The One S is the middle child in HTC’s new line of hero devices, not quite as badass as the One X, but a bit bigger than baby brother One V. As is the case with any middle child, it’s a bit easy to overlook.
But John and I decided to give it some attention anyway, and like usual, we didn’t find much common ground.
See, the One S has some excellent hardware. I would argue that to the ground. Its slim aluminum unibody casing is a sight to behold, and it feels light and premium to boot. But at the end of the day, this is yet another Android phone. Sure, it’s got a pretty new version of Sense laid on top of Android 4.0, but there’s no real wow factor.
Even so, HTC has built out a nice little ecosystem with the help of Dropbox and Beats by Dre, which brings some added value to the $200 handset. You certainly win some and you lose some with this guy, which may explain the division between John and I.