Windows version HTC One (M8) has longer battery life

HTC One (M8) for Windows platform offers longer battery life than its Android-based brother – that’s what the spec readings say.

This week HTC came out with HTC One Windows Phone version. Everything is pretty much identical to the HTC One Android version, same chassis, screen, microprocessor, memory and storage.

Though the resounding difference is the battery’s longevity on the Window’s version. The HTC One (M8) Android version is rated @ 20 hours of 3G talk time, and 496 standby hours, while the Window device is clocking at 22 hours of 3G talk and 528 standby hours. The advantage goes to Windows Phone.

Now the real question would be: is Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS efficient than HTC’s KitKat Android 4.4.2 version?

While design and hardware may be identical, there does seem to be a slight difference when checking deeper – let’s focus on the cellular radios. The HTC One Android covers a wide range of frequencies, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz for 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE with HSPA+ for Europe, Asia, and US. CDMA freq. for Sprint and Verizon, and 700/800/850/900/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz LTE frequencies.

The Windows HTC One (M8) uses same 2G, 3G, and CDMA bands, but only a few LTE freq. that the KitKat version uses.

If battery life is a major factor when purchasing between mobile phones, consider the Windows HTC One (M8)…but I’m an Android guy, so I’ll stick with the 20 hours talky time.

The natural question is whether Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is more efficient, from a power perspective, than the Android version 4.4.2 (KitKat) that is powering HTC’s phone. If so, that might be a selling point for consumers hoping to eke out every last bit of power from their HTC One (M8) phone—and a feather in the cap of Microsoft, which has just 2.5 percent of the world smartphone share, compared with almost 85 percent for Android.

Under the hood, though, there may be another answer: The two versions of the One (M8) may not be truly identical, after all.

Consider the cellular radios the two phones use. HTC’s One (M8) for Android supports a number of different frequencies: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz for 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks; 3G WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ for Europe, Asia, and the major U.S. carriers; the CDMA frequencies used by Sprint and Verizon; and the 700/800/850/900/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz LTE frequencies.

The One (M8) for Windows uses the same 2G, 3G, and CDMA bands, but only a subset of the LTE frequencies that the Android version uses: specifically the 700/1700/1800/2600 MHz frequency bands.

We asked HTC to explain the differences between the two, and the company has yet to respond. But what we’ve found seems to indicate that the two versions of the HTC One M8 differ in terms of the power used. We’re also currently running our own battery tests to see if we can prove what HTC itself claims.

For now, however, if battery life of your next phone makes a difference, consider buying the HTC One (M8) for Windows.