From his unofficial review:

I’ve been playing around with a retail HTC One and felt compelled to share my thoughts on the device. It’s rare that I’m so moved by a device to chime in outside of the official review, but the One is a definite exception…

The One is without a doubt the best Android smartphone I’ve ever used. HTC’s build quality and materials choices have been steadily improving over the past couple of years and I honestly don’t know a more fitting name for its latest flagship other than the One – it’s the one to get. Even iPhone users looking for something different might be tempted by the One.

But they won’t switch, and neither will anyone else. Samsung’s success vis a vis HTC is guaranteed by their superior supply chain, distribution, and marketing. The relative quality of the product won’t make a difference.

At least that’s my theory – we’ll find out if it’s right.

(As an aside, it feels like a lot of theories about smartphones are on the verge of being proven or disproven).