HTC One mini 2

“The HTC One mini 2 is incredibly well made, a man among boys in terms of build quality compared to its mini peers. It's got an amazing screen and stereo front-facing speakers. There is also the latest Android on board, skinned with HTC's latest Sense UI. On the other hand, it seems the company is stubborn beyond the healthy dose. Some may have trouble accepting the fact that the HTC One (M8) has a worse camera than the mini. Some could argue that the move in the right direction comes too late - at a time when the inner turmoil and disappointing financial performance would be hard to overturn. Another thing that could prove detrimental is the pricing. HTC has positioned the One mini 2 as a premium device and priced it well above what is considered acceptable for a Snapdragon 400-powered smartphone with a 720p screen.”

“We all know that children sometimes have minds of their own. It can even happen that they are better than their parents in some things. We saw that the little ones even occasionally manage to surpass their big idols in Sony's Xperia Z1 Compact. Now HTC's One Mini 2 wants to show the bigger HTC One M8 how to do things better. Longer battery runtimes and a high-resolution, rear-facing camera for everyone who is not interested in HTC's ultra-pixel philosophy.The performance of HTC's One Mini 2 is not competitive. Users who expect absolute top performance from their smartphone and want to play every game, no matter how sophisticated, from the Play Store smoothly will be on the safe side with HTC's One M8. The street price between the One M8 and One Mini 2 is currently not very different either.The screen has a lower resolution, it does not sport quite as many sensors, and Wi-Fi is not as fast. If all that is no problem, the One Mini 2 is a serious alternative for the big precursor. In return, the crowded software interface of HTC Sense 6 can occasionally get a bit unmanageable on the smaller and lower resolution screen.Compared with the precursor, the superior casing, even better speakers, and higher performance dominate positively. HTC's One Mini 2 can compete with the other contenders although the extremely low price of Motorola's Moto X or the great battery runtimes and high performance of the Xperia Z1 Compact speak for themselves.Buyers who liked the very high-quality casing of HTC's One M8, want speakers with a similar quality for a somewhat lower price, and can live the the lower performance can take HTC's One Mini 2 without hesitation.”

“Form does lend itself to function as HTC has created yet another very attractive aluminium clad device that comes in at a smaller stature than its flagship. While it might not offer the same raw power underneath the hood, it is still more than viable for even somewhat above average users. A more conventional 13 megapixel rear camera, despite having its own limitations, has already done its part to attract a few users on its own. The HTC One Mini 2 is yet another example of how the “mini” genre of phones is more than just a fad, and is in fact a wholly viable market for people who know they don’t need the biggest or fastest to enjoy their smartphone experience, especially when it still manages to look this good.”

“Pretty close in size to the OG One, the mini 2 is by no means dwarfed by the M8, although it is noticeably shorter. Similarities aren't surprising, of course -- the device is supposed to look like the M8, after all, and thankfully it's very hard to tell the difference when shown one after the other. HTC did an excellent job of recreating much of the M8's appeal. The display marries a good resolution with a quality panel, and although the internal hardware has taken a hit in the shrinking process, it's still remarkably capable and provides enough performance for most apps and features. Even if you're not a fan of skinned Android builds, Sense 6 is one of the best, and the mini 2 is as up-to-date as it gets with 4.4.2 KitKat right out of the gate. The 13-megapixel camera looks good on paper, but performance is erratic and often disappointing, so potential buyers need to bear that in mind. Realistically, you're going to buy the One mini 2 if you like the look of the One mini 2. It's also a viable proposition for those who either don't want to shell out for the M8 or weren't down with the form factor. You're paying for the brand and brushed-metal design over any stand-out component or feature, and in that case, the price might be acceptable”