HTC's 130MB software update to the One (M8) delivers additional improvements to the One’s connectivity, call audio performance, and camera, but the most valuable inclusion is the long-promised 'extreme power saving mode'.
The extreme battery saving mode disables unnecessary features to extend standby battery life to 10 days. The mode will rival the Samsung Galaxy S5’s Ultra power saving mode, but whereas Samsung executives claim 10 percent of the charge will last 24 hours, HTC’s claim the One (M8) will last 30 hours.
The over-the-air update promises improvements to the camera. HTC claims the camera’s autofocus has been ‘fine tuned’, improvements have been made to the Foregrounder and Dimension Plus effects, and a copy and paste function has been added. HTC’s Zoe also benefits from updates to themes and the user interface.
Other improvements include a Wi-Fi firmware update, enhancements to Bluetooth, and an improvement to the sound quality of phone calls.
One (M8) owners will have to manually search for the update in order to download it today, otherwise a notification will prompt the download within the next few days.
The update can be performed over the air and, according to HTC, no user customisations will be affected. All Australian HTC One (M8) phones can be updated, no matter if your smartphone was purchased from Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, or outright from retailers like Dick Smith.
