HTC EVO 4G LTE Review

By Rob Boggan

If Sprint had to be thankful for one phone changing the way customers perceived their handset selection, hands down it would be the HTC EVO 4G. Customers flocked to Sprint stores by the masses to pick up one of the hottest devices from 2 summers ago, and still to this day resale value on an HTC EVO remains relatively high. Since the initial launch of the original, there has been several EVO spin offs released, none of which have reached the heights of the EVO 4G. Sprint looks to change that by hopping aboard the HTC One train and renaming it to…. you guessed it the HTC EVO 4G LTE. Does the HTC EVO 4G LTE have what it takes to steal the spotlight from the original? Or is the OG EVO still top of the line? Read on for our review of the HTC EVO 4G LTE.

Right off the bat, users will see a striking resemblance to the original. The entire phone is encased with a soft touch material and the color is a mix of a matte black with the traditional red EVO highlights. This phone may be the thinnest, lightest phone that I have ever used, as it feels like there’s not much to it at all. The 4.7 inch display is definitely the highlight of the EVO, as it’s just the right mix of bright and all the colors appear deep with almost no pixelation. I’m not a fan of the embedded batteries with devices but HTC did wonders with the 2,000 mAh battery within the EVO. I got superb battery life with tons of data use, texts, and moderate phone calls. Super surprising feature here was the inclusion of a Micro SD slot, as most all ONE X series phones don’t have them. I like that Sprint is really trying to separate the EVO 4G LTE from the pack, and the color scheme along with the addition of the SD slot clearly do just that.

The major star of the EVO show is essentially the same as the other HTC ONE series phones. HTC did a bang up job with Sense 4.0 and it’s evident as soon as I began to use the phone. Animations were smooth and fluid, and the entire experience was solid. With Sense 4.0 running atop Android 4.0, there’s a cohesion between the two that feels undeniably smooth, and almost natural. It looks and performs as if the two were meant to be together, but HTC’s enhancements definitely set their Android devices apart from the rest. For starters, the camera on the HTC EVO 4G LTE is another huge bonus as it works above and beyond what I originally expected. I’ll say this again and again until something changes, I think HTC makes the best cameras and camera software on mobile devices. Rocking an 8MP shooter on the back and 1.3MP on the front, both cameras performed consistently well. The main camera took awesome shots in just about every type of lighting condition, and videos were of high quality with no choppiness or lag. Using the new burst shot function took a little getting used to, but worked well. I’m used to holding the shutter button to have the camera focus, while doing that with HTC’s new camera software launches the burst shot function. Another welcome addition is the ability to take still photos and record video simultaneously.

The EVO 4G LTE isn’t much different from it’s ONE series brothers (ONE X with AT&T or ONE S with T-Mobile), it does a great job of standing out. Not only amongst it’s equals, but also within Sprint’s lineup. Next to the Galaxy S III, and the Galaxy Nexus the EVO 4G LTE is hands down the best that Sprint has to offer, and can easily sit atop the smartphone food chain. Is it better than the original EVO? I’d say absolutely. Trimming the phone down a bit by way of thickness, adding a much better battery, and an LTE radio instantly does the trick. Is it the best phone on Sprint? Not so much, but it is ONE OF the better options. Falling right in line with the now standard smartphone price of $199 with a new two year agreement, the EVO 4G LTE is definitely one of the summers must have handsets.