Htc m9 dimensions. HTC One M9 - Specifications

Improved and updated flagship

The central figure at the stand of the Taiwanese company NTS during the spring MWC 2015 exhibition in Barcelona was this time a new flagship 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 the number of changes clearly does not match the new model. 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 was not 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 of the HTC One M9 smartphone:

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), Wi-Fi hotspot, 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 preinstalled 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.

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. The balance of shades on the gray scale is mediocre, since the color temperature is 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 a color gamut close to sRGB. 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, there are plenty of low frequencies, and 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 are combined with BoomSound technology and are left to automation - almost nothing can be configured manually.

The smartphone comes standard with an FM radio, and a voice recorder was also found. The smartphone cannot record telephone conversations from a line using standard means.

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, the front camera here is not equipped with its own LED flash and autofocus.

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.

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)

	Good sharpness and work with noise, although for such a high resolution the noise reduction work is clearly too rough.
	Sharpness drops a little in the corners, but overall everything is good.
	Despite the high resolution, the camera does not cope well with small details, which is clearly visible in the branches.
	There are some unpleasant artifacts in the sky.
	Sometimes the camera captures fine details well, but often a multi-colored outline appears around them, which is probably a consequence of the pixel being too small.
	But often small details simply go out of focus. The license plates of all cars are distinguishable.
	A slight sharpening is noticeable on the wires.
	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.
	The camera copes well with macro photography.
	The flash significantly improves the situation.
	The camera handles text with flash well.
	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 equipping the new smartphone with the currently highest resolution sensor among cameras in this class. But they did not take into account that “with great permission comes 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. With a little more work on the software processing and then reducing the image by half, it could very well be a contender for 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, of the three possible aspect ratio options, 10:7 is called classic here, 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.

OS and software

The system immediately uses the latest Google Android software platform version 5.0.2 and the updated proprietary graphical user interface of HTC Sense 7. The update of the serial number of the Sense shell is mainly due to the fact that it works with the new version of the Android OS, but otherwise remains the same Almost the same in appearance and capabilities. Branded elongated fonts, flat stylized icons, a vertical way of scrolling the program menu, the structure of the notification panel and quick access to main functions, support for working with gestures - everything is familiar. There is a “Do Not Disturb” mode for turning off sound notifications over time, two energy-saving modes, as well as a children’s mode. The Smart Remote program 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: there is a 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.

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, the notification panel, and the menu of recent open programs without changes. The HTC One M9 now offers more personalization options. The HTC Theme application allows you to design your home screens in your own way: use your own photos 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.

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. The 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.

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 test subject proved himself to be a true hero, losing only to the most powerful smartphone of our time, the 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 longer any 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 of test programs.

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)
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)

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.

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 the standard range of 16-235, which 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 video in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via a 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 no fingerprint scanner, no support for wireless charging, no water protection, 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 high-quality, high-quality smartphone, nothing 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.

The announcement of the HTC One M9 was received, to put it mildly, coolly - the company planned to update the hardware platform and camera of the smartphone, and, at first glance, left everything else unchanged. On the other hand, modern wisdom says – it works, don’t touch it! In addition, the average user has long lost interest in annually updating smartphones, and with flagships, in principle, there is no such need - they have enough performance reserves for several years. So maybe you shouldn’t try to come up with something new and minor improvements are enough to win the hearts of the consumer? Let's figure it out.

If you put HTC One M8 and M9 next to each other – last year’s and the latest flagships of the company, only a company employee will be able to tell them apart the first time. But the difference is really minimal - this is not Samsung with their Galaxy S5 and S6, which look like products from different manufacturers; maximum continuity is preserved here.

The general idea of ​​the design, design and arrangement of elements remained almost unchanged. The body of the HTC One M9 is made from a single piece of aluminum, and the texture of the back cover retains its natural metal look.

Not much space is given to the display on the front side - there are wide plastic grilles at the top and bottom, under which the famous stereo speakers are hidden, and the company logo still flaunts above the bottom, lengthening the body by a couple of extra millimeters.

There is a small indicator light hidden under the top grille. To the right of it is a slot for sensors and a large front camera lens.

Trays for memory cards and NanoSIM are located in the upper part of the sides, MicroUSB and 3.5 mm are crowded at the bottom, and a glossy black insert on the upper end hides the infrared port for controlling household appliances.

Important changes compared to the HTC One M9 can be listed point by point.

First. The power key, after many years, has returned to its place; it is located under the separate volume buttons on the right. This makes using your smartphone much more convenient – ​​you don’t have to reach for the key on top. Of course, I would like the button to be located a little higher, just under the thumb, but this place is already occupied by the volume keys.

Second. HTC has changed the shape of the side edges of the One M9. In M8 they were rounded, but now they are sharper. As in the Galaxy S6 Edge, you need to get used to the relatively sharp sides; personally, I stopped paying attention to this feature after a couple of days of use.

Third. The main feature of the One M8 was its dual camera. They decided to abandon it and replace it with a regular module. It protrudes slightly above the lid, but it looks worse in photos than in real life. In addition, the lens is protected by sapphire glass, so you don’t have to worry about the safety of the camera.

An additional change is the new colors of the case, to which fashionable gold has been added. HTC One M9 can be completely gold (Gold on Gold), silver with gold sides (Gold on Silver), or completely black (Gunmetal Gray). All colors have the same lid texture.

Otherwise, One M9 is one of the most metallic smartphones on the market, the abundance of metal is clearly felt in the hands. As before, it is larger than other models with 5-inch screens, but it can be operated normally with one hand.

Display

HTC did not pursue high resolutions and installed a traditionally good SuperLCD3 display with a diagonal of 5 inches and a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (441 ppi) in its flagship. The screen is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4.

The screen brightness varies from 8 to 418 cd/m², the measured contrast is 1:773. The quality of the factory calibration is at a good level - the color gamut corresponds to the sRGB space, the color temperature is slightly too high, and the gamma curve has small differences.

The screen supports operation with gloves, which is useful in the cold season. The ability to control gestures has not gone away - to turn the screen on or off, just double tapping. In addition, with a simple swipe you can immediately unlock the screen, open the BlinkFeed feed, or launch voice control.

The screen makes a very pleasant impression. Automatic brightness adjustment works correctly in most cases, the backlight reserve is sufficient both for working in the dark and for a bright sunny day, and the oleophobic coating allows you to quickly remove fingerprints. The display has a very calm color rendition - the colors are as close to natural as possible, there are no flashy bright shades that are typical of AMOLED displays and individual IPS matrices. The screen of the HTC One M9 leaves only pleasant impressions.

Hardware platform

HTC, as a rule, uses the latest developments from Qualcomm as the basis for its flagships. This year, the company did not change traditions - the heart of the One M9 is the eight-core 64-bit Snapdragon 810. It is complemented by 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, the volume of which can be increased using memory cards.

There is also support for all current mobile network standards, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.1 (apt-X), GPS+GLONASS, NFC, infrared port and even FM radio. For the “full set”, the HTC One M9 lacks only wireless charging capabilities, but given the all-metal back, this is not possible.

Naturally, with such a filling, the smartphone ranks first in most benchmarks and works as quickly as possible during normal use. Adreno GPUs always get good optimization in different games, so there will be no problems with them either. Moreover, for most tasks the existing performance will even be excessive. There is no 2K screen, so there is nowhere to use the available “power” (except for games).

The only negative point is the heating of the case. During normal use, the M9 remains cool, but as soon as you play a little resource-demanding games or run a couple of tests, it warms up noticeably. Of course, it doesn’t burn your hand, but you can feel the heat.

Calls, multimedia

The appearance of BoomSound speakers in HTC flagship smartphones allowed them to stand out among their peers. In One M9, the speakers remain in place. Subjectively, they have not changed over the year. They are still the best solution if you like to watch YouTube videos or play fast-paced games without headphones. They play loudly, quite loudly and clearly. When playing music through headphones, things are also good - the sound is clear, spacious, without extraneous noise and with a good volume reserve.

The HTC One M9 also has no problems with telephone functions, with the only exception that you need to select the melody a little more carefully - when the smartphone is in your trouser pockets, the sound is muffled, so you can accidentally miss a call. The vibration alert is average in strength and can be felt in pockets and when the device is lying nearby on the table. In talk mode, the speaker has a normal volume, in most situations it is sufficient, there is a small margin. No problems with network signal reception were found during testing.

Operating system and shell

The smartphone runs the latest version of Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with the proprietary HTC Sense 7.0 interface. It may seem that no visible changes have occurred in the shell over the course of a year, they are simply hidden.

One of the innovations is the ability to customize on-screen keys, which can add a fourth button. In addition, a theme store has appeared. They allow you not only to change the appearance of icons, but affect absolutely everything - wallpaper, ringtones, fonts, and even the design of system control keys.

One of the innovations is hidden on the desktop. This is a widget that collects frequently used applications and newly installed programs. The arrangement of icons changes depending on the frequency of use of specific programs and your location - this solution turns out to be convenient.

Working hours

From the built-in 2840 mAh battery, the HTC One M9 runs confidently for a day under average load, showing three to four hours of screen operation. This is a normal indicator for modern flagships, which will probably improve slightly with the release of updates.

Cameras

The potentially interesting Duo Camera with ultra-pixels turned out to be the main drawback of the One M8; the HTC One M9 uses a regular module for the main camera, and the ultra-pixels have moved to the front camera.

The main camera uses a BSI sensor with a resolution of 20 megapixels. The flash is dual-tone LED, the 27.8mm f/2.2 lens is protected by sapphire crystal. The front camera has the following characteristics: 4 MP, HTC UltraPixel, BSI, f/2.0, 26.8mm.

Compared to the M8, progress is visible - the quality of the images has really improved, at least due to increased detail.

In practice, under normal non-ideal shooting conditions, everything is not so simple. We can certainly say that the camera in the HTC One M9 is inferior to the best modern photo flagships like the Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6. In difficult conditions, the device can miss focusing and incorrectly determine the white balance. In addition, you need to work on focusing speed - in this parameter the smartphone is also inferior to its competitors.

The above will be important if the quality of the smartphone camera plays an important role for you, and the pictures are studied and processed on a computer. Shots taken in clear weather look good. Plus, you shouldn’t write off the fact that the smartphone is just entering the market; the quality of shooting will probably be improved in future updates.

The front camera, on the contrary, can already be called one of the best.

The average quality of the main camera by flagship standards is slightly compensated by the software. You can add new ones to the existing shooting modes; there is a functional built-in editor.

Results

The HTC One M9 really doesn’t present any surprises – it’s an evolutionary development of the smartphone introduced a year ago. The company was able to improve the main drawback of the One M8 - the camera, although not so much that the new flagship could compete on equal terms with the best competitors. It is important that nothing was spoiled. There are the same high-quality case materials, speakers, screen, productive platform and excellent operating speed. Due to the power key moving to the side, ergonomics have improved. But the fully preserved design deprives the feeling of novelty that you expect from any smartphone that is proudly called a flagship. From this purely emotional point of view, the HTC One M9 looks boring. Owners of One (M8) may be interested mainly in the improved camera. For users of the first HTC One, released in 2013, the hero of the review will be much more interesting, but it’s worth remembering that the One M8 has remained quite relevant, and is also more affordable.

Liked:

Housing materials

High quality screen

Platform and operating speed, memory card slot

Stereo speakers

Front-camera

Did not like:

— Case dimensions

- Average main camera by flagship standards

— Case heating under load

	operating system	Android 5.0.1 (Lollipop)
RAM, GB	3
Built-in memory, GB	32
Expansion slot	microSD/SDHC (up to 2 TB)
Dimensions, mm	144.6×69.7×9.61
Weight, g	157
Protection from dust and moisture	—
Accumulator battery	Li-Ion, 2840mAh (non-removable)
Operating time (manufacturer's data)	talk time up to 25.4 hours on 2G networks; up to 21.7 hours on 3G networks
Diagonal, inches	5
Permission	1920x1080
Matrix type	Super LCD 3
PPI	441
Dimming sensor	+
Touch screen (type)	capacitive
Other	Corning Gorilla Glass 4
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 + GPU Adreno 430
Kernel type	Cortex-A53 + Cortex-A57
Number of Cores	4 + 4
Frequency, GHz	1,5-2
Main camera, MP	20.7 (f/2.2)
Autofocus	+
Video shooting	+ (2160@30fps, 1080@60fps, 720@120fps)
Flash	+ (double LED)
Front camera, MP	4 (f/2.0)
Other	sapphire lens coating
WiFi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	+ (4.1)
GPS	+ (A-GPS, GLONASS)
IrDA	+
NFC	+
Interface connector	USB 2.0 (micro-USB, MHL, HDMI)
Audio jack	3.5 mm
MP3 player	+
FM radio	+
Type of shell	monoblock (non-separable)
Housing material	aluminum
Keyboard type	screen input
More	stereo speakers (HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio), fast charging, magnetic sensor, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope

Type: smartphone Operating system: Android 5.0 Case type: classic Controls: on-screen buttons SIM card type: nano SIM Number of SIM cards: 1 Weight: 157 g Dimensions (WxHxT): 69.7x144.6x9.61 mm

Screen

Screen type: color Super LCD 3, 16.78 million colors, touch Touch screen type: multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal: 5 inches. Image size: 1920x1080 Pixels per inch (PPI): 441 Automatic screen rotation: yes Scratch-resistant glass: yes

Calls

Type of melodies: polyphonic, MP3 melodies Vibrate alert: yes

Multimedia capabilities

Camera: 20 million pixels, LED flash Camera functions: autofocus Recognition: faces Video recording: yes (MP4) Max. video resolution: 3840x2160 Max. video frame rate: 30 fps Geo Tagging: yes Front camera: yes, 4 million pixels. Video playback: 3GP, 3G2, MP4, WMV, AVO, MKV Audio: MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, FM radio Voice recorder: yes Headphone jack: 3.5 mm Video output: MHL

Connection

Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, LTE-A Cat. 9 Support for LTE bands: FDD: bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28; TDD: bands 38, 40, 41 Internet access: WAP, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+ Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1, IRDA, USB, NFC USB charging: yes Satellite navigation: GPS/GLONASS A-GPS system: yes Protocol support: POP/SMTP, IMAP4, HTML Use as a USB drive: yes DLNA support: yes

Memory and processor

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Number of processor cores: 8 Video processor: Adreno 430 Built-in memory: 32 GB RAM capacity: 3 GB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 128 GB Memory card slot: yes, up to 128 GB

Messages

Additional SMS functions: text input with MMS dictionary: yes

Nutrition

Battery type: Li-polymer Battery capacity: 2840 mAh Battery: non-removable Talk time: 25.4 h Standby time: 391 h

Other features

A2DP profile: yes Sensors: light, proximity, gyroscope, compass Controls: voice dialing, voice control Flight mode: yes

Notebook and organizer

Book search: yes Exchange between SIM card and internal memory: yes Organizer: alarm clock, calculator, task scheduler

Additional Information

Features: processor - 4 cores x 2.0 GHz + 4 cores x 1.5 GHz Announcement date: 2015-03-01

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	69.7 mm (millimeters) 6.97 cm (centimeters) 0.23 ft (feet) 2.74 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	144.6 mm (millimeters) 14.46 cm (centimeters) 0.47 ft (feet) 5.69 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement.	9.61 mm (millimeters) 0.96 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.38 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	157 g (grams) 0.35 lbs 5.54 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	96.86 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.88 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Grey Golden Pink Silver
Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body.	Aluminium alloy

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies.	GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology.	UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced.	LTE 800 MHz LTE 850 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 2100 MHz LTE 2600 MHz LTE-TDD 2300 MHz (B40) LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41) LTE-TDD 2600 MHz (B38) LTE 700 MHz

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	20 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	4x 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A57, 4x 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	64 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv8-A
Level 0 cache (L0) Some processors have L0 (level 0) cache, which is faster to access than L1, L2, L3, etc. The advantage of having such memory is not only higher performance, but also reduced power consumption.	4 kB + 4 kB (kilobytes)
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.	2048 kB (kilobytes) 2 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	8
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	2000 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc.	Qualcomm Adreno 430
GPU clock speed Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	650 MHz (megahertz)
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	3 GB (gigabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR4
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels mean higher data rates.	Dual channel
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.	1600 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	Super LCD 3
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	5 in (inches) 127 mm (millimeters) 12.7 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.45 in (inches) 62.26 mm (millimeters) 6.23 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.36 in (inches) 110.69 mm (millimeters) 11.07 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.	441 ppi (pixels per inch) 173 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	68.6% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance
	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Rear camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its back panel and may be combined with one or more secondary cameras.

Sensor model Information about the manufacturer and model of the sensor used by the camera.	Toshiba T4KA7
Sensor type	CMOS BSI (backside illumination)
Sensor size	5.9 x 4.43 mm (millimeters) 0.29 in (inches)
Pixel size	1.096 µm (micrometers) 0.001096 mm (millimeters)
Crop factor	5.86
Svetlosila	f/2.2
Focal length	4.74 mm (millimeters) 27.82 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame)
Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape.	Double LED
Image Resolution	5384 x 3752 pixels 20.2 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution	3840 x 2160 pixels 8.29 MP (megapixels)
	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera.	Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Digital image stabilization Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation Scene Selection Mode
	1080p @ 60 fps 720p@120fps Sapphire crystal glass lens cover

Front-camera

Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a rotating camera, a cutout or hole in the display, an under-display camera.

Sensor type Information about the camera sensor type. Some of the most widely used types of sensors in mobile device cameras are CMOS, BSI, ISOCELL, etc.	CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)
Sensor size Information about the dimensions of the photosensor used in the device. Typically, cameras with larger sensors and lower pixel densities offer higher image quality despite the lower resolution.	5.44 x 3.7 mm (millimeters) 0.26 in (inches)
Pixel size Pixels are usually measured in microns. Larger pixels are able to capture more light and therefore provide better low-light photography and wider dynamic range than smaller pixels. On the other hand, smaller pixels allow for higher resolution while maintaining the same sensor size.	2.024 µm (micrometers) 0.002024 mm (millimeters)
Crop factor The crop factor is the ratio between the dimensions of the full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm, equivalent to a frame of standard 35 mm film) and the dimensions of the device's photosensor. The indicated number represents the ratio of the diagonals of the full-frame sensor (43.3 mm) and the photosensor of a particular device.	6.58
Svetlosila F-stop (also known as aperture, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens's aperture, which determines the amount of light entering the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Typically the f-number is specified to correspond to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture.	f/2
Focal length Focal length indicates the distance in millimeters from the sensor to the optical center of the lens. Equivalent focal length (35mm) is the focal length of a mobile device camera equal to the focal length of a 35mm full-frame sensor, which will achieve the same viewing angle. It is calculated by multiplying the actual focal length of a mobile device's camera by the crop factor of its sensor. Crop factor can be defined as the ratio between the diagonals of a 35 mm full-frame sensor and the sensor of a mobile device.	4.07 mm (millimeters) 26.76 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame)
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions.	2688 x 1520 pixels 4.09 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about the maximum recording speed (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps.	30fps (frames per second)

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a digital audio/video interface that replaces older analog audio/video standards.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Browser Information about some of the main characteristics and standards supported by the device's browser.

HTML HTML5 CSS 3

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital audio data.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	2840 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-polymer
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	25 hours 24 minutes 25.4 h (hours) 1524 min (minutes) 1.1 days
2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network.	391 h (hours) 23460 min (minutes) 16.3 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	21 hours 42 minutes 21.7 h (hours) 1302 min (minutes) 0.9 days
3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network.	402 h (hours) 24120 min (minutes) 16.8 days
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery.	Fixed

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values.	0.56 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard.	0.35 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)

It is very difficult to compete with Samsung, a giant in the production of high-quality phones. Living in the shadow of such a titan does not benefit HTC, which has lost the reins of leadership and given its place to Samsung, which was just waiting for this. This time, HTC decided to stop losing profits and, along with its competitors, the company released the HTC One M9 phone, which combined several key functions and features.

HTC One M9 - Reviews

In fact, the new model from Samsung Galaxy and the M9 phone from HTC went on sale almost on the same day, they are almost equal in terms of performance and have a similar price. But for HTC, this “technology race” is not only an economic issue; victory or defeat will decide the future of the company.

HTC One M9's beautiful design, complemented by multiple colors

HTC has always been ahead of the competition when it comes to making beautiful phones. From year to year, the company released devices on Android, trying to bring its technology to the ideal. HTC management and developers realized that nowadays it is not enough to use metallic colors in the design of phones, as Samsung and LG do.

In general, the M9 model is a direct successor to its predecessor M8 in terms of design.

There are a few differences, but the phones look almost identical. The models differ in how they feel when you hold them: the M8 was completely smooth, it almost slipped out of your hands, while the M9 has a slightly rougher and stiffer shape. Options using golden and silver colors look amazing. The rich color saturation creates an impression of luxury from owning such a phone.

HTC has changed the location of the power button, now it is located on the right under the two volume buttons. In this regard, sometimes there is confusion between the buttons, because... they are identical in structure, shape and color. The buttons are literally adjacent to the body, they are difficult to feel and this is an absolute disadvantage of the model.

Screen and sound One M9

When you look at the spacious widescreen screen of the M9, the impression is spoiled by the huge black lines on the sides. It is completely incomprehensible why HTC does not take this point into account when developing phones, because... All, absolutely all models of this company have strange stripes on the screens that distract from the image.

But despite such disadvantages, the M9 phone is the most competitive device, capable of competing with the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S6. The LCD screen amazes with the rich colors of the image, the smartphone is equipped with a BoomSound sound system. The speakers are positioned correctly, they are not covered by palms, which can spoil the outgoing sound.

Characteristics

The phone has a powerful Snapdragon 810 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The One M9 won't disappoint in terms of performance and functionality, but high loads can cause the smartphone to heat up quickly. The case does not heat up, which does not interfere with using the device for a long time.

When testing performance, the maximum power ratings of the M9 model are higher than those of its analogues (for example, the LG G Flex 2 phone model). Even the iPhone 6 could not produce similar values, which is an excellent result of the work of HTC specialists.

Individual design

Each owner of HTC One M9 can take advantage of the opportunity to create a unique design for their device. At your disposal are a variety of stickers and backgrounds for the back of your smartphone. Interface elements can also be changed, because... Some people try to make their device as different as possible from others. You can change everything: icons, font, background and graphical active effects on the screen.

The M9 smart phone is able to react to the situation and recommend the use of certain applications. The device knows when you are at work and offers you to use the calendar, notes and reminders. When the user is on the road, the smartphone offers active use of Google Maps, music and games. The device remembers which applications are used and fills its memory with relevant information. This feature is the highlight of the product, because people love it when some of their work, especially everyday work, is taken off their hands.

Take stunning selfies with a reliable camera

In its practice, HTC tried a lot of different camera variations, after which the choice fell on the option that the M9 is equipped with. 4 megapixels in the front and 20 megapixels in the back – these are the ideal parameters that, according to the company’s engineers, will satisfy any user. Regardless of weather conditions, pictures taken with the M9 camera will be high-quality, bright and clear.

Battery and charge HTC One M9

A completely different impression is created by the effect of analyzing the battery charge. The quality of this element in the M9 model is on par with the iPhone 5, which were known for problems with their batteries.

When fully charged, the M9's battery drops from 100% to 80% in the time it takes to commute from home to work on average. Most users see the optimal charge during the day at 60-70%, while the M9 charge value is already less than 40%. Streaming a 40-minute Vikings series consumes 20% of your battery, which is terrible. During the same time, the similar Galaxy S6 model uses only 9%. If HTC wants to compete with Samsung and LG, it needs to work more carefully on the battery of its phones.

HTC phone replacement system

Taking into account the wishes of its customers, the company guarantees a replacement of the M9 model if problems arise during operation during the first year of using the smartphone. It doesn’t matter how the phone is damaged, the company’s specialists will replace it with a new model without asking questions. Most companies are reluctant to compensate for breakdowns; replacements have to be literally pulled out with your teeth.

Bottom line

In fact, it is very difficult to determine the best smartphone among the huge variety of models that we see on the market today. Almost all devices that support Android have similar performance and price levels. Each model, be it Samsung Galaxy S6 or HTC One M9, has its own advantages in terms of design and design. If you are the owner of the One M8 model and are completely satisfied with it, then the M9 will not disappoint. Apart from a rather weak battery, the phone has virtually no drawbacks.

pros

• In terms of technical indicators, it is a top-end Android phone.
• Beautiful color scheme in design.
• Android 5.0 Lolipop system which works great.
• Variety of options and interface settings.
• Unique external design.