When htc sense 6 comes out. Text and voice input of text

Announced changes:
Improvements in OS and power supply system:

• update HTC Sense to version 6;
• dynamically changing theme color to simplify interface navigation;
• ability to customize the interface font;
• new maximum energy saving mode;
• button to clear the list of recently running applications.

• the interface of the Camera and Gallery applications has been updated;
• quick and easy search for similar photos;
• adding display of points of interest when displaying images on the map.

• smoother scrolling of the feed;
• intuitive interface for adding new channels;
• improved scrollbar;
• recommendations for nearby restaurants.

• real-time display of sports results, statistics and comments from social networks;
• improved, more user-friendly interface.

• New themes have been added to the Music program;
• fixes and improvements in the Mail, Messages, Calendar and Phone programs;
• The ability to customize the work schedule has been added to the Do Not Disturb mode.

You can familiarize yourself with the changes in more detail.
The firmware size is more than 500 megabytes.

After the update, the firmware information screen will look like this:

But HTC won't be HTC if it doesn't bring a fly in the ointment to the update. Below are a few screenshots and my comments, expressing my purely personal opinion.

Home screen:

Here we see above the shortcut line and below the application icons an empty space reserved for the indicator of the current desktop position.

Unfortunately, now I don’t have a screenshot to show how it was before, but I will say this - the indicator took up only a few pixels in height while remaining quite informative. I cite this solely for the purpose of proof. video. There you can also see how much more space there was for widgets.

Screen with the Frequent Contacts widget:

Here, the contact icons are separated by white lines, the color of which cannot be changed. Previously they were black translucent.

And the last thing that caught my eye was the BlinkFeed screen (yes, I use it):

There are white lines again. In addition, now the news feed takes up the entire screen, right under the shortcut buttons. And one more thing - now it uses smooth scrolling instead of page-by-page, while page-by-page scrolling remains in the application menu. As for me, page-by-page scrolling is more convenient, despite the fact that HTC is positioning smooth as an improvement in this firmware version.

I will leave the question why all this was done open.

Appendix to the review of the HTC One (M8) smartphone

Features and Features of HTC Sense 6

The HTC One (M8) smartphone is the company’s first device with the updated Sense 6 on board. The device runs on Android 4.4.2, the version of Sense on which this material was written is 6.0. There are no radical differences in the sixth version compared to the fifth, but I personally have a positive overall impression of HTC Sense 6, although I can’t say the same about Sense 5. The reason is to work on bugs, correct mistakes, some controversial issues, expand settings in BlinkFeed, add an item for selecting fonts and other things.

Graphically, Sense 6 is almost no different from the previous version - it is still the same neat style, without bright spots, excessively contrasting icons and incomprehensible confusion. Many HTC smartphone users were dissatisfied with the poor fonts in the fifth version of Sense - they were too elongated in height. In Sense 6, the base font remains the same, but now you can easily change it.

New fonts are simply downloaded via Google Play and automatically become available in the font selection menu.

The set of widgets also remained unchanged, some of them were slightly redrawn, but nothing more.

What has changed are the color schemes. If in Sense5 the basic color scheme was dark gray with black elements, then in Sense 6 it is translucent menus and fields. “Themes” have also been added, a set of four profiles with different colors for the top block in programs (status bar). According to the developers, color separation should make working with the smartphone interface easier. Let’s say that in one of the “themes” in Sense 6, the status bar in system programs is black, the status bar in work programs is orange, and in multimedia it is red. The difficulty is that the color “theme” only works with pre-installed applications and does not apply to the entire installed set of programs, so the benefit of choosing a specific “theme” is questionable.

Sense 6 has new background images, which in my opinion are very successful, and the ability to set a separate image for the lock screen has also returned.

The proprietary lock screen can be disabled or changed to one of the standard ones for Android - pattern, password, face detection and others. The set of quick launch shortcuts displayed on the lock screen is identical to the shortcuts that you put in the bottom menu. Accordingly, when you change these icons, they also change for the lock screen.

The design of the settings window has changed, the design of the icons and the structure have changed a little, but only slightly.

In the application menu, almost everything remains unchanged - you can choose the grid size: 3 x 4 or 4 x 5, sort programs alphabetically or by recently added ones, and also place them in the order convenient for you. You can no longer create folders in the program menu; the weather clock widget is also no longer here.

In general, as you can see, there are few changes compared to Sense 5: the program menu has been simplified, the ability to select a font, and the ability to select a picture for the lock screen have been added. And that’s enough; personally, these are the things I was missing in Sense 5.

Standard Applications

Now let's talk about the standard applications installed on HTC One (M8) that are part of the HTC Sense 6 shell.

Address book. There are almost no changes compared to the application in the fifth version of Sense - except that the design of the numeric keypad has changed. In a contact card, a third of the screen is occupied by a person’s photo; when there is an incoming or outgoing call, the photo is also displayed on almost half the screen.

If you have contacts with low-resolution photos in your address book, then when you open the contact card or start calling him (or he calls you), you will not see the original low-quality photo, but a version with a special effect applied. This way, the original image is still visible, but it does not look like a set of pixels from a low-resolution image stretched to fill the entire screen.

Latest running applications. The window with the last opened programs is launched with a separate key; open applications are arranged here in the form of mini-pictures in a 3 x 3 grid. Any program can be swiped upward from the corresponding mini-picture, and by pressing the key you can close all programs at once.

Weather. The application has undergone almost no changes; it displays a forecast with dynamic graphics for today, as well as a detailed forecast for the day and the following days.

Gallery. A program for viewing and editing images. There are almost no changes in it compared to the version for Sense 5. The same options for viewing and sorting pictures, as well as many editing and correction options. Several new editing modes have appeared.

TV. The application combines several functions. The first is the TV schedule for the selected operator in the selected country. That is, you indicate your home TV provider and can view the schedule of all programs and films in the program. The second is the remote control for your TV, set-top box or video player. You select the type of equipment, its manufacturer, model, and then you can manage this equipment using HTC One. The infrared port is built into the power key.

Flashlight and voice recorder. Two traditional programs in HTC - they are also available here and work great. Using a voice recorder, you can record conversations, but in this case you will only hear yourself well in the recording, but you will barely be able to hear your interlocutor (the voice recorder does not write from the line).

Calculator. A familiar application - in portrait mode a simple calculator is displayed, in landscape mode - an advanced one.

Kids mode. Like Sense 5, the new version for HTC One (M8) has a so-called children's mode, by turning it on, you will limit the capabilities of the smartphone, reducing them to a certain minimum - you can launch selected programs and perform some other actions. The operation of this mode is implemented simply - HTC has the Zoodles service installed, which is the “children's mode”. Having enabled it, you first need to set up the rules and add allowed programs, as well as accounts (for several “children,” for example).

Then all that remains is to simply turn on the service every time you give the smartphone to your child for joy. In Zoodles, he will be able to run allowed programs, as well as draw, listen to audiobooks with pictures (information is downloaded from the Internet) and, of course, play games.

HTC Assistant. It seems to me a very useful application for those users who are holding a new HTC smartphone in their hands and are about to buy it. Using this program, you can check various components of the device - maximum and minimum screen brightness, vibration power, ringer volume, accuracy of pressing and other things. You simply run the test of the same name, and the smartphone vibrates, rings or does something else in test mode.

It also contains the smartphone data required to transfer to the technical support service and the number of this service to call.

HTC accessories. An application for purchasing accessories or smartphones in the HTC branded online store. It’s made simply and clearly, the only thing missing is the ability to pay for a purchase with a card, or even with an electronic card on the smartphone itself (more on that below).

Wallet

An application for paying for purchases using an electronic card and the NFC chip built into HTC One (M8). When you first start, you are asked to set a PIN to access the application; you will need to enter it each time you start the program, as well as a security code and then open an electronic bank card (the partner in this case is Tinkoff Credit Systems Bank).

The process of opening a new electronic card is very simple and takes literally 10-15 minutes. You need to enter your last name, first name, patronymic and date of birth, and then a code word, then the completed mini-questionnaire is sent for online verification to the bank, and after the specified 10-15 minutes you receive an electronic card with a zero balance in the “Wallet” program.

The card is topped up in communication shops, through terminals of various companies - there are many ways, and all of them are marked on the card in the application itself, that is, you simply open the card and see nearby places where you can top up your balance.

You can pay for purchases with an electronic card using your smartphone in all places where cards with MasterCard PayPass technology are accepted. Of course, these are not all points that accept cards, but many chain stores, cafes and other establishments are already equipped with terminals that accept cards with PayPass.

In my opinion, the application is really interesting and convenient: the card is issued quickly, there are no fees for servicing or commissions when paying and replenishing, there are many ways to deposit money into your account. At first, you can surprise cashiers by paying with a device rather than with banknotes or “plastic”, but it will be just a surprise and nothing more, payments go through perfectly, in large chain stores no one is even surprised when you pay by holding your smartphone to the terminal .

The only complaint I have about the program is its graphic design. In my opinion, “Wallet” stands out from the general style of Sense 6. It is clear that the program was not made by HTC, but in Russia this application will be basic for some Taiwanese smartphones, and I would like to see it not standing out from the general style of the HTC interface.

Text and voice input of text

The keyboard capabilities in Sense 6 remain unchanged compared to Sense 5. It's still that signature HTC on-screen QWERTY keyboard. By the way, the drawback associated with the lack of additional markup on the Russian-language keyboard has not been corrected (for many years now). And when entering text in the Latin alphabet, you see on the keyboard the markup of not only the letters themselves, but also additional symbols, and in order to add a “dog” symbol, a hash mark, a percent sign or something else to the text while typing, you do not need to go to a special menu, just hold one of the letter buttons for a couple of seconds.

The keyboard design is dark gray, in my opinion, this is a good color solution.

Each time you press an on-screen button on the keyboard, the device vibrates slightly, this simplifies input, makes it more realistic, and helps you get used to the on-screen keyboard. Switching the language is done by pressing one key, quickly and easily. By holding down the key on the other side of the space bar, you can call up voice dialing. Voice typing in Android works very well; if you pronounce the message clearly, coherently and with pauses between words, it will be typed almost without errors. The only drawback of the voice dialing system is the inability to add punctuation marks.

In order to move the cursor within the text, you just need to touch any letter, after which a small “toffee” appears to move within the text. There are also four directional keys at the bottom of the keyboard for moving around within text. Double-tapping an individual word in text will highlight it, and you can then select other parts of the text to copy or cut.

In the keyboard settings there is an option “Trace keyboard”. If you turn it on, you can enter words with one movement of your finger, without having to look up to enter the next letter, this is analogous to the Swype keyboard. In the settings you can change the line color for the Trace keyboard.

The keyboard has a personal dictionary, where the device saves new words that you often use. The dictionary can be edited and also synchronized with a backup copy on the memory card.

HTC BlinkFeed

The main thing that was added to BlinkFeed even before the release of Sense 6 was the ability to remove the desktop with this service from the screen. Otherwise there are no major changes. It is still an “aggregator” of news from different sources: websites and social networks. News passes through the HTC server, is compressed, reformatted and only then appears on the smartphone screen. This was done to reduce the traffic costs of the service, as well as to increase the speed of its operation. News is displayed on the main screen in a tile format, somewhat reminiscent of the Windows Phone interface. The tile may be larger or smaller, depending on the image available for the news. The news feed as a whole looks beautiful and neat, provided that good sources are selected, but sometimes you still come across news with low-resolution images.

Another serious disadvantage of the service, the inability to add your own news sources, has also been fixed. Now, in addition to the sources initially available in BlinkFeed, you can add your own.

It is still not possible to choose to display news in multiple languages ​​in one feed. That is, even if the sites about technology that BlinkFeed offers in Russian are suitable for you, but at the same time you want to read news from foreign sites, you will not be able to add them to one feed.

In general, I like the idea of ​​the service; I actually sometimes open the screen with BlinkFeed to scroll through several blocks (sports news, economics), but I cannot use it as the main application for reading news that interests me for the reasons described above. For example, there are no sites about games that I read, but this topic is interesting to me. And many such examples can be given.

Conclusion

There are no serious changes or innovations in HTC Sense 6, but those changes that have occurred almost entirely fall under the definition of “high-quality work on bugs.” The company tried to take into account some of the particularly noticeable shortcomings of last year's fifth version of Sense and fix them, and this is more important than adding new features, in my opinion. Of course, there is still a lot that can be added and improved in HTC Sense, but if we compare Sense 5 and Sense 6, I personally like the latest version much more - it is more balanced, when working with it you don’t get the feeling that the developer was in a hurry to release a smartphone with firmware like as soon as possible and tried to add something new according to the “if only it was” principle. This is a neat, correct update to the not-so-successful previous version, which returns Sense to the ranks of quality interfaces for the Android OS.

Related links

We can talk long and tediously about how good the Sense shell from HTC is, but we won’t delay and get straight to the point. To begin with, it is worth noting that we tested the shell on a device to which it was successfully and extremely quickly ported, and even in several variations. The first option is less attractive and is a cross between Sense 7.0 and Sense 8.0, but the second “JW” firmware, which can be downloaded, is a complete copy of the port from HTC 10.

If you upgrade to Sense 8 after using Sense 7.0 for a long time, you won't feel much of a difference. The animations remain the same, the sounds have changed, but their overall style has not changed. We slightly changed the clock and weather widget, making the font larger and reducing the text size, now the clock looks even better. The icons have been changed: they have become larger and similar to the Material icons that can be downloaded in the “Themes” section in Sense 7.0.

Blinkfeed has not changed functionally, but has changed significantly visually. The curtain is now an analogue of that in “naked” Android. On the one hand, we consider the desire to simplify the system to be the right decision, but the “naked” Android curtain does not fit very well into the system, but these are just our minor quibbles. The similarity with “naked” Android is also evident in the appearance of the settings menu: such a solution gave the system freshness and relevance, since we have no doubt that in the future more and more manufacturers will switch to “naked” Android.

The application menu has not received any significant changes compared to Sense 7.0; only the color palette has changed - the dark blue color has changed to dark gray. By the way, now the application menu can be half transparent when selecting a specific theme, displaying the background wallpaper.
All applications received a slight redesign, let’s say they were just refreshed a little, but you won’t see anything radically new here. The camera has been radically changed; now, in order to change the mode, you need to pull out a small curtain and scroll through it to select the mode of interest, for example, slow motion or selfie mode.

Some may not have noticed, but now the battery icon in the status bar is similar to that in “naked” Android - a small thing, but a nice thing. Multitasking in Sense 8.0 now lets you close all apps at once with one button, something you couldn't do back in Sense 7.0. Sense 8.0 is based on Android 6.0, just like Sense 7.0.

Together with Sense 8.0, the Taiwanese presented the HTC Boost+ application, which optimizes the built-in and RAM memory, a review of which.

A significant innovation is the “Free Layout”, which can be selected by long-holding an empty space on the desktop. By selecting the “Free Layout” option, you will be given the opportunity to choose a layout from several presented. The free layout differs from the usual one in that there is no usual application grid, there are no widgets, and all applications can be presented in the form of stickers, which are added to the work surface using the widget menu.

Each sticker can be associated with any application, stickers can be placed absolutely anywhere and however you like, you can overlay them on each other. Unfortunately, we haven't found functionality to create your own stickers and themes in Free Layout mode, but the first steps have been taken. Another question: how much do users need all this? For now, all this looks like a children's toy that you will play with for 5 minutes and never activate this mode again.

With Sense 8.0 we've come to the following conclusion. The system has become fresher, the company is striving for simplification, which is good. We did not notice anything strange or disturbing during use. Sense 8.0 looks and feels exactly as it should. There is nothing superfluous here, and we have nothing more to add.

Interesting in almost all aspects, including design and hardware content. But the software content of the device is also of considerable interest, where the central place is given to the updated version of the proprietary Sense user interface.

With the release of Sense 6, HTC once again tried to improve its approach to creating a custom Android shell, making the new solution even easier to use and intuitive.

The changes made by the developers will soon not only apply to the owners of the new flagship, but will also apply to last year’s models of the One line and new devices that the Taiwanese will release in the first half of the year.

Let's try to highlight six key innovations that the new proprietary user shell from HTC can boast of.

1. HTC tried to fix most of the shortcomings that existed in previous versions of Sense

This, without a doubt, the most important step will allow HTC to more quickly update its key services without including them as part of large-scale software firmware updates.

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