The HTC of today is a long way removed from the company that launched the year's best flagship phone back in 2013. In those days, HTC was at the peak of its popularity, with serious industry clout and money to spend following strong performances in 2010 and 2011. In the Android world, the pendulum would seem to swing from HTC to rival Samsung from year to year. HTC's disparate 2012 smartphone lineup, consisting of the One X, One S, One X+ and EVO 4G LTE, had failed to set the world alight. And so as a new year dawned, HTC prepared for the launch of the "M7" -- simply the M7, as it was known in rumors at the time. Indeed, in a video clip since lost to time, at the company's Chinese New Year party, CEO Peter Chou screamed "HTC One!" and "M7!" to a crowd of cheering employees. HTC was on top of the world, and Chou and his assembled disciples in Taipei knew it. This was the peak of HTC's golden age; it was about to launch what would be widely regarded as its best phone ever. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines The One and only

The HTC One, as it was branded, recycled the branding of the previous year, but the phone itself couldn't have been more different. It featured the first aluminum unibody in an Android flagship, alongside the best screen, fastest performance and striking, unmistakable design tenets from chief designer, Scott Croyle. Front and center: BoomSound. A bombastic new brand that took advantage of HTC's recent Beats acquisition to emphasize front-facing audio fidelity. Sandwiched between it was an LCD display that ran rings around the OLEDs of the day. And on the inside, the new Snapdragon 600 processor combined with touchscreen tech licensed from Apple gave HTC an undeniable performance edge. Looking back, the HTC One was one of the few phones that I've been genuinely excited to unbox over the years. In 2013, this felt like something different and special, with cold metal on the outside and pure performance within. And when it roared to life for the first time with a BoomSound-enhanced jingle, I was taken aback at the power of its speakers. The entire package spoke to smartphones' new status as powerful media consumption devices, in addition to the communication credentials they'd already developed. Ahead of its time