Review of the HTC One M9 smartphone: a flagship without surprises

What is HTC One M9?

HTC One M9 is the flagship smartphone of the Taiwanese manufacturer. How did the One M9 turn out? This time HTC chose the path of evolution rather than revolution. The design of the smartphone resembles the previous model of the same line, and the screen is almost the same. New are the camera, processor and more powerful battery. All this provides most of the hardware changes. Software changes affected the new version of the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system and the HTC Sense 7 user interface.

The result is a pretty good smartphone, which, however, has room for improvement. The smartphone's rear camera and battery do not live up to expectations, however, this is one of the best smartphones on the market today, and its release shows how much progress HTC has made in recent years, raising its smartphones to such a high level.

Performance

The HTC One M9 smartphone runs on the Snapdragon 810 platform. The Taiwanese mobile equipment manufacturer is increasingly using it in its devices. Performance is ensured by a 4-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz. Graphics controller – Adreno 430.

The device is equipped with 3 GB of RAM. Additionally, another 32 GB is installed for user data. If necessary, you can install a microCD flash card instead of one of the SIM cards.

HTC One M9 was one of the first modern smartphones to use a fundamentally new platform developed by Qualcomm. Over time, more and more mobile equipment switched to it.

Users and experts do not complain about the phone's performance. Programs run flawlessly; even heavy games run well with maximum graphics settings on the HTC One M9.

The device runs on Android 5.0. In addition to it, the native HTC Sense shell is installed, installed in most smartphones from this Taiwanese manufacturer, except for the very first few models.

Sense is presented in a new version. Several fundamental changes were made to it. Other design themes have appeared, implemented competently and accurately. True, some elements cause dissatisfaction among many. This applies, for example, to the “oblique” font in the clock widget.

HTC One M9: Design

The smartphone has a rather unusual design, the main factor of which is that on the front surface the metal is golden-silver in our case, and on the sides it is a pure golden color. Rotate the phone and the color scheme will change; it will be dominated by a silver tint.

The surface of the smartphone is less slippery than that of the M8 and other curved devices, which makes it easier to hold in your hand. So holding it in one hand has become easier, but less comfortable.

In most other respects, the HTC One M9 is what you would expect from a flagship device. On the bottom edge of the smartphone there is a MicroUSB connector and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the front panel there are a pair of beautiful grilles that hide the BoomSound speakers, which we'll talk about a little later.

Overall, the design changes that HTC made in the M9 are positive. Ergonomics are improved thanks to a new power button and a narrow body, but some aesthetic changes were less successful and looked more logical on last year's model. In any case, we can say with confidence that the smartphone looks really very beautiful.

The HTC One M9 comes in three colors: bronze-gray, silver-gold and pure gold.

HTC One M9: Screen

1920 x 1080; Super LCD 3; Corning Gorilla Glass 4

The screen of the HTC One M9 is almost completely identical to its predecessor, although with a thinner frame. The screen has Full HD resolution. The pixel density is 441ppi, which makes images richer than the 326ppi Retina display on the iPhone 6. The 2K display is also better for battery life.

The only thing I would like to improve in the future is the transition from LCD technology to AMOLED display technology, as Samsung did. But LED 3 also provides decent contrast. Watching a movie on a five-inch display is comfortable, all scenes look convincing, demonstrating good color depth.

HTC One M9: Speakers and sound quality

Front stereo speakers BoomSound with Dolby Audio

Until you hear the sound of these speakers for yourself, you won't understand how good they are. The One M9 continues the tradition of including front-facing stereo speakers with a built-in amplifier and Dolby Audio, something its competitors do not have.

The front speakers offer decent stereo sound separation, and the volume level allows you to enjoy listening to music not only at home, but also outdoors. Today, these are the best speakers that can be found in smartphones.

HTC One M9: Performance

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 eight-core; 3 GB RAM

Snapdragon 810 uses big.LITTLE architecture. This means that there are two processors: a 1.55 GHz quad-core processor handles general tasks, and a more powerful, 1.96 GHz quad-core processor is dedicated to handling more power-intensive tasks. The benefits of this are not only increased power, but also greater energy efficiency.

But as you'd expect, the Snapdragon 810 and 3GB of RAM help the One M9 handle everyday tasks very quickly.

HTC One M9: Games

We tested the HTC One M9 with some of the most demanding games on Google Play. Intense 3D racing like Asphalt and Real Racing 3 work flawlessly, we didn't notice any lags. There were a few hangs on Riptide 2, but not enough to make a negative impression.

The only thing we didn't like was the One M9 getting too hot after a long gaming session. There are problems with overheating of the Snapdragon 810 processor during intensive tasks.

Hardware platform

HTC, as a rule, uses the latest developments from Qualcomm as the basis for its flagships. This year, the company did not change traditions - the heart of the One M9 is the eight-core 64-bit Snapdragon 810. It is complemented by 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, the volume of which can be increased using memory cards.

There is also support for all current mobile network standards, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.1 (apt-X), GPS+GLONASS, NFC, infrared port and even FM radio. For the “full set”, the HTC One M9 lacks only wireless charging capabilities, but given the all-metal back, this is not possible.

Naturally, with such a filling, the smartphone ranks first in most benchmarks and works as quickly as possible during normal use. Adreno GPUs always get good optimization in different games, so there will be no problems with them either. Moreover, for most tasks the existing performance will even be excessive. There is no 2K screen, so there is nowhere to use the available “power” (except for games).

The only negative point is the heating of the case. During normal use, the M9 remains cool, but as soon as you play a little resource-demanding games or run a couple of tests, it warms up noticeably. Of course, it doesn’t burn your hand, but you can feel the heat.

HTC One M9: apps

Sense 7: Sense Home

HTC's new flagship device runs on the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system with the Sense 7 interface. We found Sense Home to be the most useful new feature, which allows you to collect icons for the applications you use most often on the home screen. At the same time, Sense 7 does everything automatically, changing popular applications depending on the frequency of access to them.

Sense 7: Themes

The new interface allows you to customize not only the lock screen to your taste, but also other parameters for displaying smartphone screen images. The device itself has pre-installed themes, but the user can download new ones or even create his own.

Besides this, with the new interface, you get many other useful applications such as Cloudex, Peel Smart Remote, Kid Mode, HTC Music app and others.

Operating system and shell

The smartphone runs the latest version of Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with the proprietary HTC Sense 7.0 interface. It may seem that no visible changes have occurred in the shell over the course of a year, they are simply hidden.

One of the innovations is the ability to customize on-screen keys, which can add a fourth button. In addition, a theme store has appeared. They allow you not only to change the appearance of icons, but affect absolutely everything - wallpaper, ringtones, fonts, and even the design of system control keys.

One of the innovations is hidden on the desktop. This is a widget that collects frequently used applications and newly installed programs. The arrangement of icons changes depending on the frequency of use of specific programs and your location - this solution turns out to be convenient.

HTC One M9: Connectivity

Unlike Apple and Samsung, its flagship is equipped with a microSD slot, which allows you to add 32 GB of the smartphone’s own memory. In addition, the owner of One M9 is given 100 GB of free space on Google Drive for two years.

In addition, the smartphone has traditional Wi-Fi support (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) MHL 3.0 for connecting to a TV via cable, 4G, Bluetooth 4.1 and an infrared emitter to turn the device into a remote control and headphones that go into standard.

HTC One A9 review: Android smartphone in a “unique” look

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Specifications
• Packaging and equipment
• Appearance and design
• Display
• Hardware platform and performance
• Firmware and software
• Multimedia
• Wireless Interfaces and Communications
• Memory and file system
• Battery life
• Camera
• Comparison with competitors
• Conclusion

Introduction

The well-known and long-established company in the mobile market, HTC, has decided to add another model to its range of smartphones.
Now, users who for some reason are not suitable for or are offered the HTC One A9 as an alternative. Why is this solution interesting? If not for one feature, the HTC One A9 would have attracted much less attention. After all, this is essentially just a strong mid-ranger, not very far from the current flagships.

The trick of the device lies in the design. It is difficult to deny such an obvious similarity of shapes and lines with the Apple iPhone 6/. Some will be outraged by the lack of imagination and personal style of such a large company as HTC. Others, on the contrary, will be glad that they can get an Android system in a high-quality metal case, similar to the iPhone. After all, there are many people who do not like iOS, although they have a positive attitude towards the Apple smartphone itself.

One way or another, we must carry out our standard detailed testing and reveal all aspects of the HTC One A9.

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HTC officially operates in the Russian market and supports its products with appropriate local support. The review hero is available in two hardware modifications: 16 GB and 32 GB of memory for data storage. At the same time, the version with a smaller storage capacity has 2 GB of RAM, and the version with a larger one has 3 GB. As for the possible body colors, there are four of them: gray, silver, gold and burgundy (Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Topaz Gold, Deep Garnet).

Thanks to the online store Video-shoper.ru, we tested a gray HTC One A9 with 16 GB of memory. The approximate price tag of this model is at the average level of 40 thousand rubles, fortunately it is already on sale.

Let's start our study of HTC One A9 with a brief description of its specifications.

HTC One A9 specifications

There are no special complaints about the configuration of the device. It uses fresh software with the proprietary Sense shell. The smartphone has a decent resolution screen, a metal body, good hardware, the entire set of necessary interfaces for data transfer, a fingerprint scanner and support for high-capacity memory cards.

For some, the lack of a second SIM slot and not the most capacious battery may be a problem. And someone will be scared off by the far from the most humane price tag. However, let's move on from the original data to the real sample.

Packaging and equipment HTC One A9

The smartphone arrived for testing in a flat white cardboard box with imitation perforation (the holes on the lid are not through).

The logo and basic technical information are printed on the surface of the packaging.

Immediately under the cover in separate trays we see the device, initially covered with shipping films and all other delivery components. The following accompanying kit is placed next to it:

• USB cable;
• Charger (5.0 V, 1.5 A);
• SIM tray removal tool;
• Headphones with a set of earbuds of different sizes;
• Documentation.

The quality of all delivery components is good.

The headphones they give us are quite decent. They are equipped with a flat cable and are vacuum.

On the wire there is a headset control panel with one button and a microphone.

Let's begin the external inspection of the laboratory guest.

HTC One M9: camera

If we talk about the camera characteristics of the device, they are too inconsistent, although they are better than what was in the HTC One M8.

The One M9 has a 20.7 megapixel camera, which sounds great. For example, the iPhone 6 only has 8 megapixels. But the big disappointment is the lack of optical image stabilization.

The camera app is chock-full of features: front and back shots, panoramic shots, multi-shot photos with a short delay, and other features.

In addition, the user is offered various image processing functions, such as filters, frames and various effects. For example, double exposure allows you to blend two different photos, or add elements of other images to the photo you take.

Camera tests show that in bright light, detail and light display are lost. Low light also doesn't produce the best quality photos, but under normal shooting conditions the photos turn out fantastic.

The front camera is better than the competition, Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 Plus. If you're a selfie lover, you'll love the 4-megapixel Ultrapixel camera.

With HTC One M9, you can shoot 4K videos for up to six minutes and use slow motion mode. The video quality is satisfactory, but it suffers from the same problems that the camera has.

⇡#Camera

The main metamorphosis in the One M9 in comparison with the previous M8 occurred with the camera. Let's remember that in their previous devices, HTC engineers installed a rather unusual four-megapixel camera, made using their own UltraPixel technology. Its main feature was that there were few pixels in the matrix, but they were much larger than the pixels of standard mobile cameras. In theory, this should have improved the quality of shooting in the dark, and generally made the pictures less noisy, but in fact, it took rather mediocre pictures even during the day. Both journalists and users scolded it, but for some reason HTC continued to install it in their gadgets. And now the time has come: One M9 abandoned it. True, not really. It migrated from the back of the device to the front. The front camera of the HTC flagship smartphone now sports a “large pixel”. True, here it has neither autofocus nor flash - but oh well. All this is not really necessary.

HTC One M9 – example of shooting with the front camera

She takes pictures, I must say, very decently - there is no shame in uploading the resulting photos to social networks. The picture is not cluttered with artifacts even when shooting indoors. Using the front camera of the One M9, you can talk to video even in artificial lighting - the image will remain readable to the interlocutor. In general, the “ultrapixel” came in handy here - few people yet put really decent sensors in their front cameras, and the HTC One M9 stands out from the majority.

HTC One M9 – main camera

The matrix with “ultra-pixels” was replaced by a 20.2-megapixel BSI backlight sensor with standard-sized pixels. The resolution, even by current standards, is “top-end”, originally flagship. Of course, the main camera of the One M9 has an autofocus system and a dual flash with diodes of different color temperatures. But, as we said, the additional camera, which was used to measure the distance to the object being photographed, has disappeared - depth of field is controlled only by software. To be honest, there’s no point in regretting this loss - the M8 still took terrible pictures.

The viewfinder in the device is the same as in the One M8 - simple and easy to use. Among the new interesting options, we should note the possibility of shooting in RAW, that is, saving raw data from the matrix. This format is intended for subsequent more thorough processing of images in professional photo editors. RAW photos from the One M9 are saved in .DNG format. One image takes up approximately 35-40 MB of disk space - just like RAW from some DSLR. So all photo enthusiasts will have to use memory cards - the built-in one will not be enough for many such photos.

HTC One M9

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From the above photographs we can conclude that the main camera of the HTC One M9 takes very good pictures.
Even in standard mode, images have a fairly wide dynamic range - details are not lost in the “shadows”. The colors are quite natural, the contrast is decent. The picture is sharp across the entire frame, detail is good. Even small objects in the background do not merge into a single mess. With good or at least sufficient lighting, the pictures come out very decent. In the dark the situation changes. Firstly, autofocus often makes mistakes when shooting in poor conditions - you have to take a series of duplicate frames to be sure to get a sharp one. Secondly, the level of detail is greatly reduced, but this is understandable and forgivable. It turns out that there is nothing outstanding in the new HTC camera - it is not bad, but nothing more. The plus or minus is the same as that of classmates. However, on the other hand, it’s better than with the “ultrapixel” - it shouldn’t have gone further than the front camera initially.

HTC One M9: Battery endurance

The One M8 has a pretty good battery, so logically the M9 should be better. Moreover, Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 810 uses less power than the 801 on the M8. Additionally, it has a 2840mAh battery, versus 2600mAh for the One M8. However, in tests these two smartphones show approximately the same marks.

A day of intensive use, including an hour of sat nav, three hours of web browsing, an hour of video and two hours of 3D gaming, will drain the battery in 13 hours. With the usual mode of use, one day will discharge the battery by only 50%.

Like most flagship smartphones today, the HTC One M9 came with a non-removable battery, but like the Galaxy S6, the device uses a fast charging feature that can charge the battery by 60% in 30 minutes.