HTC are releasing the latest in the One Series to the public in late March. I'll get my hands on it for a user review closer to the time but should you hold out to buy it? Let's have a look at everything you need to know about the HTC One M9.
Headline specs
HTC's older younger brother to the M8 sports a familiar 5" 1080px screen, but an increased Snapdragon 810 OCTO-core processor. That's all supported by 3GB of RAM which will make the device lightning quick.
Storage also remains the same as the One M8 but HTC appear to have dropped the 16GB edition of the handset - a smart move in my experience. Obviously, the expandable storage option still remains, with a further 128GB optional addition via microSD.
The battery has been given a slight boost too, going up to a competitive 2840mAh. That’s more than Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and far more than the iPhone 6 which only holds 1800mAh.
HTC's older younger brother to the M8 sports a familiar 5" 1080px screen, but an increased Snapdragon 810 OCTO-core processor. That's all supported by 3GB of RAM which will make the device lightning quick.
Storage also remains the same as the One M8 but HTC appear to have dropped the 16GB edition of the handset - a smart move in my experience. Obviously, the expandable storage option still remains, with a further 128GB optional addition via microSD.
The battery has been given a slight boost too, going up to a competitive 2840mAh. That’s more than Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and far more than the iPhone 6 which only holds 1800mAh.
Design
In more or less every way, the M9 looks identical to the M8. That disappointed me. It's not that the M8 isn't a gorgeous phone - far from it. I've got it and marvel at its beauty when I remove the case.
For me, it's the same problem that's plagued the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy range. The M9 feels old already. It seems uninspiring and lazy. HTC cannot afford to be lazy - especially when their smartphone share is being attacked from all sides, and I just can't understand why they've left it.
Build
Since the beginning of the One series, HTC has been relatively flawless in terms of build quality and the HTC One M9 is unsurprisingly no different. The beautiful curved back has remained, with HTC boasting that its creation is a 70-step process. There's a minor difference in the side-on profile from the One M8 where the unibody appears to have been altered, but this doesn't affect the feel or quality one iota.
Camera
One of the few significant changes with the HTC One M9 is the abandoning of the rear-facing UltraPixel camera in place of a monster 20 megapixel shooter. It's a sensible move given they never managed to communicate the UltraPixel lens to consumers. They've not abandoned it completely though - it still appears in the front facing 'selfie' camera.
The rear camera video has been upped from 1080p to 4k, and the front boasts a 2 UltraPixel sensor.
Personalisation
The HD screen shows off HTC’s seventh edition of their Sense UI. The UI has been updated to be more reactive to stimuli around you. Your home screen will now reorganise based on the time of day. Alarms, apps and wallpapers, will react to the time of day. If you cycle to work, you’ll get notifications to charge your lights before heading home in the evening. It will be interesting to see how it dovetails with Google Now.
Since the beginning of the One series, HTC has been relatively flawless in terms of build quality and the HTC One M9 is unsurprisingly no different. The beautiful curved back has remained, with HTC boasting that its creation is a 70-step process. There's a minor difference in the side-on profile from the One M8 where the unibody appears to have been altered, but this doesn't affect the feel or quality one iota.
Camera
One of the few significant changes with the HTC One M9 is the abandoning of the rear-facing UltraPixel camera in place of a monster 20 megapixel shooter. It's a sensible move given they never managed to communicate the UltraPixel lens to consumers. They've not abandoned it completely though - it still appears in the front facing 'selfie' camera.
The rear camera video has been upped from 1080p to 4k, and the front boasts a 2 UltraPixel sensor.
Personalisation
The HD screen shows off HTC’s seventh edition of their Sense UI. The UI has been updated to be more reactive to stimuli around you. Your home screen will now reorganise based on the time of day. Alarms, apps and wallpapers, will react to the time of day. If you cycle to work, you’ll get notifications to charge your lights before heading home in the evening. It will be interesting to see how it dovetails with Google Now.
What Else
HTC’s Dot View case has been upgraded as well, and now, for some reason, you can play games like tetris on the front. Utterly pointless, but quite clever.
HTC’s Dot View case has been upgraded as well, and now, for some reason, you can play games like tetris on the front. Utterly pointless, but quite clever.
HTC’s ridiculously named 'BoomSound' speaker system for the One Series has been upgraded once again. This time, Dolby have taken over from Beats to provide a 5.1 surround sound to the phone. Thanks to Harman Kardon, a three-finger swipe can send the music out to speaker systems in the house.
Overview
HTC have upgraded the best phone of 2014. It's no mean feat to achieve but that’s where it ends. As I’ve said before, we seem to have reached a smartphone impasse. I’m disappointed to see HTC nudge the bar – but not raise it.
The HTC One M9 is still a stunning phone, and one that no-one will regret purchasing. Then again, I’d argue there’s little point in paying for the M9 when the HTC One M8 is cheaper, and 99% of the M9.
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