HTC One S review: A slim micro-arc-oxidation ceramic-finish flagship from the original One trio.
The slim sibling of the One X.
HTC One S was the slim, light member of the original 2012 One trio — distinguished by a striking micro-arc-oxidation ceramic finish and a fast Snapdragon S4. Overshadowed by the One X, it was nonetheless a beautifully built compact flagship.
01Display
64/10064/100 is one of the weaker display results among flagship phones of 2012 — 6 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
02Camera
56/10056/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2012 — 7 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
03Performance
56/10056/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2012 — 6 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
04Battery
54/10054/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2012 — 8 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
05Build
72/10072/100 puts it above the 69-point average for flagship phones of 2012.
06Value
58/10058/100 puts it above the 55-point average for flagship phones of 2012.
- Striking ceramic micro-arc-oxidation finish.
- Just 7.8 mm thin, 120 g light.
- Fast Snapdragon S4 dual-core.
- ImageSense camera.
- qHD on AMOLED (PenTile).
- No microSD or removable battery.
- Small 1,650 mAh cell.
- Overshadowed by the One X.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 11-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .