HTC One Max review

We’re fans of the HTC One Max’s Full HD LCD display. The resolution works well on such a big screen, meaning it’s easy to read headlines, standfirsts and image captions on web pages when fully zoomed out; this is also possible on 5in 1080p displays, and even on the 1,280×720 display of the Galaxy Mega, but it’s not as easy as on the One Max. We liked the display’s colour balance best when it was at maximum brightness, as it was slightly too cool at lower brightness levels. When compared to the Google Nexus 5’s LCD display, the One Max’s screen showed itself to have purer whites, with none of the Nexus 5’s slight yellow tinge.

The large display is great for watching films, and the built-in stereo speakers are loud enough and of good enough quality that you don’t necessarily have to use headphones. We certainly enjoyed watching YouTube clips of stand-up comedy shows, but the lack of any bass and thin mid-range means the speakers still murder music tracks.

While the HTC One is a unibody design which you can’t open, the One Max has a removable aluminium rear cover. Strangely, this doesn’t mean you can replace the battery; the cover just gives you access to the microSD card and SIM slots. This means that you lose the neatness of a unibody design without gaining the flexibility of being able to replace the battery, which is a shame. You shouldn’t need to carry a spare battery, as the One Max lasted for a huge 15h 45m in our video battery rundown test, but it will limit the overall useful lifespan of the handset.