After all the articles swirling around last week regarding how the new HTC One A9 looked like an iPhone 6 copy, looking at the just released phone, I’d have to say “not really”. Okay, it’s got the same antenna lines, but you can find those in other unibody Android phones.
So other than the fact that it does mimic the slim rounded lines of the iPhone 6 and 6S line (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), what makes it special?
To start it has a 5-inch, edge-to-edge, 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4, Full HD AMOLED screen and a metal frame. It’s running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow); it has a 13 megapixel rear camera that features Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), to “automatically minimize hand shake and correct vibrations to give you a crystal-clear picture every time.” The front-facing UltraPixel camera is supposed to deliver “the best self-portraits in any lighting condition, using HTC’s UltraPixel sensor to capture 300% more light than conventional smartphone cameras.”
This is interesting — you can use the optional Pro mode to capture and save photos using RAW.
The HTC One A9 has “HTC BoomSound™ integrated into the headset combined with Dolby Audio surround technology, delivering immersive, vibrant sound that matches a live experience in your headphones by taking high-resolution audio to the next level. With a built-in DAC that delivers audio at 24-bit, 192KHz quality – better than CD quality – it provides a richness and depth like you’ve never before heard from your music collection. A powerful high-output headphone amplifier, with double the output of other handsets, provides more power and dynamic range so you can hear every nuance of your favorite music, videos and games.” The A9 has a fingerprint scanner, a fast processor (the newest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 617 processor with integrated X8 LTE and 64-bit octa-core CPUs), and it comes in both a 16GB and 32GB version with support for up to 1TB microSD card — not that you can get one of those yet.
You’ll be able to buy the HTC One A9 from your favorite carrier, but HTC will also have an unlocked edition available from www.HTC.com. Not only will it be SIM Unlocked, it “will also allow you to unlock the bootloader without voiding your warranty.” If you buy the A9, you’ll get 6 months of unlimited music on Google Play Music included as well as UH OH Protection, “which includes one free replacement within the first 12 months of ownership for a cracked screen, water damage or carrier switch.”
You can pre-order the HTC One A9 at www.HTC.com today for a special, limited time promotional price of $399.99. Initially, it will be available in Opal Silver and Carbon Gray. The lovely Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold versions will be available in a few weeks.
