HTC One X+ review

HTC's One X+ handset is a souped-up version of the original One X smartphone. It features an improved processor, a larger battery and an updated version of Google's Android operating system.

Given that the HTC One X isn't a bad phone - scoring four out of five in our full review - is there really any need for the One X+? Frankly, yes there is. Read on to find out why.

Performance
If the HTC One X+ had a middle name, it would be performance, as that is what this phone is all about. Improving on the original HTC One X, which arrived with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, the HTC One X+ features a 1.7GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU under the bonnet.

While this doesn't sound like that much of an improvement on paper, the HTC One X+ is seriously powerful. In fact, with an Antutu score of 13,934, it's the fastest phone we've ever benchmarked - outdoing the Google Nexus 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 handsets.

This speed enhancement is noticeable when using the handset, too. It's much smoother than the impressively quick HTC One X when it comes to general navigation, and we found the phone is at its speediest when downloading apps - which appeared to take mere seconds to complete.

It's a great device for streaming too, as we tested with the BBC iPlayer and TV Catchup apps, which loaded videos smoothly with no buffering at all. The same can also be said for web browsing, with pages appearing instantly using the preloaded Google Chrome app.

We have one tiny niggle with the performance of the HTC One X+ though, that being that it's almost too fast.

When scrolling through wallpapers, for example, we found that they flashed past almost too quickly to see, although this will likely only be an issue until you get used to the device and it probably won't bother most users, who will prefer their phone to respond as quickly as possible.

Screen
As you might have guessed, the screen on the HTC One X+ is the same 4.7in HD LCD 2 screen found on the original HTC One X smartphone, and it really shines when paired with the upgraded quad-core processor.

As we pointed out in our HTC One X review, the 720x1280 screen is one of the best on the market, offering gorgeous colours, impressive viewing angles and great usability. Of course, none of these things have changed with the HTC One X+ handset, but the screen reacts responsively with the handset's faster chip.

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