[rwp-review id=”0″]
Keeping with the trend of releasing flagship namesakes (like competitors Samsung Galaxy S5, Apple iPhone and Sony Xperia Z), HTC follows suit with the One M9, the natural successor to last year’s flagship, the One M8.
The box comes pretty standard, with a USB charger and HTC “no-tangle” earphones, along with the beautiful phone. But how beautiful is beautiful?
Design
HTC has stuck to the all-metal design that worked very well with the last two editions of the One series. This time around, though, there is a slight step, which almost look like two pieces of casing have been put together, but that’s not how it actually is. It is, in fact one piece of metal – which makes that metal “step” all the more curious. The phone seems to have lost the unibody feel that the last two editions had.
The device has a brushed-metal rear design, BoomSound front speakers with Dolby audio, 1080p screen, and an infrared sensor all along the top. The power button is now on the right side of the phone, making it easier to reach.
Display
HTC screen remains at 1080p, which I don’t really mind, because the screen quality is good enough at the distance one usually looks at a phone. The phone has a 1920 x 1080 pixel 5-inch LCD screen, so it’s just about the right size. Personally, I’m finding this size appropriate for personal use – not really a fan of phablets!
Cameras
HTC has finally done away with with Ultrapixels on the rear camera and replaced it with a proper 20-megapixel one – and the results are way better. Of course, they retain the Ultrapixel technology on their front camera, which is now 4UP, and it works well, because low light selfies can brighten up a bit.
They’ve changed around the UI of the camera, and you can download new effects as well, which makes for a camera with extended features – the overall performance and results are actually pretty crisp and the 20MP lens makes all the difference.
Photo credits: All images shot on HTC One M9 by Ayaz Noor Muhammad (@ayaznoorm) and used with permission.
Processor
The HTC One M9 is fast. Pretty fast. With Qualcomm’s new flagship Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM, you never have to wait for an app to open, games to load or the homescreens to come back on after app close. It’s by far the fastest Android phone I’ve used to date. Part of the smooth experience is also thanks to the new Sense update, which, at version 7.0 beautifully incorporates the fluidity that the processor allows.
Interface and Software
Running on the lovely Lollipop with a layer of Sense 7.0 over it, the phone’s interface is just beautiful. From BlinkFeed to the app icons to just general menus, everything is an upgrade, and a good one at that. Plus, with the new Themes app in-built (I saw a similar one in the Lenovo Vibe X2, though this is more extensive), the phone comes out-of-the-box with a range of theme changes that can be downloaded without using a third party launcher. Personally, I’ve always used Aviate, but this time around, I’m liking what the base software has to offer.
Battery
The battery life received a boost with the M8’s software update and it remains somewhat the same here – better than most, but not ideal to risk an entire day of heavy on a single charge. On regular usage (mine is heavy to very heavy) it can probably last about a day and a half – it’s a 2,840mAh after all, which is good enough – but it does take a while to charge.
Verdict
From the phones I’ve tried so far, the HTC One M9 is the best there is in Android. Of course, I’m saying this without having tested the competition. The design seems like a rehash, and in fact, it is to an extent. I liked the unibody feel of the predecessor, though the dual tone gold and silver bodes really well.
