HTC One A9 Review: HTC has been long known to produce a premium range of smartphones. If we talk about three premium smartphone manufacturers or let’s say three premium contenders in the smartphone market, then HTC is surely amongst them along with Apple and Samsung.
There has been news about HTC losing its hold on the premium market after the release of M8, the phone which took the market by fire. The phone which was released two years prior was the best the company had ever come up with. However, this span of two years has been quite a gap for the enterprise and most of us were expecting something innovative to come up. Enter HTC One A9, the phone which is a slight change in terms of its design and features. The specifications of the phone are quite average but still there are numerous exciting features inculcated. Let’s leave the topic of price for some time and see what this phone has to offer.
Design and Look: Concerning its design, the phone resembles almost to Apple IPhone 6. The screen is same; the back is made up of metal as well as same antenna lines are present. There is a similar rear camera on the back. All these things are just what you feel by taking the first glance of the phone. The volume and power buttons are placed on the right side of the device and a fingerprint sensor on the home button.
These were the similarities, now let’s take a look and see what is not similar in both these phones. The volume button is easier to use and provides tactile feedback; the headphone jack is located at the bottom (which of course we liked). Now talking about the design of the phone- the phone is more curved than iPhone and is easier to hold. The top of the phone has a bit of plastic section where GPS is located, and this works at a very impressive speed. The phone is a lot slimmer than M9 and has a smooth ceramic texture.
Don’t Miss: HTC One M9 Review
Software: The device operates on Android 6.0 which is impressive and is covered with HTC Sense UI on the top. This device UI hasn’t made too much of changes to the stack Android UI. What we found impressive was that the device’s Sense Home Widget displays applications depending on your locations. For example, when you are at work, applications such as Hangouts, etc. would be displayed, strolling through a park you will be provided with music applications, etc.
A new application “News Republic” has been inculcated in the device, which is more or less similar to Google news. There haven’t been many changes as far as the interface and software of this device is concerned.
Display: The device offers a full 5 inch AMOLED display which is quite impressive. Protected with the help of Gorilla Glass 3, the color levels are deep which makes visuals appear more dynamic. The AMOLED display tends to provide a few warmth levels in the color which makes it easier on eyes. All in all, the display of this device is excellent with brilliant levels of sharpness.
Camera: In this device, you get a primary camera of 13MP with f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. This camera tends to capture one of the finest images in bright daylight, however, fails miserably in low light situations. In low light, the images tend to appear patchy and with a lot of noise. The problem with the camera is that it can’t appropriately handle any of the colors, and images taken at 3 in the afternoon appear as if they are taken in the morning.
The front camera is of 4MP and is capable of recording full HD videos similar to the primary camera. All the camera functions such as panorama, manual, hyper lapse are all present as it is.
Battery Life: This time, HTC has come down on the battery capacity provided, from 2850mAH in M9 to 2150 in A9. However, no changes have been made in the software end of the device. Therefore, it is clear that the battery life of the device is bound to be low. In the time when 3000mAh is a common trend, a 2150mAh battery is a disappointment. 40 minutes of browsing on 4G drains almost 45 percent of the battery. Running various standardized tests, the battery life was found to be somewhat 5 hours which is lowest we have seen this year. One thing that we like is that this phone supports Quick Charge 2.0, thereby fully charging your battery in almost 90 minutes.
Phone Accessories: When you unbox the device, you will find some set of documents along with the SIM ejector tool. Apart from this, there is a charging adaptor and a USB cable. Sadly there aren’t any earphones included with this device.
Variants: This phone is available in five colors namely Grey, Silver, Pink, Gold and Garnet and is priced in the Indian market at 32,990 INR.
Verdict: While this phone offers you a sleek design and a beautiful outline, we are not sure that it is worth the price offered. With many of the qualities and features being downgraded we expected the phone to get down a little on its price. The stereo speakers have been removed; the battery capacity has been decreased as well as the camera quality is also not up to the mark. There are many other smartphones cheaper than this, which are offering far better features and that too at an affordable price.
The only thing that we liked about this device was its design and outlook and would even have recommended it if it was available at half the price. So until and unless, you are a fan of HTC or are looking for something similar in appearance to iPhone, we will suggest you going for other smartphones in this range. This is an average phone with a premium price which concerning its features can be easily beaten by MI5, One Plus two, etc.
