HTC One M9: Who Is It For?

As HTC themselves accept stated, the I M9 is an evolutionary upgrade over the One M8. Having received widespread praise for the Ane M8 at the fourth dimension of its release and for the remainder of terminal yr, the company figured that it only needed to fix and meliorate a few areas in its successor. While there's certainly nothing wrong with this approach, I feel that HTC were a petty too bourgeois with the One M9.

HTC'due south signature metal body, used once again in the One M9, looks admittedly fantastic. The two-tone, two-terminate blueprint adds an extra bit of flare to the well-crafted, premium build, making this phone one of the most attractive on the market place today. The small rim that runs around the edges does make the M9 feel less seamless than the M8, though it's now easier to hold and operate.

I can't mutter nigh performance either. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 is immensely powerful, topping charts in nigh of our functioning metrics. It's not a huge upgrade over competing or recently released silicon, just it provides a healthy boost on the widely-used Snapdragon 801, meaning that anyone upgrading from one- or ii-year-old smartphones should benefit.

Nevertheless I do believe nosotros're starting to come across diminishing returns with each SoC upgrade. The Snapdragon 810 is undoubtedly fast, but it doesn't experience similar it's as large of an upgrade as the benchmarks arrive out to exist. As Snapdragon 801 smartphones were always very fast in full general utilise, nosotros're going to need more ability-hungry tasks, apps or games before we really see the benefits of the Snapdragon 810's speed, especially on 1080p displays.

Speaking of 1080p displays, HTC has used the very same panel from the One M8 in their latest flagship. The quality of this panel is still quite expert, especially in outdoor visibility where it'south one of the best I've seen. However information technology's no longer trading blows with the best screens out there, having fallen somewhat behind not just in resolution, but also in general quality. I don't see 1440p as a critical upgrade, but the latest panels from Sony, Apple, and Samsung appear i step alee.

On the other paw, I proceed to be impressed by HTC's Sense pare. Yes, it's a relatively heavy pare, but I like its visual style and the way it integrates with the rest of Android. Some of the new features HTC has included with Sense vii.0, such every bit the improved photograph editor, theme creator, and Sense Abode, all add useful and meaningful functionality to Android five.0. It also feels quite snappy for a skin that reaches all corners of the OS.

Despite meaning improvements on the previous generation, HTC nonetheless hasn't quite managed to nail the One M9'south photographic camera. The 20-megapixel shooter tin can take some great photos on the odd occasion, and its metering is mostly spot on with fast capture times, but information technology oftentimes produces images that just don't look as expert as its loftier-terminate competitors. OIS would go a long fashion to addressing results in moderate and depression light, the latter of which is a struggle for the rear sensor, producing images with noticeable grain.

Still I volition give credit where credit is due. The Ultrapixel forepart-facing camera is one of the best for taking selfies, especially in dark atmospheric condition where the large sensor shines. I also appreciate the inclusion of a manual shooting mode, a pretty decent HDR style, and 4K video recording.

At the end of the day, the HTC Ane M9 is a great smartphone. With an awesome design, acme notch functioning, great software and an improved photographic camera, information technology should conform most users simply fine. But at the same time it no longer sits at the top of the flagship smartphone pecking guild. HTC's competitors have doubled down on areas where the One M9 isn't as strong, making the choice of what high-end smartphone to buy a whole lot less clear than this fourth dimension final year.

Pros: HTC has nailed the design one time over again with beautiful two-tone metal. The Snapdragon 810 is then powerful it's sometimes unnecessary. Sense 7.0 is one of the best Android skins out there. Dandy selfie camera.

Cons: The rear camera is a huge upgrade on its predecessor, merely it falls behind other peak end smartphones. Brandish and bombardment life are average for a modern flagship.