HTC has announced the flagship device of the year 2015 the HTC One A9. There were already so much rumors and leaks about the One A9 that we already had almost all of the information except the prices and official launch date. The HTC One A9 is much similar in design to iPhone 6 and the HTC CEO claims that the latest HTC flagship will end the rule of iPhone in the smartphones world. Although the claim of becoming an alternate of the iPhone is huge especially when HTC is already struggling with its HTC One M9 released earlier in 2015, it is still a good device and we hope it will boost the future of HTC in the smartphones market.
Read More: HTC One A9 will be a mid range Phone; AnTuTu benchmark suggests
Lets have a brief look at the HTC One A9 specifications, design and hardware details and decide what HTC is offering to us.
HTC One A9 Design is similar to the design of iPhone 6/6S But with Unique HTC attributes
HTC has a rich history of designing the high end smartphones with elegance and premium design. The Original Nexus was the result of Google and HTC partnership. With their own design, HTC has launched a lot of flagship devices which were very similar to each other from the exterior design point of view. But the HTC One A9 is different. You see a complete new design concepts in the HTC One A9 which shows the shift in the design philosophy of the HTC as well. With brushed aluminum casing and shiny edges we find another HTC device with metal casing which gives the premium looks.
You will find some real changes in the HTC One A9 when comparing it to the HTC One M9 or other HTC flagships. For instance, the iconic dual speakers on top of the display are no more there and have been replaced with a single earpiece on the top. Whereas speaker has been sent to the bottom in the new design. You will also find a new position of camera which is now more centered.
HTC One A9 is equipped with fingerprint sensors now
Contrary to HTC One M9, HTC One A9 has a finger print sensor along with it, which has become one of the most common attribute of the latest flagship phones. The responsive fingerprint sensor also works as a home button when required as well in the One A9.
Read More: HTC One M9 : All new features you will love to know [Official Images]
HTC One A9 Display is much superior to its competitors
Although the design of HTC One A9 is similar to that of Apple iPhone 6/6S but HTC One A9 has a definite edge over iPhone 6/6S in terms of the display. As compared to the 750 x 1334 pixel resolution of iPhone 6/6S, the HTC One A9 has a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 with 5-inch screen size. Although you can find the HTC One M9 display more crispier than the HTC One A9 display but it still gives high resolution display with AMOLED panel. One thing which comes in mind for giving preference to the AMOLED display over super LCD display is the power efficiency and less bulk in screen size.
HTC One A9 Interface is more ‘touchy’ with the same Sense 7 experience over Android Marshmallow with some alterations
HTC One A9 runs over Android 6.0 Marshmallow using the Sense 7 UI/UX of HTC with some tweaks. This merger of Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Sense 7 brings a fresh experience to the Android users using the HTC device. Overall except the Android 6.0, there is not much difference in the interface of HTC One A9 and HTC One M9 but still One A9 has an edge due to some tweaks in the Sense 7 by HTC like better multi-tasking and improved notification panels.
Along with the Sense 7, you will find the freedom to customize the theme, icon packs and you can get more live wallpapers on the HTC One A9.
HTC One A9 Performance Expectations
Despite the overheating issues in One M9 which was using the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, HTC continues to use the 64-bit hexa-core Snapdragon 617 chipset which is powered by 2GB RAM and 32 GB ROM. The Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 617 chipset supports the Quick Charge feature and it is the latest chipset by Qualcomm.
Overall performance of the HTC One A9 is much satisfactory and gives great results under heavy usage and this is due to the tweaks in the Sense 7.0 by HTC to make it compatible with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Although HTC took many decisions to make HTC One A9 design more aligned with the latest trends, it did not discard the SD card which we saw in the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge following the path of Apple iPhone.
HTC One A9 Camera supports shooting Raw images along with OIS
One of the big miss in the HTC One M9 was the lack of OIS support. Despite a 20 MP camera at the back, the HTC One M9 could not win the camera race among the smartphones due to the OIS absence. But this time, HTC has made sure to compete with everyone and in every details of the phone. The HTC One A9 has a 13 MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture lens having saphhire cover and it does have OIS or optical image stabilization support. You will get a 4MP front camera to take powerful selfies.
The HTC One A9 camera and photo app supports the raw photos. Raw Photos have actually the unprocessed data for the photo which can be later edited either on your A9 with Photo apps or using a standard photo editing software like Photoshop on your PC. As compared to JPEG photos which we get usually when taking the photos, raw images are the big benefit for the photography lovers as they can edit them more easily as compared to JPEG images.
HTC One A9 becomes first HTC phone to support Quick Charging
Following the tracks of Samsung many smartphone companies are now focusing on the Quick charging feature. And it is good to know that HTC is also among the early adopters of the feature. The HTC One A9 comes with the Quick Charge 2.0 support and will be upgradeable to Quick Charge 3.0. The Quick charge feature helps battery getting recharged quickly especially when it is almost drained. Samsung has also introduced the Fast Charge wireless charging pad for such purpose as well.
Conclusion
If you are an early adopter of technology and also a fan of HTC, then the HTC One A9 is a winning choice for you. The Quick Charge support, Raw Image processing and after a long wait OIS support with the camera are the most welcoming features of the HTC One A9 for everyone.
HTC has high hopes with its second flagship device of the 2015 after the HTC One M9. With fresh design, heavy specifications and new features and latest version of Android OS, it looks like HTC is back into the business again. But will the HTC One A9 become a great phone of HTC? Only time will tell.
