Ok, how do you all find the battery life as a daily driver? What about value compared to other phones which cost less with similar specs (Nexus 5p), or other HTC phones? Is the phone worth the $500 or is it overpriced, underpowered, and over-rated for what you get for the price? Note I have been using HTC phones since the One VX, and love them.
Now that things have settled down, how is the A9 holding up?
- Thread starter murphcid
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Derek Danforth
Well-known member
I think this phone while over priced a bit is under rated. The screen is a good size and looks great. The battery lasts all day with normal usage. With heavy usage if I need to charge it, it's very fast to do so if you have a turbo charger. I've used most top end phones this year and the speed is comparable with all. No lag or slow downs. I don't play a whole lot of games so I'm not sure about the performance on the best games. Over all its worth it. Also, the finger print scanner works flawlessly even compared to the iPhone 6s plus I had.
Posted via my HTC One A9
Posted via my HTC One A9
It's been working out very well for me.. Battery has been holding up well. No performance issues... Camera is pretty decent. Got it unlocked at the pre-order price, so it turned out to be a good deal for me.
The battery still worries me since I work where I might not be able to get to a charger during the work day. My M8 lasts two days+ with my normal usage, so I would ask if you think the A9 would give me at least 12 hours of use?
thejesse
Well-known member
I've been using my A9 since Thanksgiving. I am completely satisfied with the performance. Haven't had any problems at all. I paid the pre order price but it would be worth the higher price. The battery is better than I expected.
Posted via the Android Central App
Posted via the Android Central App
Derek Danforth
Well-known member
It will last a day no problem. It has great battery life. There are ways to make it better too. Disabling things not needed helps, but I never have to.
Posted via my HTC One A9
Posted via my HTC One A9
thejesse
Well-known member
thejesse
Well-known member
I've passed the 30 day free look period and have no regrets that I didn't return it. I love the phone. Battery for me is a non-issue. I don't game so that's probably a big reason for the battery. I've tried to see how long it would go with out charging and at 38 hours, I was still at 30%. Admittedly, It was the weekend with very moderate use.
I picked up an unlocked for the intro $399.99 price. Without a doubt it was worth it. At an additional $100, I'm not sure I'd have done it. I'm pretty cheap and would have had a hard time justifying the cost over a 5X. I know the price difference isn't that big when comparing the 32 gig model but I would have had a hard decision and can't honestly say which way I'd have gone. Now, having had the phone for over 30 days and read more about 5X I think I would still go with the A9. Primarily due to build quality, lack of camera hump and the Deep Garnet color.
But as the saying goes, hide sight is 20/20.
I picked up an unlocked for the intro $399.99 price. Without a doubt it was worth it. At an additional $100, I'm not sure I'd have done it. I'm pretty cheap and would have had a hard time justifying the cost over a 5X. I know the price difference isn't that big when comparing the 32 gig model but I would have had a hard decision and can't honestly say which way I'd have gone. Now, having had the phone for over 30 days and read more about 5X I think I would still go with the A9. Primarily due to build quality, lack of camera hump and the Deep Garnet color.
But as the saying goes, hide sight is 20/20.I've only had my A9 for about a week, but I posted the following over at XDA. Some random thoughts in no particular order:
The interface has been very smooth, opening apps is quick, and memory management seems pretty solid. Browsing is good on wifi, but I haven't had a ton of time to try on LTE. Gaming is fair. I don't play that many games and the ones I do tend to be simpler fair (not much into 3d gaming). One candy crush-esque game that I play performs surprisingly poorly (doesn't deal well with a lot going on on screen at once) but it seems to be the exception.
Battery life is meh at best. Standby time is really solid. I only lose about 3% battery overnight, but the battery noticeably drops as the device gets used. It charges ridiculously quickly with a quick charge 2.0 charger though.
The camera has been okay. I'm not a huge shutterbug, but the pictures I've taken have been sufficient. I find it loses focus sometimes with last second movement (taking pic of my dogs can be difficult) but it seems good enough. A step up from the Xperia Z3 I had been using (automatic mode), a big step up from the Nexus 5, not as good as the Note 4.
The screen is a thing of beauty. I put it on sRGB mode and it's just perfect. Gets way bright, and gets dim enough in a dark room. I tend to keep it about 25% brightness and it works just fine for me.
Speaker sound is pretty good for a bottom mounted speaker. Nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done and is more than loud enough for my needs. Sound from the headphones is easily the best I've had from a smartphone. The tones are rich and thick, gets quite loud without distortion, and just sounds great. YMMV depending on your musical tastes, but it works great for classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and jazz.
Fingerprint scanner has been flawless so far. I've added just my two thumbs, and it hasn't missed yet regardless of angle. It unlocks the phone quicker than I can adjust my hand to use it, so the speed is just right. I haven't used it for anything other than unlocking the device though.
Software is very on point. It has a lot of the simplicity of tock Android, but with Sense bells and whistles to up the game. I like the presentation. It feels very clean, intuitive and smooth. I miss the HTC Sense method of displaying recent apps, but other than that it seems like a good marriage of HTC and stock stylings. The theming engine is good, but slightly frustrating at times. I like the stock launcher and want to keep it, but the itch to modify more than what the theming allows for may prove too much.
It looks like an iPhone. HTC or anyone can spin it however they want, but it really does. I'm okay with that because I tend to think that the iPhone is an attractive design. That being said, when you hold it, it doesn't really feel like an iPhone. Compared to my wife's iPhone 6, it has a much more solid feel. It has better heft, feels a little sturdier, and has a really nice curve at the screen that your thumb just floats over. I'm not going to test the bendability of the device, but from feel alone I can't think of how it would bend without the use of tools. It really feels like an incredibly well made device, and it looks phenomenal.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with it so far. I think it's priced to high, but there really is a lot of quality here to enjoy. It's also the only device on the market that hits all of what I wanted in a device: 1) Amoled display. 2) Compact enough to use 1 handed. 3) 32 GB+ and SD Card expansion. 4) Premium build. 5) Stock or Light skin. 6) Rapid updates.
The interface has been very smooth, opening apps is quick, and memory management seems pretty solid. Browsing is good on wifi, but I haven't had a ton of time to try on LTE. Gaming is fair. I don't play that many games and the ones I do tend to be simpler fair (not much into 3d gaming). One candy crush-esque game that I play performs surprisingly poorly (doesn't deal well with a lot going on on screen at once) but it seems to be the exception.
Battery life is meh at best. Standby time is really solid. I only lose about 3% battery overnight, but the battery noticeably drops as the device gets used. It charges ridiculously quickly with a quick charge 2.0 charger though.
The camera has been okay. I'm not a huge shutterbug, but the pictures I've taken have been sufficient. I find it loses focus sometimes with last second movement (taking pic of my dogs can be difficult) but it seems good enough. A step up from the Xperia Z3 I had been using (automatic mode), a big step up from the Nexus 5, not as good as the Note 4.
The screen is a thing of beauty. I put it on sRGB mode and it's just perfect. Gets way bright, and gets dim enough in a dark room. I tend to keep it about 25% brightness and it works just fine for me.
Speaker sound is pretty good for a bottom mounted speaker. Nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done and is more than loud enough for my needs. Sound from the headphones is easily the best I've had from a smartphone. The tones are rich and thick, gets quite loud without distortion, and just sounds great. YMMV depending on your musical tastes, but it works great for classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and jazz.
Fingerprint scanner has been flawless so far. I've added just my two thumbs, and it hasn't missed yet regardless of angle. It unlocks the phone quicker than I can adjust my hand to use it, so the speed is just right. I haven't used it for anything other than unlocking the device though.
Software is very on point. It has a lot of the simplicity of tock Android, but with Sense bells and whistles to up the game. I like the presentation. It feels very clean, intuitive and smooth. I miss the HTC Sense method of displaying recent apps, but other than that it seems like a good marriage of HTC and stock stylings. The theming engine is good, but slightly frustrating at times. I like the stock launcher and want to keep it, but the itch to modify more than what the theming allows for may prove too much.
It looks like an iPhone. HTC or anyone can spin it however they want, but it really does. I'm okay with that because I tend to think that the iPhone is an attractive design. That being said, when you hold it, it doesn't really feel like an iPhone. Compared to my wife's iPhone 6, it has a much more solid feel. It has better heft, feels a little sturdier, and has a really nice curve at the screen that your thumb just floats over. I'm not going to test the bendability of the device, but from feel alone I can't think of how it would bend without the use of tools. It really feels like an incredibly well made device, and it looks phenomenal.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with it so far. I think it's priced to high, but there really is a lot of quality here to enjoy. It's also the only device on the market that hits all of what I wanted in a device: 1) Amoled display. 2) Compact enough to use 1 handed. 3) 32 GB+ and SD Card expansion. 4) Premium build. 5) Stock or Light skin. 6) Rapid updates.
Thank you! Makes me happy to hear the good stuff on this phone. Since AT&T is doing away with my contract on the 8th, and forcing me to go to the NEXT plan, I will see what I end up doing. With AT&T doing away with contracts, there is now no reason for me to stay with AT&T, and I can try other carriers. I just wish there was a better selection of cases for the A9.
megatomic
Well-known member
Honestly, it's a nice device that matches my needs pretty well. That being said, if you are looking for a battery champ or a device to do a lot of gaming, this isn't the best choice. I'm a firm believer that sheer specs never tell the whole story, and that quality workmanship is more important. The A9 really hits that mark for me. It's by no means a spec powerhouse, but the hardware and software work really well together. But battery life is less than impressive, and the processor/GPU combo isn't going to give great framerates on intensive games. If you want a great all around device, that works well one handed, looks great and while not the best at any one thing is competitive across the board, the A9 is a great choice.
megatomic
Well-known member
This is exactly why I am going to be upgrading to the A9. Thank you for reinforcing my convictions on it.
Though for your casual games, or even your MMO stuff like CoC and Boom Beach, it has plenty of power to run those. I refuse to try to play FPS style games on mobile, that's why I have an Xbox.My biggest gripe is just that I spend a good part of the day in crappy signal areas, so i have to keep a charger handy. And I can't really disable cellular data to save the antenna searching since my gf is pregnant and considered high risk, so she needs to be able to reach me.
Even with the recent behavior change (which I assume will be addressed, maybe?), I am still VERY fond of HTC's Dot View case. Not going to be super protective like an Otterbox or similar, but for me, it's the perfect case for my A9.
I've had my unlocked version since they first shipped in November. Never had any issues with battery, which was my biggest worry. I play few games on my phone, only solitaire and Sky Force installed. I mostly use Youtube, Google Music, Pocketcast, Gmail, and Chrome. Everything ran great on 6.0 and I have gotten the update to 6.0.1. I think battery has been even better since update. I should also mention I use Android Wear, but haven't upgraded to 1.4.0.2470307 which appears to be having a bunch of problems. I think $399 is a fair price for the phone, but now that it's $499, that is too much. The Nexus 6P is a much better purchase if you can handle the size.
thejesse
Well-known member
I never game on my phone, I text, call, email, do some light web surfing, that is pretty much it. I went to AT&T today to look a phones, and was going to get the Blackberry, but after my salesguy told me that they have a 100% return rate, I played with the A9, and boy did it feel good. Love HTC, and their phones. I don't need a fourty core processor, 12 gb of ram, 1 TB of storage, etc, I like the specs on the A9, I just wish the battery was bigger, and that Otterbox or UAG made a case for it.
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