According to many, the HTC One M8 was arguably the best smartphone of 2014. That is if you disregard latecomers like Samsung’s impressive Galaxy Note 4 and only size up the M8 to the S5, Xperia Z2 and other flagship devices released around the same time as it. Yet even with all that praise everyone faulted the camera. That and others is what HTC has addressed with the new One M9 which has just been announced in Barcelona.
The aluminium unibody design of the M9 is very identical to that of its predecessor and the new camera module at the back is what will differentiate it if you don’t take your time to look at it carefully. The UltraPixel camera moves to the front for better selfies with the main camera at the back being upgraded from the mediocre meager 4 MP with a Duo Camera setup to captue more depth of field information to a full-blown 20.7 megapixels with a dual LED setup.
For those keen on the specifics, BoomSound speakers live on in the same exact position and design with Dolby Audio tuning. No, those very good-looking renders you’ve been seeing for weeks were just that: renders. Impressions. HTC has rightfully resisted the urge to join the pixel-race when it comes to the display. It instead sticks with its tried and tested 1080p SLCD panel instead of a QHD display. The chipset has also been upgraded from the Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 in the M8 to the Octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 810. The RAM has also been bumped up to 3 GB from the previous 2 GB in the M8. There will be no more 16 GB base model. 32 GB is the new standard and the One M9 cements this. With heavy customizations by HTC to Android Lollipop, users will get just 21 GB out of the box for use as Sense takes the remainder.
Here’s the spcec sheet of the M9:
- Size & weight: 5.68 x 2.73 x 0.38 inches, 4.96 ounces
- Display: 5.0 inch LCD3 1080p
- Processor: 2 GHz Snapdragon 810
- Memory: 32 GB internal storage (expandable to 128 GB with microSD card); 3 GB RAM
- Camera: 20.7 MP back camera, 4 MP (UltraPixel) selfie camera
- OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop with Sense 7 overlay
- Battery: 2840mAh
- Others: GPS, WiFi AC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, 4G LTE
As was expected, the M9 is just evolutionary and not revolutionary. It builds on the strengths of its predecessor and addresses all its weaknesses. For anyone who found fault with one thing or the other on the M8, the M9 is supposed to make you happy now. To some degree though. We can’t be sure if this will be strong enough to eat into the sales territory of the Galaxy S6 and other flagship devices with which it will be competing for the consumer’s attention with.
The device will be available starting mid this month in 4 colour options: pink, gunmetal grey, gold and silver.
