Smartphone HTC One The M9 was first officially unveiled in 2015, becoming the Taiwanese company's centerpiece at a tech show in Barcelona. Experts immediately noted that the flagship has not undergone a large number of fundamental changes compared to its predecessor. The battery capacity has increased slightly, the platform has been updated, but no revolutionary new products have been proposed.
Appearance
In terms of dimensions, body and shape, the HTC One M9 is not much different from its predecessor, the One M8. There are still differences, but they are small: the protective glass with the screen is slightly raised above the base of the case, whereas in the M9 it did not go beyond the edges. Such a difference may not even be noticed, but from a practical point of view it still brings additional inconvenience. Over time, dust accumulates in the formed side, so it has to be blown out.
The model has an aluminum body and a larger selection of different colors. The golden and dark gray colors were complemented by a combination of golden side edges and a silver back side.
As an excuse, we can say that the M8 had a successful design, there was no point in fundamentally changing anything.
Control Features
On the front side of the smartphone there are three basic buttons – “Home”, “Back” and “Recent running applications”. By holding down the Home key for a long time, you can launch the specialized Google Now service. The power key is located on the right side just below the volume buttons.
One of the main features in management is the use modern technology Motion Launch. Thanks to it, information from all sensors is transmitted to the processor, and any application immediately receives this information. This allows you to save battery and implement new control options.
For example, unlock the screen without using the power key. The technology works best when the smartphone is in a vertical position. If any of the unlocking options interferes, it is disabled in the screen settings.
Another option for using Motion Launch is to quickly turn on the camera when the phone is locked. To do this, just turn the gadget to a vertical position and then press the volume key.
At the bottom of the phone there is a mini-jack and a microUSB connector for a headset and headphones. Many users noted that this arrangement of these inputs is the most optimal. When listening to music from a smartphone in your pocket, you should lower it upside down. Then you won’t have to intercept it when taking it out.
On the front side, the speakers are located at the bottom and top. In addition, there are proximity and light sensors. The 4 MP camera eye and indicator light are embedded in the grille of one of the speakers.
Display
On the HTC One M9 smartphone, the manufacturer installed a Super LCD3 display with a diagonal of 5 inches. The screen looks advantageous because it has a wide viewing angle, no matter how the user rejects it, the picture is not distorted. Even if you watch a video or photo diagonally from the end or edge. The brightness reserve is not maximum, but sufficient for the image to be clearly visible in sunlight.
Color rendition is practically indistinguishable from natural. At the same time, it is calmer than in the M8. Some people will like it, but for others it will be a controversial point. This phone is suitable for users who are supporters of displays with a quiet color scheme.
However, many manufacturers now give customers the right to choose, allowing them to manually adjust color temperature, contrast and brightness. HTC One M9 does not have similar functions. The screen cannot be changed, so it is not recommended to buy a phone without looking at it in person. Needed on personal experience understand whether such color rendition suits you or not.
The smartphone has an automatic brightness adjustment function. It works well, but sometimes the value set by the machine turns out to be insufficient.
The display simultaneously supports up to 10 touches, including touches from gloves. There will be no difficulties if you touch the device with wet hands. It responds adequately to all presses.
Camera
Perhaps the main difference between this smartphone and previous HTC flagships is the fundamentally new main camera module. It is equipped with a dual flash with LEDs, and they are of several tones; the sensor resolution reaches 20 MP.
Compared to previous versions, the image detail is much better and looks more natural. Works well in low light, as well as with automatic white balance detection.
The camera in the HTC One M9 smartphone is inferior to its counterparts in flagships such as Note 4 or Samsung Galaxy S6. But at the same time, the device costs an order of magnitude cheaper. In this case, the user receives a high-quality module.
We should tell you more about the camera, since it is the main pride of the gadget. It is based on a Toshiba sensor equipped with matrix backlight. Its resolution is slightly more than 20 megapixels.
The same sensor is installed on the front camera, only the resolution is slightly lower, and the native technology of the Taiwanese manufacturer is used. The developers got rid of two cameras on the back of the device and ultrapixels on the main camera.
At the same time, they retained many useful and original shooting functions that today's smartphones are famous for. For example, this is the ability to take photos in bokeh mode. This is an artificial blur of the background with increased sharpness of objects located in the foreground.
This feature is present in the HTC One M9, but in practice it is practically no different from changing focus. When taking such a photograph, the camera simply takes several frames over a short period of time, focusing on the foreground and background in turn. In the final photo, she automatically blurs the background, doing it as carefully as possible.
In Dual Capture mode, you can literally split the screen in half. A slider remains between them, which allows the smartphone owner to determine which of the parts will be larger or leave them the same. One half of the screen displays the image from the main camera, and the other half displays the image from the front camera. This allows you to take pictures in turn from each camera without rotating the phone, and even take two pictures at the same time in opposite directions.
An important feature is the manual mode, which allows you to independently set white balance, shutter speed, exposure, and focus. Those wishing to experiment should give priority attention to setting the focal length and shutter speed. As a result, it is possible to obtain high-quality results even in poor lighting, compensating for the lack of light with a long shutter speed and ISO settings.
Of course, in this case you will need a tripod or some kind of support, but the main thing is that such an opportunity is present. This significantly expands the capabilities of the camera on the gadget. As a rule, if the phone camera does not have the ability to adjust the manual mode, the user is doomed to “noise” in the picture or severe overexposure.
The HDR mode seems to work quite well. The pictures are contrasty and bright, the interference of electronics is almost invisible.
The photo kiosk feature only works on the front camera. This is a series of four self-portraits that are stitched together into one frame, like after visiting a photo booth in a supermarket. You can choose what the result will be: rectangular, square or elongated in width. This is a nice feature that is nothing supernatural, but allows you to cheer yourself up by fooling around with friends or a loved one.
The front camera resolution is 4 megapixels. At the same time, it takes really high-quality pictures when compared with the results that can be obtained from smartphones in the same digital range. The frames are as detailed and rich as possible. This is due to the increased pixel and sensor size.
Audio
Compared to the previous model from HTC, which was already mentioned in this article, there is practically no difference in sound. This applies to the quality from stereo speakers, as well as the sound from headphones or a headset. For the average user, audio will leave only pleasant sensations.
There is a BoomSound function, which has added several additional profiles. The result is a truly different sound depending on the chosen option. If you watch a series or a movie on your gadget, it is recommended to choose the “Cinema” profile, and if you listen to songs, then the “Music” profile. You will definitely feel the difference, for example, in “Cinema” the sounds automatically become more saturated and voluminous.
High quality sound that comes through the speakers. In a small room, a smartphone can be used as compact speaker. The device will completely replace a portable speaker, which is often taken to a hotel or to the bathroom. The sound quality is no worse.
Battery
The smartphone has a non-removable 2,840 mAh battery. This is a little more than in previous models, but it is worth considering that the HTC One M9 has more powerful performance and platform.
With active use, the phone lasts for the whole day if you charge it until the morning. As a rule, it is enough for about an hour of calls, two dozen SMS messages, a couple of hours of using the mobile Internet, and up to 4 hours of listening to music. This does not include the launch of mobile games.
Performance
The HTC One M9 smartphone runs on the Snapdragon 810 platform. Taiwanese manufacturer mobile technology is increasingly using it in its devices. Performance is ensured by a 4-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz. Graphics controller – Adreno 430.
The device is equipped with 3 GB of RAM. Additionally, another 32 GB is installed for user data. If necessary, you can install a microCD flash card instead of one of the SIM cards.
HTC One M9 was one of the first modern smartphones to use a fundamentally new platform developed by Qualcomm. Over time, more and more mobile equipment switched to it.
Users and experts do not complain about the phone's performance. Programs run flawlessly; even heavy games run well with maximum graphics settings on the HTC One M9.
The device runs on Android 5.0. In addition to it, the native HTC Sense shell is installed, installed in most smartphones from this Taiwanese manufacturer, except for the very first few models.
Sense is presented in a new version. Several fundamental changes were made to it. Other design themes have appeared, implemented competently and accurately. True, some elements cause dissatisfaction among many. This applies, for example, to the “oblique” font in the clock widget.
Conclusion
We have quality smartphone, to which there are no justified and reasoned claims. The phone quickly and efficiently catches the network, the interlocutor’s voice is heard clearly and clearly, without distortion and extraneous noise. The volume may not be enough for some, but there is still a small margin.
The phone has a powerful vibration alert. It can be felt almost always, despite the dimensions and weight of the device. The speaker volume when the smartphone calls is set above average by default.
This phone will appeal to fans of products manufactured by HTC. In its price range, the smartphone looks good, although not perfect.
I’ve been using this smartphone for three months now, and I can say for sure - this is a Flagship! A wonderful phone with excellent characteristics and stylish design. With it, you don’t think about the fact that you won’t have enough memory or something won’t work, it’s enough for everything! Of course, many will say that this brand is not as famous as large corporations. I would say that it is perfect for those who like the Apple design, but the user prefers Android as an operating system. Enough philosophy, I’ll tell you about the device itself. The design of this smartphone is practically no different from the M7 and M8 models, which is not bad at all, because its shape is neat and looks expensive. And of course, a huge contribution to the cool design is the aluminum body, which comes in several colors. I don’t really like gold “fancy” colors, but I chose the device in this design. The gold metallic HTC looks amazing! There are also no complaints about the assembly, everything is done very monolithically. As for controlling the smartphone, it has three touch buttons on the screen (back, home, manager), when pressed the phone vibrates slightly, which makes them very informative. The device also has 3 mechanical keys: volume and power; they are pressed very clearly and are located right under your fingers. The phone uses nanoSIM and has a slot for a MicroSD card, so you can expand the memory even more. And now I’ll move on to desserts, there are a lot of them here). For example, the display, 5-inch Super LCD3 with FullHD resolution and maximum viewing angles, is simply magnificent! Natural color rendition, excellent brightness, excellent readability in the sun, working with gloves and multi-touch for 10 touches do not leave you indifferent. The second dessert is the camera.. 20mpx, not every flagship has this! To be fair, it’s not megapixels that still take good pictures, but Common parameters cameras. The HTC M9 has an excellent camera that many will like, but it is inferior to the flagships from Samsung and Apple. The front camera is also very good, selfies come out great! The third dessert is sound! No... SOUND! It's very good and the stereo sound has a good feel. The headphones also have high-quality sound, and the included headset is not bad. As for the other characteristics, they are also up to par. The smartphone has a large 3000mAh battery, which allows you to easily use it for a couple of days without recharging if you make calls and use the Internet. The technical stuffing of the device is at a high level, fast 8 nuclear processor and 3GB of RAM allows you not to think about any restrictions in choosing applications. 32GB of internal memory is more than enough. HTC has a lot of advantages, and to be honest, I want to point out a few disadvantages. Compared to its competitors, the device has fairly wide side screen frames (3-4mm), this is certainly not critical, but it could have been smaller. Also, it is worth noting that due to the powerful processor and metal body, the device gets noticeably warm when working with heavy applications , but it does not cause discomfort. In general, I will say for myself, I have never regretted that I purchased this particular smartphone, it is a pleasure to use!
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Characteristics
- Class: company flagship
- Form factor: monoblock
- Case materials: aluminum case, plastic frame around the display, glass
- operating system: Android 5.0 Lollipop, HTC Sense 7.0
- Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE Cat 6 (nanoSIM)
- Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994)
- Processor: Quad-core 1.5 GHz (Cortex-A53) and Quad-core 2 GHz (Cortex-A57)
- Graphics: Adreno 430
- RAM: 3 GB
- Storage memory: 32 GB, microSD memory card slot (128 GB cards supported)
- Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP, aptX, LE), microUSB connector (USB 2.0) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset, HDMI (via microUSB), DLNA , NFC, IR port
- Screen: Super LCD3, 5”, capacitive, 1920x1080 pixels (FulldHD), automatic adjustment backlight level, Gorilla glass Glass 4
- Main camera: 20.1 MP, f/2.2, BSI, dual LED flash (works as a flashlight), sapphire crystal
- Front camera: 4 MP (UltraPixel technology), wide-angle (without autofocus), f/2.0, video recording in 1080p
- Navigation: GPS/GLONASS (A-GPS support)
- Sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, barometer
- Battery: non-removable, Li-Pol, capacity 2840 mAh
- Dimensions: 144.6 x 70 x 9.6 mm
- Weight: 157 grams
Comparing HTC's latest flagship with smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Sony, Huawei, Lenovo, and so on, few people remember how it all began and what position HTC occupies today. Yes, perhaps the understanding that HTC, compared to the brands listed above, is a small but very proud manufacturer will not make you feel differently about the One M9, but this is precisely the secret of some successful and, on the contrary, unsuccessful solutions inherent in the HTC One M9. I will try to tell you about all the features of the smartphone and will start with a short story about the history of the company.
A long time ago, in 1997, HTC appeared - one of the galaxy of Asian ODM manufacturers of portable devices. The headquarters were located in Taiwan, so the company is generally considered to be Taiwanese. At that time, HTC was engaged in the production of pocket personal computers (PDAs) for various brands; later the production was expanded and they also began to produce smartphones based on Windows Mobile. The company was a Microsoft partner in the development of mobile devices (Hardware platform development partner) and was not deprived of contracts. The largest customers of HTC for a long time there were brands such as Hewlett Packard, Dell, Palm, Fujitsu Siemens and others. Later, the largest cellular operators became partners, and HTC began producing products for Vodafone, T-mobile, O2, Orange.
Thus, by the beginning of the 2000s, HTC was one of the leaders in the ODM market for devices on the Microsoft platform (then still on the first versions of the PocketPC mobile OS) and therefore decided to produce smartphones under some of its own brand in order to sell them directly. So in 2002 the Qtek brand appeared to promote its products under its own name, albeit a fictitious one, and in 2004 the Dopod brand appeared for sales in Asia. Technically, everything that was produced under the Qtek and Dopod brands were HTC products, and after some time both names were simplified, and HTC continued the production of communicators and smartphones under its own, focusing on this direction and gradually leaving the niche of ODM production.
In this short story, as you noticed, there is no large corporation or additional areas that the company would develop in parallel with the creation of smartphones under the HTC brand. I want to highlight a simple idea - against the backdrop of Apple, Samsung, LG, Lenovo, you can list them for a long time, HTC is a small manufacturer and brand. Of course, there is no need to remember this when we compare the next flagship from Apple or Samsung with the HTC flagship, because we are talking about the same segment. But it's worth remembering if you're looking at the One M9 and wondering, "why is there last year's design and where's all the innovation?" Yes, from time to time HTC pleases with really cool ideas, including the design and body of the One line, the Sense shell and Dot View cases, for example. But it must be taken into account that the company does not have the same resources for “innovation” and constant race in this area that diversified large manufacturers have. And therefore it is wrong to say that HTC, out of spite or from a lack of new ideas, takes the design of the old One M8 and implements it in the new M9. The reason is more prosaic - in order to remain a company that manages to compete virtually on equal terms with huge corporations, HTC in some respects adheres to a conservative position. And when it comes to a successful solution, which I think you can't argue is the design and overall idea of the One M8 case, the obvious choice is to reuse a proven formula rather than invent something new.
Contents of delivery
The device comes in the usual flat box for the company's new models; the previous HTC One (M8) was exactly the same. Inside, in addition to a smartphone and a couple of paper instructions, there are charging block, wired stereo headset and microUSB cable. The silicone case that came with the M8 is not here.
Design
The HTC One (M8) smartphone differed in design from the One (M7), although in general the models were made in the same style, and the M9 is in many ways a copy of the M8, if you don’t look closely. The body shape, dimensions, outline - all this remains unchanged, and it would be correct to say that from the point of view of its overall appearance, the HTC One M9 resembles the M8. However, there are also differences.
First, in the One M8 the screen with protective glass is located flush with the side edges, that is, neatly built into the aluminum “bath” of the case, while in the M9 the screen with glass is slightly raised above the aluminum base of the case. From the point of view of perception of the device, this change does not play any role; we simply see a different implementation of the placement of several body elements relative to each other. From a practical point of view, there is one drawback - dust may remain in the rim formed as a result of this type of connection of the body halves, and from time to time the rim will have to be blown out.
Secondly, the One M9 has different colors, and for one of them the method of processing the aluminum of the case is different. The dark gray and gold M9 features a smooth transition between the rear plane and the side ribs, just like the M8. The third color is a combination of a silver “back” and the side edges of a golden hue; here the transition between the planes is made more sharply. Some people will find this option more interesting, others, on the contrary, will like the smooth back, like in the M8.
I'm embarrassed to admit, but I liked the gold color of the HTC One M9 the most. It’s a shame, because just a couple of years ago I myself laughed at golden iPhones and this color seemed too pretentious and bright to me. Now, looking at the M9 in gold, I see the cool, bright, rich color of the gold-painted metal, and I just want to pick it up and start using the smartphone.
And I almost forgot, the new M9, like the One M8, perfectly disguises itself as a thermos!
In my opinion, the work that HTC has done to update the body design of the new flagship is quite sufficient. Yes, many will say that HTC is lazy and that the new device should have had a different design, but at the same time, do not forget that there are many people in the world who are ready, having once chosen something they like, to remain faithful this choice. The design of the HTC One M8 was undoubtedly successful, as was the selection of case materials and assembly. The company has brought the quality of performance and perception of mass smartphones (I'm not talking about Vertu and Tag Heuer) to new level and the One M9 just keeps it that way.
Housing materials
The main material of the M9 body is aluminum. The base of the smartphone is made of it; the electronics, display and other elements are placed in it; above and below the screen there are inserts made of plastic to look like aluminum. There is also an insert made of plastic at the top end, where the IR port “window” is located.
The problem of placing antennas in the device was solved in the same way as in the previous smartphone. They are located outside the case in small plastic grooves on the “back” of the device.
As for possible scratches: if they remain, they are practically unnoticeable in everyday use. Over many months of use, my HTC One M8 has hardly lost its original appearance and looks exactly the same as the day I took it out of the box, if you don’t look closely, of course. Due to the use of aluminum, fingerprints and fingerprints are invisible on the body. From a practical point of view, the case in the HTC One M9 is a success: it is not only beautiful and impressive, but also does not force you to buy a case so that the device does not slip out of your hands or accidentally become covered with a network of clearly visible scratches.
Assembly
The use of a unibody case without removable elements (except for trays for a nanoSIM card and memory card) makes the next HTC One good in terms of build quality. There are no loose or creaking parts, no play individual elements. The downside of this design is not the best maintainability.
Dimensions
The new HTC One M9 is almost identical in size to the company's previous device, the M8. Accordingly, the difference with the Samsung Galaxy S6 is also small, the latter is thinner, but at the same time slightly wider. Switching to M9 after huge shovels with screen diagonals in the region of 5.5-5.7 inches is a pleasure. However, in terms of dimensions, there is something to criticize HTC for. When most other manufacturers already make smartphones with thin side frames and compact areas at the top and bottom of the screen, HTC continues to use the proprietary “triple frame (TM)” layout, the margins on the left and right are almost 5 millimeters, and on the top and bottom – almost 2 centimeter
I would like to believe that in the next One the company will make every effort to optimize the layout of elements and fit the screen into thinner frames. An excellent design option for the M10, by the way, “surfaced” even before the release of the M9 as expectations for the new flagship.
Now let’s compare the dimensions of different smartphones so that you can roughly understand the size of the HTC One M9 compared to other devices:
- Apple iPhone 6 (4.7”) – 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm, 129 grams
- HTC One M8(5”) – 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm, 160 grams
- (5”) – 144.6 x 70 x 9.6 mm, 157 grams
- Meizu MX4(5.4”) – 144 x 75.2 x 8.9 mm, 147 grams
- Samsung Galaxy S6(5.1”) – 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm, 138 grams
- Xiaomi Mi4(5”) – 139.2 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm, 149 grams
The device is quite comfortable to carry in the pockets of outerwear and in trousers or jeans; the smartphone lies comfortably in the hand and does not slip out.
Compared to HTC One M8
Compared to Meizu MX4 Pro
Compared to HTC One M7
Compared to Huawei Honor 6Plus
Controls
In terms of the location of the keys and the general organization of controls, the new HTC One M9 is practically no different from the M8. The smartphone has three on-screen buttons – “Back”, “Home” and “Recent applications”. There are two actions only for the Home key; in addition to the main task of returning to the main screen, by holding it you can call up the Google Now service.
When you touch any of the buttons, the device vibrates slightly.
The power key was moved to the right side, right under the volume buttons, and this is very correct. Now you don’t need to reach for the top end to turn on the screen, if the double-tap option doesn’t suit you, the power button is located under the thumb of your right hand, and this is convenient (at least for right-handers).
One of the main control features is Motion Launch technology. Information from all sensors is transmitted to a special coprocessor, and any application receives this information immediately, without polling each sensor. Firstly, this allows you to save a little battery power, and secondly, it allows you to implement new control methods. Thanks to Motion Launch, the M9 has different options for unlocking the screen without the power key. Double tapping on the display will take you to the lock screen, swiping from left to right to the BlinkFeed screen, from right to left to the main screen, from top to bottom to voice control, from bottom to top you will be taken to the screen where you locked the device (game , application menu, some kind running program and so on). The device distinguishes all these actions best when you hold it in your hand in a vertical orientation, although if you turn it into landscape mode, they will also work, although not so clearly (everything except the double tap works fine). In addition, any of the unlocking options can be disabled in the screen settings if it bothers you.
Another convenient feature is to turn on the camera from a locked state - just rotate the device to landscape mode and press any volume key.
The volume key is located on the right edge, I can’t say anything special about it – it’s a quite convenient button with a familiar location. Near it is a tray for a microSD memory card. To install or remove a memory card, you need to use a needle or the supplied “clip”.
On the top left edge is a tray for a nanoSIM SIM card.
At the bottom end of the case there is a microUSB connector and a 3.5 mini-jack for headphones or a headset. In my opinion, the location of the mini-jack at the bottom is the most convenient and correct. If you listen to music on your smartphone and carry it in the pocket of your trousers, jeans or even a jacket, then it is most logical to put it in your pocket with the top end down, so that later, when you take the device out of your pocket, you do not need to grab it for use. And just in this position, the location of the 3.5 mm mini-jack at the bottom end is optimal.
On the front side there are speakers at the top and bottom; at the top there are also light and proximity sensors, a light indicator inscribed in the speaker grille and a 4 MP wide-angle front camera.
Screen
The HTC One M9 has a Super LCD3 display; most of its characteristics are the same as last year's model (M8). Screen diagonal – 5"", resolution – 1920x1080 pixels (FullHD), pixel density – 441 ppi. Screen with maximum viewing angles. No matter what angle you tilt it at, diagonally, edges or ends, the picture is not distorted. There is a good margin of brightness, although a little lower by eye than in the M8. In the sun the display remains readable.
Color rendition is close to natural, but even calmer than in the M8, and this, in my opinion, will be a controversial point for some users. Personally, I like the color rendition in the new M9; I’m generally a supporter of screens with the most calm color gamut, and the paler it is, let’s say, the better. But, on the other hand, if some manufacturers offer the user the ability to select and manually adjust the brightness, contrast and color temperature of the display, HTC does not provide such functionality. And when choosing One M9, you must understand that the screen will be exactly the same as you see it when you first get acquainted with the device, it cannot be reconfigured. Therefore, before buying a smartphone, it would be logical to look at it “live”.
Automatic brightness adjustment works, in general, well, although from time to time you want to raise the brightness from the value that is set automatically.
The smartphone screen supports up to ten simultaneous touches, as well as operation with gloves. If you use the device with wet hands, there will be no problems either; the display responds well to such presses.
Below you can take a look at a comparison of the old and new generation HTC One screens.
Top HTC One M9, bottom HTC One M8
Camera
One of the main differences between the HTC One M9 and last year's model is a completely new main camera module with dual LED flash of different colors and a sensor resolution of 20 megapixels. For those who, having opened the review, immediately went to this point, I will write the following: the camera in the HTC One M9 is better than in the M8 and M7 in terms of picture detail (naturally), still very fast, but slightly worse in terms of automatic balance white and working in low light conditions. Yes, the One M9 is inferior in terms of camera to devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 or Note 4, but, in general, the module turned out to be quite good, and for HTC smartphones it’s simply excellent. Now let's move on to the story about the camera.
For the main camera, the HTC One M9 uses a Toshiba T4KA7 sensor with back-side illumination (BSI) with a resolution of 20.1 MP. Sensor size – 1/2.4”, pixel size – 1.12 nm, other specifications can be viewed. The characteristics are as follows: f/2.2, 27.8 mm lenses, autofocus, video recording in 4K resolution and sapphire crystal to protect the camera module.
The front camera also has a back-illuminated sensor; it uses a module with a resolution of 4 ultrapixels and proprietary HTC UltraPixel technology, f/2.0, 26.8 mm lenses, video recording in resolutions up to 1080p.
Accordingly, there are no longer “ultrapixels” for the main camera and a tiny resolution, and there are no longer two cameras on the back of the device.
I’ll tell you a little about the operating modes of the main camera.
Automatic shooting mode (Auto). In Auto mode, you can adjust ISO, exposure (EV), white balance and choose from 15 overlay effects. The camera settings also set the aspect ratio of the frame: widescreen (16:9), normal (10:7) or square (1:1), a grid for ease of shooting, saving geotags, self-timer, contrast values, saturation, image sharpness and retouch strength for pictures. All settings can be saved in a separate profile with its own name and turned on if necessary. There can be several profiles.
Frames taken in Auto mode lend themselves to the most changes: you can add various graphic effects, overlay one image on top of another, make collages, or even just draw on top of the photo by hand. In terms of the number of picture settings, the editor built into the HTC One M9 is comparable to the paid applications available on Google Play.
bokeh. A new shooting mode with a blurred background effect, however, the logic of its operation is not very different from modes with the ability to change focus. The camera takes several frames in a short time, alternately focusing first on the foreground and then on the background, and then carefully blurs the background. This creates the bokeh effect. To be honest, I didn't see much of a difference when shooting a close-up subject in Bokeh mode versus Auto mode. Perhaps with new firmware the bokeh in such photographs will become more pronounced.
Double Shot. In this mode, the screen is divided into two halves, the slider between them allows you to make one of the halves larger and the other narrower. On one half of the screen there is an image from the front camera, on the other - from the main one. You can take a photo from two cameras at once, or alternately.
Photo kiosk. The mode is for the front camera only, and in it you take a series of four self-portraits, then the photos are stitched together into one frame, square, rectangular or elongated in width. I thought this mode was very cool, it would seem nothing special, but for fooling around and taking a series of photos, especially with a loved one or friends, it’s just perfect.
Manual shooting mode (M). One of the camera features in the One M8 is also implemented in the new M9 - manual shooting mode. In this mode, you can change the following parameters: white balance, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, focus. White balance is adjustable in the range from 2300K to 7500K, ISO values in the range of 100-1600, shutter speed in the range from 1/8000 to 2 seconds.
The most important thing is the ability to set the shutter speed and manually adjust the focal length. This is not focusing on an object by tapping on the screen, but choosing a fixed distance at which focusing will occur. Thanks to manual mode, you can shoot well in low light, compensating for the lack of light with minimum ISO values and a long shutter speed. Naturally, in this case it is better to shoot from some kind of support, but the very possibility of such shooting significantly expands the limits of the conditions for shooting on the HTC One M9. Where a smartphone without manual mode will produce either a overexposed and noisy picture or a black spot, with the M9, with the right skill, you can take a good shot.
Below are examples of photographs taken in manual mode:
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The text shooting mode increases image sharpness to the detriment of color reproduction and other parameters; there is also a separate macro mode. I’ll say right away that in terms of macro photography, the new M9 is inferior to last year’s M8 - the minimum focusing distance in the new model has become longer.
The HDR mode seemed to me to work quite well - the photos in it do not look too bright or too contrasty, on the contrary, there is practically no visible excessive interference from electronics.
Below I will give examples of pictures in different modes for three smartphones: HTC One M8, HTC One M9 and Meizu MX4 Pro. The latter is taken as one of the standards for shooting. If you don't take top-end devices like the Apple iPhone 6 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge, the MX4 Pro provides very good quality shooting. In addition, it also has a 20 MP module, so the comparison is quite correct.
Shooting during the day
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Shooting at night
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Shooting indoors
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Text
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Macro mode and close-up shooting of objects
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“Crops” of photos from different modes
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I’ll also just give you some photos taken on the HTC One M9 in good sunny weather:
Front-camera. We can say that the main HTC camera One M8, with a number of reservations, moved to the front panel of HTC One M9. I repeat, in the M9 the front module has a resolution of 4 ultrapixels, f/2.0, 26.8 mm, pixel size – 2 micrometers, sensor size – 1/3”, sensor model – OmniVision OV4688. Despite the lower resolution (4 MP versus 5 MP in the One M8), the front camera in the M9 takes better photos. The sensor size and increased pixel size do their job - the frames on the M9 are richer, deeper, more detailed.
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Video recording. Video in standard mode is recorded in a maximum resolution of 3940x2160 pixels (4k), H.264, recording speed - 30 frames per second (variable), bitrate - 42 Mbps, sound recording is in stereo mode, recording quality - 96 Kbps. During recording, you can manually change the focus point, and there is also tracking autofocus. The camera does not have optical stabilization, so when shooting video, the picture shakes, this is especially noticeable if you were filming on the go or recording a video at the maximum zoom level.
Except standard mode, there is a mode of slow motion (resolution 1280x720 pixels) and accelerated (1920x1080 pixels).
In my opinion, the camera in the HTC One M9 is a visible progress of the company. Yes, in some moments, when there is a lack of light, the M8 turns out to be better in terms of the overall transmission of the plot, but otherwise I like the camera in the M9 more: there is better detail, higher clarity, the white balance is also well set, and, importantly, the camera is still very fast: shooting occurs instantly.
Comparison of cameras (Roman Belykh)
I asked Roman Belykh to look through all the photos presented in the review and express his opinion regarding the camera in the new HTC One M9. Below are his detailed comments:
I think everyone is well aware of the capabilities of the HTC One M8 camera, so I will comment on frames from it to a minimum. It is worth noting that shots taken with the M8 camera almost always look perfect on the screen of the smartphone itself, which cannot be said about them after viewing them on the monitor. That is, if you are not going to organize a “view” of photographs on a large monitor or TV, then know that the quality of the M8 frames is enough for you “beyond your eyes”.
As always, I'll start with viewing angles. Meizu had the widest angle, followed by HTC One M8. Surprisingly, the M9 showed the narrowest viewing angle. To clarify, to get a wide angle on the M8, you need to switch the camera to 16:9 aspect ratio mode.
Shooting during the day
It’s unlikely that anyone will argue that the highest quality shots can be taken at this time of day: excellent full lighting (not spot), minimum shadows when shooting in cloudy weather.
Naturally, the detail of photos taken on the HTC One M8 leaves much to be desired: blur in the corners, artifacts, and so on. In my opinion, it has the best detail Meizu camera, the picture turns out cleaner than the picture obtained from the HTC M9 camera. Actually, this will be true for all other filming options.
The white balance is most accurate on Meizu MX4 Pro and HTC One M8. The M9's footage almost always has warm tones. Sometimes the M9's camera gets so confused that the blue color turns blue - typical mistake with white balance.
Exposure, on the other hand, works slightly better on the M9. At least the picture is slightly less contrasty than on the Meizu MX4 Pro. However, the dynamic range is clearly wider on the Meizu: in case of image editing, more information can be extracted from the MX4 Pro's photos.
Total: first place - Meizu, with a minimal margin - HTC One M9, somewhere far behind - HTC One M8.
HDR mode
I used to be surprised by the cool HDR effect on the HTC One M8, now I had to be surprised by the HDR on the M9. Photos with this effect are definitely cooler on the M9 - dark areas are whitened and light areas are darkened. Perhaps more than necessary, but it looks cool. The HDR mode on Meizu is, let's say, gentle, but it also looks good.
Total: first place - HTC One M9 - the best, second - HTC One M8, third - Meizu.
Macro mode
The minimum distance to the object for all devices is approximately the same. Photos come out more beautiful on the HTC One M8. I can say for sure because I myself owned this model and often photographed cockroach insects: excellent sharpness, strong background blur. Another question is the details. Of course, there are more of them in the footage of Meizu and HTC One M9. You can “sprinkle” it so that you can see the number of hairs on the heads of the boogers :) But seriously speaking, I would choose the MX4 Pro camera.
Total: first place - Meizu, second - HTC One M8, third - HTC One M9.
Night mode
If we talk about the overall impression of the picture, the clear leader is the HTC One M8 with its native ultrapixels, which allow you to extract maximum light from the picture. However, you will have to forget about the details of the image.
In pictures from Meizu there is a little less light, but better detail, less “suppressed” noise.
Total. If you want a bright picture and detail is not important to you, then you won't find anything better than the HTC One M8. That's why the M8 takes first place in this test. The second is Meizu MX4 Pro, and the third is One M9.
Office shooting mode
I called the section that way because offices are usually not very light, but not dark either, that is, lighting that makes you think about the camera software.
I liked the white balance of Meizu and HTC One M8, M9 is again weird, painting everything in warm tones. Detailing is also better on Meizu, despite the fact that all cameras are starting to make a fair amount of noise.
Total: first place - Meizu, second - HTC One M9, third - HTC One M8.
Text shooting mode
If you're suddenly going to shoot text with the M8, you're doing it wrong. In this case, it is necessary to have a camera with the maximum resolution of the module. The M9 and MX4 Pro are suitable for this role.
It’s difficult to say exactly who took better pictures, but subjectively, Meizu MX4 Pro did it a little better: less soap, more details.
Total: first place - Meizu, second (but not far) - HTC M9.
Video shooting
The HTC One M9 model can shoot video in resolutions up to 4K (to be precise, up to Ultra HD 4K) at 30 fps. File resolution – MP4, codec – H.264, bitrate – up to 45 Mbit/s. Stereo sound.
The picture at maximum resolution is of high quality, but everything is “killed” by the lack of optical stabilization. Regular FullHD video is completely uninteresting: extremely poor detail, constantly floating focus, absolutely zero dynamic range.
The situation with night photography is called a pixel bacchanalia. It's better to watch it once than to explain it a hundred times. Pay attention to the angles of the frame.
Conclusion
My opinion is this. This time, the HTC camera has become much better than it was in the M8 model (at least in terms of resolution), but does not even reach the flagship cameras Chinese manufacturers: the software is still being “finished” and “finished”.
Sound
To be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference in sound between the new M9 and the old M8. And we are talking not only about the sound in stereo speakers, but also about the sound in headphones. Everything is just as good, in my opinion.
Several profiles have been added for BoomSound - “music” and “cinema”, the sound is slightly different, and indeed, if you plan to watch a series or movie on your smartphone, it is better to set the “cinema” profile, with it the sound will be larger and richer. I don’t know what else to add here - the device produces great sound through the speakers, and it can easily be used as a compact audio system for a small room. If before, when you went on a business trip, you took a small wireless speaker with you to listen to music in a hotel, for example, then with the M9 you don’t have to do this; the device provides more than decent sound quality.
Autonomous operation
The smartphone uses a non-removable Li-Pol battery with a capacity of 2840 mAh, which is slightly more than the HTC One M8, but you also need to take into account the new, more powerful platform.
I've been using the HTC One M9 for a week, and my overall impression is that the device's battery life is exactly the same as the One M8. Taking the One M9 off the charger at 9-10 am and using it actively all day, I end up with a completely discharged smartphone in the late afternoon or night, depending on the activity of use. On average, the load is as follows - 40-60 minutes of calls, 10-20 text messages, Gmail, 3-4 hours of listening to music and about 1-2 hours of active use of the mobile Internet (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook messenger, browser).
The smartphone has a regular power saving mode, by turning it on, you can save battery power by lowering the screen brightness level, turning off data transfer and vibration.
And, like the HTC One M8, there is a critical power saving mode. IN this mode the processor operates at a reduced frequency, most sensors and sensors are turned off, when the screen is turned off, no data is transmitted, vibration is turned off and the screen brightness level is reduced. Moreover, in this mode, you have access to a limited set of applications, namely phone, mail (so far only configured through a proprietary client), messages, calendar and calculator. You cannot run other programs or add new ones to the list of those allowed to work in this mode.
Thanks to the new platform, the device supports fast charging, so the battery in the HTC One M9 can be charged to 60 percent in 50 minutes. However fast charging supported only with a special adapter, which is not included in the basic package and must be purchased separately.
Platform, memory
The smartphone is built on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform (MSM8994) with support for 64-bit architecture, a quad-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz (Cortex-A53) and a quad-core processor with a frequency of 2 GHz (Cortex-A57), graphics subsystem (GPU) - Adreno 430. The device has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory for storing user data, as well as a slot for a memory card.
HTC One M9 is one of the first devices to go on sale on the latest platform from Qualcomm. In addition to M9, LG G Flex 2, Xiaomi Mi are built on this chipset Note Pro and possibly the LG G4 and Sony Xperia Z4.
There are no performance issues with the device. Everything from the shell and launching programs to games like GTA San Andreas, at maximum graphics settings it works quickly and without the slightest delay. Below are the test results of the HTC One M9 in various benchmarks; to be honest, I simply have nothing to add. The smartphone is as fast as possible.
Now about heating. This is one of the problems with the Snapdragon 810 chipset, at least judging by the news online. In the M9, heating (information taken from the battery) is about 45-46 degrees, if you play San Andreas for about half an hour at maximum graphics settings, running the stress test built into the Antutu benchmark in the background. The body of the smartphone feels very warm. If you look at the heating indicators, there are devices where these values are 5 or even 10 degrees higher, but when you take these smartphones in your hand, you will not feel the same heating of the body as with the M9. The reason is aluminum. Where another plastic device retains some of the heat inside, the M9 takes everything onto the aluminum base of the case, and, in fact, when you hold the smartphone in your hands, you feel the same 45 degrees, which in another device is only partially transferred to the plastic case.
With daily use, the heating is practically not felt. If you turn on Wi-Fi and start updating 30 applications from Google Play, the heating will be noticeable, but, again, how often do you update 20-30 programs on your smartphone at the same time? Not too often, I think.
Interfaces
The smartphone works in GSM networks(850/900/1800/1900), HSDPA (850/900/1900/2100) and LTE FDD bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 20, 28 and TDD bands 38, 40, 41. LTE works including in Russia. You can turn wireless interfaces on and off through the settings or by adding one of several widgets to the main screen, as well as using the notification shade, which has a convenient menu with the ability to display exactly those switches that you need on the main screen.
To synchronize with a PC and transfer data, the included microUSB cable is used. The characteristics of the smartphone indicate the version of the USB 2.0 interface, but when you connect the HTC One M9 to a computer (Windows 7), the system displays a notification that this device may work faster if connected via USB 3.0. Transferring a 1GB file to a smartphone via USB 2.0 takes about 40 seconds.
The smartphone has support for USB On-The-Go (USB OTG) – you can connect flash drives and other storage devices, for example, a camera, to the device via an adapter to transfer pictures from it to the device’s memory. The system in HTC One allows you to read and copy information from flash drives formatted in the FAT/FAT32 file systems.
Bluetooth. Built-in Bluetooth 4.1 module with A2DP and LE support.
Wi-Fi (802.11 a/ac/b/g/n). HTC One M9 uses a dual-band Wi-Fi module. You can leave it to work automatic mode, or you can manually specify the operating frequency band for Wi-Fi - only 5 GHz or only 2.4 GHz. The module works flawlessly. In additional settings you can set the mode maximum performance(uncheck “Wi-Fi optimization”), and enable or disable automatic connection to the last saved active network. When the module is operating, the device does not heat up.
Wi-Fi router. The HTC One M9 has the ability to “share” a 2G/3G/4G Internet connection via Wi-Fi. On the menu wireless networks select the “Mobile Internet sharing” option and then “Wi-Fi router”. Here, when starting for the first time, you need to select a network name and password (WPA2). You can also set the maximum number of connections to your smartphone (1-8) or separately prohibit or allow each new connection. When the utility is enabled, you can connect to the Internet, “distributed” via Wi-Fi by your smartphone, from any device, be it a laptop, another smartphone or tablet, and so on.
DLNA, HDMI. The smartphone supports DLNA technology: if you have a DLNA-compatible media server and other devices at home, you can use HTC One M9 with them. For example, output sound or video from the device directly to the TV. The M9 also has HDMI support, the connector is combined with microUSB (MHL), and in order to use HDMI, you will need to buy a special cable.
NFC. Like previous flagships, the HTC One M9 has NFC support, but there are still few scenarios for using this module. Specifically, HTC uses this module to quickly connect a smartphone with wireless Bluetooth accessories (speaker, HTC mini+ remote control). And don’t forget that with the help of NFC and the Yandex.Metro program (or analogues) you can check on your smartphone for 55,000 rubles the number of remaining trips on your metro pass! I would like to believe that a version of the Wallet application will appear for the M9 in the near future, this will allow NFC to be used more actively.
Navigation
The M9 has GPS/Glonass support; searching for satellites takes a minimum amount of time, from 5 to 15 seconds. The device comes pre-installed with Google Maps and Google Navigation. Google Navigation is used as the main navigation program.
For convenient work with a smartphone when it is in a car mount, there is a special “In the car” mode. When you turn it on, you see large icons on the desktop; there are also special enlarged versions of the main applications: address book, music, settings, dialing. If desired, you can add shortcuts to other programs in this menu. In this mode, you can use a special assistant, a utility that performs voice commands like “Call + contact name”, “Play + track name” and some others. It's worth paying attention to this program if you're going to use the HTC One M9 while driving; it really works and recognizes commands quite well if you speak them more or less loudly and clearly.
HTC Dot View Case
A brilliant idea born in the wake of the popularity of pixel themes, cases first appeared for the HTC One M8 model, and it is logical that they are also available for the M9. In appearance, Dot View is an ordinary plastic book-size case, with a silicone lid perforated with blind holes. There are several colors and types of cases available to choose from - with a transparent silicone back (as in the photo) or with an opaque plastic one. In Russia, Dot View will be sold with a transparent “back”, in dark blue, light blue, pink and gray. Estimated cost – 3,000 rubles.
For those who don’t yet know what Dot View is, let me remind you. The highlight of the case is that it not only protects the smartphone body, but also displays various notifications. The notifications themselves are drawn on the screen in pixel font, and we see them through the perforated lid. It looks amazing, and, importantly, from a practical point of view, everything is also convenient. Double tap on the cover of the case and you can see the time and weather. Swipe from top to bottom during a call - hang up, from bottom to top - answer the call. The lid also displays notifications when a timer or alarm is triggered, and icons appear Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and some other applications if they have new messages, as well as new text messages and missed calls.
In standby mode, a double tap on the lid displays the time and picture, which is selected in the Dot View application. The image can be static or animated. If on the M8 the information from the case was comfortably read only indoors or in the evening, then on the M9 everything is clearly visible even during the day – the screen brightness was increased especially for this mode.
In general, Dot View is one of the exclusive features of the M9, like the M8. This is such an unexpected wow effect from such a simple idea that it’s hard to believe.
Software, HTC Sense 7.0
The smartphone runs Android 5.0 and uses proprietary Sense 7.0 as its shell. The new version of “sense” has a number of important changes, for some of them, such as design themes, which are very successful and implemented incredibly correctly and competently, I would like to hug and thank the developers. For others, such as the “oblique” font in the clock widget, I want to throw a rotten tomato. I'll talk about all the changes in the new Sense 7.0. in a separate article, it will be published on Friday or Monday.
Conclusion
To the quality of signal reception in a week using HTC I didn't have any complaints about the One M9. The device picks up the network well, the sound in the conversational speaker is clear, without wheezing or extraneous noise, the volume reserve is small, but still present. The vibration alert is relatively strong and is felt, despite the size and weight of the device, in most situations. The volume of the ringing speakers is above average, and, as in the case of the M8, I cannot say that the speakers are super loud, but this is compensated by the high sound quality.
There is no exact information on the price of HTC One M9 in Russia and the start date of official sales, so I will only talk about preliminary information. There is a high probability that the HTC One M9 will go on sale here at the end of April, the cost will be around 55,000 rubles, plus or minus 2,000-3,000 rubles up or down. That is, in terms of price, the smartphone will be between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.
Yes, we can confidently say that in terms of the combination of characteristics and price, the HTC One M9 loses to the Samsung Galaxy S6, but let's go back to the beginning of the material. Unlike large corporations, HTC looks, let's say, a little modest compared to them. And the mere fact that year after year HTC's flagships are compared to the flagships of the largest manufacturers means a lot. I don't want to say that HTC is a small poor company, and there are predatory sharks around, but if you look at it objectively, HTC is firmly holding on to its user in this competitive market, and M9 is another step towards not the mass user, but two categories - people , who like HTC, and people who like high-quality, well-made things, not plastic rattles. With the first category, everything is approximately clear: One M9 is all the best from the previous model with a new camera module and on a new platform, successful solutions have been preserved to the maximum. For the second category, the HTC One M9 received a gold color, incredibly cool and impressive in real life, a 20 MP camera module, so as not to scare people away with “technology” and not try to explain the power of four ultrapixels, as well as another update to Sense, simple, beautiful and an easy-to-use shell that looks organic even on Android 5.0.
Thus, the HTC One M9 smartphone is another step by the company towards a perfectly balanced Android-based smartphone. Yes, one can ironically note that the company has been moving in this direction for a long time, but it is also impossible not to note the progress. It may be slow, but HTC is moving forward. The M9 has a normal camera module, the body itself has become even better and more impressive, while remaining practical, the speakers have also been improved, the new platform was chosen even with a margin, I would say. Among the shortcomings - not the most universal color profile for the screen, maximum realism of the picture without “embellishment” will not appeal to everyone, as well as wide frames, I would like to see from HTC not just filigree work with metal, but also new solutions in the design of the front panel, with thin frames. The camera has never been a strong point of the company's devices, it seems that you just have to come to terms with this, but here, too, the progress compared to other models from HTC is obvious and visible to the eye.
Is it worth exchanging last year's M8 for the new HTC One M9? To be honest, I wouldn't unless you really want a new 20MP camera because the ultrapixel detail is lacking. But if you have any other smartphone from HTC, from the M7 to models from the Desire line, be sure to take a closer look at the HTC One M9 when you choose a new device. Yes, perhaps this is not the most flagship flagship on the Android smartphone market, but the company has created a balanced device in a well-made metal case.
Improved and updated flagship
This time the central figure at the stand of the Taiwanese company NTS during the spring exhibition MWC 2015 in Barcelona was new flagship Chinese smartphone called One M9. And this is somewhat surprising, because before this, in all previous years, the company organized separate large-scale presentations outside of any international exhibitions to present its mobile flagships.
But what’s even more surprising is that, unlike market leaders such as Apple and Samsung, who this time made quite a lot of fundamental changes to the new generations of their products, the next NTS flagship has changed very little compared to its predecessor last year. A more recent hardware platform was installed, the battery capacity was slightly increased, but the screen, as the main and main measure for any modern mobile product, remained absolutely the same - both in size and resolution. The body has also undergone almost no changes - the dimensions and weight remain almost the same. And this is completely surprising against the backdrop of the general boom in “shovel building”, which even Google got involved in, whose smartphones in past years were considered almost the standard of elegance and which in the new season unexpectedly released one of the largest and heaviest smartphones in the world. In this regard, the Taiwanese remained true to themselves; they maintained a good balance of size and weight, providing an outlet for those users who, for some reason, still do not want to switch to huge tablet phones. And that's not bad at all.
And yet, who in the new season could well be satisfied with the “improving” prefix “s” in the name is the next flagship of NTS, since on new model The number of changes is clearly not enough. The main and most significant “innovation” compared to the previous version is a return to “normal” cameras. Having played enough with “ultrapixels”, the developers finally came to the conclusion that this is not the most the best option, and turned their attention to the “classics”. Instead of 4 megapixels (the main camera!), “20 megapixels” is now proudly displayed here, which may finally allow true fans of the brand to breathe a sigh of relief. Read about whether the camera of the new NTS flagship takes better pictures, and about other changes that have occurred with the next representative of the famous family.
Video review
To get started, we suggest watching our video review HTC smartphone One M9:
Now let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.
Key Features of HTC One M9
| HTC One M9 | Meizu MX4 | LG G Flex 2 | Nexus 6 | Samsung Galaxy S6 | |
| Screen | 5″, S-LCD 3 | 5.36″, IPS | 5.5″, P-OLED | 5.96″, AMOLED | 5.1″, Super AMOLED |
| Permission | 1920×1080, 441 ppi | 1920×1152, 418 ppi | 1920×1080, 401 ppi | 2560×1440, 493 ppi | 2560×1440, 577 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Mediatek MT6595 Octa-core (4 Cortex-A17 @2.2 GHz and 4 Cortex-A7 @1.7 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 (4 cores Krait 450 @2.7 GHz) | Exynos 7420 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.1 GHz and 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 430 | PowerVR G6200 | Adreno 430 | Adreno 420 | Mali-T760 |
| RAM | 3 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Flash memory | 32 GB | 16/32/64 GB | 32 GB | 32/64 GB | 32/64/128 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | — | microSD | — | — |
| operating system | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 |
| Battery | non-removable, 2840 mAh | non-removable, 3100 mAh | non-removable, 3000 mAh | non-removable, 3220 mAh | non-removable, 2550 mAh |
| Cameras | main (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (4 MP) | main (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP) | main (13 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP) | main (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | |
| Dimensions and weight | 145×70×9.6 mm, 157 g | 144×75×8.9 mm, 147 g | 149×75×9.4 mm, 154 g | 159×83×10.1 mm, 184 g | 143×70×6.8 mm, 138 g |
| average price | T-12259334 | T-11010064 | T-11883628 | T-11153512 | T-12259333 |
| HTC One M9 offers | L-12259334-10 | ||||
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994), 64-bit platform, two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.0 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53
- GPU Adreno 430 @600 MHz
- Operating system Android 5.0.2, Lollipop
- Touch display Super LCD 3 (IPS) 5″, 1920×1080, 441 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB, internal memory 32 GB
- SIM cards: Nano-SIM (1 pc.)
- Supports microSD memory cards (up to 2 TB)
- Data transfer 4G LTE Advanced Cat 6 (up to 300 Mbps)
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac MIMO (2.4/5 GHz), point Wi-Fi access, Wi-Fi Direct
- Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, IR port
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
- USB 2.0, OTG, MHL 3.0
- Camera 20.7 MP, autofocus, 4K video
- 4 MP UltraPixel camera, front
- Gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, electronic compass
- Battery 2840 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions 145×70×9.6 mm
- Weight 157 g
Contents of delivery
The HTC One M9 smartphone is sold in a very small flat box of a familiar shape - the same as all HTC product packaging (but smaller in size). The box is made of thin white cardboard with a minimum number of logos and inscriptions.
The accessory kit contains a charger (5 V, 1.5 A), a Micro-USB connecting cable, as well as a stereo headset with a tangle-free flat wire and in-ear headphones. The covers on the side slots for installing cards are opened using the supplied metal key-clip.
Appearance and ease of use
Unlike the all-metal cases that NTS once laser-cut for its top-end smartphones, the new flagship M9, like last year’s M8 model, received a case that was only half metal. A solid aluminum trough, a sort of tray that makes up the back wall and sides, is completely open at the front - here a lid with a glass/display fixed in it is glued to it, and this frame is made entirely of plastic, painted to match the color of the metal. This is immediately noticeable, to the touch, and even at a quick glance, the texture of the front part is noticeably different from the back surface, although the developers clearly tried to create the appearance that the body was all-metal.
All the usual forms of corporate design are observed: in appearance, the new flagship HTC One M9 is practically indistinguishable from its predecessors M7 and M8. All the same streamlined shapes, strongly rounded corners, and most importantly, this sloping back cover, rounded in the manner of a paperweight, because of which the smartphone sways when lying on the table. It is decidedly inconvenient to work with the One M9 NTS lying on a hard surface, since the body sways with any pressure.
As for the dimensions of the device, we can only praise the developers here. Apparently, it was difficult for them to resist the temptation and not succumb to the general movement of manufacturers towards increasing dimensions, but they managed to do it. As a result, NTS released a five-inch smartphone to the market in the new season, the dimensions of which would have been considered gigantic just a few years ago, but now it is one of the most elegant and small top-level smartphones in the world. Due to the thoughtful combination of dimensions, matte back surface and strongly sloping lid, the smartphone is held very comfortably in the hand. The surfaces are not easily soiled, but metal still remains, by definition, more slippery than plastic, nothing can be done about it.
The upper and lower parts of the frame around the screen on the front panel are traditionally very wide, since under them there are front-facing stereo speakers, covered with grilles in the form of an array of round holes. In addition, the wide black strip under the screen is usually not occupied by anything except the corporate logo, and, as usual, a whole centimeter of extra space on the front panel is spent on it, although the control buttons here are virtual. The developers claim that this strip is necessary due to the presence of a speaker underneath it. Be that as it may, in the lower part under the screen the width of the frame reaches almost 20 mm, and this is unusual by modern standards.
Above the screen at the top, in addition to the speaker grille and sensor and camera eyes, there is also such a useful element as an LED alert indicator. A small bright dot shines directly through the hole in the speaker grill, alerting you to charging status and incoming events.
On the back side, accordingly, there are no grilles for sound output; on the entire rear surface you can only find a large square camera eye with a dual multi-colored LED flash next to it. The flash can be used as a flashlight using a special preset program. The stripes that can be seen on the back surface of the case are the now familiar chamfers cut into the metal for placing antennas in them. NTS was the first to think of this when creating its first all-metal NTS One (M7), and now both Apple and Samsung have followed this path.
The SIM card and memory card are usually inserted into the side slots, sliding into them on plastic trays with a metal base. The slides are pulled out of the connectors using the familiar method of pressing hidden buttons using a key or any paper clip. It should be noted that this time the holes for the key have become wider, now any paperclip can actually fit here.
The slots are located on the sides of the case: one is for a Nano-SIM SIM card, and the other is for a microSD memory card up to 2 TB. It is not possible to insert a second SIM card in place of the memory card; such an option is not provided here.
Until recently, NTS stubbornly installed the power and lock buttons on the top end, but after even Apple moved this element to the side, it finally gave in. In the HTC One M9, the power button has also been moved to the side, but it is still unclear whether it has improved. Now the power key is embedded below the central axis, and this is completely inconvenient. Tactilely, the keys are practically indistinguishable from each other; your finger constantly presses the button in the middle, which is responsible for decreasing the volume, because it is in the most comfortable place. In general, NTS once again went too far with the buttons, although it would seem that everything had been invented and perfected a long time ago; it was enough to just spy on the competitors.
At the bottom end of the case there is a universal Micro-USB 2.0 connector with support for connecting external devices in OTG mode. A 3.5 mm audio output connector to the headphone minijack is also embedded here, which may perhaps cause some inconvenience when connecting both plugs at the same time.
It is possible that all this nonsense with the strange placement of buttons and connectors on the case is caused by the presence of an infrared port on the upper end of the case. However, who forced this element to be made so large that it completely occupied the entire surface of the end? After all, other developers also have models with an infrared port - take the same Samsung Galaxy S6, for example. But there is not the slightest problem with this; all control elements are distributed throughout the body conveniently and comfortably.
As for the color options of the new product, no revelations have happened here: the device goes on sale in three colors that have already become familiar: silver, dark gray and gold. The smartphone does not have sealed covers on its connectors, since it is not protected from water and dust. There is no fastening for the strap on its surface. The device also does not support wireless charging.
Screen
HTC One M9 is equipped with a Super LCD 3 (IPS) sensor matrix - in terms of external parameters, it is exactly the same as that used in the previous M8 model. The screen dimensions are 62x110 mm, diagonal - 5 inches, resolution - 1920x1080 pixels. Accordingly, the dot density is very high, reaching a value of 441 ppi.
The thickness of the frame from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is not a record. From the sides it is approximately 3.5 mm, from the top - 15 mm, from the bottom - almost 20 mm.
The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches, but for this, as is usual in NTS smartphones, you need to enable 3-finger gesture recognition in the settings. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor. The screen can be unlocked by double tapping the glass, and it is possible to operate the screen while wearing gloves.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is HTC One M9, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the HTC One M9 is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 104 versus 108 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the HTC One M9 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (slightly better in efficiency than the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.
With manual brightness control and when the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 480 cd/m², the minimum was 9.7 cd/m². The maximum brightness is high, which means, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (located to the left of the front camera). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is 100%, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 9.7 cd/m² (a bit dark, but you can read the screen), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 400 lux) the brightness increases to 150 cd/ m² (normal), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) is set to 450 cd/m² (not the maximum, but enough). Brightness slider at 50% - the values are as follows: 7.2, 110 and 340 cd/m² (acceptable values), at 0% - 4.8, 72 and 230 cd/m² (the logic is clear). That is, the auto-brightness function works adequately. Only at the lowest level of backlight brightness does significant modulation appear, but its frequency is high - 2.3 kHz - so we can assume that there is no screen flickering at all.
This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which identical images are displayed on the screens of HTC One M9 and Nexus 7, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
Color reproduction is good, but the color balance varies significantly and the picture on the HTC One M9 is clearly dark. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the HTC One M9 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong bleaching of blacks. And a white field:
The brightness of the screens at an angle has decreased (by at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the HTC One M9's screen is slightly brighter (the average brightness in photographs is 234 versus 229 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a purple tint or remains a conditionally neutral gray. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is very good:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 700:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 14 ms (8 ms on + 6 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 21 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.13, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates somewhat from the power-law dependence:
Due to the dynamic and very aggressive adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the output image (in dark areas the brightness decreases), the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray almost in full screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. Let us show the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time when switching from a black field to a white field in half of the screen alternately, while the average brightness does not change and dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness does not work (graph 50%/50% ). And the same dependence, but with alternate display of fields in full screen (graph 100% ), while the average brightness is already changing and dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness works in full:
In general, such non-switchable brightness correction does nothing but harm, since constantly changing the screen brightness can at least cause some discomfort, reduce the visibility of gradations in shadows in the case of dark images and reduce the readability of the screen in bright light.
Color gamut is close to sRGB:
The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:
As a result, the colors have a natural saturation. Grayscale tonal balance is mediocre because Colorful temperature significantly higher than the standard 6500 K and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is more than 10, which is considered a bad indicator even for a consumer device. The balance is shifted, of course, due to an excess of blue and green, thereby the manufacturer overestimates the brightness, neglecting the quality of color rendition. But it’s good that at least the color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
Let's summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. The mode with automatic brightness adjustment works adequately. The advantages of the screen include the presence of an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of flicker and air gap in the layers of the screen, good uniformity of the black field, as well as close to sRGB color gamut. Significant disadvantages include low black stability due to gaze deviation from perpendicular to the screen plane, average color rendering quality, as well as aggressive, non-disabled dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered high.
Sound
In terms of sound, the flagship NTS One series smartphones have always had everything at the highest level. This time the developers went even further; in collaboration with the Dolby laboratory, they achieved the effect of surround sound produced by stereo speakers. With the help of built-in HTC BoomSound and Dolby Audio technologies, the smartphone copes with music of any complexity and any genre - it can even handle multi-channel tracks from YouTube. The device, as usual, is equipped with two front stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, so the smartphone sounds excellent. The sound is quite loud, clear throughout the entire spectrum, low frequencies in abundance, no distortion was noticed at the maximum volume level. The same applies to the sound in headphones, and in general the sound of the HTC One M9 is nothing but admirable. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable.
To play music, the device uses its own proprietary NTS Music player. All sound effects united by BoomSound technology and left to automation - almost nothing can be configured manually.
The smartphone comes standard with an FM radio, and a voice recorder was also found. Record telephone conversations from a smartphone line regular means can not.
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Camera
As for the cameras, this time the HTC developers have finally put everything in its place. Unlike the previous model in the series, in which the same controversial 4-megapixel module called HTC UltraPixel played the role of the main camera, here it was used only for the front camera, where it probably belongs. Let us remind you that the HTC UltraPixel is a specific module developed by NTS, with a pixel size of 2.0 microns, a sensor size of 1/3″, matrix back-illumination technology, a special HTC ImageChip 2 processor, an F2.0 aperture and a 26.8 mm lens. Unlike, for example, HTC Desire Eye, here the front camera is not equipped with its own LED flash and autofocus.
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The main camera in HTC One M9 is equipped with a 20.7-megapixel module with a BSI sensor and a 28 mm wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture. The camera has auto focus function and dual-color LED flash. The objective lens is covered with sapphire glass. Video recording is carried out with a resolution of up to 4K.
The camera control menu is exactly the same as in the HTC Desire Eye model. The menu is drawn large, easy to use and intuitive. You can take pictures by touching the screen, pressing a mechanical button on the side, as well as using gestures and voice. The new proprietary service, called HTC Eye Experience, includes face tracking, screen sharing, simultaneous dual shooting, real-time makeup, voice and automatic selfies, Photo Kiosk and Crop Me In modes, as well as Face Fusion. The dual capture function allows you to take photos or videos with the front and rear cameras, either synchronously or sequentially, and simultaneously display both images on the screen, so users can capture not only events, but also their reactions to them. There is also a proprietary Zoe mode - a photography mode in which the camera not only takes several pictures in a row, but also stitches them together into a micro-video.
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The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 4K, and there is also the ability to shoot in an even more interesting combination of size and video image quality, 1080p mode at 60 fps. The slow motion mode has not been forgotten either. Examples of various test videos are presented below.
- Video No. 1 (35 MB, 1920×1080@60 fps)
- Video No. 2 (32 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)
- Video No. 3 (81 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps)
- Video No. 4 (76 MB, 1280×720@30 fps, Slo-mo)
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Good sharpness and work with noise, although for such a high resolution the noise reduction work is clearly too rough. |
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Sharpness drops a little in the corners, but overall everything is good. |
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Despite a high resolution, the camera does not cope well with small details, which is clearly visible in the branches. |
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There are some unpleasant artifacts in the sky. |
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Sometimes small parts The camera does a good job, but often a multi-colored outline appears around them, which is probably a consequence of the pixel being too small. |
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But often small details simply go out of focus. The license plates of all cars are distinguishable. |
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A slight sharpening is noticeable on the wires. |
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The dynamic range of the sensor is narrow. If the program could “filter out” the noise coming through the tree branches, the image would benefit greatly. |
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The camera copes well with macro photography. |
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The flash significantly improves the situation. |
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The camera handles text with flash well. |
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Without flash it's a little worse, but still not bad. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
Having practically abandoned the idea of "ultrapixels", HTC decided to move straight to "large megapixels", but, unfortunately, such a sharp jump was beyond their strength. There is nothing surprising in this: beautifully describing the advantages of a “low-pixel” camera, which itself takes good pictures, you can easily relax and forget that the transition to a “multi-pixel” one requires a lot of work in every sense. HTC decided to “wave without looking” by providing new smartphone sensor of the highest resolution currently among cameras in this class. But they did not take into account that “ high resolution- great responsibility". And the result of this not fully thought-out step is before our eyes.
The fact that the pictures were taken with the flagship’s camera can only be guessed from the EXIF, since even the field test shows a result slightly below average. A laboratory test confirms what we saw: the camera doesn’t work that bad, but the sensor resolution is not great, although the optics fail in places.
In fact, HTC's main mistake is not in the crude program, but in the attempt to use the full resolution of the sensor, which also requires cleaner optics. Even Sony engineers, who used a similar sensor for the first time, cheated by limiting the output image resolution to 8 megapixels in auto mode. This allowed us to slightly increase the actual camera resolution and significantly improve the visual one. Here we see a good real resolution, which, after software improvements and a little compression, could be higher, but given the current state of affairs, this is nothing more than a dream.
As a result, with a little more competent and cunning formulation of the task, HTC could have achieved a very good result. After working a little harder on software processing and then reducing the image by half, it would be quite possible to claim a place at the top of the ratings. For now, everything looks crude and ill-considered, although it shows great promise. In addition, the camera copes well with documentary shooting.
For some reason out of three possible options The classic aspect ratio here is 10:7, but 4:3 is absent, which indicates a non-standard sensor, since the maximum image resolution is obtained precisely with an aspect ratio of 10:7.
Judging by rumors, the camera supports shooting in RAW, but we were unable to find this function. However, the loss is small, since the ability to shoot in RAW with a smartphone camera is in itself questionable, and even more so with such a quality module.
The old “ultrapixel” module has moved to the front panel, although not without losses. Firstly, of course, the lens has changed, and secondly, the sensor itself has changed a little. But in any case, it is suitable for taking selfies even in not the best lighting, which is confirmed by a laboratory test of the front camera.
Telephone and communications
The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also supports fourth-generation networks FDD-LTE, that is, frequencies used in Russia are also supported. In practice, with SIM cards from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone is confidently registered and works in 4G networks. The communication capabilities of the smartphone are excellent: both Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), NFC, Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX audio codec, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display are supported, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi channels or Bluetooth. The Micro-USB 2.0 connector supports connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG), so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to the Micro-USB port.
The navigation module works not only with GPS (with A-GPS), but also with the domestic Glonass, but the smartphone did not see the satellites of the Chinese Beidou network (BDS). There are no complaints about the operation of the navigation module; the first satellites are detected literally in a matter of seconds. Also among the smartphone sensors there is a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the digital compass, so necessary in navigation programs, works.
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OS and software
The system immediately uses the latest Google software platform Android versions 5.0.2 and an updated proprietary graphical user interface for HTC Sense 7. The update to the serial number of the Sense shell is mainly due to the fact that it works with new version Android OS, but otherwise remains the same appearance and the possibilities are almost the same. Branded elongated fonts, flat stylized icons, a vertical way of scrolling the program menu, the structure of the notification panel and quick access to the main functions, support for working with gestures - everything is familiar. Shutdown mode available sound notifications by Do Not Disturb time, two energy-saving modes, as well as child mode. Smart program Remote is responsible for the functioning of the IR transmitter as a remote control, and the BlinkFeed news service is on site. Now the BlinkFeed service will search for information based on the location of the smartphone.
There are not many pre-installed programs, they are all useful: available file manager, a package for working with office documents, its own archiving service and a convenient function for transferring personal data from an old device to a new one, a comprehensive program for cleaning memory and optimizing free space Clean Master is installed.
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Changes associated with the transition to the fifth version of Android OS were expressed mainly in the appearance of separate interactive information tiles with alerts; Otherwise, the developers have retained their own organization of all menus, notification panels, and recent menus. open source software without changes. The HTC One M9 now offers more personalization options. HTC app“Theme” allows you to design your work screens in your own way: use your own photographs and pictures from online resources, change the shape and size of icons. But what’s more interesting is that a context-sensitive home screen has appeared: a special widget now automatically detects the user’s location and selects applications based on his location and personal settings. As planned by the creators, the necessary services and tools will themselves appear on the home screen exactly at the moment when they are needed. In any case, you can manually switch the “Home” or “Work” modes on the widget with the appropriate set of applications displayed on the home screen in a separate widget.
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Performance
The HTC One M9 hardware platform is built on the latest and most powerful of the entire family of Qualcomm single-chip systems - Snapdragon 810. This 64-bit platform is made using a 20 nm process technology, and includes four powerful 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 cores with frequencies up to 2 GHz, which is complemented by four simpler 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz, providing high energy efficiency or performance depending on specific tasks.
The modern Adreno 430 video accelerator is responsible for processing graphics in the SoC. The RAM capacity of the smartphone is a decent 3 GB. For the user's needs, the device has about 23 GB of flash memory out of 32 nominal. Memory can be expanded by installing microSD cards, the volume of which can reach 2 TB, which does not yet sound quite familiar, and such cards are not yet available for sale. The device also supports connecting external flash drives, keyboards and mice to the Micro-USB port in OTG mode.
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The HTC One M9 is not the first smartphone to feature Qualcomm's latest and most powerful SoC. At the beginning of the year, we already got acquainted with the capabilities of the Snapdragon 810 using the example of the LG G Flex 2, and it should be noted that in comparison with it, the results of the new HTC product were surprising. Perhaps the developers slightly “stifled” the powerful processor so that the metal case did not heat up too much, or there are some other explanations for this, but the fact remains: the HTC One M9 on the same platform showed lower results in literally all tests than Korean smartphone. In the 64-bit version of AnTuTu, the scores reached 50K, but in the standard test the resulting figure did not even reach 45K points. The same applies to all other tests with the exception of Bonsai Benchmark (in which the subject proved himself to be a true hero, losing only to himself powerful smartphone modernity, Samsung Galaxy S6). In other graphics benchmarks, the HTC One M9 is also not as bad as in complex and browser tests, but still, even in them it proved to be not at all on par with the faster Korean in everything.
Be that as it may, the hardware of the HTC One M9 smartphone is in any case powerful enough to cope with any tasks posed by demanding programs and heavy 3D games. Although now there is no need to talk about the unconditional superiority of Qualcomm in this field: the most powerful of the entire Snapdragon family is still inferior in the new season to the top platforms MediaTek and Samsung Exynos, and this is an alarming fact.
Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| HTC One M9 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
Meizu MX4 (Mediatek MT6595) |
LG G Flex 2 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
Nexus 6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 805) |
Samsung Galaxy S6 (Exynos 7420) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better) |
Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better) |
20538 | 16691 | 24102 | 23234 | 21204 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen) | 37 fps | 21.7 fps | 46 fps | 23 fps | 30 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen) | 36 fps | 23.2 fps | 46 fps | 29 fps | 46 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 4092 (58 fps) | 4033 (58 fps) | 3613 (52 fps) | 3633 (52 fps) | 4185 (60 fps) |
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Below is a thermal image of the rear surface (the top of the image is on the right), obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:
It can be seen that the heating is localized approximately in the center of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. At the same time, the metal part of the back cover distributes heat well over the entire surface.
Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
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Playing video
To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.
According to the test results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders, in this case audio, which are necessary for full playback of most of the most common files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player.
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Standard video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | The video plays fine, there is no sound |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | The video plays fine, there is no sound |
Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.
We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone (although its presence is stated in the specification), so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table: Red marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files.
According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is very good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. The smartphone can even display files with a resolution of 4K up to 30 fps inclusive. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p), the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one pixel by pixel, exactly along the edge of the screen and in true Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to standard range 16—235, which is what is required for correct playback of typical video files.
Battery life
The HTC One M9 has a non-removable battery with a decent capacity of 2840 mAh, but even with a screen that is not the largest in area and resolution, the smartphone still did not demonstrate any outstanding results. Everything is within normal limits, but many modern flagships already show a better level of autonomy. The manufacturer itself promises up to 25.4 hours of talk time and up to 391 hours of standby time. It is also worth recalling that the HTC One M9, like other modern NTS models, has two energy-saving modes - normal and extreme: in the latter, most services and network modules are simply turned off, and the smartphone essentially turns into an ordinary phone for calls, but is capable last much longer in this mode.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
| HTC One M9 | 2840 mAh | 11:00 am | 8 a.m. 20 p.m. | 3 hours 50 minutes |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | 2550 mAh | 20:00 | 12:00 pm | 4:00 am |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | 2600 mAh | 22:10 | 12:00 pm | 3 hours 20 minutes |
| Samsung Note 4 | 3220 mAh | 10:30 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. | 3 hours 50 minutes |
| Yotaphone 2 | 2500 mAh | 12:00 pm | 9:30 a.m. | 3 hours 15 minutes |
| Lenovo Vibe X2 | 2300 mAh | 13:00 | 6:00 am | 3 hours 15 minutes |
| Meizu MX4 | 3100 mAh | 12:00 pm | 8 hours 40 minutes | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Meizu MX4 Pro | 3350 mAh | 16:00 | 8 hours 40 minutes | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Sony Xperia Z3 | 3100 mAh | 20:00 | 10:00 am | 4 hours 50 minutes |
Our own tests in the most common modes of use showed that continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted only 11 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and with continuous watching videos in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via home Wi-Fi network The device lasted less than 8.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone did not reach 4 hours. The smartphone battery charges in just under 3 hours.
Bottom line
As for the cost of the HTC One M9, it has not yet been finally determined for our market, although pre-orders for the model are already open in some retail chains. The Taiwanese's next flagship was not just solid; The main thing is that the new model can rightfully be called a successful work on bugs. Almost everything that was unsuccessfully implemented in previous models of the series has been corrected here (with the possible exception of the ridiculous placement of the lock button). The smartphone has a stylish and expensive design, premium materials and is well assembled. An excellent screen, an improved camera and powerful hardware with an excellent set of network modules complete the overall picture. At the same time, it cannot be said that the NTS flagship is the most advanced device: there is neither a fingerprint scanner nor support for wireless charging, no protection from water, and the level of autonomy also leaves much to be desired. In comparison with the most advanced modern top models of market leaders, the new flagship NTS, perhaps, has nothing special to brag about; it is a solid smartphone high level, no more. And in this regard, there is hope that the manufacturer, realizing this, will not set the same exorbitant price for its new product as, for example, Samsung has set for its latest creations. All that remains is to wait for the official announcement of the price for the Russian market, this will put everything in its place and determine the final place in the sun for one of the best modern smartphones called HTC One M9.
Yandex Market
Longtime HTC fan. I've been using phones from this company since they released damn cool PDAs. Now things are very bad for them, but I remain faithful to them. I bought this smartphone literally at the moment when it just appeared on the market for 30 thousand rubles. I've been using it for 3 years now and will be changing it soon. I can say with confidence that this phone didn’t cost 30 thousand even then, let alone now. Performance leaves much to be desired. When many applications are running, the phone starts to slow down. When you launch the game, you need to wait until it loads completely. I don’t know why they shoved this dubious Qualcom 810 here, which gets damn hot if you run 2+ applications. That's why I always walked with the power saving mode turned on. This is immediately a question about the battery, which is also not the best here. The volume is small, the charge is wasted like crazy, you need to root the phone and disable all third-party processes. The main camera does not shine with any super quality, although it is stated to be 20 megapixels. On the street you get the usual good pictures. But if you need to photograph something point-blank, in detail and specifically, the camera begins to dull. Focuses on the desired point every other time. From memory everything is not bad, I’m not able to fill 32 GB even without a flash drive. Regarding the sound. Just awful. I can't hear the speakers, there is no sound. I haven't heard such a quiet sound since I used HTC One V. Regarding the assembly, at least they didn’t screw up here. Yes, the battery is non-removable, but the body is completely steel. The phone fell onto the asphalt a couple of times due to inattention, some bumps remained, but nothing critical happened. After using it for such a long time, I realized that I made a mistake when I bought this htc. The phone was not worth its 30k rubles. Now the price of such a smartphone is 13-14 thousand.
Yandex Market
I have a dark-colored model, and after 2 years of wearing it in the case, debris that gets into it scratches the case. The screen has been protected with protective glass since birth, the phone itself has hung only 2 times, the device is very good for its year, at the time of purchase it cost 20 thousand rubles. The sound and STEREO SPEAKERS are simply gorgeous; there are no analogues from other manufacturers! After the release of Android 6 and then 7, the phone began to save battery very well. Case and screen without cracks. with Wi-Fi, Youtube, WhatsApp on until the evening it is discharged to 35%
Sergey D. a year ago
Yandex Market
I bought it used. Based on performance data from Antutu. I bought it for 5000 (after a fall there was a dent and a dent on the back cover, so they sold it so cheap). The condition of the back cover is not annoying - the phone is a high-performance gadget, and not an element of pathos. The first thing that pleased me was the sound. He's gorgeous!! I set up a full-fledged stereo with pseudo 3D, guys, this is AWESOME!!! The performance is high - 108,000 points in Antutu - fast memory, in 3 months I have never crashed on the native firmware. Yes, because of such a powerful processor, it gets very hot, but this is already a jamb of the manufacturers (a very narrow copper plate is used for the heat sink - in the HTC One X+ it is twice as wide, although the processor there is 6 times weaker). And they won’t solve the heating problem - well, they won’t be able to fix the lack of hardware cooling with updates! But the software for the camera can be improved. Initially, the photomatrix model was Toshiba T4KA7 (far from Sony IMX). But they still can’t release normal software for the camera. On the plus side, the camera shoots in RAW - this is a vast field for photographers. I recommend that others install third-party software for the camera and you will be happy))) I checked a lot of custom firmware - there are good ones, without unnecessary programs, but some sensors (IR remote control, NFC) do not work correctly. I returned to the native firmware, installed custom Recovery and Root rights, I turned off unnecessary applications - now I don’t know grief. Everything flies. Battery consumption is high, but fast charging compensates for this. I recommend!
Anton Sh. 2 years ago
Yandex Market
I’ve been using the phone for a month. I chose the Gold on silver option. Apart from the camera, I didn’t notice any shortcomings. The design is excellent, the back is very beautiful. The shell is excellent, the personalization makes me happy. In my mode of use (medium games, social networks, YouTube) it lasts for the whole working day. Constantly in power saving mode, but the phone can handle everything with it. I’m happy with the camera, although it’s not the best. Overall very pleased with the smartphone.
Marat Abdullin 2 years ago
Yandex Market
This is the worst purchase of my life, after which I have a negative attitude towards HTC products. For this money you could buy an iPhone or Samsung. Maybe someone needs a useless brick for spare parts, for a symbolic price?
Natalia Vasilieva 2 years ago
Yandex Market
I've been using it for almost two years and it started to glitch when charging.
Sergey Zakharov 2 years ago
Yandex Market
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