HTC Blog

Behind the Scenes of the HTC One

POSTED 2 OCT 2012 | BY JOHN STARKWEATHER

It’s the HTC One X+ like you’ve never seen it before, straight from the designer’s sketchbook, where one of the world’s top-rated smartphones was born.

Sketch Concepts: Crisp lines, raised lens cover, and 3D glass give the HTC One X+ a unique profile.

Design is core to what we do at HTC. We know you have a connection with your phone and that it reflects a little bit of your personality. It’s likely the first thing you pick up – a partner for your morning coffee. Perhaps it’s the last thing you see as you set an alarm, listen to music, or read those final e-mails of the day.

Sketch Concepts: Large, contoured screen designed for an immersive effect.

Ultimately, we know your phone is an extension of you and we go to great lengths to ensure it looks and feels that way in your hand. Our design strategy for the HTC One X+ was to create a smartphone you wanted to hold and use everyday.

Sketch Concept: One X+ unibody back and raised lens cover.

Sketch Concept: Premium housing is combined with a contoured screen that curves and flows over the side. On the back, micro-drilled speaker holes give each one a perfectly sharp edge.

Tell us what you think of this short peek behind the scenes at HTC design. As we consider an entire series about design, what elements are you most interested in learning about?

http://www.facebook.com/umangone Umang Bhatia

really great to know all this stuff!!!keep on adding such knowledge stuff!
- ukscj
  
  hey sorry dude I by mistakenly clicked on thumbs down
  - http://www.facebook.com/panagiotis.stamou1 Panagiotis Stamou
    
    Umm, dude ( @be66bc5f28065c8c80b52978821ecffa:disqus ) you’re very very idiot.
    - Matt Luan N
      
      dude! you’re an idiot for writing idiot as adjective!
  - http://www.facebook.com/saksham.chaudhry1 Saksham Chaudhry
    
    u know u can always change it
ukscj

you guys sure know how to make amazing phones
can’t wait to get a hands on
- http://blog.htc.com/ Larry Meadows
  
  Thanks – we can’t wait for you try them out as well!
Tey E Ling

I will still prefer htc new model phone will have features removal battery and expansion slot micro SD card again like previous HTC Incredible S features. Of course must with 2GB RAM.
Avinash

When HTC will Release its DESIRE X model in India ?? I’m waiting from long time to grab this phone !!!!!
Pingback: HTC shares some One X+ design sketches | MiniUSBAndroidPC.com
Pingback: HTC shares some One X+ design sketches | droidultimate
delia balsells

is interesting how is designed, and the phone amazing!! htc one x+ Is the best!
http://www.Nave360.com Sebastian Gorgon

Keep this stuff coming, love seeing behind the scenes stuff like that,
Pingback: HTC proudly shows off early design sketches of their One X+ | TalkAndroid.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=696112190 Ahmad Abdel-Aziz

Awesome
Heru Setiawan

How about sharing the larger version of the illustrations above. It would be a nice wallpaper for my notebook
- http://blog.htc.com/ Larry Meadows
  
  I take it you like what you see here! thanks for reading Heru, what other things would you like to learn about our design approach?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1522880333 Guido Heckmanns

Like it! Is there any way i can trade my normal One X for the One X+?
http://www.facebook.com/remus.stefan1 Remus Stefan

hi,huge fan of your phones……keep up the good work!
http://www.facebook.com/marlon.hoefling Marlon Höfling

great
Dave Goldsmith

Interesting to see the initial concept drawing. Going to have to get a One X+ now, too keep my One X company.. Hopefully this is the last phone from the series for a while??
http://www.facebook.com/shrey.jakhmola Shrey Jakhmola

the one+ looks amazing …………. if u accept suggestion than i would like to tell something that i think that the smartphone should not be s curvy……other wise quietly brilliant….
http://www.facebook.com/vonrichtofen Joey Sujanto

the design is awesome! it look unique, premium and exciting…
http://twitter.com/DanielJayWycoco James Wycoco

Interesting! Awesome!
http://twitter.com/karlaokane karla o’kane

Nice one – I have the Xl might just move on to the One
Ezzat Almohamed

beutiful desing but I stil like more the desing on the HTC Inspere and HTC EVO
http://twitter.com/AllyOhSoVicious Allyson Wilson

I absolutely love my HOX and I love knowing the process that went into designing it.
Alejandro Cedillo

I’d like to learn more about the pogo pins from both a design and function point of view, as well as about the decision to have separate capacitive buttons instead of following google’s lead on the on-screen buttons
gary

Even though you have upgraded the memory its still not good when you don’t allow your customers the option to do it on there own same thing with the battery. I have only had HTC smartphones but my next one won’t be if you don’t give the ability to remove the battery and allow an ad card option.I have the HTC vivid and its a good phone.
gary

Also you guys should bring back the trackball that the HTCArias had
http://www.facebook.com/alec.ge.9 Alec Ge

cool
http://profiles.google.com/yadu.ambadkar Yadunandan A

Please have HTC phones with 2GB of RAM !!
- Jess
  
  the hell do you need 2gb of ram on a phone for?
  - http://profiles.google.com/yadu.ambadkar Yadunandan A
    
    With the Android updates coming in every month, we will be soon short of RAM to run the latest versions of Android. The phone will get updated within a year or just by 2 updates of Android OS. Unless, of course, Android folks figure out a way to limit the RAM utilization. Similarly, the latest games, HD videos and apps need good memory, just like with the PC ! We definitely wish to have the most expensive phones in the market (as expensive as laptops) to have a decent 2 year run with full support for latest software !
http://www.facebook.com/arjansteenbergen94 Arjan Steenbergen

I really like this post.
I’m an product development student, and i like to see this is used in real life.
I would like to see more examples, and how you make your decision on which design you choose.

Those sketches are about telling your idea, and not your skills. This is a good example!

Thanks for sharing!
- http://blog.htc.com/ Larry Meadows
  
  Thanks for the feedback Arjan, where are you studying? We will continue to work on blog posts highlighting the design process.
  - http://www.facebook.com/arjansteenbergen94 Arjan Steenbergen
    
    I’m looking forward to it!
    I’m studying at Saxion (the Netherlands, Enschede)
Jess

you want a stylus? go back to Windows Mobile PDA’s with TFT touch screens. it’s bloody 2012, styluses in phones died out years ago, buddy.
- http://twitter.com/LeeNephi Lee Smithson
  
  Galaxy.. Note…II…..
  - 4n1m4L
    
    Galaxy for grandmas
  - vir ingens
    
    There is a Sense ROM ported to the S3, they will probably make one for the Note 2
http://twitter.com/LeeNephi Lee Smithson

This model and the latest Sony Xperia one are currently my favorites. They’re just so.. sexy. XD
http://www.facebook.com/lennesama Sandra Monteiro

Amazing!
http://www.facebook.com/Alexandru.ciocarlan Alex Ciocarlan

Great work. I have HTC ONE X and I can say that the design and feel is what makes this phones special. Keep on improoving and innovating and for shure you’ll amaze us and put to shame Samsung and Apple
Ritesh Bhagwati

The best part of HTC phones oflate has been to make strong & premium body feeling in android phone segment, which many (eg. samsung) are lacking, and i think thats the only reason why you are in many buyers wishlist, plus i hope that you ppl dont come up with even larger screens from the current ones, because bigger is not always better, there is a limit to extend things, which am sure you ppl must be aware about it. well at the end, i love your body of one x+ and looking forward to buy them sometime soon when it launches. this phone is surely gonna be one of the topmost selling phones everywhere in the world.
- St.patrick Reid
  
  its. ok for HTC to build phones with bigger screens if u see one dont buy it,It’s not all about you
Michael Allwine

See stuff like this makes me mad I get the new HTC one x and now there’s a newer one 3 weeks later grr should let ppl trade out their HTC one x’s for the one x+ or something
http://twitter.com/SimenAngell Simen Angell-Olsen

Omg! This phone are more powerful than Arnold in terminator!
http://www.facebook.com/clive.p.rennison Clive Rennison

great to get a TINY bit of insight into how and just how much work and effort goes into making something as awesome as the one x+
http://www.facebook.com/syed.sabbir Syed Sabbir Ahmed

Wish htc would use gorilla glass 2 for the protruding camera cover for one x so that the phone could be used without using any back cover retaining its design beauty when in hand.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Smith/704572618 Ryan Smith

Hi, I really like the HTC One X but I live in Barbados and I would like to purchase one online. I would also like some assistance with answers to 2 questions. My local carrier(LIME) uses the GSM 1900 network. Would I get 3G or 4G with this phone if I purchase it unlocked? My second question is, What is the difference between the AT&T version (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor) and the International version (NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor) and should it matter to me living in Barbados?. In other words would the performance or usage depend on the version I purchase?
Joris van der Struijk

In what way is the design of the One X+ different from the One X? If i remember correctly, these sketches look exactly like the ones i saw about the One X. Am i right?
http://www.facebook.com/imAK92 Ahmed Alkhuzae

i wonder what is the idea behind the raised lens
,, doesnt that just make it alot easier to scratch ,, and ill bet hard to type on if resting on a surface ??
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=581005486 JoHn Z. GHaLy

may be next time you guys can reduce the foot print, the screen certainly looks best when there is no plastic around it, just make it edge to edge like..make the phone lighter make the phone thinner, add a micro SD! It is an awesome phone but it leaves space for improvement.
Pingback: HTC proudly shows off early design sketches of their One X+ « android-alert
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sergey-Mosindzov/100001351892515 Sergey Mosindzov

Why do you keep calling that this sketches of One X+ if it’s of One X?
Piyush

HTC One X+ is undoubtedly the sexiest phone on the planet today . But only two problems – non-replaceable battery and no micro SD slot … Please fix them in the new version and I think that’ll be a great hit.
http://twitter.com/LmtdSlip Christopher Mallardi

Very interesting look at the genesis of the design. I’d like to know more about how designers work with product managers and engineers to take their design from paper to my hand. I am sure there are lots of trade-offs that are made. I’d like to know more about the compromises that get a technology product like this to market.
Ajeet Singh

Hope the HTC One X+ comes with the latest version of JellyBean out of the box. No need to wait for the update.
JBP

stuff like that is suuuper intersting! Love to know more <3
Fifth313ment

HTC WAKE UP! I love your phones! I have an EVO LTE and I love it. However you never learn from your mistakes or listen to your customers! The main reason I came to this post was to talk about Sense 4+ on the HOX+, which I read an article previewing the phone only to find many things annoying me. I started writing and all of the below shot out of me and I had to stop myself and come back to this first paragraph to write about what I came here for. And then I realized it all has to do with HTC not listening to their customers, us. In Sense 4+ on the HOX+ you’ve now added a persistent power-saver mode toggle which sits at the top of the notification shade and can never been removed, even if you never use it! That doesn’t annoy me more than the fact that users have been asking you to bring back the “Quick Settings” or at least add power control toggles (like other manufacturers Samsung, ETC)!? Buy what does HTC do, you ignore that input and add a persistent useless notification that can’t be removed! Hurray for ignorance!

I will never buy another phone from you without a removable battery as my EVO LTE is already dropping battery life after a few minutes off the charger! My phone shouldn’t go from 100 to 80 within the first 5 minutes of taking it off the charger without using it! By the end of my two year contract I’m going to be permanently attached by the hip to my charger! Contrast that to my OG EVO in which are the end of my two year contract I bought a new HTC battery and the phone was now like new! I now use it as my full-time music player in my car! Can I say that for my EVO LTE after two years, what do you think? I probably could if I spent hundreds to have the phone sent in to change the battery! Not buying!

Release two hero phones but have one be a little thicker with a huge battery similar to Motorola (Razr MAXX)! 1800mAh is not enough! I’m sure that’s what Sprint said when you brought them the HOX and they said add a bigger 2000mAh battery, a microSD card and call it the EVO LTE! People are willing to sacrifice a little thicker phone for a huge battery! At least give us the option! Recently your UK Chief said you are going to only release a few phones hero phones per year to rebuild your brand yet you’ve gone and released just as many, if not more, than last year! First follow your own advice, as you said having too many phones on the market was diluting your brand and IT IS! I have friends on MetroPCS who think that HTC only makes cheap crappy phones as MetroPCS only sold the HTC Hero. Stop with the million plus models and cheap phones as there are already a ton of cheap Android phones out there from hundreds of cheap manufacturers and you don’t want to be associated with them.

Also my EVO LTE has a microSD slot but I wouldn’t buy another phone from you without one. None of the HOX line models have them and that is what all the power users request, right behind a removable battery or vice versa. I wouldn’t mind so much if you released your phones with 32GB+ but I would really like to see 64GB become the standard before the microSD card goes away. I have 80GB on my EVO LTE with a 64GB class 10 microSD card and the original 16GB of on-board memory, yawn.

Now on to Jelly Bean, WTF are you doing?! You needed Jelly Bean to be released on the HOX hero line before the Galaxy SIII! I guess it doesn’t have to be but if you want a selling point you will get it done. You should have Jelly Bean on at least the international versions of the HOX line now! This could be your only major selling point and you’re letting Samsung have it too which brings me to my next rant of selling points!

Your HOX line is lacking behind the SGS3 and even the new plus + line refresh doesn’t beat it. Yeah the processor may be a little better with the upgraded Tegra but why not include 2GB of RAM and take them to it! For casual customers they look at all the bullet points of the SGS3 VS HOX (or HOX +) and the GS3 wins hands down. I hate the GS3! But for casual buyers bigger screen (HOX has better quality but ppl like bigger), larger battery (n/a +), 2GB of RAM, larger ROM (memory), and now Jelly Bean! I’m sorry but I could have been persuaded from my EVO LTE if when I had gone to buy it the GS3 had Jelly Bean! Jelly Bean brings Google Now (Siri) and Project Butter (smoothness and performance)! The HOX is a better phone that gets overlooked.

The main reason people buy your phones are build quality and your update reputation. Your phones look sexy and function beyond expectations but your reputation is suffering as of recently because of the lack of Jelly Bean updates, pushed deadlines and cancellations of updates on older phone models which were promised updates. I’m sorry but I have buyers remorse with my EVO LTE mainly for my battery issues. I will NEVER buy another phone with an internal battery EVER! I like to be able to use my electronics for years or be able to sell them if necessary. After two years my EVO LTE will be battery dead and I’ll have no recourse to fix it shy of a few hundred bucks. Not cool… Many of my friends had the OG EVO and refuse to buy another HTC but I stood by you and defended you… Well no more… Listen to your customers or you WILL fail! I mean could it hurt to listen to us? Have you looked at your financials recently? Could it get any worse?
http://www.facebook.com/kunalm83 Kunal Mehta

Design certainly is an exceptionally important part of the entire smartphone experience, but I keep repeating the same stuff: how good is a well designed phone if I cannot use it freely at least for a considerable amount of time due to an utter lack of battery life. And when we can clearly see that other companies are coming up with better battery capacities the natural question which comes to HTC fans is why not HTC? Why does HTC always keeps the users on the edge when it comes to battery life? I am too sure that most users would rather appreciate a slightly thicker/expensive phone than one which cannt even last them an entire day comfortably.
http://www.facebook.com/SamuelPearl Samuel Pearl

guys PLEASE PLEASE dont drop your phone, not even from a hight of 10 cm above the floor ..the glass just shatters .The front portion is supported by GLASS and its not strong .
maxine

htc one x AVOID at all costs it has a serious glitch problem that they wont fix im on contract so on my 4th one an the problem is worse then ever! ive been told they wont exchange for a different phone ill just have to keep sending it back for repair! which cant be fixed so they send me a new phone which then does the same this glitch problem which htc are saying is a multitasking issue! is not my data is deleting itself im losing contacts pictures music apps the screen flickers to the point a epileptic would have a fit!! the battery does not last when just on standby and not being used for more then 4/5 hours at a push an thats with it being fully charged!! seriously bad problem which htc are refusing to acknowledge as a problem even worse this problem has been around since march yet i was still sold the phone in fully working order with no problems in may!! yes im angry i have full right to be especially as im stuck in a 2 year contract with a phone that every other month needs to go back to htc to try to be fixed ie they send me a out a new one yet it has all the same problems what i want to know is when you google the htc one x glitch problem you get 368.000 results in 0.9 seconds so why has no one dealt with this issue? why have they not even said yes it can be a good phone but we have some issues with the software instead they tell its a great phone an you will be extremely happy with it! hmm then why have i spent over 50 hours on the phone to try get the problem sorted !!! well i could keep going but id like htc to contact me in response to this 1 because its not a cheap phone 2 because i think its my right as a consumer to have the product do what it says on the tin so to speak and 3 because your a multi billion dollar corporation do you really think everyone will just roll over an shut up!! well your severely mistake i am one of the few that will take this all the way if need be i have no issues in doing this maybe the papers should run a piece on how they are duping innocent and hard working consumers out of very hard earned money!! it might not help a great deal but im sure it will dent the sales enough for them to at least look at repairing the issue! not really asking for much is it ! ps really sad thing is its a beautiful phone if it had no issues id be more then happy with the phone but sadly this has put me off htc for life!!
vsrinand

its a brilliant design but is it practical?…i have purchased one and had gotten scratches on the lens cover, its been a month and still having difficulty to find a new back cover
http://twitter.com/jeffkoe Jeffrey Koenig

Execution is as crucial as is design. Don’t let your manufacturing partners compromise your incredible design. Show me, your customer that you’ll not let me down after I buy your phone.
http://twitter.com/ApexPredation Patrick Ryan

I love concept sketches!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000358652698 Jeremiah Adebowale

This is genius. I desire to work with.HTC someday.