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Android Phone Comparisons: HTC One Mini 2 M8 vs HTC One Mini M7

Android Phone Comparisons: HTC One Mini 2 M8 vs HTC One Mini M7

By Cory McNutt
May 21, 2014

Introduction

This is a GREAT comparison between the old and the new – the old HTC One mini versus the new HTC One mini 2 – because they are so much a like…much more than I realized before I started this comparison. The first HTC One mini was an AT&T exclusive back in August and the new HTC One mini 2 is expected to be in the U.S. sometime soon, probably only on Verizon. You may think that eight months between devices might make a huge difference, but it does not – especially when both use practically the same displays…both even use a Snapdragon 400 – dual core clocked at 1.4GHz in the One mini and quad-core clocked at 1.2GHz in the One mini 2. Both devices come with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and both devices still have the great, dual stereo speakers mounted on the front. All of this seems a little strange and normally you would expect improvements in all or most areas, but we are talking about HTC and they do march to the beat of a different drummer. Both devices are sporting the latest Android 4.4 KitKat – the original One mini was upgraded this past March along with receiving Sense 5.5.

Please look over the specifications below and compare the HTC One mini and HTC One mini 2 and check out just how close they really are for being last year’s and this year’s model. Then we will look at the few differences they have and make a decision as to which one should win this comparison.

 

Specifications

 

HTC One mini 2

The HTC One mini 2 does increase the size of its display from 4.3 inches to 4.5 inches, but we can hardly call that an improvement since it kept the HD display of 1280 x 720 resolution, which slightly lowered the pixels-per-inch (ppi) from 342 down to 326 – still a respectable figure.  The processor did go from a dual-core to a quad-core Snapdragon 400 model and were clocked nearly the same – 1.4GHz for the original mini and 1.2GHz for the mini 2.  While internal memory stayed at 16GB, the mini 2 did add a microSD card for an additional expansion of up to 128GB, giving you more than enough storage for music, pictures and even videos.  The other big area of change was in the camera department where the old mini kept the same 4MP UltraPixel format, the new mini 2 opted for a more conventional 16MP main camera and jumped to a 5MP front-facing camera, allowing for excellent video chatting and selfies.  The mini 2 adds NFC capabilities and a larger capacity battery of 2110mAh versus the original mini’s 1800mAh. The off-contract pricing is about the same – high for a mini version – so we imagine the contract prices will be about the same, but nothing has yet been announced.

 

HTC One mini

The original HTC One mini does have a slightly smaller display, but that means that it also has an advantage with an increase from 326 to 342 in ppi – not much, true.  It only carries the dual-core version of the Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.4GHz, which is slightly higher clocking than the 1.2GHz of its quad-core brother found in the mini 2.  The mini has no microSD slot, so you are stuck with the original 16GB.  The original mini uses the same 4MP UltraPixel camera that its big brother, the HTC One M7 carries – an adequate shooter, but not as exciting as HTC would have you believe.  The mini did not carry NFC, has a smaller 1800mAh battery, but did receive its Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade in March.  It can be purchased only on AT&T in the U.S for a modest $49 on a two-year contract.

 

…and the Winner is…the mini 2

Summary

I even had to put the name of the winner above the picture or else you may not have been able to tell them a part – subtle changes, but there are a couple ways to pick out the One mini 2. This is really a close call – the HTC One mini 2 wins with better overall specifications…but not by much. If you want to stick on the AT&T network, then stay with the One mini since you can grab one up at a great price, but if you are on Verizon or thinking of switching and the One mini 2 is the size and type of device you want, then you cannot go wrong with the One mini 2. It is slightly better all around, has a microSD card, a larger battery and what might actually turn out to be a better camera with its 16MP/5MP arrangement than the 4MP/1.6MP on the mini – especially if you engage in video chats or take a lot of selfies. Pricing has not yet been announced in the U.S., but it should come down after a short while or they may have special offers to move the product. It does look like it will be landing on Verizon this time around, but no official announcement. The HTC One mini 2 is a beautiful looking device – if they would only keep the full-size specs, I bet these mini versions would sell a lot better.

Please let us know on our Google+ Page what you think of these two devices – do you think you may be picking up a One mini 2 when they become available…as always, we would love to hear from you.