HTC launched it’s latest HTC One A9 phone today and I was invited to play with it for a couple of hours. You will be forgiven for mistaking the new HTC One A9 for an iPhone 6- and that’s a good thing. While the two devices look very similar, I would like to point out that HTC introduced a full metal phone with antenna bands on the back much before the Apple did.
Being under the One brand, the HTC One A9 is a premium product and you can feel that the minute you pick the phone up. It’s just 7mm thin, has a superb finish with mirrored edges and the right amount of heft to it. HTC calls it a Jewelry Grade duo finish.
In the Middle East, HTC is launching it in four colors- Topaz Gold, Carbon Grey, Opal Silver, and Deep Garnet. The Gold and Silver finishes have a white face while the Grey and Red ones have a black front. I preferred Carbon Grey which gives the phone a very uniform look and the Deep Garnet which gives the HTC One A9 a very distinct look.
This is the first HTC phone that has a full glass front which means that you won’t get the front-facing BoomSound Speakers found on previous HTC One phones. That’s a bit of a shame as that was one of the standout features of previous HTC flagship phones. There is now just one speaker located at the bottom of the device next to the USB port and while it’s loud enough, you don’t get the stereo effect produced by Boom Speakers.
Coming to the specs, on paper, the HTC One A9 appears as a medium-end phone. It is equipped with a Snapdragon 617 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable storage. However during my limited usage, the phone appeared as zippy as any high-end phone out there. HTC has also added a finger print sensor on the A9 that can learn unto 10 fingers and also acts as a home button.
The HTC One A9 has a 5-inch full-HD screen which I think is just fine, especially considering that the phone comes with a 2150mAh battery. The low capacity battery is concerning but HTC assured me that with Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s battery management, you will easily get a day out if it. Speaking of Android 6.0, HTC was happy to say that it will be the first non-Nexus device on the market with Google’s latest OS.
HTC has also upgraded the camera on the HTC One A9 and hopefully this time around, it will take decent pictures. The sensor is 13MP with an f2.0 lens supporting Optical Image Stabilization. The pictures I took looked good on the phone’s screen but I’ll save my opinion on when I receive a review sample. The camera is positioned at the center of the device and comes with a dual LED flash. On the front, HTC is packing an Ultra-pixel Selfie camera.
Although HTC did not reveal the exact pricing of the HTC One A9, it was hinted that the phone will be under AED 2000. Availability is scheduled for early November in the Middle East.
Keep watching this space for a full review of the HTC One A9.
By Abbas Jaffar Ali
