ does have better battery life than the One X so it could be a winner.
Will be buying through this site if it is cheapest (it is so far), are you selling any accessories?
Thanks Sam – glad to have you on board. Yes we will get accessories listed once they are available.
Awesome, will keep checking!
Hi I need a push in the right direction I’ve got a iPhone 4 I’ve had a iPhone 3&3s am in the market for a new phone I’ve had a iPhone for about 4 years so I use iTunes with a MacBook am a bit scared to move away from the iPhone I’ve never had a android phone before but I fancy the look of the htc one x+ and the new Sony ( the bond) phone ! Or should I just get the iPhone 5 ??? Any advice welcomed ??? Thanks
Hi Daniel,
Both the One X+ and Xperia T are great Android handsets and would be good handsets to transition you to Android. The One X+ has 64GB internal storage which is quite significant for an Android handset here in the UK. If you’re using iTunes on your Mac, that’s not a problem. There is an app for Android could DoubleTwist which lets you sync your iTunes to an Android. There is also a version of the app called DoubleTwist Air which enables you to sync wirelessly.
FYI — DoubleTwist doesn’t work between a mac and a One X+. The One X+ doesn’t support USB Mass Storage Mode (basically, turning your phone into a USB drive for a host computer), and DoubleTwist does not currently support the “Media Transfer Protocol” (MTP).
Now, DoubleTwist AirSync will work, but it may be slow.
FWIW, there is an HTC Sync Manager that comes with the phone, and it can be used to sync music/photos/etc, but it’s kind of clunky / basic on the Mac version. Hopefully the DoubleTwist guys get their stuff together as this affects every Android 4+ phone on the market (Galaxy S3, HTC One X+, Nexus 4, etc).
IMHO—The lack of support for USB Mass Storage Mode on the 4+ phones is a HUGE miss for HTC and Android in general. I’m a diehard Mac user, but I think the iPhone 5 design and form factor is terrible and it’s interface is outdated. I decided to switch to the HTC One X+ instead of blindly buying another iPhone. I can’t be the only one out there thinking like this—so, that’s an enormous opportunity for HTC to take market share from Apple.
I hope DoubleTwist adds MTP sooner than later, but with AirSync as the “solution” listed in their Website Help Section it sure looks like a thinly veiled play to get switchers to drop $4.99.