HTC One A9
Verdict
Key specs
Critic consensus
“Knowing how to make a premium smartphone properly is not enough to profit big and this is a lesson HTC should have already learnt with the One M9. Don't get us wrong. The One A9 is an enjoyable device to hold and use. We sure hope HTC has a true flagship somewhere in their labs made of the same magic stuff like the One A9. But to turn bad times around, sometimes merely having a nice product is not enough. You also need to have it out in the right moment and you need to price it right. These are two things that have so far eluded the company and for the sake of all HTC fans out there, we sure hope they will finally get it all right.”
“If you can live with the battery life, the HTC One A9 is a good, almost great mid-range phone with killer looks and a premium build quality. Wait for a price drop if you're in the UK, though.”
“The HTC One A9 is an attractive phone, and sized perfectly for single-handed use. Unfortunately, its camera disappoints, and its price is a bit too high given its relatively midrange specs. The Samsung Galaxy S6 earns its higher price with a faster processor and a much better camera, and remains our top Android pick for Sprint customers.”
“The HTC One A9 is a new approach for the Taiwanese manufacturer. The focus of the new smartphone is clearly on the design. Despite the big similarities to the current iPhones from Apple, it would not be fair to say that the One A9 is just an iPhone clone. The handling actually differs quite a lot between the two models, but the build quality is on a similarly high level. Other advantages of the review unit are the good camera and the excellent display.The biggest issue is the performance. The smartphone does not feel too slow in practice when you browse the web, watch YouTube videos or write mails, but there will be limitations when you play current games. We would have also expected that the lower performance has a positive effect on the temperatures and the battery runtimes, but this is unfortunately not the case.With an RRP of 599 Euros (current street price around 550 Euros), the HTC One A9 has to face high-end competitors. Those offer great cases (sometimes metal) as well, but have a clear advantage in respect of the performance. The One A9 is a really good smartphone in some aspects, but we cannot recommend it for the current price. We are already eager to see if HTC will implement some of the improvements (like the camera or the slimmed down HTC Sense) for the upcoming One M10, which will probably have no issues with the performance.”
Watch before you decide
In Depth
The HTC One A9 made waves not because of its price point, but because of its design. Reviewers and consumers alike note the design similarities between the A9 and the iPhone 6S. Both feature a brushed aluminum back, inset lines on the top and bottom and even a home button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Upon closer inspection, however, they did notice some subtle differences: it is slightly larger than the 6S at 5 inches, the edges are a bit squarer, and the camera is located in the center instead of the side. Regardless of whether HTC purposely cloned the iPhone or not, critics still agree the A9 is an attractive device. The one downfall of the design is its grip. Due to the flat back and metal body, experts had a difficult time with the grip describing it as one of the slipperiest phones they’ve used.
The 5-inch AMOLED display offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Experts didn’t have any issues with it, but nothing particularly wowed them either. Despite not having QHD resolution, they had no problems with the overall sharpness and clarity of the display. On top of this, they add color reproduction was fairly accurate and unlike many AMOLED screens there wasn’t any noticeable oversaturation. They describe sunlight legibility as decent though they add auto brightness mode could use a little work. Tech Radar sums up the display by saying, “It’s not the best out there, but the upper limit of what we’d be happy to accept.”
The A9 comes with a 1.5GHz octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM. For the most part, this combination allowed reviewers to have a fairly zippy experience during most tasks. With that said they did run into some lag most noticeably when playing graphics-intensive game and when launching certain apps like the camera. Battery life is another issue, due to its small size of 2150mAh. Critics needed to charge it daily even with moderate use. The A9 comes in two flavors – 16GB or 32GB. While this might seem small, Android Marshmallow now allows external storage to be used as internal space, which means users have as much space available on their microSD card.
The 13MP main shooter for the A9 offers several features, most notably optical image stabilization. For the most part, reviewers describe its performance as decent but still not on par with the cameras on iPhone or Samsung phones. Still, their photos came out fairly sharp with colors skewing a bit towards the warm end. While they describe daytime photos as simply okay, they were more than impressed with low light images. Thanks to optical image stabilization technology, they were able to capture fairly detailed and sharp pictures.
Despite its positive qualities, reviewers have a difficult time recommending the A9 to anyone but HTC fans. Techno Buffalo states, “For someone who just needs a new Android smartphone? There are better options out there in the same price range.” Gizmodo adds, “…do you desperately want an iPhone form factor with the versatility of an Android phone? Then yes, you should buy it…For most people, springing for iOS or…Nexus 6P will be the better option.”
What people actually want to know
When was the HTC One A9 released?
The HTC One A9 was released on November 30, 2015.
How long does the battery last on the HTC One A9?
The HTC One A9 has a 2,150 mAh battery.
Does the HTC One A9 have a headphone jack?
Yes, the HTC One A9 has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Does the HTC One A9 have NFC?
Yes, the HTC One A9 has NFC. You can use Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and tap-to-pair with Bluetooth accessories.
Where can I get support for the HTC One A9?
Visit HTC's official support page for warranty info, repairs, and troubleshooting.
Where can I download the HTC One A9 manual?
You can view and download the HTC One A9 manual on our dedicated manual page.
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