We as a society and a marketplace seem to have agreed that the proper screen size for a flagship phone is somewhere between 5 and 5.2 inches. To the ranks of the Sony Xperia Z2, Nexus 5, and Samsung Galaxy S5 HTC now adds the One, and it slots in nicely. At 5.76 inches tall itâs slightly longer than last yearâs One, but HTC did a nice job fitting a larger display in virtually the same body.

An excellent formula, further refined

The 5-inch screen that covers the deviceâs front is a gorgeous 1080p panel, with nearly perfect color representation and a measure of brightness and pop that even last yearâs model canât match. Itâs actually slightly less pixel-dense than last yearâs model, but I canât tell the difference â this display is lovely to look at. And itâs flanked by two big BoomSound speakers, which are the loudest and best phone speakers Iâve ever heard â which is particularly impressive given how loud last yearâs speakers were. Your average set of headphones still sounds better, but when it comes to my Saturday routine â wake up, prop the phone up next to me in bed, and catch up on Parks & Recreation â theyâre a great addition. And they look good, too.

The phoneâs body is the real stunner here, though. It comes in silver and gold (gorgeous and avert-your-eyes ugly, respectively), along with a slightly more subdued brushed-metal gray. Pictures donât do it justice: I only really understood how well-made the new One is when I held it in my hands. Itâs not quite the stunning piece of angular art last yearâs model was, but itâs a much more comfortable, accessible device. Its curved metal sides and softly rounded corners feel natural, where last yearâs sharp angles and plastic sides felt so much more machined. The One is that wonderfully rare mix between the beauty of the old One and the unabashed utility of a phone like the Galaxy S4. Itâs made to be looked at, to be ogled and admired, but itâs also made to be used. Iâve dropped it twice now, too, and the metal body doesnât have so much as a scratch â though I know a few people who havenât have such good luck.

Even the cases are cool. Iâve only had a chance to play with the Lite Brite-like Dot View case for a few minutes, but I love the idea: it shows notifications, the time, and the weather through the many-holed case itself, and looks awesomely retro doing it. You can answer calls, or swipe away notifications without ever having to open your case. HTCâs design head Scott Croyle told me as many as 90 percent of people put a case on their phone, and while that seems like kind of a waste of the One, at least HTC made a case worthy of the device.

I donât care if itâs the standard size for a flagship Android phone, this phone is big. At 9.35 millimeters thick and 5.6 ounces, I feel it in my jeans pockets the way I never feel my iPhone or the Moto X. But HTCâs found small, subtle ways to make a huge phone not feel so unwieldy. The power button sits on top of the phone, as annoyingly unreachable as ever, but I canât remember the last time I pressed it. Far more often, Iâd just double-tap on the screen to turn it on. Or Iâd swipe to the right on the blank screen, and open straight to BlinkFeed. If it's ringing, I just pick it up and it answers automatically. One swipe down opens HTCâs weird-but-effective voice dialing, and thereâs even a slightly over-complicated motion to go straight to the camera. HTC took LGâs KnockOn feature and built on it, and itâs so useful I already miss it on other Android phones.

HTCâs design and manufacturing abilities give it an appeal few can match â Iâll gladly accept the compromises of a huge phone to get one this striking. But HTCâs long been the bar for Android phone design, and itâs never been enough to take down Samsung and its massive feature list and marketing budget.

(Note: don't missÂ our exclusive report on how HTC designed the new One.)