Introduction
HTC One M9 , software design and premium: the top range of Taiwan was one of the major announcements at Mobile World Congress 2015. If for design the Taiwanese producer did not deviate too much from the path traced by the One M7 – iconic design, a style that would become synonymous with a product – HTC One M9 suffered a deep hardware revision , especially in the photographic industry : the company has followed the guidelines that everyone, including professionals and enthusiasts, the have taught over the years. The module UltraPixel, in fact, as the result of good intentions, has never fully convinced. Precisely for this reason we have opted for a decisive change of course, subverting the previous philosophy and equipping the smartphone of a module 20 megapixels with opening f / 2.2 and dual LED flash. The first camera that were in the back, the so-called UltraPixel Room, is now integrated in the front instead to improve the quality of selfie.
So I used for several weeks HTC One M9, which is now in circulation for many months and that its release was met with a certain detachment, accompanied by negative reviews on several fronts.
My final judgment, however, is absolutely positive . HTC One M9 does not disappoint: it is probably the best Android use everyday. The smartphone is pleasant to grip – Ergonomic, with quality materials and finished well. The Android operating system runs in a surprisingly responsive, using the interface Sense still improved in its seventh version.
We did not receive the sales package, but it will include the standard HTC: in addition to the devices are stereo headphones type in-ear headphones with interchangeable rubber seals, a charger with USB-Mini USB cable, and the indispensable accessory metal tool needed to remove the SIM and MicroSD their cavities housing.
Design
HTC One M9 is made of aluminum internally, with metal profiles that give the device a sleek ergonomic design that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The shell from the curved profile raised the slim design of the iconic series of smartphones HTC One. As stated by the Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC One M9 each undergoes a detailed process with CNC machining and polishing the edges for strength, durability and consistency of the body. The double anodization then guarantees a premium design.
The thin speaker grilles, the tapered body and the sleek design ensures excellent results both in terms of use and style. On the front are of course the display, a Super LCD3 by 5 inches with Full HD resolution and a density of 441 ppi , all covered with a glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4. When using daily HTC One M9 has proved a smartphone with 5-inch display more comfortable to handle – even with one hand.
In the right edge are the power button, volume buttons and card slot MicroSD ; the lower edge is identical to the One M8, with the Micro USB port and the audio jack of 3.5 mm and the same applies to the upper edge and the left, which integrates only the buggy for the SIM card – that is shorter sull’M9 because it uses Nanosim card. The upper part is occupied by a black plastic cover that protects the infrared emitter, another peculiarity of the One M9. Viewed from behind, the HTC One M9 integrates the camera sensor, flanked by dual LED flash (dual color). The navigation buttons Android interface are delegated to the software.
Overall the HTC One M9 gives the idea of a top of the range elegnate and luxury, with a simple and clean design, not much different from its predecessor but still studied in detail.
Hardware
- OS : Lollipop Android 5.1 with Sense UI 7
- processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, octa-core
- RAM : 3GB LPDDR4
- Display : IPS LCD FullHD, 5 inch diagonal
- Pixel density : 440PPI
- storage : 32GB expandable via microSD up to 128GB
- Rear Camera : 20.7 megapixel, f / 2.2, Dual LED flash, video 4K
- Camera Front : UltraPixel Room, f / 2.0, 2.8 mm lens, Full HD 1080p video
- Mobile network : 4G LTE
- Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, DLNA
- Sensors : Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Gyroscope , Barometer, GPS / GLONASS, Light sensor
- Battery : 2.840mAh
- Size : 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61 mm
- weight : 157 g
HTC One M9 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC 810 : This is a CPU octa core big.LITTLE, with four core Cortex A57 2.0 GHz four core Cortex A53 1.5 GHz. A real beast power. Despite the problems that plague this CPU, our tests revealed no special difficulty using : the device performs optimally, fast and without hesitation, and also storage in 32GB of storage integrated is very rapid – test the quality of memories.
The system-on-chip American, remember, you have serious problems with regard to thermal management, heating up to a very sensitive when subjected to high loads job. The first rumors on the subject have appeared before the Mobile World Congress: in the last weeks of February, the news leaked, then proved well founded, for which Samsung would adopt on their Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge only proprietary Exynos CPU, because of the problems of overheating Snapdragon 810.
Indiscretion that after a few weeks proved founded: the first sample test of HTC One M9 coming into the hands of US colleagues show a picture daunting in terms of temperatures: the flagship heats , too much. Subsequently, an official HTC reassures users and experts: HTC One M9 heats because provided with a ROM is not yet final, a beta .
Press that later turned out to be true: in everyday use the terminal has not reached high temperatures – even when using heavy games like Fallout Shelter and Real Racing . It is clear that HTC has intervened side software to optimize your smartphone’s performance, setting frequencies conservative. HTC One M9 is still smooth and responsive in all contexts, including in multitasking management app.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 integrated on the HTC One M9 uses a GPU Adreno 430, delegated to manage a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels – contained within a 5-inch IPS LCD display diagonal. The lowest number of pixels (the competition) allows significantly higher performance than many other devices that use similar hardware but which integrate at the same time characterized by resolution qHD display.
Display
As stated, the brand has decided to keep the same display M8 also for his successor to ensure a better autonomy. This HTC One M9 offers in fact a display of 5 inches diagonally with a resolution FullHD – pixel density of 440 ppi. It is a Super IPS display LCD3 protected by a glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
The color fidelity is definitely good; only drawback: it could perhaps be further improved the depth of black. Excellent viewing angle as well as the view under the sunlight and the operation of the light sensor that operates in a sublime any condition.
Audio and reception
Dolby and HTC They have collaborated to create HTC BoomSound with Dolby HTC One M9. The surround sound output from the dual speaker stereo front guarantees a listening experience interesting, with or without headphones. HTC Connect also lets you simultaneously stream different music to multiple speakers; you can then use it to stream music and videos from HTC One devices M9 home stereo compatible, running just three fingers on the screen. The definition sound is superior to that of many smartphones. Excellent phone side: the reception and the sound of the earpiece are above average.
Software
HTC One M9 is sold with Android 5.0.2 on board Lollipop, upgradeable to Version 5.1 of the green robot, personalized with the user interface Sense – in the 7.0 release.
The first thing that caught my attention is a new widget: Sense Home . It is a screen that detects the position and habits, making the app always available at any time. Using the address and the office staff, the HTC One M9 creates a geographical scope that allows you to monitor the most used app in the two areas. So, the app will automatically appear professional when you’re at work and personal apps most used when you are at home.
Everything that was good about the M8 remained, with the exception of ‘ TV app, replaced by Peel to control the TV with the infrared port . The most interesting is undoubtedly the app HTC Themes , which allows you to create custom backgrounds with photos or favorite images and much more. Using the picture preset, HTC One M9 fits the look and style of the display according to the image. The ringtone, icons, logos, composer and even HTC BlinkFeed will be changed automatically. You can mix components from different themes or download only those that interest us.
There are always the Motion Gestures that simplify the interaction with the smartphone in stand-by mode, allowing all ‘user to quickly activate various functions. It will also be possible to also customize the navigation bar, adding fourth button that will be a short cut to a predefined action (notifications, fast commands, off screen, rotation, etc).
The browser is installed by default Google Chrome, but is also available on the Play Store App of the classic navigation developed by HTC: more than Chrome also includes automatic text reflow screen, a gem that many may find useful. Comes complete with the app email and Gmail: we recommend using the latter as a mail client, as compared to the other is more modern and refined.
Overall, the software is very lightweight resulting in an increase in speed and fluidity of the system.
Camera
HTC One M9 is characterized by a 20-megapixel main camera with an F2.2 lens / 27 , 8 mm that allows you to record video in 4K Ultra HD. On the front there is a front camera with HTC UltraPixel technology that allows you to capture the maximum ambient light for taking group photos selfie and very detailed, even in low light conditions.
With the new M9, HTC decided to realign the competition, thus focusing on a sensor of 20 megapixels, most likely production while Toshiba technology UltraPixel has been passed down to the front camera. Than some competitors lacks optical stabilization . The evolutionary leap than 4 Ultrapixel is immediately evident when comparing photographs taken in bright light, where the new sensor also denotes a better dynamic range, especially in the high lights. In bright conditions the form of the new HTC One M9 offers performances in line with the competition.
When the light drops below a critical threshold, the picture quality decreases . Turning to video recording, HTC is still the best ever as far as sound quality: the microphones used are able to rake in the audio perfectly even in extremely noisy environments like a disco.
Integrated tools of the camera include HTC Eye Experience that allows you to synchronize both cameras to get unique effects. E ‘can create a double registration, the main camera and front camera simultaneously, retouch with instant beautification effects of skin tones before taking a selfie, create pictures in sequence, taking a selfie with voice commands, and much more .
The tool Photo Editor include additional camera effects Shape Masking (mask shape), Photo Masking (photo mask), Prismatic (Prismatic), Double Exposure (Double Exposure) and Element (Element).
With the update 1.40.401.5 camera HTC has improved greatly : we find a better balance of self-exposure, which improves the dynamic range overall, making images appear richer in detail especially in bright light conditions. Also made improvements to the images taken in low light conditions, now more clear, vibrant and rich in details.
In short, the back camera of the HTC One M9 offers all the megapixels that the market is demanding, good quality image in perfect lighting conditions, but still leaves some doubt in shots indoors or after sunset.
Autonomy
Within the HTC One M9 we find a 2840 mAh battery . Despite the ability not exorbitant in relation to the values shown by some competitors, terminal no problem reaches the end of a working day even intense .
HTC also makes two kinds of saving energy : the first, standard, allows you to limit CPU usage, the brightness of the display and the data connection without changing the use of the smartphone. The second is extreme and is able to lengthen the life of our smartphone of several hours – must obviously go down to some compromises. Here then the activation of a minimal interface on and off almost total of the data network. In this mode it is still possible to read and reply to SMS and Mail, as well as make calls.
Conclusions
HTC One M9 is a smartphone that from the point of view of aesthetics and materials It has nothing to envy to competing solutions. Indeed, HTC confirms once again the leader with regard to the strength and quality of assembly . During the test the reception and the sound were good, there were overheating, blocks of software or other dangerous conditions.
A product is not quite perfect, but nevertheless excellent. A criticism of HTC: marketing strategy , always Achilles heel manufacturer. HTC One M9 is likely to be purchased only by aficionados of the Taiwanese brand and would be a shame because the product is worth more than praise. The official price of HTC One M9 for Italy is 749 Euros – on line is just above 500 €.
HTC One M9 does not disappoint: it’s probably the best use of all Android day .
Pro :
- Excellent design
- High-quality materials
- Battery convincing
- User interface “smart”
Cons :
- camera review
- Marketing not up
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