Along with the launch of the 5.9 inches phablet HTC One Max, the HTC Sense 5.5 is made official. However, the update for the HTC One to the new Sense 5.5 has already begun in the UK last Nov. 5. But if you are already dying to know the difference between the two, here is a comparison between the HTC Sense 5.5 and the HTC 5, including the new features and tweaks.

The BlinkFeed

In the HTC Sense 5.5, the BlinkFeed has received the majority of the attention. The changes made the BlinkFeed a real refinement and a more dynamic app especially how it can be set to task.

Turn off BlinkFeed

For both Sense 5.5 and Sense 5, there is an option whether or not to have an additional home page alongside the BlinkFeed. However, one notable change is that, in the new Sense 5.5, you can turn the BlinkFeed off and return to the home page with widgets and shortcuts using the same customisation screen.

If you want to turn off the BlinkFeed, simply enter the homepage customisation menu then tap the option located at the upper left-hand, afterwards the BlinkFeed will blink out. On the other hand, if you just opt to remove a story in the BlinkFeed, you may do so by a long press on the story you want to remove and then an option to remove it will appear.

The New BlinkFeed Menu and Controls

A fair amount of changes has been made to the new BlinkFeed from its content, how to control the content and to filter what you want to see. To reveal the menu, you just need to swipe from the right. From the menu you can access all the options and settings.

This means that with the HTC Sense 5.5 you no longer have options at the top of BlinkFeed. All HTC Sense 5 dropdown menu, menu, compose and search options are now accessed through that sideswipe menu in the HTC Sense 5.5.

Facebook Content Scanning

Upon signing in to your smartphone, you are given the option to customise the BlinkFeed based on your Facebook page, which is an easy way to get started. For example, you liked Porsche in Facebook, and then you will get car news in BlinkFeed.

Searching and Filtering

The menu features a search bar, add content and menu options, however, it displays only the content that you selected in a drop down list. Quite notably, it highlights the selections into the BlinkFeed for fast filtering.

Summary

There's a couple of aesthetic tweaks made on the Sense 5.5 like the camera app Zoe which is now found in the menu and the viewfinder, the Weather which has a lick of paint and the TV app has restyled recommendations page.

In a nutshell, the HTC Sense 5.5 is a great update which focuses on the key features of its predecessor - the BlinkFeed which is made more useful and the video highlights which are now easier to manipulate.

Although this is not a huge change for HTC One, it is definitely a refinement.