The HTC One Max is bigger, but not best

SINGAPORE — This year has been full of ups and downs for HTC. The HTC One won many major tech awards, but that recognition failed to prevent the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer from posting record losses.

But that has not stopped it from trying to win over some fans from the growing phablet market with its latest device, the HTC One max.

The One max borrows most of its design from the One, but comes with a larger 5.9-inch screen and a removable back cover that makes it easier for you to slot in SIM and microSD cards.

Under the hood, the phablet features a quad-core, 1.7GHz processor and runs HTC Sense 5.5 on top of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system. It also has the BlinkFeed feature, which lets users view their all their social media and news updates on a single screen.

The device also has a massive 3,300mAh battery which lasted for about a day and a half, despite heavy use, before needing a recharge.

The One max’s full-HD, 1080p display is stunningly sharp and reading anything from news articles to comics on the device is a real joy. It is also massively bright with vibrant colours and great to view under sunlight. The two BoomSound speakers located above and below the screen are fantastic and the best I have experienced on a smartphone.

The phablet also boasts the same UltraPixel technology featured in the HTC One. The lens does very well in capturing available light and, as a result, all pictures — even those in low-light conditions — were sharp and well lit. The Zoe shooting mode can capture moving images alongside stills, and there is also a feature that can combine pictures, raw videos and music into a movie without requiring any editing.

Unfortunately, one of the One max’s new features, the fingerprint scanner, failed to impress.

It was meant to provide users with a safe and easy way to unlock their phones but seemed very difficult to use. The sensor does not work if your fingers are wet and I needed at least three attempts to register a successful scan every single time.

Despite a valiant effort, the One max will not dethrone Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 as the king of phablets. But its superb display, impressive battery life and feature-laden camera make it a great addition to the award-winning One family.

The HTC One max will be available in glacial silver from tomorrow at the retail price of S$1,028. The stealth black version will be available at a later date.