Sharp AQUOS Crystal versus HTC One M8: first look

First impressions leave a lasting mark. That’s certainly true with smartphones, seeing that we’re naturally attracted to well-made, meticulously designed phones. Arguably one of the best in that department, the HTC One M8 is still one of the more prominent Android smartphones that is known most for its impeccable design – one that’s modern, while continuing to be premium in every way imaginable. Although it’s new to the scene, the Sharp AQUOS Crystal might be classified as a mid-ranger, but don’t let that notion fool you into thinking it’s going to be sub-par with its design.

Design

Honestly, we can totally agree that these two Android-powered smartphones are memorable for their respective designs. Even though they’re different, they each bear their own unique set of qualities to make them a cut above the competition. The more we look at the two, the more it’s tough for us to concretely select a winner when it comes to design.



Naturally, the HTC One M8’s all-metal construction exudes a premium finish, more so than the matte plastic construction of the Sharp AQUOS Crystal – while giving it that sturdier feel in the hand. However, Sharp’s new phone amazes us for its unique quality of offering a very different looking edgeless display. HTC’s design for the One M8 is no doubt iconic, but we can say that the AQUOS Crystal has a distinct look of its own to stand out over other plastic-constructed smartphones.

Display

Reading into their specs, we get more detail from the HTC One M8’s 5-inch 1080 x 1920 Super LCD-3 display. Well, it’s not to say that the 5-inch 720 x 1280 LCD screen of the Sharp AQUOS Crystal is bad, but it doesn’t have the same crisp details as we closely look at the HTC One M8’s screen. Nonetheless, from a normal viewing distance, it’s hard to tell which of them is superior.



Being a new player in the US smartphone market, we’re pleasantly surprised to notice the Crystal’s display flaunts several great qualities that rivals the panel used by the HTC One M8. In particular, they both have neutral color productions, wide-viewing angles, and strong brightness outputs – making them easy to view in all sorts of conditions. Obviously, the edgeless nature of the AQUOS Crystal’s display minimizes the amount of added real-estate to the phone, which makes it more compact in size – a truly remarkable quality to tell you the truth.

Interface

HTC pays more attention with its Sense 6.0 experience, since we feel it to be one of the more design-conscious custom interfaces for Android. Sporting a polished finish with everything, from its HTC BlinkFeed integration to the slick looking HTC widgets, there’s no arguing we prefer its presentation more than the stock Android 4.4.2 KitKat experience of the Sharp AQUOS Crystal.



Features-wise, there’s also no comparison between the two, as the HTC One M8 drives it home by providing several enhancement that deepen the overall experience. For example, its set of Motion Launch gestures are pretty useful in providing us quick access to some basic functions – like being able to quickly check the time, unlock the phone to the last thing we were doing, or voice dialing.