HTC announces One M8s -- what's different from One M8?

Shortly after introducing the new One M9, Taiwanese maker HTC has announced an updated version of its former flagship, One M8. Called One M8s, it packs a 64-bit processor, larger battery and more common camera module on the back.

What that means is instead of featuring the same 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2,600 mAh battery and 4 MP UltraPixel main camera as its older brother, the new One M8s comes with an octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2,840 mAh battery and 13 MP camera on the back.

One M8s' processor is comprised of four ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.7 GHz and four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1 GHz. There's also 2 GB of RAM on board, same as with One M8.

The display is unchanged from One M8, as HTC has stuck with the same 5-inch panel with a resolution of 1,080 by 1,920. That should help One M8s in the battery life department.

In regards to the cameras, it should be said that the 13 MP camera on the back of One M8s offers the same f/2.0 aperture as the UltraPixel camera on One M8. Such a large aperture comes in handy when taking photos in poorly lit conditions. The rear depth camera is carried over, so you'll still be able to take blurry photos natively if you so choose.

While both One M8s and One M8 pack a 5 MP front camera, the former's lens has an aperture of f/2.8 while the latter's lens' aperture is a larger f/2.0. Based on specs alone, One M8s will not fare as well as its older brother in this department.

Other than that, not much else has changed. Just like One M8, One M8s offers 4G LTE cellular connectivity (category four), 16 GB of internal storage (there's no 32 GB version, however) and micro SD card slot, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, USB 2.0, GPS, and NFC. However, One M8s packs Bluetooth 4.1 instead of Bluetooth 4.0, and is slightly thicker, coming in at 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.55 mm instead of 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 like One M8. Weight is unchanged at 160 grams. Oh, and it comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box.

HTC will sell One M8s in Europe (it's unlikely to be available in US) for £379.99, off-contract. You can expect to see it in stores, alongside One M8, soon.