HTC ONE M9

Silver on Gold

Let Them Stare

On the same day as the Samsung S6 was launched we should not forget another king of Android, the HTC One M9.

Taking an evolution rather than revolution for HTC, the new ONE has similar design to the previous Ones except for the camera, which is now bigger and more square-ish. I would not dare say it’s a good move seeing that its competitor the Galaxy S6 features a very gorgeous design. People wanting something different might just go with the Samsung. Well that’s my opinion. Some people may say “Don’t fix what is not broken”.  Heck Apple usually continued with the same design year after year and yet sells millions of iPhones.

HTC addressed this by saying that it aims to build a certain distinguished look for itself.

Gone are the Ultrapixels and dual-lens which in my opinion is actually a good move by HTC since they have been receiving complains for the camera especially for the first One, the M7 which reported purple tint issues when the device heats up (Happened to my model as well).

The new One now packs a 20 MP (f. 2.2) camera from Sony which should produce good photos rivalling if not slightly trailing the likes of iPhone and Samsung.  It’s covered by a Sapphire cover lens that should withstand scratches easily.  The front camera now features its Ultrapixel technology that should allow more light to be captured.

It has a 5.0 inch Full HD screen.  Something that is lower compared to the screen found on the S6, Mi Note Pro and LG G3 but in which I think maybe better for the battery life.

Continuing on the design of the first One, the new One has a front-facing stereo speaker which in my opinion is a plus as having the speakers directed to you really lets you be immersed into the screen. Before this HTC partnered with Beats Audio on the M7, as the deal was cut, the speakers are now equipped with Dolby Audio Surround.

Powering it is the new processor by Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 810 Octa core 64bit (4 – 2.0Ghz with 4 -1.5 Ghz) that is also found inside the Mi Note Pro. The S6 was also supposed to be sold with this processor but there were apparently issues regarding heat management produced by the processor which forced Samsung to use its own processor instead to avoid any delays. Initial tests also showed that the M9 rose to higher temperatures compared to other flagships. HTC then issued a software update which solved this (something that should calm future buyers of this phone J )

It will come out with an internal storage of 32GB, and something that the new S6 doesn’t have, a microSD slot of up to 2TB. The RAM is the new 3GB standard.

The M9 is also an all-metal phone coming out with 3 colours options: Gunmetal Grey, Silver with Gold, and all Gold.

To finish off, here’s a cap of the specifications of this new flagship:

• Snapdragon 810 Octa Core 64bit
• 5.0 inch Full HD screen
• ROM: 32GB
• RAM: 3GB (with microSD slot)
• 157 grams
• Supports LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, dual-band wifi up to ac standard
• Nano SIM card
• 2840 mAh

It is currently available in Malaysia through online sellers such as DirectD.

Source: htc.com