The Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 19, 2012 11:15 AM ESTCheck out our hands on with the devices here.
At an event today in NYC, HTC unveiled its first two Windows Phone 8 devices: the Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC. Similar to Nokia's next-generation Lumia stack, HTC's Windows Phone 8 lineup includes a high-end flagship and a more affordable mainstream option.
The 8X is the new high-end device, while the 8S is its more affordable sibling. The 8X features Qualcomm's dual-core Krait Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) running at 1.5GHz. The 8S on the other hand uses a lower clocked MSM8627 (1GHz) with a slower Adreno 305 GPU. The two phones differ in the amount of on-package DRAM (1GB for the 8X and 512MB for the 8S). Connectivity differs between the two, the 8X features LTE while the 8S is single carrier WCDMA.
Display is a big differentiator between the two devices. The 8X features a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display, while the 8S uses a smaller 4-inch 800x480 display.
Storage is split between the two as well, with the 8X featuring 16GB of NAND on-board (no microSD card slot), and the 8S with only 4GB integrated and a microSD card slot for expansion.
HTC really ramped up its focus on the camera with the 8X. Aided by HTC's external imaging processor there's an 8MP f/2.0 rear facing camera with a 28mm lens. The front facing camera sounds pretty impressive at 2.1MP with a f/2.0 aperture and an 88-degree, ultra-wide-angle lens. The 8S features a 5MP f/2.8 camera by comparison.
Audio is also a priority for the 8X, which gets a 2.55V amplified headphone output for what promises to be a much better implementation of Beats. The 8X also features two microphones for noise cancelling duty.
The 8X features dual-band WiFi while the 8S continues its cost-reduced theme by only supporting 2.4GHz.
Colors are big in HTC's Windows Phone 8 line. The 8X is available in california blue, graphite black, flame red and limelight yellow. The 8S will come in domino, fiesta red, atlantic blue and high-rise gray. Both the Windows Phone 8X and 8S will be available starting in the beginning of November. HTC will be bringing the devices to over 150 carriers in 50+ countries. In the US we'll see these devices on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. Customers in Europe will find the new HTC Windows Phone 8 lineup on Orange, O2 Telefonica, MTS, Three UK, T-Mobile and Vodafone. In Asia-Pacific markets you'll see the 8X/8S on Chunghwa Telecom, Optus, Singtel Group, Smartone, Telstra and Vodafone Australia.
The only pricing announced at this time is $199 for the Windows Phone 8X on AT&T and T-Mobile with a standard 2-year contract.
| Windows Phone 8 Devices - Physical Comparison | ||||||
| HTC Windows Phone 8X | HTC Windows Phone 8S | Nokia Lumia 920 | Nokia Lumia 820 | |||
| Height | 132.35 mm | 120.5mm | 130.3 mm | 123.8 mm | ||
| Width | 66.2 mm | 63 mm | 70.8 mm | 68.5 mm | ||
| Depth | 10.12 mm | 10.28 mm | 10.7 mm | 9.9 mm | ||
| Weight | 130 g | 113 g | 185 g | 160 g | ||
| CPU | Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz MSM8960 | Snapdragon S4 1.0GHz MSM8627 | Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz MSM8960 | Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz MSM8960 | ||
| GPU | Adreno 225 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 225 | Adreno 225 | ||
| RAM | 1GB | 512MB | 1GB | 1GB | ||
| NAND | 16GB integrated | 4GB + microSD slot | 32GB integrated | 8GB with up to 32GB via microSD slot | ||
| Camera | 8MP f/2.0 + 2.1MP f/2.0 front facing camera | 5MP f/2.8 | 8.7MP with OIS, f/2.0 + 1.2MP F/2.4 front facing camera | 8MP f/2.2 + VGA front facing camera | ||
| Screen | 4.3" 720p Super LCD 2 | 4" 800x480 Super LCD | 4.5" 1280x768 IPS LCD | 4.3" 800x480 AMOLED | ||
| Battery | Internal 6.66 Whr | Internal 6.29Wh | Internal 7.4 Whr | Internal 6.11 Whr | ||
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cmikeh2 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
According to Qualcomm's spec sheets, the MSM8627 uses an Adreno 305 GPU, not the 205 as the article states.SydneyBlue120d - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Here is the updated S4 table specs:https://developer.qualcomm.com/sites/default/files...
Spivonious - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Finally some carrier and pricing info. I will have to seriously consider upgrading my LG Quantum to either the 8X or the 920. These are very nice-looking phones.robinthakur - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Surely that is a typo on the 8X and the Lumia 920? Not having an SD slot on the high end devices seems like a bad move given the target audience, the colours are...interesting but overall fugly, and I can't see many execs wanting a white and yellow phone. Still it seems like they should be pushing the new Windows 8 phones as the world is ignoring their Android phones, by and large and they have ceded the market to Samsung.karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
SD Card is kind of disappointing but not horrific to me at least. It does seem off that htey would leave it all out though.I disagree about the colors. The cyan lumia sold very well for the amount of supply it had (on AT&T). I will probably go for black, but I can see friends of mine definitely getting "colored" phones.
karasaj - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Personally, I'm curious about battery life under windows phone. Apple has shown that a closed ecosystem can generally give very good battery life as well as a tight UI/user experience. Windows SHOULD and needs to be able to achieve the same thing with their phones. And with the batteries in these phones being presumably so much larger than the iphone, they need to kill with battery life and I'll be absolutely sold.@Anandtech guys, any idea which phones will be in for review @ launch?
dagamer34 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
The only high end phones with a microSD card slot this year has been from Samsung, and that's because they've chosen to go with plastic removable backs. I grumble because of the price of a 64GB microSD card slot, but I would rather prefer not to be mugged for my money.Anyway, if there's a 32GB version, I'm more than happy to settle. 16GB is pushing it because it's really just 10GB after to factor out the 1024->1000 conversion and the space the OS takes up. =/
agent2099 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
Not having sd is probably due to the form factor , I am assuming industrial design. What's even more shocking is the amount of storage, only 16gb? The year old galaxy nexus has 32gb.ATimson - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I'm still waffling between an unlocked iPhone 5 and upgrading my HTC HD7 to a new WP8 machine (and buying a separate iPod Touch again).I like WP7, I really do. But after getting left hanging in the wind once, I'm afraid of it happening again with WP9 in a year or two.
I do like the looks of these new phones, though.
dagamer34 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
I don't expect Windows Phone 9 to "leave you hanging". The only reason Windows Phone 7 devices aren't getting Windows Phone 8 is because of the transition to the Windows NT kernel. Since Windows RT tablets will be built with the same SoC hardware and certainly have to last longer than 2 years, you should buy with confidence.The other reason I suspect is that the Snapdragon S2 hardware was old even when Windows Phone 7 was released, The S4 is current generation stuff with plenty of headroom for future OS developments.